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[Weekly Theme 1] Idles

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A start to something great! Weekly themes, as suggested by "_adamturnbull".

It's real simple! Every week we will start a new thread with a "theme". You have the week to complete it (you can take longer if you want, but the thread won't be stickied anymore). Themes will be something easy that can be completed in a decent amount of time, so that those who can only animate on their lunches can also participate. It will also make it easier for newer animators to join in on the fun without feeling to overwhelmed.

Post all WIP and finished shots in this thread only, please.

You can use any rig you want. Creature, humanoid, mechanical. Whatever you want. Any rig. Any animation program. Here is a list of rigs if you haven't already seen the thread.

Please try to avoid using GIFs to share your work. Too many and the thread becomes very slow to load. Here are some tips for sharing your work on the forums. Vimeo and youtube, or dropbox. That thread tells you have to embed properly.

So what are you waiting for? Get animating!! This weeks theme? an Idle loop animation. Basically, someone breathing in one spot. Think of a game character when you don't touch the controller. They just stand there breathing.

Replies

  • Hito
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    Hito interpolator
    first pass, Andrew Helenek's DOTA2 rig
    AUnGjBN.gif

    any way to turn off Maya's auto triangulate thing? can see it in the cape texture when the triangulation flips
  • slipsius
    Not sure how to turn it off, Hito, but good stuff! I think the arm is moving a little too much. It looks more like a "come here" over and over. Not sure if that's what you`re going for.
  • LeeMeredith
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    LeeMeredith polycounter lvl 7
    [vv]135789033[/vv]

    Due to the rig being a squirrel, I went for a strong smelling scent and he's transfixed by it.

    I need to add overlap to the arms, work on the tail because it doesn't feel right and I think there's a pop in the nose twitch not sure.


    @Hito I agree with slipsius, the hand/arm could be toned down just a little unless you're going for the come here vibe.
  • LeeMeredith
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    LeeMeredith polycounter lvl 7
    [vv]135806366[/vv]

    Pushed the poses further and tweaked the tail a bit
  • Forty
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    Forty polycounter lvl 2
    Huh, what a coincidence, I was playing some fighters and just made this, only this afternoon!

    SJuyhG7.gif
  • Hito
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    Hito interpolator
    2nd pass; adjusted the pose a bit and toned down the left hand; added cape overlap (still needs some tunning there).
    ZGO5777.gif

    @Lee - Like it! I feel the body would have more movement, some up and down; as well as side to side swaying. A sideways figure 8 when viewed from the front. Can push the torso over forward more and tilt head up a little more, the arm would hang down and hands would be closer to the ground. alternatively the torso could be more upright, hands clasp together near the chest similar to a prayer position.

    @Forty - cool, very nice! The looping is a little uneven, she's coming out the left pose a little faster than the right...by only a frame or two I think. There's a soft "bump" in her left shoulder to smooth out. I like what you did with her left fingers, but it's uneven (x1 on the left pose; and x2 on the right pose). Can't tell if that's intended.

    look forward to seeing more!
  • _adamturnbull
    Looks like people got a headstart over the weekend! Strong start! I'll start mine on my lunch break today.

    @Hito - Looks great, the only thing I noticed was the left leg seems to snap back and forth when it straightens and looks a little unnatural, also the cape comes away from the arm making it look more rigid than it should when it might look better for it to flow over the arm and move with it (if the rig allows that)

    @Lee - Good start, maybe have more movement happening from the lower part of the tail so it moves in more of a wave motion rather than just up and down?

    @Forty - Love it so far, especially the pose and the hip movement but maybe exaggerate the figure of 8 movement a little more and offset some of the other movements (Eg. so the neck movement is slightly offset to the hip movement)
  • _adamturnbull
    Here's my first hour, still a lot of work to do but the basics are down. I'm using the World Zombination rig.

    [vv]135861971[/vv]
  • slipsius
    Adam, that is extremely hard to crit, or even see, really. Can you loop it several times before uploading?
  • _adamturnbull
    Sorry, I've re-uploaded it with a few loops now.
  • slipsius
    Good stuff, Adam! Being SUPER picky here, I think you can move the belly expanding/contracting up a few frames. Seems to be delayed just a tad too long. maybe 2 frames, tops? And the fingers are a little too stiff for me. Are they animating at all?

