Why's the Hell is There a Tiger in Cambridge?

This is a bit of a problem, assuming I'm to create a film about a sabre tooth cat in Cambridge. If there's no reason for this animal to be there, the film could fall apart whether it is technically impressive or not. Even though the narrative and film work aren't a priority and aren't something I'll be being marked on, I want to aim for something which is cohesive and which makes sense so that I end up with a piece of work I'm happy with (that's if I get as far as doing a film).

I'll obviously be thinking of ways I can resolve this problem or even just changing it entirely into, say, a pure CGI animation, but at the moment I think my focus will be on the vital preparation; anatomy, concepting, research, etc.

Anatomy of a Sabre Tooth Tiger

I've spent the last few hours getting reference images for saber tooth tigers and normal tigers and then doing an anatomical study so that when it comes to modelling and animating the creature I'll have be able to do so accurately.

Here's the study:

 I couldn't find any visual reference for the muscle structure of sabre tooth tigers or even just normal tigers so I had to use a muscle structure diagram of a house cat and adapt it to a sabre tooth skeleton.


That's it for now.

Starting Out: Initial Ideas.

So begins my 3rd year and final major project! 


I've had some ideas for some time as to what I might do and I think I'm probably going for something a little too ambitious. Though there's nothing wrong with aiming high.


What I've thought up so far is to do a matchmoved film of a strange animal which is sighted somewhere in the greens around Cambridge. The project will be focused heavily around realistic, organic-looking animation and lighting. This involves using a very wide range of skills: rendering, lighting, dynamics, rigging, animation, modelling, texturing and post-production. 


I realise that I might not be able to achieve these, so if needs be I'll might cut out certain aspects. For example I might, instead of aiming to produce a full, polished short film, just focus on the realistic animation and leave out lighting and matchmoving (skills which I already demonstrated in my matchmoved film project with some success).


What I would really like to focus on too, in this project, is a return to my traditional drawing skills. I feel that in the past 2 years I really haven't focussed on this despite it being my strongest skill. This will mean doing some anatomical studies and concept drawings for everything before it becomes digital.


Just this evening I did a quick anatomical drawing in photoshop:

 I just did it to improve my digital painting technique and knowledge of human anatomy/muscle structure (hence, exaggerated muscles).


That's all for now. I'll update as things evolve.