Sheep's deformation test

The deformation test reveals flaws in the character's skinning process, where in incorrect weighting results in bad deformation.

Not a lot of effort was required in weighting, as I used Jack Parry's influence technique to rig the character, wherein extra joints are placed inside the character's mesh to help keep the shape. Those new to Rigging may find the influence technique quite intimidating, as the number of joints are almost tripled. Seemingly it's a confusing eye sore, but if placed correctly the animator saves alot of time and stress when it comes down to applying weights.

Painting weights in Maya is buggy, and the technology is haphazard at best. By removing weights from the arm, the programs default reflex is to place that excess weight randomly over the character, giving you almost no control. This piece of knowledge is something that is learned the hard way, as no pop up informs you of this.

You can systematically weight each joint, then return to check on the very first and marvel at the randomization of all your hard work. Frustrating, but we found loop holes and ways around this.

The problem with this character, is that his mesh tends to look quite jagged and harsh around the nack, and the body. Smoothing edges has softened him a bit, but there are still some weighting issues that need to be smoothed out.