    Hito - That looks much better! the tip of the cape needs to be offset though. It looks like the tip is driving the rest of it, as opposed to the tip following the rest of it.

    Lee - Same deal as hito's cape for your tail. the tip seems to be the driving force. Here's a pic to kind of show how the tail should move.

    tail_principle.png

    Forty - Great start! But right now it's very pose to pose. Every piece of your body seems to change direction at the same time. If you offset your body parts, it will make a world of difference!
  • _adamturnbull
    slipsius wrote: »
    Good stuff, Adam! Being SUPER picky here, I think you can move the belly expanding/contracting up a few frames. Seems to be delayed just a tad too long. maybe 2 frames, tops? And the fingers are a little too stiff for me. Are they animating at all?

    Nah I haven't touched the fingers yet other than to pose them, will post a new update tomorrow!
  • slipsius
    Oh the joys of finding that first pose! Here's a peak at what will be my idle by the end of the week. :)

    AgentZ_ThreeQuarter.JPG

    AgentZ_Front.JPG

    AgentZ_Side.JPG
  • LeeMeredith
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    LeeMeredith polycounter lvl 7
    Third pass, played with the tail to try and get it natural not sure if I achieved that though. Also added some side to side and up and down.

    [vv]135884781[/vv]

    @_adamturnbull I'm still seeing the single cycle video but maybe it takes a while to refresh.
  • slipsius
    Much better tail, Lee! With how subtle the body movement is, I would personally tone down the tail though. You have the correct movement going on, just seems a bit much for the rest of the animation.
  • LeeMeredith
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    LeeMeredith polycounter lvl 7
    Yea you're right, I'll tone it down a bit. Love the look of the rig you're using and the pose is great.
  • Arturow
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    Arturow polycounter
    That pose looks so cool slipsius! remind me of Asura!
  • _adamturnbull
    Here's an updated version, started adding movement to the fingers and overall body movement. Will probably work on the head and tongue tomorrow.

    [vv]135965824[/vv]

    @slipsius - Loving the pose, looking forward to seeing what you do with the idle!

    @Lee - The tail is looking better but like slipsius said, since the body movement is so subtle I'd tone it down, either that or add more movement to the body.
  • slipsius
    Thanks all. Though, after showing the pose to several people at work, it got ripped apart. haha. So I`m going to do some tweaks, as well as several other poses before I decide which one to animate.

    Adam, that's looking really damn good! Looking forward to seeing what you do with that tongue. But for the stomach, I wonder... Is it expanding at the wrong time? It feels like it expands as he releases his breath (when he translates down), and contracts when he breaths in. Is that the type of breathing you were going for? I think it could work both ways, but the way you have it feels more like a super tense, aggressive type of breathing. Not so much a passive idle.
  • Hito
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    Hito interpolator
    slipsius wrote: »
    Thanks all. Though, after showing the pose to several people at work, it got ripped apart. haha. So I`m going to do some tweaks, as well as several other poses before I decide which one to animate.

    Really? What did they say? What you had reads well from all around, good balance, shows a whole lot of character. I supoose you could say it's not an easy pose to hold for a long time by a regular person... but it's got six arms! :D
  • slipsius
    Tweaked my first pose, and tried a different one. Thoughts? Better? Worse?

    Pose1.JPG

    Pose2.JPG
  • Cexar
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    Cexar polycounter lvl 6
    Stuff is looking cool here, I'm getting in on the action as well! I'm streaming atm on www.twitch.tv/cezardealmeida
    The plan is to make something with motion capture so that'll be a hoot.
  • Arturow
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    Arturow polycounter
    Hello! here is my blocking, using the Earthshaker from DOTA and rigged by Andrew Helenek :)! I think that I will add another camera to show it from the other side in the update D:

    [vv]135957076[/vv]

    @
    slipsius : I personally like the pose number 2 , with that pose it seems that its ready for everything !

    _adamturnbull : that looks so sick!!

    LeeMeredith : To me it seems that you can place the body a little back , I don't think the tail have that much weight in it to have the body that forward.
  • Cexar
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    Cexar polycounter lvl 6
    Arturow: Dope. If you make it a bit slower you'll sell the weight of the log more and make the animal feel larger. Other than that it'd work fine as an idle. If you wanna go crazy with it, make some alterations like looking left and right, changing hand grip or something.

