Basic Human Model

I started off by making a basic humanoid model. I decided to go more a more boxy design. It didn't turn out quite as I had hoped, but I was short on time so it will have to suffice. I took a bit of inspiration from Minecraft and Blockland.

Diagram:

Rigging

I rigged the 'skeleton' by adding multiple bones where joints would be located, similar to a human skeleton. To link the bones together I parented them, which allows connected bones to move together.

Then I added kinematics for the arms and legs to make it easier to animate later on. This pretty much bends connected bones automatically for a more realistic look when posing.

Arm Kinematics:

Leg Kinematics:

Animating

Now time for animation!

I started off with a simple walk cycle. I think the slight bobbing of the character really completes the look and feel of walking. If I had extra time I would've liked to add subtle movements to the head and body.

A nice friendly wave! Hello!

And finally, a little idle animation.

As you may have noticed, some of the model (particularly the shoulders) clip quite a bit. This is due to the automatic paint weighting I used. I should probably fix that...