Jerr O’Carroll, one of the animators for Tomb Raider – the Angel of Darkness, sent us these animations from the game.
Originally, Kurtis Trent was supposed to use his Chirugai disk in game but due to problems with deadlines this was removed from the game itself. As for the rottweiler animation, Jerr said that “There was going to be police dogs chasing Lara, again, it didn’t happen”.
We thank Jerr for sending us these clips.
Music by Peter Connelly.

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Phil Chapman, the animator for Tomb Raider games, sent us a DVD with some incredible renders.

Discover more content on the Angel of Darkness

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I then asked Inna to draw me a few sketches and she gladly did so (see above).

Jonathon, who wrote the music for my E3 video, agreed to compose the music for this project. He perfectly captured the Slavic motifs.

And so after a few sleepless nights and many pages of handwritten text I’ve put together this animation in After Effects. 

A few Tomb Raider fansite admins and fans offered their help with translating this video:

• Bulgarian Subtitles by Tomb Raider Passion
• Croatian Subtitles by Ana Schindler 
• German Subtitles by Lara’s Generation
• Russian Subtitles by Laracroft.ru
• French Subtitles by Brice Jeunieaux

Lastly, the video featured on the official Tomb Raider Blog, Twitter and Facebook.

I’m very grateful to everyone who was involved in this! Here’s the result of our work:

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Starring the original Lara Croft voice actress Shelley Blond [Tomb Raider (1996), Peep Show] and featuring incredible artwork by Inna Vjuzhanina!

Bulgarian Subtitles by Tomb Raider Passion

German Subtitles by Lara’s Generation

Croatian Subtitles by Tomb Raider Empire 

Rise of the Tomb Raider and Baba Yaga Temple of the Witch out now on Xbox 360 and Xbox One and PC.

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After all, what do you do when you’re bored and the world doesn’t need saving? This is Lara Croft’s quest for stuff.

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Hello. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me. Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Brandon Fernandez:  Hi, I’m Brandon Fernandez, Animator Director on Rise of the Tomb Raider.  I’ve worked at Crystal for 15 years, with my first project being Soul Reaver 2.  13 of those years I’ve spent focusing on player animation and control.  Working with our talented player group on bringing our characters to life not only in cinematics, but during every moment of gameplay as well.   I’m excited to hear fan’s reactions and thoughts on Lara’s growth in her latest journey.
What would you say is involved in your average day working on the new Rise of the Tomb Raider?
Brandon Fernandez:  While not animating myself, much of my time is spent continually playing the game, ensuring Lara’s animations and controls are in sync and intuitive.  While we are always pushing for high fidelity motion, we also strive for a character that feels responsive and easy to control.  In addition to this, I also work with our excellent animation team reviewing work and providing feedback.

As a professional animator, how has the process of character animation changed through the years?

Brandon Fernandez:  15+ years ago there was less specialization in games, so an animator might model, rig, animate, create character vfx and even do a bit of design tuning.  With the ever increasing fidelity new hardware allows, along with a maturing game’s industry filled with professional artists in all areas, animators are now able to focus more on animation as an art.

How has this technology opened up new animation options?  Has it saved time in production or has it brought up new complications?
Brandon Fernandez: It has definitely increased our ability to achieve more nuanced performances with our characters.  It brings with it new challenges to be sure, but much like motion capture for body motion, it allows us to get the subtle, minute detail of human movement quickly.  Then it is up to one of our skilled animators to massage that into the characters you see come to life.

In the past, video game character animation would have been a more solitary occupation; working from pre-existing reference materials.  With the increasing use of motion capture technology in modern games, the artist needs to interact with the motion actors.  How has this affected your workflow?  

Brandon Fernandez: While motion capture is a great tool to help us create our characters, the majority of an animator’s time is still spent crafting that performance with the team here at Crystal or in our sister studio in Montreal.   Motion capture allows us to get to a common ground faster, so we can focus more on the subtly of the acting and emotion.
As an artist, do you guide the motion actors’ performance?
Brandon Fernandez: We have many talented people at Crystal who are in sync with our characters motivations, so the direction is shared.  Whether it is Noah, Tore, Brian or myself, there is always someone with a strong understanding of our characters driving the performances.
What is the most enjoyable part of your job?

Brandon Fernandez: The challenge and beauty of animating for games is creating a character who can both be separate of the player with her own personality, while also at the base level be driven by the player.  Ensuring the player and Lara are in sync throughout the game is a great challenge, and when done right is incredibly rewarding.

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It’s getting colder, so I thought Lara needs some winter stuff to wear

Autodesk 3ds max

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Lara and Kurtis doing the generic MyspaceFacebook shot Did this ages ago in 3DS max

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One of the alternative costumes for Kurtis Trent. I did it all in the Autodesk 3DS Max.

Check the hi-resolution picture here => CLICK

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