    So I'm adding some pictures because Slip is a big fan of it... (sorry I'll make better renders soon!)

    Found a motion capture clip of a dancer. In between the moves she talks with someone and just stands still which became the basis of the idle. Then I just modified it to retain the amount of jitter into my fighter pose thing.

    lisabaseidle.gif

    lisaidle.gif
  • thatanimator
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    thatanimator polycounter lvl 6
    slipsius wrote: »
    Tweaked my first pose, and tried a different one. Thoughts? Better? Worse?

    Pose1.JPG

    Pose2.JPG

    this is fucking insane! love the character, love the pose!
    impressed that you managed to pose everything so extremely good! people have a hard time finding a good fit for one set or arms and fingers!

    the first one looks more like an idle, the second one more of a combat idle..
    whatever you wanna go for I guess..
    I hope you do more than just a world of warcraft breathing idle, maybe have it at least look around a bit, take a step back while looking 160 degrees back or something.. could be too repetative if you don't do quite a long idle ofc :)
    I tend to make a wow-breather as a base, then add a layer with fun stuff on it :)
  • _adamturnbull
    @slipsius - I think I prefer the second pose now, it will look awesome when all the arms are moving offset from each other.

    @Arturow - Good start! It would be cool to see more of the log on his back moving but it looks good!

    @Cexar - Looks cool, is the jitter in the left hand meant to be there or is it something left over from the motion capture?

    I didn't get much time today as I went out for lunch but added some tongue movement to my idle, its not perfect but its a start.

    [vv]136095606[/vv]
  • Hito
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    Hito interpolator
    I should have asked this question much earlier...

    What makes a good "Idle" cycle?

    Lets be honest, no living creature ever idles in anything close to a typical game idle cycle... it's generally nearly 0 movement except for breathing, broken up with short periods of small movements, shifting weight, looking around, etc. so it's not really about realism.

    What I typically see (presumably what gamers and designers expect) is a smooth looping loop 1 to 3 seconds long or some small repetitive motion around a base pose designed to show something about the character like it's baseline emotional state... benign, menacing, hyperactive, etc. To me it has to be not active enough to draw the eye while still active enough to keep the character alive in the player's peripheral vision. of course there are pretty broad variations to all this depending on the game type.

    personally I don't put much thought into an idle cycle, as long as it's smooth and fits the character that's enough. Maybe I should change that approach after seeing some of you all's cycles so far.
  • slipsius
    Ha, good question, Hito. And you're right. That was one of my challenges "growing up". I always wanted to animate super realistic idles, but, they can be boring, or way too subtle to even be seen in game. Most idles are boring though. They only become interesting when you insert "idle breaks". a look to the left, check your watch, scratch your face. stuff like that. But breathing loops. ya. Usually pretty boring.

    And on that note, here's my boring breathing. haha. I only had about 15 minutes today, since I also went out for lunch. But I wanted to get SOMETHING going. I think i`ll give my other pose the same treatment tomorrow, and decide which i like best before i start polishing. As is right now, it is quite literally 2 poses.

    I adjusted the pose a bit more last night before, so here's a pic. videos are links, since I dont feel like uploading WIP to vimeo. Plus, this way, you can scrub through.

    Pose1.3b.JPG

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14662692/Animations/Weekly_Themes/Week1_Idle/AgentZ_Idle_01_Front.mov

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14662692/Animations/Weekly_Themes/Week1_Idle/AgentZ_Idle_01_side.mov
  • _adamturnbull
    Nice work Slipsius, looking good so far. I did a bit more today but not enough for a new upload. Will post my final version tomorrow!

    Hito - An idle to me is just any kind of looping animation that shows off the personality / traits of a character in a discrete manner. Most of it is in the original pose in my opinion. Idle breaks are always great to make them more interesting.
  • heboltz3
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    heboltz3 polycounter lvl 9
    Cool stuff Slip! I wonder if you can add a bit of driving force to the hands on the ground that would get the entire motion moving a bit. Not too much bit just a litttle. Looking forward to seeeing this develop!

    I'll have to get in on this one. :D
  • Arturow
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    Arturow polycounter
    @ Cexar : Thanks!! I added more time for the recovery :) , I will try to add a variation to the Idle like you said ( hope to have time this weekend hehe ). Your idle looks good, still some tiny tiny pops in the knees and arms :p but I'm sure that you will fix that in the next version.

