Animating: The Cannon

With firearms first developed in China, hand held cannons as well as ground cannons were soon born. Through either the Silk Road or the Mongol invasion during the 13th century, gunpowder and it's weaponry were brought to Europe.

16th century cannon; http://www.fotothing.com

http://en.wikipedia.org

Among the most recognizable of the ground cannons developed, was the 16th-18th century cannon. Though it has not changed much from the earliest recorded English cannon of 1327, all that seems to have changed is that they then came with wheels.

Granted, early models were smaller; however they tended to fire arrows or other ammunition and are not exactly what would be definitively recognisable as being a cannon. Such models of the the inbetween progression staged include the 'ribauldequin', the 'ribaldis' and the 'grapeshot'.

Alas, though cannons were a great asset in wars and a development that stayed around for many centuries, it was not until 1716 under King George I that a permanent unit was formed specialising in the operation of a cannon. Previous to this time, units were formed specifically for a war and disbanded afterwards.

As such, I have chosen to model my puppet's outfit after this time, as it frustrated me as to what he would wear to accurately depict the time of the weapon. Aware that each segment of an army is kitted out differently, with huge ranges of difference such as between a pikeman and a cavalier, I was a ware that if I got it wrong, it would look quite bizarre. As such, the compromise on this is that a unit that normally comprises of around 5 personnel, for the sake of this animation I have reduced it to just the one person.

http://www.thegarrison.org.uk/history/index.php

With the outfit finally sorted after much research, I then had to animate it. So, what is the process of firing a cannon, how can I replicate it with a singular person in place of a properly manned military unit? After looking at this video below, I was able to emulate the process a little, along with some effective transitioning to aid in the preparation of the load-fire sequence. Further, as the character then disappears off screen, where the other half of the cannon itself is and we cannot see the ignition, merely a suggestion of the actual process to firing. I think this might be okay, as the focus of this is more on the progression of projectile weaponry as opposed to how the mechanic behind each phase has developed through time.