Cartoon Animation

[epoclaen]

Hi all,

I've been modeling long enough to understand most of setting up a character but this will be my first attempt at fully boning, rigging, and animating a model.

I'm attempting to model and plan to animate a 3D version of Ariel from The Little Mermaid for my niece. I've been scrutinizing the movie and how she moves underwater and I see a number of potential issues that I think it's better to get input on before I get any further.

First is the "stretchy bones" of the character. I figure her bones won't need to be overly stretchy but I can see how a slight stretch will add to her cartoony effect. Are stretchy bones affected by forces (such as drag and gravity)? Or would I have to animate their stretching myself? Is there a better way to achieve this effect?

My other concern is the hair. I figure I'll have to use a polygonal hair mesh rather than Hair&Fur but then I have to worry about whether I should rig the hair with bones or something and figure out how to cause the same stretchiness and volumization that comes from her hovering in the water as her hair floats with the currents. Any ideas on how to best go about this?

My last question is about animation with a Turbosmooth modifier applied. Does the stack need to be collapsed before animating or anything? I'm sure that's a ridiculous question but I've never truly tried animating before so there's a huge learning curve for me and I want to be 100% sure before proceeding.

Thanks!