School of Innovation & Technology / MSc Medical Visualisation & Human Anatomy / Yogitha Chukkala / Upper Limb Anatomy & Bharatanatyam Mudra Animation (3D Modelling Sumative)

Upper Limb Anatomy & Bharatanatyam Mudra Animation (3D Modelling Sumative)

This project was a 3D modelling summative assignment. It is a passion project combining muscle movements and an Indian dance form, where I have  created an animation showing movement of the arm and hand bones and muscle contraction while performing certain mudras

Steps I have taken to achive this:

  • Retopologised and modelled the complete right upper limb skeleton, including all 27 hand bones, using Adobe 3ds Max and Maxon ZBrush
  • Sculpted the Flexor Digitorum Profundus from scratch in ZBrush
  • Created alphas and textures for bones and muscle using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
  • Animated the hand performing Bharatanatyam mudras in 3ds Max, showing joint mechanics, tendon attachments, and anatomical range of motion, edited in Adobe After Effects

The result was an animation video showing the Bharatanatyam mudras, demonstrating precise understanding of joint mechanics, tendon attachments, and anatomical range of motion. I have learnt a lot through this project, not just about animations and 3D modelling but also rendering, video editing on Adobe After Effects and Camera work.

3D Model of Right arm doing Bharatnatyam poses
Modelled humerus bone

Retoplogised and detailed humerus bone

The hand

The hand- Retoped and detailed

Complete Arm

Complete Arm

The FDP muscle

The FDP muscle modelled from scratch and detailed

The completed piece

The complete staging