Hi all,

I'm starting this whole animation gig.

Level 1 and Level2 can be seen at:

http://sylvander.googlepages.com/animationbootcamp

I've just started on level 3, I'll post it once finished.


Steve

Steve,
I like what you have thus far.

In your first (the bouncing ball) the defiance of gravity kind of steals the show.
While the brain of this viewer (me) is trying to catch up as lot is missed.
I want to suggest maybe inverting the whole image and making pendelums out of them but I'm not sure what your after.

The repetition is nice and creates some opportunity to exploit the beats.
Balls come together.
Balls come together.
Balls come together.
Whoops!

Its like the set up to a joke... and that part works.
I like.

Your running man is a nice start too.
If you would make another pass with a focus entirely on weight I think you might nail this one.
Where I'm distracted and miss the telltale signs of weight is in the anticipation just prior to jumping and in the recovery at the end of the jump.

In both cases of these animation the missing fact seems to be gravity.
Focus on weight and you'll have that too.

I like your nice and simple website!
Makes it easy to find your animation for review.

Rodney

Hi Rodney,

Thanks for your comments, I totally agree, the lack of weight in the characters needs attention.

I'll give it another go starting with the running ball. I like your suggestion of pendulums instead of balls, it gives me an idea...

Thanks again for helping me.

Yours

Steve

The running ball needs weight, definitely. He floats! :shock:

I like your setup for all these, and I can't wait to see the tweaks.

Thanks Goodguy20k and Rodney,

I've attempted the running ball again, however I'm still not happy with it. Think of it as an interim step.

The files can be seen on:

http://sylvander.googlepages.com/animationbootcamp

I feel that my timing is just too rushed in runningballattempt2.mov. I don't have the time I need to get the squash and stretch to convey a sense of weight.

I re-edited the file in twos (if its good enough for Aardman) and all it suggested to me was "Egg Council Creep!".

So, do you guys think the problem is in my timing of my run cycle? That is, its too frantic.

In the mean time I'll give the run cycle another go.


Thanks

Steve

Here's what I see:

The ball is constantly moving forward. The weight never really changes from side to side. When the toes push off, there isn't a feeling of weight.

*Wishes he had Rob's digital ink and pen to draw on the animation*

When you swap on to one of the feet, move the hip over it more. As you push off of one foot, move the hips forward and as you land, move them backward. One last thing I noticed. In the passing frame (when the not weighted leg is passing to the front), try pointing the toes DOWN, so the heel is straight above the toes. Right now, the toes always are in front. I think that'll help remove the floating.

Hi Goodguy20k,

Thanks for you advice,

I gave the running ball another go, this time I changed the timing/pace to allow for more room to move. I have also followed your suggestions.

The mov files can be found on:

http://sylvander.googlepages.com/animationbootcamp

The file called runningballattempt3.mov shows a semi-front on view, and the file called runningballattempt3cam2.mov show a semi-profile shot.

The little runner has some weight now.

Any criticism welcomed.


Thanks

Steve

I like the leg motion in runningballattempt3cam2.mov.
There is something odd about the ball itself in the squash and stretch of it.
It looks a bit like a balloon which is not in and of itself a bad effect.

I'd be interested in seeing the ball itself if you were to make the feet invisible and render it again.
Opportunities for improvement will often show themselves when you isolate the variables.

Hi Rodney,

That's a great tip, hiding the legs and just showing the body. To me it showed that the squash and stretch were too erratic and quick, so I reduced the amount of squash and stretch, and held it at the top and bottom of the curves for two or three frames.

I think it's a little better, but I still need to work on it some more to make it even a little convincing.

The sequence without legs can be seen on:

http://sylvander.googlepages.com/animationbootcamp

The files are runningballattempt3nolegs.mov and runningballattempt3cam2nolegs.mov although they are modified from attempt 3.

Thanks

Steve

Your last two are much better Steve!

There still seems to be a little distortion in volume (or something not quite right).
You are really close though. Depending on the effect you are going for you may have just nailed it.

If no one else dissects the runs in their latest iteration I'll try a bit later and see what I can see.

Looking better. With the weight swaying, it's much more believable.

When you're running, you don't carry the weight toward the back. It's called a constant fall for a reason. Move the weight forward more. Move it to the point that it looks IMPOSSIBLE for him to still be stable, and then move it back a tad bit.

With every push off, s/he pushes his/herself up and forward. With every fall s/he... Falls.

It's looking very nice.

Thanks guys,

I've revisited the running ball adding motion as per Daniel's suggestions. I may have over done it a little, but the motion in the hips add more weight to the motion.

I really have to thank Rodney and Daniel for your time and guidance.

The latest mov files can be seen at:

http://sylvander.googlepages.com/animationbootcamp

The files are called runningballattempt5.mov and runningballattempt5cam2.mov.

Thanks

Steve

Hey Steve,

Could you post a screenshot of the ball's waist null timeline? The timeline really helped me figure out how to improve my work when I went through ABC.

Daniel

I can't post a helpful critique, as I haven't done much animation, although I can appreciate the time you've put into this - but all I can think is - wow - that looks great!

(One more Qld-er and we'll have a crowd )

Thanks Caroline,

For ages I have avoided animating, what with all that rigging and spline drift. But in a lot of ways it is very satisfying.

I must say your Jabberwock is very cool. He (or is that she) would be great to animate. After seeing your model I went off (on a slight tangent) and looked up all this 'Hunting of the Snark' stuff. I found a video of Billy Connelly singing as the Bellman in Mike Batt's musical (on youtube).

Well, I have started level 3 basic humanoid movement, it's called mrcool.mov and it can be seen at;

http://sylvander.googlepages.com/animationbootcamp

Its only half done (that is he only falls down) and the timing is a little rough and motion very clumsy.

Still its a start, and let me assure you; he will rise from his smashes and become Mr Cool again.


Steve

Hi Steve -

You're off to an excellent start. The beginning animation is quite good and does a very good job of establishing your character. The first thing that popped out to me was that when he walks up the stairs, it's way too slow, as if he's anticipating that he's going to fall. And his foot hits the step too slowly - in real life, he probably wouldn't have fallen at all. If you speed his stepping up, that will help sell the trip and fall.
The fall is very good. Just for kicks and because I love to be overdramatic, I would give the fall more time. I'd animate the realization that he tripped and is about to fall. It adds a bit more realism and can add to the comedy too .

Really brilliant start to your animation. Keep it up!

- Michael