This was a pretty great weekend. Lots of volunteers tried their hand at character animation for the background characters for Durian. Unlike our previous modeling sprint, we knew that the work being done for this sprint cannot really be done in just a day or two, and so we plan on keeping tabs on the work that’s being done throughout the week.
A couple people asked if I (or other members of the Durian team) would be available for questions and critique. Since I can’t be in IRC all the time, I thought it’d be better to post a thread here for people to post their work and get feedback!
This thread is for those who are working on character animation for Durian to post their work and get feedback from the team and the community. For character modeling feedback check out the modeling thread.
The animators here (me, William, Cessen [Nathan], freen [Beorn], and LohnS [Lee]) will try to stay on top of the thread, but we won’t be able to get back to everyone. So help us out by giving each other good critiques!
If you just heard about this event or haven’t yet gotten started, that’s okay! You still have a week to work. It would be great to have everything done and submitted by the end of next weekend, April 4th.
Look into tweaking the curves to make them less staccato, a movevement has a slow start, even some hesitation before it actually picks up speed, especially in slow and tired movements like a beggar
Kiopaa - This is looking great! As a block, this is really solid. The timing and spacing of the animation makes it a very convincing limp. Nice and subtle. Not sure how much time you still have to spend on it, but I wouldn’t call it finished. It feels very linear, I can feel the cycle repeat itself. I think you could achieve a lot more of a natural feel simply by offsetting keys to give you some overlap. I’m focusing mainly on the hands and arms. There’s a bit of overlap already I notice in the fingers, but the overall motion still looks a bit blocky. Tone down the pop of the head a bit too. Last thing- the guy’s right hand/arm seems to rotate just a tad too much around his thigh. I would imagine the shape the arc makes in the air would be a bit more straight here.
But great work!
Muffa - nice start. Good idea to keep it simple. Main thing is it’s very linear right now. Throw in some more keyframes and give it some breakdowns! It’s always a good idea to shoot reference. It’s the best thing you can do to achieve lifelike animation.
@ Kiopaa: Not exactly sure what kind of injury you’re trying to portray, but his limp looks as if it’s something he’s had for a long time, like from an old war wound he’s gotten used to to a degree. As effstops mentioned some of the limb motions could use some more syncopation, they’re too coordinated to one another.
Depending on the extent of his injury, it may be nice to see the dragging foot turn out a little during the forward drag, as if it’s not responding perfectly to his muscles and the toes drag bit. As it is now the ankle joint looks a little too stiff in that foot.
@ mtracer – I think the tremor effect is overdone and a little too fast, and if the guy’s got a palsy, it should be there at all times, not just in parts of the motion. What’s with the last joint of his pinky btw>
I’m very happy to have feedback from Durian team ! (sorry for my bad english) @effstops : you’re right, for the moment it’s only a blocking, all my keys are perfectly aligned ! I will follow your advices to polish the cycle. @chipmasque : Yes, at the start, I tried to make a cycle of an old man with an old and big injury on one leg… I will try your idea for the right foot.
Nice! A setting would help make things a little more intelligible but the action is cleanly blocked so far. The first two steps seem a little too quick, though, and the first head turn gets lost in the motion some. How about a short pause after the first step, with the head turn there, as if he’s sneaking up slowly & scanning the market as he goes. When moving forward I think he’d always have his “eyes on the prize.”
The angle at which the guy tries to grab Sintel isn’t right for the amount of force he’s pushed back with. Either he should be more in front of her and get more forward push along with the side push, or get spun off her at the angle he now reaches for her (I like that idea better, the spin could be funny).
An animation of a person jumping out of Sintel’s way I’m working on. This isn’t the animation descriped under special shots, but maybe this one can be used on a background character.
As a thief I would approach the more casual and slowly while secrently checking the sorrounding and after I’d took what I need (the grabbing looks great) I would walk away a little bit faster.
I like the beginning of the animation, but I think that he is pushed back too violently.
@ ParnoidAndroid: As a first blocking it’s not bad but the action’s all a bit weak and the timing is very 1-2-3-4, not a lot of flow between moves.
Ideas: Have his head come up sooner while he’s still winding his watch (good touch, that!) as if he hears Sintel coming, then start the turn & crouch, with those two now distinct actions being more simultaneous. Deeper crouch, higher & longer jump, and more impact when landing, a real knee-skinner Pause for a breath, then he’s up & cursing, with a little more body language in that part.
Animation of a proud stroll. I envisioned an elder male with a beard and expensive clothes, esteemed highly by the community, slowly making his way through the market;
@chipmasque: Thank you for your detailed critique. (As you can see) I’m not that experienced in animation, so it’s good to have someone reviewing my attempts :yes:
At the beginning he’s supposed to be counting some money, but winding a watch would be a good touch indeed ;). I will take up this idea.
Works just as well, and may be more appropriate for the setting (not sure if watches are in the culture or not). It was an off-the-cuff assumption on my part, but his pre-occupation with the small task is the heart of the action, and it’s a good prelude to the main moves.
Hey there, I like that you set up a settiing for the animation which makes the animation more clear.
For the poses, I think shouldn’t be connected to eachother because each pose has a new meaning. I really like the pointing to the man, maybe let him shout at him with fast body movements. Don’t try to communicate his emotion in three different gestures when you can easily do it with only one. This gives the viewer more time to read your animation.
(my opinion, you can ignore me)
