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hBoltz Animation Sketchbook

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heboltz3 polycounter lvl 9
Hey Guys

So I've been working on this attack vignette for about a week and a half now and I'm getting stale eyes and am kind of stumped.

ib2QocE.gif

It's for my portfolio, and I'm trying to just get some "wow factor" animations down to pump up my reel.

I'm feeling pretty good about most of it but like I said, I've been staring at it for a long time so any critique would be amazingly appreciated.

The section I'm actively working on now is the robots impact at the end, I've changed it up and its a blockout for a scorpion impact, but I'm not sure if it feels right, or if I should just go for it, what do you think?

XjkI24I.gif

Thanks

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  • Brian "Panda" Choi
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    Brian "Panda" Choi high dynamic range
    Hold the robot's legs up for a moment or two befre it snaps into the floor. That MIGHT help it think.
  • thatanimator
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    thatanimator polycounter lvl 6
    nice foot work before the last arrow, nice touch.

    you wrote you've worked on this for a week and a half, but I'm still going to assume that anything after the arrow shooting stuff is only blocked out.

    the shooting segment is stylistically timed, I like it.
    it does feel that towards the end of it though, the last arrow, you kind of just focus on going from key poses to key poses - very fast. I kind of lack an inbetween when he draws the last arrow. the part where he goes into the aim is cool though.
    I can't decide if I think it's all lacking a couple of frames per shot, or if I like the quick rigid feeling of it.

    after firiing the last arrow I'd like to see him return to "neutral" position faster, and hold it there for the remainder of the frames you already have there.. no need to add anything, but his arms are very IK right now, just going into that pose and then he runs away. give the arms a key inbetween there where they have already settled.


    the run is very oddly timed..
    he runs a bit for maybe 5-6 frames? then he stops, anticipates the jump, then jumps.
    this is the part that makes me feel like this is an early wip. but the 1½ week work makes me wonder :)
    having him run for more frames would probably make him run further, and you probably don't want that.
    I'm gonna reference an animation I did some time ago, where I used the low poly TF2 SDK pack from here.
    the scout and heavy are at basically the same distance from each other as your guy and the robot. but instead of running forward, I made the scout slide into the pose where he gets ready to launch the heavy.
    I think your guy could do something similar instead of running. have him do a sideways spin, into the jump anticipation pose.

    that said. the jump anticipation would also look cooler if he was less symetrical, less forward facing the robot, and instead had his weight waaaaay closer to the ground, and then shoot up into yet another spin which would have him end up in the air shoot pose you have.
    that could be just a matter of taste though..

    but still, he just 5-6 frames runs into that pose, then flies into the air. I'd like to see a hold pose on that anticipation, where he collects power for the jump.


    also wanna see him in the air longer. holding his shoot pose for a bit more. it all passes by so fast now..

    and the land.
    needs a lot more weight and keyframes before he settles into the final pose.



    if you're still just blocking this out then I'm sure you're allready aware of these points in which case ignore whatever I've blabbered about x) and hope to see more!

    ref shit:
    youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=DYsV4R99xaY#t=60
  • heboltz3
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    heboltz3 polycounter lvl 9
    -JadeEyePanda: For sure, I'll add in some buffer time and make the scorpion flow way better.


    -thatAnimator. Thanks for the killer critique. Alot of it was totally what I had to hear. The majority of the work I've done so far has been on the shooting, so the run onwards is more of a timing blockout, with some main poses I really like in there.

    The main goal of the piece was to have a stylistically timed piece, and I think I lost that half way through, but the crits about the sideway spin, and axing the run will help to bring me back to it.
  • Trevor
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    Trevor polycounter lvl 4
    It looks a little iffy at the point where the final arrow hits the robots head, forcing it to the ground. From the first glance its just looks like there is something wrong with that final fall. The robots fall to the ground could be a little slower.
    The draw time on the bow during the jump looks to fast for the amount of force necessary to knock the robot to the ground that quickly, even if the arrow is hitting the head while the robot is initially off balanced.

    Since your going for a stylized look I would suggest you make the archers arms extend out and her legs bend more as she is landing to have a flashier recovery from the jump. The style of the finisher in the air looks awesome but the landing is a bit lackluster. When it comes to the rest of the jump animation I agree with Thatanimators comments.

    The robot hitting the ground looks a little off as well. It doesn't look right when the robots arms rotate almost 160 degrees while its legs are still falling to the ground. the arms should move a little, but not appear to snap that much. Even though it is a robot it could use some more ragdoll effects.
  • thatanimator
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    thatanimator polycounter lvl 6
    heboltz3 wrote: »
    so the run onwards is more of a timing blockout

    then we're on the same page! :)
    keep posting!
  • heboltz3
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    heboltz3 polycounter lvl 9
    Thanks for the crits guys!

    Trevor- Yeah most of the robot stuff is a after thought just to back up where I was with the WIP of the archer. I totally took your crits in about her landing tho, and you should check it out.


    thatanimator, thanks for the encouragement! check out my newest work :D


    tEsodY4.gif


    So, I started diving into the jump, slowing it down, getting a good arch, making the poses readable, and the action make sense, and then working on the anticipation of the jump, and the landing.

