Reference / Refining - Billy CA Root Comparison

Before ----------------------------- After

I asked Tony to post this to the blog to show how important the root node is in keeping the characters alive. Even during a hold, there is some circular movement in the hips so that the character will sway back and forth, and up and down. Remember that life is your best teacher, so study your reference! I asked Tony to load his reference into the image plane, and track the motion of the root. The result is what you see on the 'after side'. Another observation Tony made was that moving the shoulders helped to give the rib cage a sense of compression (squash) and expansion (stretch), as the character moved from pose to pose. This gives a more natural feel to the poses. Lastly , after the root smoothing was established the waving arm gesture for 'It's Billy California' was delayed, slowed down and staged more in front of the character so that it would read better. Even though you are studying reference closely to understand the mechanics of movement, it is used as a reference and not copied exactly.