Ostrich Dinosaur - 2D Rig and Animation
This is a project I worked on during my time studying animation at the Atlantic Technological University in Ireland. We were assigned the creation of a 2D bipedal character, as well as its breakdown into pieces, a 2D rig, and 3 test animations. I wanted to challenge myself so I picked a creature instead of a humanoid character, one with inverted knee joints, countless controllable feathers, and more.
This was my introduction to 2D rigging after having worked with 3D rigging for a while, and it allowed me to blend my capabilities in 2D illustration and character/creature design with my interest in technical art.
Idle standing: I just wanted a clean and simple breathing animation with a lot of secondary motion that would showcase most of the moveable parts of the character.
Idle sitting: I wanted this animation to give the ostrich some character; i referenced a lot of animals yawning to get to a motion that feels believable through the little twitching and the "lip smacks" afterwards.
Walk cycle: for this animation I referenced videos of ostriches walking, replicating it to the best of my ability while adding secondary motion through all the features of the rig.
The initial concept sketches. The choice of character for this specific project came rather abruptly, so the groundwork for the design was laid prior to starting.
Comparisons between the original sketches, the blockout showing each individual piece, and the final product. Due to the nature of the assignment, I had to reorient the design towards stylized rather than realistic so it would work better with a 2D rig.
Showcase of every piece/bone in the rig.
Showcase of the rig, created using DUIK. Includes IK arms, legs, and head, foot roll, rotatable feathers and fingers, and deformable throat skin created using the puppet tool.