Anim Dailies: Iestyn Roberts - Cartoony Baseball Swing

-http://vimeo.com/26918115
-Iestyn Roberts
-Cartoony Baseball Swing

Review:

Hi Iestyn,

Thanks for sending this, it has the makings of a solid piece. Here's a list of a few things to look at to get you started.

- Have him roll on his front heel a bit at 1 sec. Stretchy legs are fine to use when there is reason too, but I think you should 'feel' the stretch and have it recoil, rather than see the stretch as clearly as you do here.

- His action when stepping forward could potentially work and be a funny motion, but at the moment it feels quite stiff and clunky. Try and add more of a bounce and arc to his hips to stop them from moving so erratically, and follow this motion through the rest of his body. You may need to add a few more frames to this section too. Make sure to offset the bounce of the hands by a couple of frames to give them some overlapping motion.

- When he raises up high at 7 secs he takes his eyes completely off the ball and loses believability in his actions, which in turn makes him feel less alive. Be aware of what the character is thinking at all times.

- Make sure to track the arcs of the hands as there are some linear moves and sharp angles in their paths of action.

- Lastly, bring the piece to a conclusion. It seems to end prematurely, if he is to twist himself up make sure to finish the action so the audience sees a resolution to the shot.

If you haven't already seen it, have a look at this Goofy short. It has some great baseball pitches in it, and although they are massively exaggerated they retain their believability as the exaggerations make sense within the context of the game.

-Anim Dailies

2 comments:

Iestyn Roberts8 September 2011 at 14:33
Hey guys! This is fantastic, thank you for an awesome feedback!

Just to clarify a few things, when you say roll on his front foot at 1 sec, I should roll the foot back, so the leg doesn't stretch so much? Looking at the animation now, I can clearly see that the leg stretches far too much there! Thank you.

I was having some major problems with the forward stepping action, and I think, with your guidelines, I should now be able to eliminate that clunky action. Excellent points on that part - thank you!

Very good point on the ending. I shall have to go back and refine that. I tried to use a few clips from that exact Goofy short for the shot to be honest, such a great short.

Thank you so much folks! This is incredibly awesome of you guys!
- Iestyn
Brad Silby8 September 2011 at 15:52
No worries!

Sorry, to clarify - When we said roll on his foot, we meant that he could angle his foot back a little onto his heel, as he does at 4 secs. It's a small point, but one that will make him feel a bit more natural.