BIONICLE Toa Voriki Animation

Let’s revisit the greatest franchise ever and remember the hero who never officially existed but still achieved great acclaim by being adopted by the fanbase. To the uninitiated, Voriki, the “Toa of Energy“ was a very early example of a fan-made Bionicle character who gained infamy across the fanbase, fooling many young kids who thought he was official, then getting branded as a fraud once the truth came out. And yet, nearly two decades later, Voriki is a celebrated part of the Bionicle fanbase’s history. Watch this fan documentary for more insight: If Voriki’s creator is still around and sees this, I hope he likes it. The animation is also a tribute to the original 2001 Toa Mata animations by LEGO, Advance and Ghost VFX. The Muaka tiger shows up as well, which I’ve wanted to animate ever since I made the model back in early 2015. This was especially challenging, as the Muaka toy was definitely not designed with articulation and movement in mind, beyond its extending neck, snapping jaws and the dangly little caterpillar tread it has in place of back legs. Getting it to move without the model crumpling in on itself was a chore. I can hardly even imagine how people making fan games (like “Bionicle: Masks of Power“ and “Bionicle: Quest for Mata Nui“) manage to animate it. It would have been interesting to redesign the Muaka into a more functional creature, similar to how I’ve made Voriki’s model, sadly I didn’t have the time for that. Also included in the animation are the Amana Volo Spheres, orbs of energy that appear when certain Rahi beasts have their infected masks removed, which are probably among the most obscure parts of Bionicle lore, having only appeared in a couple of video games and nowhere else in the story.