    _adamturnbull : Thanks :) I added a subtle movement to the Log! Your Idle keeps getting better and better , sorry but I don't have any notes haha. Great job :)!

    @ slipsius : that pose dude... ahaha looking great! just ( in my opinion ) I think that the screen upper right arm feels a bit disconnected from the other ones , maybe because its only going side by side? and not up and down like the rest

    Here is my second revison , added another angle for the back. Going to work the face next and fix small things :) (always hungry for feedback)

    [vv]136281200[/vv]
  • LeeMeredith
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    LeeMeredith polycounter lvl 7
    I'm having trouble deciding on what the tail should do, I had it up in the air but a friend said it's too heavy to be up there, so I tried lying it on the floor with a slight lift up. In squirrel reference it's up in the air, should I stay true to that ref or take into consideration the weight?

    [vv]136289789[/vv]

    Edit:

    This is it with the tail up for comparison :-

    [vv]136290268[/vv]
  • Rmunday
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    Rmunday polycounter lvl 9
    Real squirrels almost exclusively have their tails in the air, I believe the only time they have them down is when they are on thin branches for balance. You have to remember the squirrels tail is mostly just fur so won't be that heavy.

    From an animation standpoint the tail been up just looks nicer to me, maybe lower it a touch, right now it screams "Alert" at me while the face and body says "Mmm Nuts"
  • _adamturnbull
    Here's my idle for this week since its Friday, anyone got any ideas for next weeks theme?

    [vv]136301301[/vv]
  • slipsius
    Man, i am loving the participation in this!

    Lee- I prefer the one in the air. Good stuff!

    Arturow - Thanks for the crit! I like your idle! Though, you have a quick up, and a slow down, right now. I think I would personally swap those two. slow up, fast down. deep breath in, quick breath out.

    Adam, good stuff!! I think the tongue ended up working against it though. It's a great anim, but with the added tongue movement going the same speed as everything else, it feels a bit uniform. I would love to see that tongue to be more controlled, rather than just hanging there. almost like he's grabbing flies out of the air, or something like that.

    next week shall be locomotion. walk / run / crawl. Something of that sort.
  • Arturow
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    Arturow polycounter
    aw man I don't know if my post got screwed or something hahha , maybe im losing my mind. I will try to re do it :P

    @ slipsius: [FONT=&quot]Thanks! I will fix that! I have a quick down and up in his hips but I think rotations are messing it up. Thanks again :D[FONT=&quot]!

    [/FONT]
    [/FONT] @_adamturnbull : I agree with slipsius, the tongue feels disconnected from the movement

    @ LeeMeredith : I enjoy more the tail up pose :).

    Ah man I would love to do a locomotion challenge!! I wanted to do one to update my reel for videogames =)! 2 targets 1 arrow, thats awesome!
  • Spuggs
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    Spuggs polycounter lvl 2
    I'm catching the tail-end of this week's theme, but it's a good opportunity to flesh out some animations for a model I've had sitting around a long time. It's a creature with unique body mechanics so I'd like to hear others' insights

    Here's the idle.

    [vv]136340992[/vv]
  • Hito
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    Hito interpolator
    Probably about as far as I'll get for this one. Ramping up into 2nd GWS2 animation and a delivery next friday. Cape is improved from before, but still not quite right.
    [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CxpcKbzB6M[/ame]

    @adamturnbull, sweet1 only thing I see is the right foot/ankle is very still. you got a little bit of roll there, I think it can use a little up/down pivoting off the ball. otherwise it feels like the foot is made of stone.

    @Lee, tail up for sure. I see small movement like he's sniffing? Maybe instead of two small sniffs, do one big sniff with mouth closed that runs through the whole loop? Also could use a little finger movement

    @Arturow, nice! One thing I can't tell is if it's a basic loop, or a "tired" loop. If it's basic loop, I'd smooth out the top and bottom ease in/outs; if it's "tired" I'd open the mouth slightly (if possible).

    @slipsius, I can see it taking shape, looking forward to more polished versions

    @Spuggs, the dragon's pretty good, but the rider isn't reacting to the mount's movements. Needs a little sway to counter balance the dragon's movements.
  • kelly.shawn
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMRkm3PDffw

    Sorry this is my first post and I don't know how to have a player in the reply.

