Failed Riot Animation Test - Please Crit

slipsius · Nov 2012

Hey guys,

Recently I did an animation test for Riot Games (League of Legends). I didn't get it. I was just hoping for some crits on the animation or insight of why I may not have. I didn't get any feedback from the company, even after asking for some, but I asked and they said I could post it if I wanted.

The test was to do 2 animations. The first being a jump attack with lead in (a few steps). They wanted a snappy animation style with good rythym and timing. The second was a walk or run.

Here's what I did. I had a lot of fun with the test.It was my first animation test, which was exciting / nerve wrecking. The snappy timing is something I havent done before, so learning the style was fun, and I think it turned out well. Some of you may have seen some of this while I was in the google hangouts. Also, Im posting dropbox links for the quicktime version so you can scrub if you want.

[ame="

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-0SD3wMGYk"]Riot Animation Test - Attack - YouTube[/ame]
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14662692/Animations/RiotAnimTest/StefanLipsius_Attack_Playblast.mov

[ame="

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeCWBXxOw7I"]Riot Animation Test - Run 3/4 view - YouTube[/ame]
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14662692/Animations/RiotAnimTest/StefanLipsius_Run_34_Playblast.mov

[ame="

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ESPqgacErM"]Riot Animation Test - Run Front View - YouTube[/ame]
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14662692/Animations/RiotAnimTest/StefanLipsius_Run_Front_Playblast.mov

[ame="

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjvTfVs7qwM"]Riot Animation Test - Run Side View - YouTube[/ame]
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14662692/Animations/RiotAnimTest/StefanLipsius_Run_Side_Playblast.mov

In Hind sight, there are a few things I would do differently. The attack, I really like the timing, but I made 2 mistakes. The second attack isnt as big as the first, so the animation is winding down, rather than ramping up over time. The second mistake is that the second attack is essentially the same as the first. So I would change that. Instead of an up down motion, I would do a down up, or something like that. an Uppercott or something.

Also the run needs some work. Especially in the arms. I do like the timing. but my workflow was different than normal since I was learning the new style, so I ran out of time with all the fixes I had to do.

Any crits would be greatly appreciated. I don't know when I`ll be able to get to it to fix anything that may be wrong. Because of the test, I fell behind in iAnimate class, so Im playing catch up. But I would like to hear anything so I can try and fix it when I get time, or use the info for future animations. What to look out for.

Thanks everyone!

ae. · Nov 2012

Always love seeing animation stuff in the forums, hopefully you can get some good crits!

SimonT · Nov 2012

I'm not an animator but maybe the walking is a bit "stiff". Not sure...but the attack looks a bit more like a "dance" than a brute force attack. It has something artistic in it. They're not bad at all - maybe just the style wasn't their taste? Good job anyway!

praetus · Nov 2012

The best way I can describe the animation from the attack is "floaty." While it has a good rhythm to it, the snappiness that they are looking for is not there. There is almost too much lead up to the attack (and by that I mean the jump and float not the running). The best thing I can think of as an example of snappy animation is some of the scenes in "Kung Fu Panda." There is very little lead for the attacks they just happen. It feels almost as if you're just looking at the "key" frames and not the tween animations. Forgive the terrible quality but this is the only clip on youtube I could find that shows off what I am talking about.

[ame="

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6tWx2p8sOk"]Kungfu Panda_Best kungfu fight scene of all time - YouTube[/ame]

As for the run animations they feel as if he is skipping along rather than running. There is too much vertical movement and the run doesn't feel as if there is power behind it.

Don't get me wrong, these are fun animations but I think they are missing that snappiness they're asking for.

Leb · Nov 2012

I like the timing on the attack animation and flow of it. But ya I think it could be more "snappy"

As for the run I agree with what you and praetus said, seems more like a skip a bit and needs more power for his size.

Not a animation expert but my 2 cents.

Also, this might help for reference. Can load models and animations that you could look at if you hadn't already. Might help with the style of animations.

http://www.lolking.net/models

slipsius · Nov 2012

Thanks guys.

Praetus - I think you're the first person who said the attack feels floaty. But, looking at it, if you are talking about just the jump up, I can see what you mean. I was a little torn with the attack. I wanted to match it to the LoL style, but the first thing about it is that none of the abilities (that I saw anyways) have a lead in with a few steps. They either run using the run cycle, or they dash / teleport. But the test said specifically, take a few steps. Same with the run, I tried to match the style, and actually, I think I did pretty well with that aspect. Even some friends that play the game a lot thought so. It's floaty, but with weight on the steps. Personally, I think a lot of the walk cycles in the game are floaty. But, admittedly, I had difficulties figuring out the style because they apply speed modifiers to everything. Speeding up and slowing down the anims according to attack speed and run speed.

Edit- Leb.... o..m...g.... That link would have been so useful before. FFFFF..... And now I see so many mistakes!

loneraver · Nov 2012

I'm no expert in animation but here are my thoughts.

- I thought the attack animation looked really good.

- The run animation wasn't at the same level as your attack animation (imo)
For the amount of bounce i thought the upper body looked a little stiff. Specially the arms seemed to lack motion to me.

Would be nice to see the run animation from the players perspective too.

If it makes you feel any better i applied to the FX position and didn't even get a reply

Stromberg90 · Nov 2012

I really like the attack anim, flows really well

What I think is the main "problem" with both these two more on the run that the attack is the lack of weight to them.
I mean the character type is pretty heavy, so a bit more weighting will only look right I think

StephenVyas · Nov 2012

The attack doesn't feel floaty, but what's happening is everything is hitting at the same exact time.

The timing to get the snappy feel, you have, is going in the right direction.. though the spacing for most of other body parts, including the torso, is matching his arm spacing. They don't have a separate feeling of mass

What helps to amplify the snappy nature of animations is to
*Delay certain body parts from moving from the last hold, then quickly zipping to the next
*Leading with the pelvis, before anything else gets initiated
*& prolonging the anticipation hold. The contrast between the timing to go from anticipation.. then to attack.. is what i find makes snappy animation such an interesting style to watch
(It's like looking at a piece of white paper. Then placing a piece of black paper right next to the white piece. All of a sudden, the white piece of paper looks that much whiter.. for some reason. the same principle goes for anticipation and attacking.)

I could probably type about this for days&weeks, but I just don't think I'll hit the mark by mashing on a keyboard

That said, keep going. Your not that far off

slipsius · Nov 2012

Loneraven - Thanks man. Ya, I agree, the run isnt as polished as the attack. Changing up my workflow to get the style was probably a bad idea. Running out of time sucks. But, now I know for next time!

Strom- I absolutely agree, now that I can more easily view the LoL ingame animations with that model viewer. So many things I would do differently if I would do this again.

Stephen - Awesome notes, Thanks so much. I`ll have to put those into action next piece I do!

Failed Riot Animation Test - Please Crit

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