SeanLow: V615 Project 1 Animal Study

VIZA 615 Computer Animation: Procedural Motion

Some rough sketches on different animals for brain storming session.

After that, I picked 3 animals that may proceed with further study and research.

1. Basilisk Lizard (Jesus Christ Lizard)
Interesting feature: walk on water

2. Three banded Armadillo
Interesting feature: the only armadillo can roll into a complete ball

3. Giant Panda
Interesting feature: Transition between four-leg walk to sitting

4. Lion
Interesting feature: I just like the idea I can transfer the study outcome to Voltron lion robot :p

So, from there I chose Armadillo and Panda and look for more motion references:

Study the movement by tracking the foot fall:

So, I really like to go with Armadillo because of it's roll-into-ball feature and it's tip-toe'ing walk pattern.
However after consulted with Professor McLaughlin, he highlighted that the hard shell of Armadillo will block the deformation of the body. I agree with that so I will need to think of another animal.

Then, I recalled from an online source saying that "the name “armadillo”, or “little armored thing”, does originate from the Spanish conquistadores. The Aztec name was Azotochtli, which means “turtle-rabbit.”"
[from https://www.msu.edu/~nixonjos/armadillo/history.html]

So...