This is a cartoon snake I modeled and rigged. The model has 645 verts, 1279 edges and 636 faces.
It's rigged with a curve modifier that uses hooks to the armature, so moving the bones deforms the snake in a snake-like way -- snake locomotion, thus SnakeLoco. I learned this method from Kent Trammell's tutorial on Blender Cookie, "Rigging a Spiral Phone Chord in Blender."
A video of the animation can be viewed on my YouTube.
The UV-mapped grass texture on the gound is from Goodtextures.com (One or more textures on this 3D-model have been created with images from Goodtextures.com. These images may not be redistributed by default. Please visit www.goodtextures.com for more information).
Thank you.
It would look better if the grass moved so it looks like the snake is moving. It would be even better to move the snake and use Dynamic Paint to make a little trail behind him. :)
I had actually modeled and rigged the snake for a game I am working on, but then I learned that you can't use curve modifiers in game rigs, so I made it a standalone model/rig.
I did re-rig the snake with just bones for my game, though the movement doesn't look as good without the curve modifier.
Awesome, I love the colors and perfect shape! It reminds be (kind of) of the Dream About Snakes series where there was an invasion of black and red snakes.
Fantastic job, Margaret! The YouTube video showed off the animation.
I have a suggestion: You could simulate the snake slithering over the grass by either moving the camera or simply shifting the grass plane a certain distance on every cycle, to approximate the motion.
You might enjoy this video: "Amazing Science - Secrets of Slithering Snakes" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFNuVggOjb8