Tuesday 22 May 2018

Tutorial: How to Animate Butterflies

Butterfly Flap Cycle "Animator's Survival Kit"
We've got a new free bonus week at Animation Apprentice - Butterflies.  

Adding to our range of different creature animation techniques, and reflecting the growth in creature animation, (especially at the big VFX houses) our student animators can create a believable butterfly flap cycle and performance.


From Complexity to Simplicity
As ever, we break down an apparently complex exercise into a series of simple steps, giving students a feeling of success at the end of the tutorial, and helping them to learn a new technique.  

Butterfly in Flight Theory Video



Animate a butterfly in motion
Butterfly in Flight Tutorial
In the tutorial you will learn how to:
  • Create a butterfly flap cycle based on research and reference
  • Use the motion path tool to create a flight path
  • Create a believable set
  • Animate a moving camera
  • Add special effects such as grass and flowers
  • Bake your curves
  • Create a performance 
Butterfly Rig
The tutorial uses the "Mariposa" butterfly rig. You can also download the free butterfly rig from Truong, which you can find here. It is a low poly rig, but once motion blur is turned on, any surface detail will disappear.  

Method
Start by animating a simple flap cycle on the timing shown above. Import a set so that you have an environment for the butterfly to fly in. Then, using motion paths, create a motion path for the butterfly, and attach the butterfly to it. Now you can animate a camera, and create an imaginative scene.

Butterfly Animation Tutorial Videos:
Butterfly flight path from the "Animator's Survival Kit"
The to find the Butterfly Animation Tutorial videos, follow the links below:

Butterfly in Flight Part 1

Butterfly in Flight Part 2

Butterfly in Flight Part 3

To see an example of butterfly animation, watch the short video by Celine Sakr below.

Note that butterfly motion should be very rapid and erratic. If our eyes can follow the motion of the butterfly, we are doing it wrong. 

Butterfly Animation by Celine Sakr



Truong Butterfly Rig - How to Find It



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