This week, Ting’s class focused on Facial Animation II: Eyes Animation. We mainly learned about the role of the eyes in facial animation, including blink, eye dart, and eyebrow movement. I learned that eye animation is very important for character performance because it can show a character’s thoughts, emotional changes, and direction of attention.
In class, Ting explained that blinking should not happen just for the sake of blinking. It should be connected to changes in attitude, eye direction, thought process, or head movement. Eye dart can show that a character is thinking or gathering information, making the character feel more alive. Eyebrow movement also affects emotional expression. For example, when a character is asking a question, feeling confused, or thinking, the position and timing of the eyebrows can be different.