How are Animatronics created?
The
first step to creating Animatronics is to sketch the initial idea and create a paper design. Depending on the specifics of the project, different experts are brought in. During the creation of Jurrasic Park?s Spinosaurus, paleontologists advised on the accuracy of the initial design. In the creation of ?It?s a Small World?, color stylist and designer Mary Blair was assigned the job of drawing the children. These paper representations of the final animatronic figure tell engineers and artists in each following step what the goal is for the end creation.
After the paper design has been finalized, the
next step is to create a maquette, or miniature model of the final design. This model is often made out of clay. It is especially important to create a maquette when building very big animatronics because it tests the feasibility of the paper design without wasting the time and resources that would be needed to build a full-scale model. The maquette also allows designers to add the 3-dimensional, surface detail that is difficult to depict in sketches.
The completed maquette is used to build a full-sized sculpture of the final creature. While this used to be done by hand, computer-aided manufacturing has automated the process. The maquette is scanned with a series of very precise lasers and then the final sculpture is milled out of foam. If the animatronic figure is very large, the final sculpture is milled in pieces and then secured together with special glue.
Next, the full-sized sculpture is used to create a mold so that the body can be cast out of foam rubber to create the skin. The skin is very important to the animatronic character?s ability to function because the character must usually look natural. Skin that is too thick and difficult to move would cause clumsy movements.
The
next step in creating an animatronic figure involves the largest number of engineers. It is building the various animatronic components which allow the animatronic figure to evolve from ?puppet? or ?sculpture? to ?animatronic?.
The ?skeleton? of an animatronic figure often resembles the skeletons of animals in the real world. It gives the figure structure and holds the pieces together. An alternative to the traditional inner skeleton is an outer-skeleton, like the exoskeleton of an insect. The advantage to this model is more room inside the figure for other parts.
The mechanical parts of the animatronic figure create the ?muscles? that create movement of the skeleton. Some animatronics (such as the characters of ?It?s a Small World?) have few moving parts, and therefore require fewer ?muscles? which can be made with basic mechanisms. Newer, more modern, animatronic figures, however, involve complex systems of hydraulics or pneumatics. Hydraulics offer higher accuracy, while pneumatics are easier to design and operate. Despite this complexity, most of the mechanical parts in animatronic figures come from the basic wedge, screw, lever, pulley, wheels, and gears, just like the early automata. What has grown more sophisticated is how these mechanisms are powered.
A ?brain? is needed to control the ?muscles?, and so electronic control systems are created to operate the animatronic figure. These systems are created by electrical engineers with custom circuit boards. Some animatronics are manipulated through telemetry. This allows a puppeteer to control the movement off-screen. For figures made to repeat their movements many times at a theme park, their movements may be programmed into the figure, so that the figure may operate on stage without constant attention.
Finally, the skeleton, the mechanics, and the electronics are fitted together with the skin to complete the animatronic figure. It is very important at this stage in the design process to ensure there has been clear communication between the groups responsible for different parts of the design process. The final finishing touches, such as sculptural details are then added and the figure is put through a series of final tests to ensure its dependability.