3D Modeling and Animation Tip – Asymmetry

added on Wednesday, April 1st, 2009 at 9:53 am by Instructor

By Geoff Beatty, Lead Maya Instructror

There are many things to consider when you create an animated character. 3D modeling and animation are processes which require constant evaluation and decision-making. That is why it’s sometimes helpful to group the thousands of visual choices available into basic, fundamental principles. For me, one of the most important of these is the idea of asymmetry.

The dictionary would define asymmetry as an inequality between two parts, and in the world of mathematics, this is usually undesirable. In the context of design (and in 3D modeling and animation in particular) asymmetry is vitally important in establishing both believability and interest.

Asymmetry helps to establish believability because our world is naturally assymetrical. The most basic example is the human face. Which face below is correct? symmetry_face

Asymmetry helps to establishes interest because variability from one thing to another, in this case left to right, automatically generates more interest. Which of the two boxes below is more “interesting?” symmetry_kanji

Now, how does this translate into the context of 3D modeling and animation? How do we achieve asymmetry in Maya? There are some simple ways to do this.

First, a common approach to modeling characters is to work on one half and then mirror the geometry to the other side. This is a smart way to work, as it resembles the rough symmetry of most characters and simultaneously cuts the work in half. However, this leaves us with a completely symmetrical model when we want something more believable. It looks, for lack of a better word, “computer-ish.” We can avoid this by simply altering certain elements of one side of the model through scaling or sculpting or using lattice deformers, as in the image below.

symmetry_model This is fine for modeling, but how do we incorporate asymmetry into animation? There are essentially two ways of doing this. One is while posing the model. Consider which of these two poses is more dynamic, more readable, more believable:

symmetry_pose Finally, the during animation, motion curves representing opposite sides of the body can be offset to provide a sort of temporal asymmetry. This creates a pleasant overlap and flexibility to a characters action, an important step in creating a believable sense of weight.

Asymmetry, in short, is a vital step in creating a believable character. Its presence is a clear indicator of a thoughtful designer, modeler and animator.

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