I haven't posted in some time but I thought I'd throw this up here for people to check out.
I'll be putting a reel together soon to send to a local studio here and I wanted something new to show what all I've learned. With a little help from a friend I came up with this scene for his character Kid-Rocket.
Its just in the rough-stick-figure-stage right now. I want to get my movements down right before I start any details.
Currently its not finished and the paper registration going from my lightbox to my scanner got off there towards the end but that will be fixed. All critiques welcome.
Looks fun Ontaious. Only a couple of things that stuck out to me. His turn around to camera seemed a bit odd. From his anticipation it looked like he was going to spin around in the other direction.
Next is the part where he is leaned over and trying to start the rocket. This pose could use much clearer pose. His right had is lost in his body and it wasn't clear what he was doing. I had to frame by frame it to see his action. I would move his hands in front of his body and have a more pronounced action of him pushing the button.
I would also stand him up a relax him bit at the end when he looks at the ignition switch. This will give some varity to the shot. He is all hunched over and tensed waiting for blast off, then he relaxes wondering why it didn't work.
Just some ideas.
Thanks for showing Ontaious. Esspecially in the rough stage where input can actually be helpful.
Mahalo,
the Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."
I liked it quite a bit,but i was expecting him to blast off.:D
Nice job on holding the pose,and the movements were fluid,but i couldnt quite make out what he was doing at the very last frame of the animation.Was he giving the thumbs up? haha.
Nice work.
After looking at it and acting it out you're totally right about that spin. I get much more power spinning the opposite way. I've got until Tuesday to finish this so I think I'll have time to change it.
For the squat I think I could go either way, for myself. Because right where it's stopped he presses it again and blasts off and I'd really like that angle. Something to think about I guess.
Thanks for the input!
Ontiaous
Black Anvil Designs©
Yeah, I figured he was going to take off at the end but I wasn't sure. Another thing, if his hands are in front of him, it makes the pose read better, and when he takes off, the arms will lend themselves to some very nice drag and overlapping action.
Give us an up date when it's finished.
Aloha,
the Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."
I've been messing around with the spin some more and getting some input from folks at school. My prof says he enjoys it, for the fact that this is a kid so the spin should feel a little awkward because as kids we were all a little awkward. Both are valid opinions to be sure.
Plus, I've sped it up some and made a few tweaks so it may read better. I'll have the new one up in a few days.
For the hands, I'm not sure why them being behind would read differently than in front. Just because they get lost in the rocket?
Ontiaous
Black Anvil Designs©
"For the hands, I'm not sure why them being behind would read differently than in front. Just because they get lost in the rocket?"
Yep, that is exactly why. I did a quick little silhouette of the pose. One with the arms the way they are, and one with the arms in the front. With the arms in front. It's important for the pose to read clearly, esspecially since he's pushing a button with his thumb.
Aloha,
the Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."
I actually tested it. Before even watching the movie, I read the last couple posts and before reading one side or the other possibly being advocated I asked myself which felt like the strong silhouette. I'm going to agree with Ape.
This is the iteration of the Spin that I've updated. It still spins in the same direction but I put it on Ones and gave some ease in and out to the foot when it comes out at the camera.
Kidrocket2
I'll be changing the pose tonight at school and should hopefully have a good chunk done to show. Thanks for the great input!
Ontiaous
Black Anvil Designs©
Much improved. The launch pose really shows personality. I would like to see a couple more cycles of the walk to really get a good look at it.
Alan
Get some "Good Advice" at http://www.decksawash.net
great job,the animation is much more fluent.:D
Here is what I was able to finish up tonight. Got all the way up to the point where he is about to launch, aren't you excited!?
Kidrocket3
I took Animation Ape's comment about changing the hand to the front and applied it. I think it works really well, thanks Ape!! At the moment I have a few minor things I'm skipping over fixing to get the rest of this keyed and tweened. I often get sidetracked by small details and never seem to finish what I'm working on.
So things to go back and fix:
-Check the Tank to make sure its there/stays the same size
-Check Volume's across the board (feet and hands especially)
-Decide what his back arm is going to do during the sqaut pose and during the shaking of the trigger
-Smooth out his hand coming down into the squat position
Thanks for the great input from everyone so far. I think this little project is coming along really well.
Ontiaous
Black Anvil Designs©
This is looking good Ontaious. Yeah, watch the volume of the tank, and the arc on his hand as it comes forward durring the squat. You could also move that hand, when he brings it up for the trigger, farther screen right so it again has a clearer silhouette. As it is now, it's half in front of his body.
It's looking really cool, and I look forward to seeing the finished version.
Aloha,
the Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."
yah, i cant wait! Looks like a fun animation.
If you want my two cents: i think you could use a bit more anticipation on the arm before it comes forward to the "blast off" pose. Send it back (not too much) then forward.
I think it would add to the quick little zips attitude you have him doing throughout.
"who wouldn't want to make stuff for me? I'm awesome." -Bloo
I've finally finished out the animation all the way to the blast off and added the wire from the ingition switch to the tank. I also added his hemlet and cleaned up the tank.
Kidrocket4
I'm really happy with the wire, but hate how I botched the volume on the head/helmet. And also when he shows off the ingnition switch he seems to either shift of shrink. I can't tell. Definatly an area to punch up later.
Fire when ready.
Ontiaous
Black Anvil Designs©