CONCLUSION.
My original aims for this project included a low polygon character.
The idea behind this being that further knowledge and research could be
gained from studying how exaggeration translates to lower detail models.
This idea was abandoned simply because I was achieving too much with the
high detail model. It was quickly becoming apparent to me that once
the initial hurdle of working out how to animate it was achieved, including
setup and execution, the animations could be realized with little difficulty.
I believe this to be a strong testament to the power and flexibility of
the way in which I achieved my new goals.
This project was a complete learning curve from start to finish.
I had never attempted any kind of facial animation before this project.
I believe that I have been completely successful in achieving what I intended.
From my experimentation into the subject I have compiled a list of tips
for good facial animation.
The final product is still nowhere near 'perfect'. The eyes never
really looked 'alive' to me. I still am not quite sure what I was
missing on the subject. The animations could still use further tweaking.
The lesson I learned here is to make sure you leave it alone, before errors
occur. As far as the face shapes and expressions, I feel I have achieved
a good level of realism. The expressions were the most successful
aspect of the whole project, I believe this to be based entirely on the
research into the muscle system. If the initial foundation of muscle
shapes are correct then half of the work is done for you. I realized
this very early on, and was pleased that I had put so much time into getting
it right.
Overall I am very pleased with the final outcome. This project has
been a major challenge, one which I believe I have risen to. Given
more time I would like to develop each animation further, both with more
dialogue and sophistication of expression. I have developed a keen
interest into this subject, one which I aim to take further.