3D Character Artist Tests Damped Track Constraints on Blender

The Lead 3D Character Artist at Obelisk Studio, Maria Anikina, shared on Instagram how she did a test with Blender's Damped Track constraints, using a mermaid proxy she made in 2022.

What we see in the video is how, instead of relying on physics simulation or hand-keyframed animation, Anikina used a chain of Damped Track constraints to show the tail movement.

You can see how the artist divided the body and hair into pieces, and each one has a constraint that is connected to the following one, like in a chain. That way, moving the head bone in Blender's pose mode causes the other segments to follow, creating the swimming motion we see in the video.

This chained body structure works because of the nature of the character and because of how the constraints are organized. It's a fast way to test secondary motion without using keyframe animation. 

Anikina said that she plans to rework the model and apply the same rig setup to a more complex mesh. Check out some of the changes she has made to the character:

Take a look at other projects she has created, like a character that appears to be wearing very detailed skull-shaped metallic armor or a speedsculpt that took her 3.5 hours to finish.