Animation Fight Sequence
polycounter lvl 8
Hey guys, I'm looking to get some feedback on a little animation I'm working on. The meshes are the supplied ones from Pre-Dom War. Still WIP and the shots are not the final camera angles, just for critique.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/21367267/domwarwip.mov
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/21367267/domwarwip2.mov
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/21367267/domwarwip3.mov
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/21367267/domwarwip.mov
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/21367267/domwarwip2.mov
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/21367267/domwarwip3.mov
Replies
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However seeing no one else is helping you for this one time. I suggest to remove a lot of twinning in your poses. Timing is too slow on the 2nd one. Also the curves look like they need to be smoother.
Edit: I am just saying that twinned motion and poses can make a character seem very robotic. Just break up the timing so one half goes a few frames earlier/slow if needed.
-Another thing I see is that you're not working in all axis' in your movement.
-Anticipations or Reactions/Results are too short
Fix what I suggested, and It will make the performance more interesting I guarantee.
I agree about the twinning, I haven't gotten to fixing that yet as that is usually one of my last steps. But I'll definitely work on my antics/reactions too.
Say what? I strongly disagree with this. This is a game art forum. 3D Animation is just as much a game art form as any other discipline. If someone wants his animations critiqued, he has every right to ask for it, just like everyone else, you don't just chase them off to another forum. What kind of an attitude is that?
Sukotto:
It's a shame that I missed your thread, since it was a bit buried under the other threads.. I would have posted way sooner.
I think people didnt post here because, as you might have already seen, there's a really cool contest running atm (Darksiders 2 weapon contest).. And there are a LOT of contest entry threads.. So people probably didnt see your thread here.
To your animations:
Overall you did a good job, I especially liked the smash to ground animation, cool stuff!
To the critique:
Try to minimize the pauses between the different movements as much as possible. Pauses like in your sword attack animation:
The guy with the sword attacks, the other one blocks. Pause. He disarms the sword-guy. Pause. He then hits him. Pause.
Try to keep your movement as fluent as possible, without these unnecessary pauses.
They are good if you want to display weight, energy or reluctance etc. but not as much if it divides your animation into sequences. That breaks the flow then.
Also, you could exaggerate your poses way more. Strong poses make an animation twice as dynamic and interesting
When the one guy receives the punches, exaggerate the getting-hit-pose! Try to display the force of the punch and the impact of said punch to the body!
The sword guy could have a really menacing and aggresive pose, like that (but still fitting to the character):
Okay the character above is a cartoony character, yes, but the exaggerated pose really drives the animation, even when it's realistic characters that move.
Also use stronger anticipation poses, that really supports the momentum-building of the hit!
The timing of a fighting sequence is also a crucial part. Think of fights as "dances". In some chaotic way, fights are choreographed. One or more characters act, one or more characters react and then vice versa.
You could try to make everything happen quicker and smoother (in terms of timing and spacing): fast punches, strong impacts. Similar to what you did with the jump n' smash animation (your second animation, if i remember correctly)
But you've got some a really cool start right there, if you keep at it the fights are going to look awesome!
Keep going man!
You have the right ideas in a lot of your motions, but the timing is off.
For the sword swing, he should be in a much more dynamic pose. I went to google and did a terrible search for sword swing, and found this.
Note how, even in it's cartoon child glory, how exaggerrated his body is. He's uncoiling his body for the attack. Look at the C-curve being made by his arm, into his body and his legs. Your character needs to hit a pose like this.
Then on the swing, each part of the body starting in the hips needs to lead the attack. Hips start twisting first, then the spine, then the shoulder, then finally the arm and the sword. He should continue to follow through, even if it's being blocked.
The guy catching the blade needs to reach his hand out to meet the blade, and then have it be absorbed and brought back in to him. His whole body needs to move and shift to show that he has taken on that force. This will help to sell it.
When the horned dude's sword got flung away his whole body should rotate as well or even stagger. The hangtime lasted too long too IMO
Other than that very cool,looking forward to your final pass
MIAIx: Thanks! I'll try to get rid of the pauses but how would you recommend I shorten those and make the antic poses more dynamic? Bigger movements need bigger/longer antics don't they? I'm just a bit confused on how I can get rid of the pauses if I need bigger anticipations?
Bubblegum:Thanks man. I agree about the sword swing, I'll try to reword his posing in it and the catch of the blade.
Joe: Thanks! I'll be reworking the stagger a bit. I kinda wanted the hangtime to be like that, almost in slow-mo but I'll see if I can tweak it.
I also think I've noticed something else about your animations. Most moves seems to be in complete unity, no secondary motion or similar. Go with the BubblegumTate's advice of leading the punches/swings with the hips. You can almost think of the arm as if it's "lagging behind" and then powerfully snaps. This of course can change the style of the character a lot, sometimes this doesn't work well but it could be worth experimenting with.
In your pauses, try using those timings to use opposing motion. The big guy could be moving slightly backwards charging his swings by using the leading motion of the hips that BubblegumTate mentioned. It appears that it is what you're trying to do but I think it will look less awkward by working on the leading motion.
I think with some polish you'll have really good looking animations, as it is now some awkward timings is kind of ruining it and if you get rid of them you're one big step in the right direction.
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Some references showing similarities what I'm trying to get at.
http://youtu.be/O7Vh8tVPjHk?t=26s (punching sequence from Hajime no Ippo)
http://youtu.be/YjKBa1RU2P4?t=1m19s (Hulk vs Abomination, notice the anticipation poses to exaggerate each punch)
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For the first video:
-The movement on the sword swing forward seems to follow a weird arc. I'd suggest bringing it more from the side than up, and drag it behind the rest of his turn.
-The dude grabbing the blade should anticipate grabbing the sword more. He barely does more than reach out with his forearm. Movement with some force to it usually starts from the hips, so try leading from there, through the arm and then snatch the blade with the hand. Similar idea for when he tosses the sword aside--he should anticipate that action more as well.
-The hand that grabs the blade shifts while holding it, which would probably cut up his hand. You either need to put a constraint on it to keep it in place
(or some equivallent--not sure which program you're using), or manually put it in the same spot on each frame while he's holding it.
The second video:
-As the big guy falls, he should fall with more delayed action. Right now it looks like everything comes down almost at the same time. Instead, delay the arms, upper body, head, etc more.
-Try to bring some more settle or even just slight movement into the fallen guy. Once he finishes falling, he goes completely dead. Bring at least a little movement or settle back into him so we know he's not just an object.
Hope this was helpful, keep it up!