Rathod Kirti - Dialog Shot

- Rathod Kirti
- Dialog Shot

Hi Kirti

Thanks for posting your character test.

Its not bad, and i like the layout. There are a few things that could really make this work better.

- Now you've animated a version of this, Film yourself acting out this scene. Watch the film back and watch how your body moves. Look at all the little things going on in your eyes, brows, mouth and hand gestures. Look at the way your body moves with those gestures.

-The dialogue is an interesting one, because the character is criticising someone for doing something really annoying, but something which ultimately benefits that other person in a big way, and this really infuriates him. Its adding insult to injury. So we need to feel him starting out angry. Then in the long pause, the frustration that the other guy has benefited himself by doing something stupid is overwhelming and it erupts into rage.

-When the guy reaches over table on "something like this" his hand gesture feels a little confused to me. I'd try having his palm open face up and gesturing at the other guy like hes wearing something really silly stupid off camera. You could even have a little look up and down with that. So he looks disgusted. Then that disgust boils over into rage.

-The moves at the end need to be bigger. It feels like he makes minimal effort to knock that tray over. And whats on the tray? Its not clear to me. Perhaps the tray is just an object for him to knock? We need to really feel his anger. Perhaps have him raise out of the chair , smash the object aside and stand with his hands on the table?

- When he says "dumber" Id try to offset the actions slightly. It feels like everythings synchronised. Again look at some live action reference of yourself acting the scene.

I like where its going, but try to shoot that video reference. It will help you a lot.

-Anim Dailies

Matt Mitchell - Break Dance Dobby

-Matt Mitchell
-Dobby Dance

Hi Matt, this is a very nice test!!

I think that generally phisics are not OFF as you say, but "stylized" instead, i think that the timing is very nice, the way he jumps off and land is very cool.

Few things that you could maybe work a little bit more are :

- Try and add a little bit more weight generally, i think that you can achieve that by "keeping" the same snappy feeling but, carefully working on the Spacing a little bit more.

- The stepping needs more work, in some parts feels like you have took the timing correct from some sort of video reference, and applied that to the character. You have to be carefull with that(if you did that ), since the proportions are different, the feelings are going to be different as well, in this case, you will need another pass of polish for the spacing, where you will have to make it phisically more correct for the character proportions (hes got really skinny legs and big feets, short upper body and belly!).

-When he first gets up, the first step with his left foot, is a bit too quick going forward, the same with the second kick, the space between some of the frames(there is no frame counter unfortunately) is a bit too far apart, it catches my attention.

-When he is DanceStepping around, you could had a little bit more of an impact of the feet with the ground, also some of the legs movements feels light because is moving quickly from one side to the other and sometimes the push feels not enough, try giving it more frames on the push off.

- I really like what is going on with the arms.


Generally, Weight is expressed by Timing, Spacing, and Posing, thats why is the trickiest bit to get correct .
I think HERE there is a nice explanation, which could be useful to anyone reading this post.

Keep going, is really nice , and thank for posting it!

-AnimDailies

Rogers Nichola - Showreel

2011 Showreel from nichola rogers on Vimeo.

-RogersNichola
-Animation Showreel

Hi Nichola,
Thanks for posting your work

-I know that you've not been able to devote your full time to the animation, so taking this into account, i would say generally, before you get into the detail of this animation it would be a great idea shoot live action reference of yourself acting out each move. This will give you a precise idea of the physics and weight involved in achieving those poses. Then there's less danger of you ending up with something snappy and light.

- The eyes of the boy need to be animated, so they dont look so wild and staring. The extreme eye shapes for each surprising wide -eyed statement the boy makes, will sell much better if they relax somewhat in between. And use the blinks carefully. Again, look at your film reference.

-Take a look at using a better rig. There are a few good free biped rigs going around like the Morpheus rig, or you could use an automatic rigging software like Set Up machine2 to rig your character a bit better.

-when the character falls down at the start of your reel either have his head properly hit the ground where you see the impact and then him shaking to recover, or make sure it doesn't hit, but feel the weight of the impact in the arms and shoulders together with a head overlap. Make sure we register the weight and drama of that fall.

