Bubblegum Flex 💪

This was a small animation experiment created in MagicaCSG, an SDF modeler. I wanted to explore how the soft, bubblegum like quality of SDF modeling could be used to animate an arm flexing, with the bicep actually bulging and changing shape as it moves.
MagicaCSG doesn’t support animation (or at least at the time of making this) so I approached it almost like stop-motion. I manually changed the geometry for each frame, saved an image, then moved the model again for the next frame. It was a simple process, but a fun way to experiment with actually sculpting the motion rather than relying on a conventional rig.

I think SDF modeling has some really interesting possibilities for animation, especially for characters and objects that squash, stretch, bulge and change form. This was just a little experiment, but it made me curious about where this kind of modeling could go as animation tools continue to develop.