When it comes to projects I’ve had to pivot on during my time at the creative academy, I think of my first assignment for the New Media AR/VR module. We were tasked with using the EyeJack app tool for creating interactive experiences by creating a .gif file that would play on your phone after scanning a QR code and then pointing your camera at an anchor image.
I wanted to give myself a challenge for this project. I had started to teach myself to use After Effects in the process of character rigging. I had wanted to explore this skill for some time having had to pass up a potential job offer where it would be necessary. I had begun to work on a project teaching myself to use the Duik plug-in for Adobe After Effects, but had lost momentum and was looking for an excuse to begin working on it again.
It wasn’t until I was most of the way through the process of character rigging that I realized that I had messed up and either needed to go back and start from the beginning with a completely new character or amend what I had envisioned for my animation. Once I had started trying to animate my character I became aware that the advice I had ignored when creating my character, to make them at three-quarters perspective (my character was head on) had been given for a reason. I expect that there is a way to rig a model head on, but as someone going through the process for the first time and using a tutorial that specifically suggested that I create a character a specific way, did not have the resources required to make that work.
I knew I didn’t have enough time to create a new model or edit the one I had created, so the only thing I could change was the animation itself. What I had hoped to make was a woman rollerskating towards the camera, rocking back and forth from skate to skate. The tone was supposed to be relaxed, simple, and elegant.
The tone had to completely change from what I had envisioned my head. I had hoped to learn a new skill and tool, and while I did manage this to a certain extent I think the lesson I came away with is that sometimes it is better to walk before you try to run.