Showreel 2015 am I junior level yet? Or am I in trouble?

Wysk

Hello everyone,

It's my first time posting here. I'm currently doing a animation program and I'm out in 6 months. I want to get a job in the videogame industry but I don't know if I have enough skill to work in AAA space as a junior? Also any critique about what I should take out of this reel or anything I should add is very welcome. 

Thanks
https://vimeo.com/145485610

heboltz3

Heyo!

The rendering in this reel is "mostly" very nice.  Lighting and presentation on the first 2 shots are really great, and kind of set the stage for your reel, but then theres a lot of differences after that.  My first crit would be to find a uniform rendering style, only because its distracting when some of the work isn't up to the presentation spec of the other bits.  Things that pop out for me would be the boy with hat, the biped work, and maybe the cat?

I like that you showed your assets in engine, but it took me a while (like the second cycle) to understand why this game animation was in your reel, only because the game was centered around the player character and not the enemy animations you worked on.  I think finding a better way to illustrate that right off the bat would help alot.  Maybe a side by side comparison of the in game vs the max file? This would also cut some of the fluff out of the reel as well,  Repetitive Duplicates  etc.

 Digging into the animation specifically, the first two shots are great and I could go into crits about them, but I think as far as seeking an animation opportunity in the AAA space, You are going to want to have more shots like that.  The biped animations are great in this regard too, but as I said they would probably just want to presented a bit differently.

Right now the boy and the cat seem like the weakest work in the reel.  I know you mention that you rigged the cat, and I think that would deserve it's own reel, as right now it kind of feels tacked on at the end. 

I know its a lot, and I hope this helps.  Overall the work shows great promise, but keep pushing to nail that jorb.  Keep it up!

Wysk

Thank you very much  
I have a rigging reel that is separated from this one so I could easily remove those shots with the cat and boy and I will do it.
As for the in game animation/biped animation it's work I did for a game company and they provided me with the footage.
I don't have access to the build so I couldn't make my own footage and center the attention on the ennemies and presenting them side by side could very well solve my problem!

Anyway thanks for the encouragements and I'll keep at it! I still like to know where I'm at with this. It's kind of hard to tell where one lies in terms of skills though. 

Rmunday

You definitely have the skills present to enter as a junior, I am at roughly the same place but sometimes even the best reels go unnoticed without that extra "Ummph" to the reel. To echo what Heboltz has said really nail the presentation, I am in the same position looking for that first industry role it can be disheartening to not get a job right away so make sure you have a back up plan such as a retail job lined up, part time is ace because you can earn enough to live but also have time to work on new pieces! 

Good luck to you, to get a baseline of skill just check out others work, see how long they have done what they have done, who they have worked for. Skill is a very difficult thing to measure in animation because of subjective things such as different peoples styles and nuances. 

I would honestly say you are better than myself even though I have animated on/off for 2 years so put in the effort now to really have it pay off.

brimblashman

I'd like to give a little feedback relating to the body mechanics on the first shot as with a few tweaks I think you can get that to be a nice opening.
First off, he accelerates extremely fast towards the block. But doesn't look like he generates enough momentum to physically do that. Between frames 103-120, he lights the left heel and places it back down. Try making him move forwards during this motion, exaggerating the arm swing more. With that left foot now more forwards, you'll be able to have a bigger push off into the jump, and the acceleration will be less jarring.
Frame 129-130, the takeoff, be careful with such symmetrical poses like this, and watch out for the raised toes on frame 130. You want to give the feeling that the feet have pushed down really hard so the toes will flatten out after leaving contact with the floor.
Finally, watch out for the arc that the head takes during the whole motion. If possible make a motion trail/spline that follows the motion. As the character moves over the box there's a bit of a whiplash effect as the head is very far forward then moves back again. For me it's breaking the flow of the motion up too much.

I liked the weird little monster, it had a nice sense of character to it, made me chuckle
Most importantly, keep at it! I was way worse at 6 months. For a junior role I look for potential and enthusiasm to be honest. People will want to see you have a good eye and an understanding of the basics of body mechanics, then they might send you an animation test  
I'd like to see a walk in there too   A walk is much harder to nail than a run, so if you can show a solid walk cycle that would be a bonus.

oh lastly your monster guy vanishes for a frame at 540

Hope this helps! And keep animating

slipsius

I think you`re close, but I think as your reel stands now, you`ll have a tough time getting a job. Not to say you won't at all. But it will be tough. I think you have some good stuff, but each shot could really use a polish pass. The biggest thing that sticks out to me is all your pops and twitches in your limbs. Having those present shows you aren't taking your anims to a polished state. 

I don't say this to discourage you though. If you fix the pops, you`ll have a much easier time. I know they can be super frustrating to fix. But that's the type of stuff employers will look for! Again, you`ve got some good stuff. You just need to put that time in to make sure they are finished up nicely. Show people you don't move on until it's done. Show you have an eye for detail. 

Keep pushing! In my opinion, you`re close. Very close.

Wysk

Thanks to all of you for your feedback!
I'm going to keep pushing and improve this reel, I'm relieved to know that I'm not as far as I thought and I've still got time to polish everything and get better
Good luck to all of you!