Animation Reel, crits please [Archive]

cookepuss

11-30-2008, 06:11 PM

Okay. I scrubbed through this thing a couple dozen times already. Let me address these clip by clip. These are just personal suggestions and nothing more.

The Monster
- I find it a bit awkward that his right foot & leg remain so firmly planted. Remember the weight of the body and the shifting of the balance. That foot has to give at least a little. Roll the heel up a bit or something. Right now, it looks as if his foot is glued in place.
- A bit more exaggeration the hands. Maybe extend the fingers back a bit more at their respective roots. Just to add some extra tension.
- In the same spirit, I'd probably pull him back a little more before he springs forward. For one, it adds in an extra bit of anticipation for that large forward movement. For another, if he's making such a drastic lunge, pulling him back more shows an added level of stored energy waiting to be unleashed.
- The initial pose looks a little off. You broke the symmetry, which is good, but that left side doesn't look quite natural in its resting state. Could be the camera. Not so sure. The leg moves forward, but not out so much.
- I know that there's not much of a face to work with, but I think that some added controls and secondary motions to the face & head could bring this to life. I can't quite tell if he's going to scream, about to attack, or arguing over a parking ticket. Not much you can do about that since it's somebody else's rig.

Backflip Dude
- Again with the issue of stored energy: I personally might have crouched him down a bit more before the flip. I suppose that you could get a good backflip off of the initial crouch. I might have done it a little deeper & more tucked in. Just a personal choice.
- Nice broken symmetry in the mid-flip. It might have ruined the animation had you not appropriately followed through on the equally broken landing. Good job.
- The hands just feel dead. There's nothing of any note going on. The movements don't have to be big, but they have to be there. Subtle guestures are better than none.

Fighter Gal
- Again with the dead hands.
- Not so convinced with the back and forth swaying stance. Take a look at Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter for some ideas on idle animations.
- On the walk & run cycles, pay attention to the lines of motion. The arcs here, going from foot to head, serve their purpose, but lack a bit of drama. They could be a bit more dynamic in terms of direction.
- Maybe I've just cycled through it a little too much, but I think that there's a bit too much twist in some places and not enough in others.
- [EDIT] I just noticed something else. In the walk, she's: push off on toe... land on heel... push off on toe... land on heel... That feels fine. On the run, she's the same. With a faster, more forward motion, I'd probably expect her to land on her toes a little more than the heel. Landing hard on your heel on a long stride run would lead to a split. (I actually had to run around my apartment like a maniac. :p Maybe it's just how I run. :))
- Overall, this one feels much more like a first pass. There's enough here, imho, that needs refinement & tweaking. If you've got a video camera, set it up and reenact this entire sequence. If not, dig up the Muybridge references and maybe watch a couple of action movies. At the moment, her entire set of animations feel a little too raw.

On the whole, this is not a bad set of animations. There are some rough spots, but you can work through them. As it stands, your biggest issues seem to be with the hands. I can only assume that the acrobat & fighter have limited hand rigging. I'd also work on the concept of stored energy. It seems dumb to constantly bring it up, but I feel that it's an important concept.

I've had a number of dogs in the past. Anytime they would run, jump, or do whatever, the anticipatory motion was always very strong and clear. Animals are great to watch. Since they don't speak, body language is a big deal. You can always sense what they're going to do and how forcefully they're going to do it just by the anticipation. If he's going to lunge for attack, the anticipation is stronger, deeper, & swifter than if he's going pounce on you to play. The amount of energy required for one is different than the other. It's like watching a spring in action. Compress more for a deeper recoil. Compress less for less recoil. The body's the same way. It's a tricky task getting that anticipation just right at times.

Anyway, looking good so far. Still room to grow, but fairly solid - as long as that girl gets another once over. Again, these are just personal opinions. I'm sure that people here have stuff to add. Everybody has their own style.