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First animations - feedback requested!

Warbeard
Warbeard
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Warbeard null
Heya guys,
Sorry I have to ask for help on my first post, but I don't really feel I have anything to contribute to other peoples threads yet.
I am in the process of building an animation portfolio for an animation school here in Denmark (the Animation Workshop) by friday night, and I was curious as to which things you guys thought should be included, and to hear your thoughts on the animations I put here.
Thanks! I'm Warbeard btw! :)

First walk-cycle - thoughts, criticism?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCUdcx5aKg8
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  • Arturow
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    Arturow polycounter
    Hello Warbeard , welcome to the forum :D

    For your first attempt is very good! you have some of the basics there but it lacks some of the standard walk cycle poses.
    - Your character hips are too low , it should have a nice extension on every step from the hip to the feet ( It can vary from character to character but I'm focusing on the vanilla walk cycle :) )
    - Nice overlap on the toes!
    - Your Upper body is not rotating or it  just doing it a little bit , it should counter match the hips rotation :)
    - The neck rotation it seems to be a little too much , it feels like an ostrich
    - Your arms seems to be a little messy in your curves ooooooor are you doing it on IK? because if that's it the case I suggest you use the motion trail to track those curves to avoid the robotic movement.
    - Good job!! don't hesitate to post more animations :) we are here to help each other

    Here are some reference if you need them :)
    https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/0c/bb/5d/0cbb5da178c8d1a79939f82d67a7027a.jpg
    https://robdesu.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/3019418_orig.jpeg
    https://www.google.com.mx/imgres?imgurl=https://courses.cs.washington.edu/courses/cse459/15au/assignments/assignment_5/images/front_walk_cycle.gif&imgrefurl=https://courses.cs.washington.edu/courses/cse459/15au/assignments/assignment_5/&docid=QhmN15nsIOB3wM&tbnid=rIgjf8yPA0JBOM:&vet=1&w=400&h=328&client=firefox-b-ab&bih=1103&biw=1920&ved=0ahUKEwjq0__onpjQAhUCHGMKHTHKCpMQMwhKKCMwIw&iact=mrc&uact=8

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9N_sIBRWvY




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  • Warbeard
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    Warbeard null
    Hey Arturow, thanks so much for your comment! :) I'll definitely look at the examples you posted!
    I am indeed using full IK, as I don't really know how to do anything else. How do I use the 'motion trail'?
    I had already started a second animation when I saw your comment - originally he walks up to the pedestal, but if the walk-animation isn't good then I can do without it.
    Here is the second one:

    https://youtu.be/UZLk-bCLhcg

    I'll get to work on improving the walk when I get home :)

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  • _adamturnbull
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    _adamturnbull mod
    Hey man, for the sword grab I think you need to work on your timing and arcs. Here are a few things I noticed:

    0:00 - Left leg pops as it bends, to avoid this don't start the pose with the leg fully stretched
    0:01 - The movement into the grab seems very slow
    0:01 - His wrist also looks broken at this point, bring his elbow back and have some overlap on his hand
    0:03 - Sword seems to come out vertically even though it is not at a verticle angle. Try having the sword pointing straight upwards or have it come out at the angle it is currently facing.
    0:03 - Eyes are still looking at the stone as he pulls it out. Maybe have them look towards where he is going.
    0:03 - Left wrist / arm looks broken. Try having his hand in line with his arm instead of pointing outwards.
    0:03 - Try having the arm higher as he brings it over his head and then bring it down to where it ends so there is more of an arc.
    0:04 - There doesn't seem to be much weight on his final pose, try bending one of the legs slightly to show that he has more weight on one side.

    Try acting it all out and filming yourself if possible to see timing and poses.

    Just a few things to consider on your next pass! :) Keep them coming!
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  • Warbeard
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    Warbeard null
    Hey Adam, thanks for the feedback :) I'll look into it now! I know the animation is slow, I had originally sped it up in post, but I felt this better showed an area I knew to be lacking.
    Edit: I updated the sword animation looking through your pointers:
    https://youtu.be/CFsTwx2DoWY

    Edit2: I updated the animation again, trying to add more weight to the pull from the right leg.
    https://youtu.be/YHKYv3AFSEE


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  • Warbeard
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    Warbeard null
    Hey again guys :) I updated the walk-animation with the notes - thoughts?
    https://youtu.be/KSAE2SnVaJA

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  • _adamturnbull
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    _adamturnbull mod
    Hey man, definitely getting better! Here are a few more quick notes you might want to consider on your next pass.

    Sword Grab
    • His fingers are too straight before the grab, I'd give them a more natural curl with a bit of overlap.
    • His arm goes through his head as he lifts the sword
    • His shoulders / torso and hips on the final pose look very horizontal, you probably want his right shoulder higher and left shoulder lower. Same for the hips.
    • I'd have the body lower a little as he lands on his right foot to show that the leg is taking its weight.

    Walk
    • His body seems to move backwards when the right foot does but not when the left does (it might just be the camera angle).
    • Think about how he transfers his weight. As his leg is moving across the ground it should push him up and forwards, then as his leg lands his body should come down and the leg takes the weight.
    • Again, his fingers are very straight.
    • His neck seems to move forward like a chickens does when it walks, maybe try taking the neck movement out and just having a subtle head bob.
    • At the end of the loop everything comes to a stop, are the curves flat? Try lining up the curves so it looks like it is constantly moving.

    Try walking yourself and observing what your body is doing and how the weight is being transferred. I know it s hard to walk naturally when you're observing yourself but it helps to feel it.

    Keep it up!

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  • Warbeard
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    Warbeard null
    Hey Adam! Thanks so much for your tips! :)
    I agree the headmovement looks weird - I was something I had looked at before, but couldn't really find anything then - I did manage to cancel out the ostrich-ness though. I think I included a frame too much the last time, but I also smoothed out the curves here.
    https://youtu.be/R2DLQXXczho

    In the sword-grab I didn't even notice his arm went through - nice catch! :) I turned his head, rotated his shoulders and hips more, and added a bit of bump to his landing.
    https://youtu.be/jjuFfGzRYQs

    Here's a new animation I made - he feels a little out of balance to me, and I don't like the push when he lifts the box, but I am unsure how to fix it.
    https://youtu.be/91i5_PrKFb8

    Thanks again! :) I'm going on vacation now, and probably won't have a chance to change anything until I get back, but I really appreciate the feedback!



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