This robot mechanic is a character that I designed and brought to life for my animated short, Apprentice. The design process started with creating the character’s story, motivations, functionalities, and finally visual design. Throughout this process, I learned the steps necessary to come up with an idea, turn that idea into a visual, and then finally give the visual, purpose, functionality, and life. On the technical side, I learned about building a 3D model that can be easily rigged, composing more efficient UV layouts, and creating layered and complex materials inside of Substance Painter. 

The rigging process was a great learning experience for me. When I rigged this robot the first time, I realized that he had no way of turning his hips without the mesh of the hip-motor clipping through the pelvic area. I had to come up with a solution for how this robot could change directions. What I came up with was a knee with two joints. One joint so that the robot could actually rotate at the knee in an FK setup, using it as a sort of pivot point, and a second that would be responsible for normal knee behavior with an IK rig. This solution not only yielded an effective rig, but also gave the mechanic more personality in the way that he moved.