Tiger Study

Before I attempted an animation I first studied the general anatomy and structure of a tiger to gain an understanding of the way a tiger moves, The shift in weight and the main influence and key points to the flow of movement

I studied the bone structure and muscular form of the tigers body. The gradually gained an understanding in the the key elements of a tigers range of motion and that the shoulder blades play a key element to portray the shift in weight. 

I sketched tigers in different poses and movements to observe how far I could push the movement whilst staying true to the tigers movement.  

 

I used reference when sketching the tigers motions. I gained 

 Silhouettes of my tiger animation 

 

When animating the main issue I experienced was to portray the stretch when the main pull occurs. I had to experiment and explore the rig and reference to reflect the pressure on the rig.The shift of the muscles to create the pull was the main difficulty I  found, however gradually understood the shift in the shoulder blades which created the correct flow of movement. 

When analysing the reference video I highlighted the key areas of weight shift when the friction occurs.

Shoulder Blades 

Neck/ Spine 

Stomach 

I highlighted some major areas in the animation to show the main pressure points of motion.

I then applied what I learned to the rig to correct the poses to portray the friction to the best of my ability.

I attempted to add my own artistic integrity and exaggerate the pull to push the pose as far as possible.

The rotation of the spine and the slight shift of the shoulder blades gave the largest shift of the movement