Final Output
Challenges
Creating physics simulations was the most challenging part of this project.
I first tried to use ragdoll addons in Blender with rigid body simulation to get the effect I needed. But the simulations didn’t look natural and had weird bends on some bones.
For my second try, I used the physics simulations in Unreal Engine.
I fixed the physics mesh and their constraints on the rig I had. Depending on the joints, I limited the angle rotation constraints so that the ragdoll simulation looks more human-like.
But the main issue was exporting a .fbx or .abc file out of Unreal to populate on the mesh I had on Blender.
Learnings
There were 2 main things that I realised from this project.
- Pairing the human ragdoll simulation style with the miniature effect resulted in the humans not being legible in the scene. The animation also lost its meaning when the characters were of small scale. [close up ss]
- Doing simulations takes a lot of time, and it affected my initial timeline plan. A lot of aspects, like textures and lighting, had to be overlooked because the simulation process required trial and error. A better alternative would be to work out the simulation on Houdini.
On the positive side, I learnt how to get the miniature effect in Blender.
Future Explorations
I will work on the idea further while fixing the style of animation. I personally like the theme and want these loops to be thought-provoking bits to reach out to people.