FMP Week 5 - 27th October - Anatomy & Skeleton Model

  FMP Week 5 - 25th October

Anatomy and Skeletal Model

William Marshall

Intro

These last two weeks have been a mix of modelling and concepting, as I have reached the stage where physical parts of my Mech can begin being made! I finally made a decision on what Mech I want to take forward from my silhouettes, which was the 'Rotary'. 

The Rotary Silhouette had proportions that I felt were all very equal, as well as quite a striking silhouette with the shoulder-mounted rocket pods. The other silhouettes were quite unclear designs that I wasn't entirely sure on how to bring to life in 3D. The low-slung weaponry on the arms made it look quite efficient - with the leg anatomy being perfect for a mechanical walker of it's size. However, I will need to consider adding full armour to the Rotary frame, as it currently does not fit the profile of a 'Heavy Mech', being more of a scouting vehicle or light mech. 

Once I had decided on the Rotary frame, I began considering the individual components that made it up. When I began looking into the anatomy of legs & feet, I realised that concept sketches would also be quite important, but there was a problem: because the silhouette was black, certain parts of the Rotary frame were unclear as to the shapes involved. In order to fix this issue, I decided to create a 'skeleton' frame of the Mech that I could use to pose into different positions for concept sketches. 

Concept + Mech Selection

Using my silhouette, I was able to define the individual parts of the Mech a lot easier and begin understanding how I'd form it in 3D space. As soon as I was able to identify a light source for the scene, I could break down each piece into the basic forms and build my way upwards, toward the top of the cockpit. 

This concept view was used for the creation of my 'Skeletal' Mech, which I will talk about further down this page. 

Feet Concepts & Model

Using 3dsMax and some sketched concepts, I developed some examples for feet that took balance, shape and terrain grip into account. My aims for creating these concepts were to create a foot that could evenly distribute the weight of the Mech on top of it, which was achieved by making it wide with multiple treads. Additionally, I added small 'wire-cuttters' in the form of teeth connected to the main foot, which aid grip on rough surfaces and allow the foot to bypass small fortifications such as barbed wire, fences and dirt. 

Leg Anatomy Study

When I first began constructing my skeletal model, I had issues with the balance of my Mech. If it began walking, all of the weight would cause it to topple backwards and hardly move. This was due to the improper placement of connecting joints in the leg structure, as well as each piece being placed at too low of an angle to support weight. I analyzed Titanfall2 and my other references to consider how the leg anatomy of each Mech was able to support the weight. 

I learnt that each joint is aligned very vertically, so that each bone acts as a link without creating too much weight on the rear of the vehicle. 

Skeletal Model & Thoughts

This skeletal model was intended for me to test the proportions of the Rotary, as well as create a posable model for concept art & blueprint views, as I could rotate the image to suit any perspective. Using the silhouette as a reference, I created basic blockout shapes for each of the components, but attempted to illustrate how the Mech would function as a animated object by including hinge and ball/socket joints for pieces that would move in an 180 degree arc (such as knees), and parts that needed a full range of movement, like the shoulder areas and feet.

I currently dislike how the cockpit is formed, as it looks blocky and doesn't fit with the rest of the body parts in terms of art style and design. This will be re-designed.

Project Management Update

These last 2 weeks have been quite poor in terms of content, as the majority of the work seen here was completed in Week 4 and then not touched upon for Week 5. All of the planning, research, references and ideas has been completely finished and finalised, with the next few weeks shaping up to be focused on Concept Art and the beginning of modelling my Mech.

At this point in the project, I am also quickly approaching the presentation that will be presented live to tutors and colleagues to explain my ideas so far. This will be a 10-minute segment that presents all the work completed so far, as well as being intended to answer in-depth questions to prove that I understand my project entirely. 

I feel quite confident about this idea, as I enjoy presenting my work and small amounts of public speaking - and I believe I have all of the content required to fill these segments. 

Video Breakdown

Next Blog Post - 10th November

Using my Skeletal Model, I will be able to pose it (much like a wooden figurine) to produce some interesting concept art and examples. Additionally, I can add armour and additional pieces onto the skeleton in order to begin bulking it up for the Front Line role that it is intended to serve in.

• Concept Art
• Armored Body
• Presentation