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Sword Swing in Progress

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Sword Swing in Progress

Hey Everyone,

Got a link below for everyone to critique.
You all have been good to me in past with great information, tips, etc. I appreciate it.
Hope to have the same "love" this time around as well. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngy4tZU0pUY

Thanks you guys!!

animationhead's picture
animationhed

animationhed

I know its only 3 seconds long, but surely it's enough time for some critiques...good OR bad.

I would really appreciate it. :)

Thanks in advance for doing so.

Oh, after I titled the thread, I realized it's titled wrong. It should be sword SWINGING in progress, not sword fight. But, you get the picture. :(

animationhed

Well, alright. I'm not going to say anything about the rig as it's the one pretty much all learning animators seem to use for their attempts. (Which is quite valid.)

The animation looks like a lot of rather aimless swinging and the lower body is completely static. Since we don't see an opponent it should be readable from the character's animation alone where the focus of his swings lie - which at least to me it isn't.
Give the animation of the upper body focus and the actions variety. Instead of just swinging from left to right, build in a forward thrust every now and then, vary the attack angle, make the character pause in his attacks to maybe dogde with his whole body.

Of course, the feet shouldn't just be planted on the ground. Sword fights are very dynamic, part of which comes from the concentrated observation of the opponent's moves to be able to counter them as early as possible. You should look up Olympic fencing on youtube to get an idea of those dynamics.
Opponents don't just advance upon each other, thrashing wildly, they draw near cautiously and circle each other, trying to estimate what the next move will be or trying to find an opening into which to strike. Very often an attack will be met with a counter movement that forces the attacker to cancel in mid-strike, and sometimes attacks are just feints opening the opponent's defence so they become vulnerable at another point.

Of course, from an animation standpoint there's a difference whether you're fencing with a rapier or a sword as swords are heavier. If the weapon is heavy the effort in wielding it should read as well. Think the entire process through very carefully, trying to think like both fighters, what they do, how they react and how each others' actions will influence the other's reactions.

Thanks Jabberwocky.
It really isn't a sword fight, it is just him practicing swinging the sword, if you will. I wanted full view though so you could see all of the animation rather that his POV. His POV will be cool though and I could do that in another shot.
I do agree that his lower body indeed needs work, as I myself have looked at it several times and see that.
I did look at some of the Olympic fencing videos (great idea on the fencing part) and they are quite dramatic indeed. Quite cool actually and I am going to work on something like that as well.
As always, thanks for all you input and ideas!!
Post soon.

animationhed

Do you know how to sword fight?

Negative.

I suppose that would help, huh? Is that why you ask? But I must make something clear...it is my fault for calling it a sword fight.

I was just trying to make some swing actions for a guy who might come up against someone who wants to hurt him...say, in a video game.

Thats it. NO SWORD FIGHT. Sorry. My fault totally.

I am going to look on-line for cool videos regarding sword fights however, as I am going to do something like a fight defense mode kind of thing.

It still needs work, granted, but lets get the sword fight out of the equation and think about swinging a sword as to avoid a potential fight.

Thanks for responding.:)

animationhed

the soul calibur series

I changed the title of your thread for you.

Think about how heavy the sword is. Is it a light fencing foil? A heavy broad sword? How long is it? These things are the first questions you have to answer before you start any part of this. What ever your answers will severely impact the way the character holds the sword, his stance and eventually how he swings it.

Right now he moves with absolutely no weight. Not even his hand has weight at the speed that he's waving it around.

Aloha,
the Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

Thanks for changing the name Animated Ape.

And your right, he is swinging it now as though it is plastic.
I am taking it off and re-doing it completely.

Thanks, as always.:)

animationhed