    I am a student at DAVE School and our last weeks projects was to do 3 animation cycles, one of which was an idle. We got the rig off the polycount forums and i came looking for more rigs, and saw this thread.

    This was the idle animation I turned in and thought I would post it here for more critiques. Thank you for taking the time to look at the animation and for any critiques.
  • _adamturnbull
    Thanks for the feedback guys, I might tweak the tongue when I get some time, looking forward to next weeks theme!

    @kelly.shawn - Nice! The only thing I'd have added is maybe abit more sway on the barrel of the gun but thats just me. The cape looks very light too, like its made of paper.

    @Hito - Looks good! I'd have offset the fingers and thumb a little more so they don't look like theyre moving in and out at the same time.

    @Spugg - Very cool but like Hito said, the rider doesn't react with the movements of the dragon.
  • Arturow
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    Arturow polycounter
    Hello again , this is my final version for the Idle , very fun challenge :)
    Thanks everyone with your feedback!

    [vv]136403979[/vv]

    @ Spuggs: Same as the comments about the rider , I think its better just to hide it if it dosn't have controls because that is costing you the rest of the amazing work :P. Also I think that the nose ring move to much , it seems to be visually heavy and currently seems lightweight ( just my opinion)

    @ Hito: sick work man! maybe he is rotating too much backwards or I don't know , I may be crazy :p , loved it. I failed you on the tired pose haha T-T I was going for a "I'm a powerful beast ready to anything" but I will try better next time :P! thanks!

    @ kelly.shawn : nice Idle!! :O! , I suggest you delay a little bit to lift the pistol to show some weight in it. Because now is lifting it first and then his body is going up :) and check this post about how to embed your videos :)http://www.polycount.com/forum/misc.php?do=bbcode#vv
  • kelly.shawn
    @ _adamturnbull - thanks for the critique on the cape and gun, it was my first time animating a cape and i wasn't quite sure how it to animate it. I will for sure go back to it and clean up the cape to make it feel heavier once i get time. Also when you say sway, just to clarify do you mean drag from the body or left and right motion?

    @ Arturow - Wow, i didnt notice the tip of the gun changing direction before the body, i just saw the gun moving with it. I will go back and add a bit of drag in to fix that.
  • Myriam
    Hi all! I hope I'm not too late... If I am, well too bad, I'll be quicker for the new one! It's still a WIP, but I'd like your insight please! Thanks!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DuiIbe4LZk&feature=youtu.be
  • linwail
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    linwail polycounter lvl 5
    @Myriam I think that you need a lot more work on the idle. The panther lacks overlap tail motion. That one thing would add a lot to the animation. I would also add some sort of shifting of weight. It can be subtle but I think it should be there. See if you can find any references to look at.
    It is a good start, but needs a lot more work! Good luck!
  • Hito
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    Hito interpolator
    @Myriam good to see you post! Took me some time to put my finger on it... I think the biggest issue is the panther doesn't feel feline. It's standing with head up, looking up, a lot like what dogs do often. I would lower the head so it's level or slightly lower than the shoulders, and tilt the head down so the eyes are looking under the upper eye lid instead of over the lower. I'd try it with almost mo movements in the body except for a slow breathing cycle. then swish the tail tip back and forth like cats do sometimes.
  • penOr
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    penOr polycounter lvl 7
    Bit late to the party but here's a flying idle WIP animation for a courier I'm working on. Will probably add some looking around variations to mix it up

    Pls polycount add embeded gyfcats =[

    Smooth gfy :thumbup:
    http://www.gfycat.com/ShallowHospitableEarwig

    Choppy gif :thumbdown:
    ShallowHospitableEarwig.gif
  • Kun
    Recently stumbled upon this thread, so late to the party too...

    [vv]136661204[/vv]

    Thanks to Giles Ruscoe for the model:
    http://www.polycount.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2160099&postcount=128

    Also thanks to Sand for his take on the rigging:
    http://www.polycount.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2212562&postcount=138
  • _adamturnbull
    Great to see more people joining in even after the week is over!

    @PenOr - Nice and smooth, looks great. It seems to stop falling too early though. His wings are still up in the air when he slows his fall which defies physics. Maybe just bring the wing flap in a couple of frames sooner?

    @Kun - Looks awesome, maybe smooth out the tail slightly as it seems to move quite suddenly when it moves to the right.
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