Remember, two weeks ago, when I said I was going to get back to a regular weekly update schedule? ¯¯\_(ツ)_/¯¯
Zander was here this week! We spent more time hangin’ out than working on the show, but we solved a couple big problems with the animation rig design. Here’s a working prototype, laid out like a real prop from the show! Click for video!!
You’ll notice that I abandoned the lever-style design. I realized that the old piston-style design from the cardboard mockup was much simpler and more reliable. You can see that we tried, and succeeded, at removing the bulky weatherproof housings from those motors, which made them much easier to mount (one is screwed directly to the frame of the rig, there). A bunch of loose nuts and bolts are in that plastic container which will be replaced with sand; the drill is just to make the base heavier, which should be unnecessary with more pistons attached. Those large, hand-made, plywood-and-skateboard-bearing pulleys will be replaced by much smaller, all-metal pieces that I ordered yesterday. The fraying string will either be fishing line or black masonry line. The whole thing creaks and stutters right now, which I think is entirely because the cam connections are not super tight (but bobby pins through holes in the axel have proven to be a very versatile design). Also, that cardboard sleeve on the cam followers gets caught a lot; it's there to keep the flat follower surface from rotating and getting misaligned, but I think I know what to change to not need that piece anymore.
Imagine that this Mickey Mouse on a metal rod is in fact the raccoon’s hand on the raccoon’s arm. That’s what you’ll see next week! Yes!!