Facial Animation II – Eyes Animation

This lesson mainly focused on eyes animation. Compared with the previous facial pose lesson, this week focused more on the movement and transition between expressions. The tutor emphasised that the eyes do not move alone. They are connected with the character’s thoughts, attention, head movement and body reaction.

Eye Blink: Do not blink for the sake of blinking

In the lesson, we learned that blinking can be related to attitude changes, changes of eye direction, changes of thoughts, head movements and staring. The tutor also reminded us not to blink only for the sake of blinking. This means a blink should have a reason, instead of being randomly placed in the animation.

In terms of timing, a normal blink can close quickly, stay closed briefly, and then open slowly.

Eye Dart: Showing that the character is thinking and observing

Eye dart can show that the character is thinking or gathering information. It can also make the character feel more alive. The PDF mentioned that the eyes should lock onto something step by step, rather than floating randomly. Eye movement is usually in a straight line, and the eyelid shape should also change with the eye direction.

Eyebrows and Natural Facial Movement

Practice

Heavy Object & Change of Mind Polish

The second part of this week was to continue improving last week’s Heavy Object & Change of Mind animation. My animation is about a character walking forward in strong wind and rain while holding an umbrella. Last week I mainly finished the blocking. This week I started moving towards polish, making the sense of weight, rhythm and centre of gravity clearer.

Overview

This week’s class mainly had two parts. In the first part, the teacher briefly explained the Project 1 formative task for the end of the first half of the semester. It asked us to start thinking about one core element that may continue to develop in the Final Major Project. The second part was to continue revising the Heavy Object & Change of Mind blocking exercise. This time, I made an animation about strong wind and rain, where the umbrella is pushed by the wind and shows a sense of weight.

Project 1 Formative

I understand this task as more like a small test. At this stage, we do not need to fully decide the whole graduation project. Instead, we first choose a more specific direction that we are interested in, do some research, and create a relatively complete small outcome for presentation. This can help us judge whether this direction is possible, and it can also help us find technical or time problems earlier.

The examples given by the teacher showed different ways of preparing. For example, some students can test a visual style, some students can test character design and the rigging process, and some students can plan their FMP as a 3D animator portfolio. For me, these examples show that the focus of Project 1 is not to “make a lot of content”, but to choose a clear direction and use a small-scale finished outcome to prove that this direction can continue to develop.

Heavy Object & Change of Mind (Blocking)

The second part of this week was mainly to continue revising the Heavy Object & Change of Mind blocking. My exercise is about a character walking forward with an umbrella in the wind and rain. Because the wind is very strong, the umbrella keeps being blown around, and the character needs to use body strength to control it.

In this animation, I wanted to focus on showing that the umbrella is not just an easy prop to hold, but an object affected by an outside force. At the beginning, the character wants to keep walking forward, but the wind becomes stronger and stronger. The umbrella is blown to the side, so the character’s body also has to change its centre of gravity. This process can show the sense of weight in a heavy object, and it can also show the character’s change of mind: from wanting to walk forward directly, to having to stop, adjust the pose, and even fight against the wind.

The first session introduced the basics of Facial Animation. The focus of the class was not to make a complete facial animation, but to understand how a facial pose should work first. A good expression should not only be made by pushing one controller to the maximum. The whole face should look like a living organic whole.

Asymmetry: Avoid Too Much Symmetry

In class, we learned that a perfectly symmetrical face can often make a character look stiff, mechanical or unnatural. Real facial expressions are usually not exactly the same on both sides, so animated expressions should also have some bias. By making one eyebrow higher or one corner of the mouth stronger, the character’s emotion can feel more alive.

Line of Action in Face

The slides mentioned that the face can also have a line of action. I found this idea interesting because I used to think about line of action more in body movement. But in facial expression, the eyebrows, eyes, mouth and head direction can also create a directional line.

If a character is scared, the eyebrows and eyes may be pulled upward, and the mouth may form a downward or open shape. If a character is suspicious or smiling in a mischievous way, the face may form a “<” or “>” shape that favours one side. This can make the expression feel more graphic.

Connectivity and Volume

Connectivity means the connected movement between facial muscles. A change in one area should not happen in isolation. For example, when the corner of the mouth moves upward, the cheek, lower eyelid and the area around the nose will also be affected. If only the mouth is moving and the other areas do not change, the expression will look fake.

Shape, Eyebrows and Lids

In the shape section, the teacher reminded us to think about the shape of the eyes and mouth in a graphic way, and to avoid making all eyes and mouths into a normal “football shape”. The expression should have clear angles, changes in size and a sense of direction.

Eyebrows are not two separate lines either. They should have a relationship with the shape of the eyes. For example, when the eyebrows raise, the outer side can lead first. When the eyebrows lower, the inner side can be more obvious. This can make the expression more detailed.

The relationship between the eyelids and pupils can affect the character’s energy level. Very wide eyes can show surprise or tension. Lowered eyelids can show tiredness, suspicion or indifference. This was very useful when I did my facial expression practice.

Class Practice: Facial Expression Pose

After the class, I made several facial expression practices. My practice was mainly based on reference images, and I adjusted the character’s eyebrows, eyes, mouth and head angle.

Key Concepts: Parenting, Constraints and Locators

Parenting is a hierarchy relationship. For example, after an object becomes the child of a hand controller, it will keep following the hand. It is suitable for a more fixed relationship, but if the character needs to pass an object from one hand to another, simple parenting is not flexible enough.

Constraints are more suitable for relationships that need to switch. For example, a character first holds a cup, then puts the cup on the table, and then picks it up again. In this process, the cup needs to switch between “following the hand”, “staying on the table”, and “following the hand again”.

Locators can help us connect a prop to an intermediate control point, instead of connecting it directly to the hand model or skeleton. This can make the animation channels clearer and easier to modify later.

The teacher also provided a self-study tutorial for us to continue learning hierarchy parent, constraints parent and using locators. These materials can help us understand the rigging exercise in class.

Class Practice: Stitch Tea Party

Weekly Summary

Through Week 4, I learned about both facial expression design and Maya prop rigging. The first session helped me understand that facial expressions need to feel organic. They cannot only depend on symmetrical facial features or a single expression controller. Asymmetry, shape, connectivity and volume all affect whether a character’s expression feels believable.

The second session helped me understand that the interaction between a character and a prop needs clear technical logic. Constraints, parenting and locators can help us manage the relationship between objects. They are especially important in actions such as picking up, putting down, pouring tea and drinking tea.