Animating a Dragon ~ part one ~ introduction.

Intro

For module GAM250, I have chosen to animate a dragon. However not just a simple showreel, I would like to delve into the research side a lot more than usual and make this somewhat a "case study".

Over the next couple months, I will be animating a dragon taking inspiration from real life creatures as well as reviewing and analysing cases where dragons have already been animated, such as How to Train Your Dragon and The Hobbit films. 



The Rig

Due to wanting to focus purely on the animation side, I will not be able to rig a dragon of my own, so I shall be using this rig: https://truongcgartist.artstation.com/store/1Vlw/maya-dragon-rig-jaemin-dragon

I have chosen this rig as it has plenty of controllers, along with Set Driven Keys for the wings, allowing for the wings to be furled and unfurled easily. 

Another reason for using this rig was that it has IKFK controllers on it's wings, legs, head/neck and tail, which is another very useful feature.

The rig also features controllers for animating wind in the skin between the bones in the wings.

A big bonus of this rig is that it can be found at the student-friendly price of free! However paying $1 for it is more than worth it as it is a great rig.