Log of September 22nd - September 28th, 2013

While no particular advancements were made in terms of the dynamics systems on the golem, there has been more modeling progress. An initial attempt at reducing the poly count on the stones had some headway, it was thanks to the usage of a newer tool that Maya has incorporated recently into, called Modeling Toolkit. Specifically, a sub tool called the transform constraints, where in you can create a cube with a reasonable subdivision count, and snap the points to the surface of a selected geometry. This will definitely cut down the nasty high numbers of polys, as well as allow the rig to run more easily come time for setup.

In terms of the rest of the modeling, I've near finished the skull of the character, and have decided to restructure the vines of the body to better fit the design.creating the curves based on live geometry, then attaching the paint effects brush afterwards, allows for an easier placement, and can allow for a more interesting layout of the vines.

Meanwhile, on the curpigeon front, my initial experiment with the arm tendon has failed. I had thought of using a squash and stretch spline IK system, similar to another project I had worked on briefly, but the curve involved does not maintain its line of sight with the two controlling joints, bending and flexing about, rather than just compressing as I had hoped.

I'm going to try using an aim constraint system instead to help simplify things a bit more, though I have my doubts about it.

As an aside, I have volunteered to assist in working on some of the human characters for the project as well. I will try to detail what I can regarding the setup, though from what I gather, it'll be more of an insight for me on advanced rigs than me actually fixing things right out the gate.