GENVFX

I think, deep down inside, I am at my most happy when I am modelling. No, not me in a swimsuit and a pink boa walking up and down a catwalk to a line of adoring photographers. Although, that could be fun. Anyway…

No, I’m referring to modelling something in Maya or Blender. Sitting down at the computer, pulling around vertices, adjust the flow of a surface; getting a mesh ready for animation. The front part of this tutorial I zipped through thanks to the power of retiming in Resolve, I really wanted to go to town on. I was all about to turn on Multi-resolution, Sculpt in fins and stencil in scales, but that would be a whole other tutorial.

This, though, is about an animation step that requires a model that will need bending, and that is Follow Path. It’s a constraint, rather than a modifier, but by now, if you’ve been following along, you should be able to make a simple organism (fish here, not molecule) and then make it swim around using one command and a few options.

It also teaches you a little about shape keys in Blender too. Again, something that we will come back to and do more on in the future.

Take a look at the video below to find out more. Better still, subscribe to the channel and you’ll see a new one of these every week. Sometimes a “One by One” where we talk about what each part of blender does – at the moment we are concentrating on modifiers – other times tutorials on specific things or quick tips to make your life easier.

You want to see something not here? Then let me know in the comments. I’m always keen to help out where I can.

Take care and stay safe.