Foxish animation - Feedback

MSaura

Hey hi!

I've been working on this animation for this foxish thing and I feel like something is not quite right, some parts feel a bit dull but I'm not sure if it's just me. Help and critiques would be really appreciated!

https://www.syncsketch.com/playground/a19f9ac0795d40eda23d147fdb9f10e7#1088877/1018041

tholmes3d

This is cool! Since it's a stylized piece, take all my critique with a grain of salt since there's no "right" way to do things. Overall I think you need to choose how dreamy things are at each point in the piece and make sure the timing and overall style reflects that. I like the idea of it starting off not dreamy and then the viewer slowly gets introduced to the magic of the scene, then returning to normal at the end, so my critique will be working towards that.

• Use more realistic timing for the first move where it rears up. Right now it feels floaty which doesn't match the little hops it does next. This is the time to clearly establish the style for the viewer so that you can break it later. The more the viewer thinks this is just a normal fox thing, the more fun it'll be when you take them on a floaty ride.
• I love how it walks up the invisible stairs. I'd push the timing of the little hop around f232 to make it sharper. This will contrast well with the floaty dreamy moves it will be doing next. This is a nice midway point where you've introduced a magical element but keep the fox in the style we are familiar with.
• Be very careful with the translation and camera moves as it's flying (around f277 and 346) there is a momentum change due to the characters location on the screen. This is killing the magical floaty feeling. Once this is smooth it should feel a LOT better.
• Make sure that arc is super smooth as it flips around f346. By this point I'd say screw realism and just make it look beautiful.
• The fall at 423 feels too harsh to be dreamy and too floaty be realistic. I'd choose one style for that moment and commit to it.
• Once it's on it's back, the piece looses grounding for me. Check out some reference or whatever you need to make sure that even if the movements are stylized, it still is based off a quadruped rolling over and getting up. I like how you've gone back to a more realistic style here instead of the floaty dreamy style.
• Overall it's really cool how you start and end with a more grounded realistic style, and give us a little peek at the magical floaty stuff. Can't wait to see your next update!

MSaura

Hey, just finished updating it! But first thank you so much, your advice is invaluable.
I think I have fixed the timing of the areas you mentioned, they indeed seemed out of pace. I've also been adjusting the camera curves to get smoother motion. I don't completely get what you mean about making the flying part more beautiful, I feel like it's pretty irreal already? I have tried making the motion slightly smoother, but nothing really different. Though I do get it in regards to the concept of normal fox-magic fox transition (great analysis btw!! I wasn't thinking about it in those terms before, but you really put words to it).

I've completely redone the last part where it falls down, tried to make it more realistic. I have to say I've found it's pretty hard animating a creature rolling on their back, but I guess that's what makes it interesting.

https://www.syncsketch.com/playground/b9023f131ffb4f94bc9666ada8ebc5ae#1096085/1032457

Please don't hesitate to point out the stuff that doesn't work! Thanks again Tholmes.

tholmes3d

This is looking much better!

• Thanks for calling me out on saying it should be "beautiful", hah. I was being lazy and non descriptive. What I should have said was, make sure the spacing and arcs are as smooth as possible, in order to push the floaty dreamy feel. Good example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qnQqXr838E
• During the first half of the piece, especially around f157, I'd do a pass at head direction to make sure the fox it looking at something specific, whether that's the viewer, the ground, or where it's going next. Right now it seems to be gazing generally off into space in front of it. Since you don't have eyes to animate, head movement it the next best thing you have to show thought and make this look like a living creature.
• F177 Check the balance here. It's making a turn and leaning to the outside of the turn which feels odd.
  
• Between 314 and 326 it speeds up into the flip. Try to keep the movement here as floaty and smooth as possible.
• Around 350, the whole bottom half of the screen is unused, and doesn't really contribute tot he feel of the framing. Before smoothing out the camera, I'd do a pass and think about what you want the framing to be conveying tot he audience with each change. I'm not great with camera's so I don't think I could solve the problem for you, but I do think this could push the piece further.
• For example, I think the piece would feel very different if from 200-245 you let him move to the left third of the screen instead of keeping him center screen.  This way he would have room to jump across the screen to screen right, and then back to screen left. Then because the camera is not doing so much side to side tracking, it could afford some up and down tilt to control the composition that way.
• At the end, you are so close to being back in the exact starting pose, why not just match that pose so the piece can loop? It works nicely with the pacing of the piece as well. (Oh, aside from the checker pattern on the ground, but I'm sure you could adjust some translation to fix that if you wanted to.)
• Not sure what to do about this issue, but around 308 there is much less color contrast between the fox and the background so it doesn't stick out as much visually. This is a bummer because for me, this is the highlight moment of the piece.

Keep up the good work!