24/03/2023-26/03/2023 - PADDING THE ARMATURE

BEFORE THE PADDING

Here is what the armature looked like with no padding.

When animating the armature for my experiments, I noticed that for me to be able to edit out the rig from the video editing stage would be extremely difficult since the rig and armature limbs blend in together.

So, the feedback that I received from my supervisor was to to create some sort of layer on the armature that would help look similar to skin.

Here, this is the armature before I decided to start padding it.

The way I was able to start padding the armature, was to measure how long the limbs of the armature was. I tried to carefully not cover the holes where the screw would go (in case the armature is too stiff or too loose during filming).

After having measured the limbs of the armature, I was able to create strips by using the bed foam and started to wrap it around the parts of the body I wanted to cover. I tried to make sure not to make them too big and lumpy on the body.

After having wrapped the bed foam material, I had to carefully wrap it wit black string to keep it intact.

DEMONSTRATION OF PADDING FOR ARMATURE

I personally had no experience with padding armatures since I don't consider myself a crafty person so I went to a classmate for help. The person I went to was Deniz Oksuz, who is someone I have worked with before for group projects and they had a lot of experience and talent with making puppets.

Progress of me having the top part of the arm finished and starting to work on the lower part of the arm. There is the screw in between.

The way I was able to start padding the armature, was to measure how long the limbs of the armature was. I tried to carefully not cover the holes where the screw would go (in case the armature is too stiff or too loose during filming).

After having measured the limbs of the armature, I was able to create strips by using the bed foam and started to wrap it around the parts of the body I wanted to cover. I tried to make sure not to make them too big and lumpy on the body.

After having wrapped the bed foam material, I had to carefully wrap it wit black string to keep it intact.

FOOTAGE OF ME PADDING THE ARMATURE

Here is a fast video of me working on the padding of the armature after having learnt what to do from my friend Deniz. At first it was quite frustrating since I am not really skilled in crafts but after as I got used to it, I was able to do it a lot faster and more confidently.

So here is what it looked like with the left part of the armature being covered.

Here is when most of the limbs are covered apart from the torso

FINAL OUTCOME

Here is the final look of the armature after having finished the padding. I was extremely proud of my accomplishments and I felt as though me learning through a friend in person was a lot easier than using a video since some times I can get quite confused for things I am not quite familiar with.

All in all, I believe this experiment was a huge success.