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Flash Animation 5: Creating a Complex Character of Movable Parts

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Breaking Your Character Down into Parts

What we're going to do now is pull Lex apart by retracing his parts separate from the whole. What you have to think of when you're "breaking down" your character is how he/she will be moving, and from what points; when animating humanoids or anything organic with limbs, it's important to remember that most motion happens through rotation at pivot points rather than through vertical or horizontal movement. Limbs move in arcs.

So I separated Lex's limbs at various pivot points: separating the head, and then breaking the arms away and pulling them apart into shoulders + upper arms, forearms, and hands. Notice that I drew in the right arm (Lex's left) in full although it's hidden behind his body in the original art. This is because the arm will be moving, and not always hidden.

I didn't break down the trunk because it won't be moving. However, I did break away the facial features, because they'll be moving independent of the head itself, and I'll need to be able to control those as separate parts--even the eyeballs, although the nose is static,. I also made the hair a separate piece, because it's going to be a layer on top of the head and it needs to cover without having to be adjusted in every panel, as it will hide some of the facial features.

If you look below the eyeballs, you can also see that I drew an open mouth. While it's not visible on the original art, there is still an interior to the mouth, and Lex will be talking, so we'll need that.

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