Am I using reference shots as a crutch?
Hi!
I am having a hard time with body mechanics for humanoid characters and have been heavily relying on shooting my own reference footage. I know that having references for art is almost a fundamental to have but I feel like I'm not learning, just copying and adjusting my animation according to my references. It just feels like other animators don't reference every motion in their animation.
Do I just keep doing what I'm doing and eventually I will figure out how the body moves or is there another way to go about this?
Any help would be appreciated since at this point it feels like I'm overthinking it!
Portfolio:
https://www.artstation.com/carlsjoelander
I am having a hard time with body mechanics for humanoid characters and have been heavily relying on shooting my own reference footage. I know that having references for art is almost a fundamental to have but I feel like I'm not learning, just copying and adjusting my animation according to my references. It just feels like other animators don't reference every motion in their animation.
Do I just keep doing what I'm doing and eventually I will figure out how the body moves or is there another way to go about this?
Any help would be appreciated since at this point it feels like I'm overthinking it!
Portfolio:
https://www.artstation.com/carlsjoelander
Replies
First of all, even experienced animators use tons of references. That's a thing you're going to do and that's never going to go away! If you analyze what drives the movement in your references, your understanding of body mechanics will improve and it's probably going to feel more like you're doing your own work and not copying.
Couple of things you want to really understand:
- Center of gravity (COG, or center of mass): How does your character's COG moves depending on his pose. If you lean your torso to the right, your hips are going to push left to keep you balanced. If you know how to identify your COG it becomes easier to create poses outside of your reference.
- The human range of motion (ROM): The normal rotations our joints can do (the hand, for example, can rotate outwards (pinky finger-side) to about 45 degrees, but only 10ish inwards). They're not numbers set in stone in real life and definitely not in animation, but if you understand the average body's limitations, it becomes easier to create and exaggerate poses and motion.
- Understanding what drives the movement: Is it an action or a reaction? If you start walking, it often starts with the hips throwing the body forward. Most voluntary movements start at the core of the body. If you get pushed or shot however, then the body reacts to an outside force and has to try to compensate.
With that said, all of that knowledge comes with experience. Don't look for a big ol' book you can study for hours. Keep shooting reference, keep animating, try to exaggerate your poses and timing, do poses exercises and share your work! Feedback will help you the most.Your shots on artstation are also pretty good and none of them feel like you were tied down to your reference. You're definitely on the right track, just keep moving forward.
Small tip about the FPS animations: Game studios have certain rules about gun animations, which change depending on studio and projects. The most common one is having a zone, often a circle or ellipse in the middle of the screen, that will never be obstructed by any animation whatsoever. You obviously don't need to show that zone in your shots, but you can do it in your viewport while animating so if you put it in your portfolio and apply in a studio that works on a lot of shooters, the lead animator looking at your shots will notice that detail.