Useful Reference on Animating Human Arms in 3D

It's no secret that for 3D Animators aiming to make their character animations as close to reality as possible, the availability of useful reference can often be the deciding factor between success and failure. To make the life of animators just a little bit easier, talented 3D Rigging Artist sakuramochiJP recently shared a couple of demos, which can be used as valuable references for animating human arms.

Set up in Maya, sakuramochiJP's showcases demonstrate the full range of motion of human arms, showing how different muscles and the clavicle bone stretch and interact with one another when the arm is moving. According to the artist, the animations were created with the software's basic skinning tools and Set Driven Keys without using any complex setups. You can check out more of sakuramochiJP's amazing projects by visiting the author's Twitter page.

If you are looking for more reference on animating human arms, here are some videos that you might want to check out:

You might also want to have a look at the recently-released HAELE 3D – Hand Poser, a 3D anatomy reference app that comes with a variety of presets and allows you to adjust hands to achieve the pose you need. With it, you can change skin tones, backgrounds, lighting, camera settings, and materials to get the perfect hands for your next project, be it a game, a 2D drawing, a 3D model, an animation, or anything else.

Last year, we also highlighted SciePro's comprehensive and sizeable collection of physically-accurate 3D medical models created using such programs as ZBrush, 3ds Max, Blender, and V-Ray. Based on real-life 3D scans, MRIs, and photo libraries, the models are 100% anatomically correct, serving as the perfect reference you could use for your projects.

And if you'd like to learn more about human anatomy in general, we highly recommend checking out our 2022 80 Level Digest on the topic, which lists some valuable resources, including websites, videos, and books, that will help you get a better grasp of human anatomy.

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