I have decided to use the Azri and Psylocke rigs in my previs since I think they can represent the worldbuilding I developed while planning this project. I’ve outlined these characters here, with references to other media that I have taken inspiration from:
Psylocke:
Personality: Abrasive, uninterested, cheeky, arrogant, slightly manic, deceitful, intelligent
Combat: Slippery, evasive, fast, dual-wield guns, acrobatic
Animation inspiration:
Rikku (FFX)
Jinx (LoL, Arcane)
D.VA (Overwatch)
Azri:
Personality: Trusting, steadfast, noble, naive, “heroic”
Combat: Slow, heavy, powerful, straightforward, two-hand sword
Animation Inspiration:
Leona (LoL)
Brigitte (Overwatch)
Beidou (Genshin impact)
I have a wider interest in animation for games, as well as cinematic animation, so my main inspiration and focus for this project is outlining character archetypes that would be translatable into a game setting. I want to focus on greeting good action because I think that is most translatable after this project.
In the meantime, I have staged rough positions of my storyboard into Maya, to help me visualise the main beats of the animation, and I’m aiming to replace these with full rigs as soon as possible.