Bird Animation - Flying Cycle - Final

Hello all, I was able to finish animating a very simple bird cycle last week and with that I was hoping to do another animation which will show a personality of the bald eagle, taking off and flying in the air. However, as I reached the conclusion of the bird cycle, I had a moment where I knew that this isn't for me. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed animating the bird cycle and found it to be a great challenge but, when I looked back at animating the Nico rig a couple months back, I remembered how much I enjoyed animating a land creature compared to a flying one.

It's also the fact that as I look back at this animation and the heavy character animation, i just knew that this isn't pushing my skills as an animator. Sure I'm making a creature/ character move, but there isn't that hint of personality or feeling that it's alive. Very much of the last couple of animations felt robotic and lifeless unlike the Nico rig, which has that moment of  life. I therefore want to focus a lot more on this part as it'll help breathe life into my showreel, rather than some generic animations that seem dull and doesn't have that appeal about them.

Again, I apologise that this blog post, is kind of empty, but believe me, I'm glad that I was able to realise this now, rather than later .Plus, I have no regrets on animating the bird cycle, as it has taught me a lot about how birds fly, something I won't forget and will hopefully use that knowledge again someday.

Tomorrow I will posting about my next project.