[Riot Contest Entry] - Rafael Gonzalez - Little Grim
polycounter lvl 6
Hey guys,
Back again with my second entry (and the only one I'll actually finish) and just wanting to get a thread rolling.
I'll be using this little grim reaper character I worked with for a school production. Cute character and a fantastic rig so I'm pretty excited
Back again with my second entry (and the only one I'll actually finish) and just wanting to get a thread rolling.
I'll be using this little grim reaper character I worked with for a school production. Cute character and a fantastic rig so I'm pretty excited
Replies
I'll be working on adjusting the timing throughout, just getting a general feel for it atm. I have the different bits of the loop blocked and now I want to make them transition a bit more smoothly.
Also, for the bit where he falls forward I'm planning on doing real cartoony, road runner-esque spinning arms as he tries to catch himself. I'll have a go at pushing that bit soon.
Thoughts and critiques welcome and please
Besides these points that aren't actually even animation related, it's a lovely piece. Super interested in seeing what kind of attack you come up with!
I'm really trying to get the limbs reading in unison as they help to balance his weight. I still feel there's a few bits where certain limbs moving aren't affecting the body like they seem they should. Hmm.
@Zuangster : Thanks for the feedback man. I most definitely plan on adding some movement to the scythe, let it travel in arcs and bob up and down. I'm planning on finishing little Grim's anim first, then parenting him to the scythe and working more on the scythe anim then.
And yes, you read it perfectly. He's meant to be playful, seemingly caught up in doing his own thing, but you really don't want to mess with him !
Only worry is that it might be a bit too repetitive for a cycle. Both would work great as a locomotion fidget to break up the monotony of just flying around, but as a constant cycle It might be a bit too much.
Maybe add in a few seconds of real subtle surfing animation both before and after and then it will be a great locomotion loop.
Overall the motion is great, so don't get discouraged! I'm just not so sure it works as a cycle.
@heboltz3: Thanks dude. I had similar concerns in mind but decided to go for it aye. At the moment I've left it as is, but once I return to polishing the walk it should be relatively easy to add some subtle surfing anim.
I've got the walk through a first spline pass, and I'm leaving it for now to get started on the ULT since time's runnin'. I need to go through and polish contacts, add finger anim and polish scythe anim as well as pops here and there. If I have time, I'd like to make the body react more to the flying movement of the scythe, something I've overlooked somewhat.
How it's looking from game view currently. Thoughts ?
Is it me though, or his path a bit bent? it's almost like he's moving sideways with his sickle instead of straight ahead
leaning a bit on the right, till half way, then leans back to the left...
but that's the path only, cycle alone looks good
I ran into a bit of a pickle today working on my ultimate attack.
So, I've begun blocking out the idea I had since the beginning. However, it doesn't feel as dynamic as I visualized it, and I've received similar mixed feedback from my peers.
Any thoughts ? I like the initial section, but the ending slashes feel quite standard. I'm thinking of doing a spiral attack instead, where little grim flings the scythe and it spins in place rapidly hitting the opponent.
FYI He has a second of idle in the beginning before the ult initiates when he pretend faints.
I'm going to sleep on it and hopefully wake up more inspired and creative. Thanks in advance for any help !
So I've had a go at speeding it up and making it more flashy and I've ended up with 3 slightly different ideas I'm liking.
I've sat on these the last day or so and I think I'll be polishing B. IMO it reads a bit cleaner from game cam, it distracts the least when active (allows focus on game FX) and I think if I get the timing spot on I can get the most impact out of the massive slam down. I also like that it loops ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°).
Do you guys agree with my thinking here ? Would be great to hear your opinions
A
B
C
Also, I've never maintained a thread with so many GIF's before. Could you guys let me know if its loading slowly for you or not ? Just wondering that as I keep updating it aye. Thanks.
I like C the most because it feels more natural. This is shaping up real well!
edit: Not sure anymore. I think what was off when I first looked at it was how he flies backward. If you can try to sell that he can fly that far back from the thrust then I think they could all work....not really helpful sorry haha
I agree with B being stronger than A (I didn't even notice the spin the first couple of times, just read as noise at a glance), but I'm not convinced that B is the "tightest" animation. If I had to pick any I would go with C. Its telling the same story as the other animations, but it wraps up very nicely and you dont have to worry about the back to idle section, or for that matter, how the scythe would float back with Grim.
From a gameplay perspective as well, I think (at least in my experience with the mobas Ive played) most champions that have a Melee/rush based Ult do not return to idle, so I wouldn't really worry about having to have that happen in your animation. (i'm going through the same question myself on my entry, and I'm planning on having him stick his ground around the enemy post attack.)
I'm also not really sold on the "falling off the scythe" start to the sequence. If this is his ult, his super mega badass facemelter of a maneuver, and he is cerebrally starting the movement, I imagine he would be much more precise like "Alright. I am going to kill you now" Instead of a "whooops better make this fall worth while" A tiny jump or some sort of small acrobatic maneuver at the beginning would have the same "wow factor" effect I think, but it would spearhead the entire animation into a very purposeful direction.
Keep it up man! Hope it helps
I'm surprised C has two votes. Personally, the ending swing to C would be the most fun to animate, but I thought it took away from impact of the slam since he seems a bit casual about it. With a slight shift in perspective, I could easily sell that as the playful character he is, so it's suitable.
@Daew: Yeah, it was always going to be tricky to sell that force fly backwards, though I think the game FX's would help heaps since the slam down would cause a magical explosion of sorts. But good to know you think C is most natural.
@heboltz3: I appreciate the experience with MOBA's approach to your thinking. Admittedly I haven't played one before as enticing as they seem, so I'm lacking that sort of thinking. Good to know most champs don't return to idle post attack.
I've had similar comments from friends on the falling of the scythe. I really like it tbh, and I'm playing towards the character being childish and playful even as he approaches his ultimate attack. Its meant to read more like he pretends to get hit so he falls down, so I'm going to revise it and try and make it read better.
Also, your 3 attacks look nice. I think C is the most powerful and smoothy one.
Very good work
Unfortunately, Photoshop is messing with me tonight, and the timing of the GIF's is not correct to what I've been animating. They're a bit slower, and it's softening a lot of the actions. But it's close enough (too my tired eyes) to share and keep my thread going
Any last bits of feedback welcome, I'll spend the next couple of days polishing away tid bits like everyone else.
I'd speed up the first sickle swing, and the final landing
Like Evanescfan said, speed up the first move and the landing of the animation, and it will be perfect