    I also realized halfway through that the landing was funky because the wrong leg was making contact first, so I switched that up and its giving me a much more stylized look I'm going for. Tomorrow I'm tackling the approach to the jump.
  • heboltz3
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    heboltz3 polycounter lvl 9
    So I've updated once again. Worked on the approach to the run, the relaxation period after the final shot and before the run and the recovery to idle after the entire attack.

    mMxrJUV.gif

    Instead of a run, I've modified it to be a small skip that leads into the large anticipation for the jump. I'm more afraid that the larger jump would be a bit unbelievable if I did idle sidesteps that thatAnimator suggested earlier.

    It's proving to be sore thumb of the animation, but I'll work it out. Robot is also on my to-do list.
  • thatanimator
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    thatanimator polycounter lvl 6
    now it's starting to make more sense! :) better timing and what not!

    keep cleaning it and this will turn out great!


    I think the timing of everything is cool, stylish and all that.
    still think the draw of the last arrow is too fast though, the first two are fast, but are at least readable. the third one just snaps into place.
    also, why is the character looking away before running? checking for more enemies? do we as viewers care about that? :) I mean, is it a valuable piece in the animation? it stands out to me right now, like, why is the character looking away? I'd rather not have that question in my head you know.. :) either answer it by showing what the character is looking at, or just don't have it in there.

    the run part looks way better now, and it'll be fine once you clean it up!

    good job on the jump also. very cool.
    the land is a bit too fast I think though, you're not selling the weight by doing it that fast, nor does it look all that fancy.
    I'd give it a couple of more frames, I'd like to see one key pose in there where the feet connect with the ground, before the rest of the character lands.

    also I very much like the idea with the third shot.
    it's a bit too fast right now, but that's connected to the jump/land overall.
    but if you go back and slow down the land a bit, I'd like to see the right arm extend behind the character, and have it extended as the character falls and lands, then land with the right arm still extended, with a nice pose on the fingers.
    right now it's all very compact, I think you could exaggerate the arms in places.

    mainly the jump shot, aaaaand the last shot actually.
    have the arm extend way back and hold it there, before going into the run.

    youtube.com/watch?v=BpCiGkznPTA
    @ 2:34
    kyudo does this a lot, leaving you in the last pose like that. I think it would be nice to do the same to your character..a bit :) but also more exaggerated with the arm at least.. :)
  • heboltz3
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    heboltz3 polycounter lvl 9
    Thanks again thatAnimator! :D

    I brought in some pull back motion on all of the shots similar to kyudo. Sped the run up just a tad, slowed down the fall, took out the look behind, and stuck the landing.

    I'm so close I can taste it haha.


    6CA748n.gif

    I think now, its just work on the robot and some polish and style to the flow of the ranger. I'm excited to wrap this thing up and start working on the next one!
  • Nizza_waaarg
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    Nizza_waaarg polycounter lvl 15
    Dude you're on polycount :)

    I suck at animation but yeah, you cleaned up that landing, think it looks rad.
    Hope you post more (and ryan was such a cool guy ^^).
  • heboltz3
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    heboltz3 polycounter lvl 9
    Yoooo, Thanks man!

    I'm making it my personal thing to post more. And yeah, I taught Ryan everything he knows :P


    Thanks for the crit, this is probably going to get done early next week some other stuff came up but rad!
  • Trevor
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    Trevor polycounter lvl 4
    I really like how you cleaned up the animation but one thing still stands out to me. The Archers landing seems really unreal to me and this thought comes from personal experience. It looks like the archer is taking most of her weight on her knee when she lands.
    Waaaay back when I was in middle school some jerk punched me in the back forcing me to the ground (really cheap shot). I took most of my body weight on one of my knees due to how I fell and my knee bothered me for a couple of years after.
    The landing might flow better if the archer landed on her feet and bent her legs thus absorbing the force of the landing.
    I seem to recall the female Night elf jump animation from WOW because when I see your archer I instantly think about Night elves.
  • jfeez
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    jfeez polycounter lvl 8
    I think you could tweak the landing a little bit more, i love the anticipation on the take off, really feels like she is leaping, the hanging in the air is also really nice, but then it feels as if she floats down to the ground(like gravity just doesnt affect her), i think if you speed up the end of the arc slightlyit will look awesome.
  • Iciban
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    Iciban polycounter lvl 10
    i think that jump at the end. Character should have a fast jump. Once at peak height, shoudl slow a bit then drop fast. Like how animators learn to animate with the bouncing ball. Just my opinion.
  • heboltz3
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    heboltz3 polycounter lvl 9
    Oh wow cool, thanks for the crits guys.

    With fresh eyes the fall will need some help, but it's just a matter of timing at this point.

    She's going to stick with the knee landing pose, because the fall is intentional, so she would understand how to land properly, and also he left knee doesn't actually touch the ground. Landing on her feet would break lot of the style I have in the end sequence, and compared to my top variation of the animation, I like it alot more. so I'll stick with my guns and polish out that timing.. and I guess I'll actually care about the robot now haha
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