Body movements

e.g. Breathing, shivering

Involuntary actions

Avoidance of 'unnatural' actions, e.g.

arms or legs twisting in abnormal

ways

Facial animation

Focus on realistic animation

Slight adjustments to position such

as breathing, twitches, reflexes, e.t.c.

Slight details

Player character will have higher

quality and larger variety of

animations

NPCs may reuse assets

Designed to be applied as individuals

HUMANOID

May be designed to be used in bulk,

for a large number of NPCs

Hostile animals will have more active

animations, including 'idle' animations

Often based on observation of real

animals

ANIMAL

"Goofy" or otherwise unrealistic

animations

Body parts of the model may not be

necessarily based in reality, or have

realistic behaviours or proportions

Focus on smoother animations, and

expressive movement

CARTOONY / STYLISED

Animations will be created based on

the design of the NPC

Can be inspired by movement of

particular animals, such as molluscs,

insects, arachnids, and reptiles

ALIEN

CHARACTER ANIMATION

Hands should remain in view of the

screen in most situations in which

actions occur

For example, pressing a button or

pulling a lever

When performing an 'action' the hands

of the player character should always

be (or appear to be) directly

interacting with a subject

HANDS

In such cases, the object(s) should

be directly shown to be held by the

character

Sometimes, objects may be an

attached part of the player character's

animations

Animations should be dynamic

between the hands and the object

Held objects should be kept away

from the centre of the screen, unless

in use

OBJECTS

If both hands are holding a single

object, such as a sword, both hands

should be kept relatively close to the

same edges of the screen

Hands should be on the lower part of

the screen, clearly visible from the

wrist upwards

Many games place the viewer's point

of view in the chest area of the

character, rather than the head, to

keep the POV with the hands

POINT OF VIEW

FIRST PERSON ANIMATION

Mostly extends into lighting, and

changes of colour

Very low level of animation

Other forms of animated electronic

objects will be based on particles

ELECTRONIC

Wide variety of object styles and

purposes

Can include spinning animations such

as pivots and gears, or sliding

animations such as levers and cranes

Animations will be smooth (apart from

smaller details such as movement

deviation, and slight movements from

different parts of the object)

INDUSTRIAL

PROP / IDLE OBJECT ANIMATION

Movement of wheels

e.g. Movement of car doors

Individual animations for independent

parts that move

e.g. slight shaking caused by engine,

movement of chassis on the

hydraulics

Involuntary movements

CARRIAGE VEHICLES

Movement of body due to exterior

forces

Movement handling the vehicle

Animations required for the driver

Often lighter, smaller vehicles

EXPOSED DRIVER VEHICLES

Speeds up over time - movement

faster than eye can differentiate at

certain speed

Propeller type aerial vehicles have

constant movement

Parts that exit/enter the body of the

vehicle, such as landing gear

Parts that open/close

AERIAL VEHICLES

VEHICLE ANIMATION

IDEAS GENERATION - 3D

ANIMATION