- For the character pulling the invisible object, i would make the object visible and also place a point of reference on the ground behind so we can see when he's being dragged along. At the moment its a little ambiguous as to which point hes being dragged or just stationary with the object.

-The running guy has a somewhat jerky feel to his run. Like he speeds up and slows down with every step. Try to look at making his run more uniform in its forward speed.

- For the walk we need to feel the hips pushed up by the leg thats supporting the weight so we get a rocking motion in the hips which is then counter weighted by the angle of the shoulders. Try to make it fluid, organic and without any snappy movements.

Really looking forward to seeing a later version of the story animation

Thanks

-Anim Dailies

Omar Elhindi - Sophistication

-Omar Elhindi
-Sophistication

Hi Omar,
is a nice test, i think you've got already a pretty good animation.

Few notes on something that you could work a little bit more :

-The lipsync, feels a little bit off sync (1 or two frames) i dont know if is because of the streaming video, or not, but its worth a try, offsetting it of 1 or 2 frames, and see if it is working better.
-After he says, "..family does", the overall mouth animation, is more rough than at the beginning, i feel that from this point on, you should focus and work a little bit more on that(mouth shapes and more inbetweens), it feels "less animated".
-After bringing the overall animation at the same level, you could go into it again ,adding another pass of polishing, starting from the head motion to the eyes and eyebrows, than the mouth, think about how the muscle of the face works, you may want to achieve an organic like, fleshy feeling to it.

I really like it, it shows potential!.
Good Luck.

-AnimDailies.

Daniel Moreno - Gaining Consciousness

- Daniel Moreno
- Gaining Consciousness


Hi Daniel

Thanks for posting this nice little idea. I think discovering that youre impaled on a metal rod might be quite disturbing and it would be nice to see this emotion in the character.
You could shoot reference for this by sitting on a high stool or even perching yourself up on a wall.

I like the movements, although i think if you shot yourself doing this and acted the emotion of decovering your limbs for the first time, you might move a little less theatrically in parts. His left hand (screen right) for example, seems a little unnatural in the way it almost brushes past the face. I think he'd maintain a distance between his face and the hand so he could focus on it.

Also starting with the feet, you might expect the character to notice immediately that hes suspended. I would imagine his sphere of awareness to begin with his hands closest to him and then extend to his legs and feet, before finally becomming aware of being impaled on a metal rod and being disturbed by it.

I like the right foot rotation, but look at the first few frames of that motion, its very fast rather than a good slow-in.

The landing is a big move and can be worked into. It lacks some weight and feels linear in its movement. This is the biggest action in the entire animation and needs careful attention. Film yourself pushing yourself off from a high wall or a stool and look at the motion and timing of your landing. Live action video reference is the key to realism in your animation, and will make this nice little idea come to life in a believable way.

-Anim Dailies

Bardoloi Vishakha - DemoReel

-Vishakha Bardoloi
-DemoReel

Hi Vishaka,

Its really encouraging to see a strong piece of acting animation based on a line from the classic: Singin' in the Rain. Its an eloquent animation that actually sums up the life of an animator quite well, specially when working late! The look in the glass at the end is a very poignant moment indeed. We feel his loneliness with the glass and its a very strong.

There are a couple of things i think would really help this animation.

-When he blinks on "lead lives" its somewhat distracting. Im looking at the eyes at this point and i feel for an instant like i lose him. Id try to avoid too many blinks in a facial animation and if you really need that one, id make it a relaxed half blink, with a slow ease out.

-I think its important to hit the pose on "glamour and romance" an instant before the words come out, it feels like hes trying to catch up with the dialogue at this point and its a little sharp. Its a very subtle thing but i think it will help a lot.

-The guy pulling the weight feels quite solid. Try to inject similar weight and a general sense of mass into all the characters, they often feel quite light in thier movements. Its really about the gradients of your curves, and making sure you have a good slow-in and slow-out, holding etc. This is where it really would help to film some live action reference of yourself doing the actions. Look at every few frames of the animation and ask yourself if something feels a little fast or slow, or too sudden in stopping.

For example, the left hand of the drunk when hes wiped his face drops down and just sticks in the air. This really needs to swing back and forth. Also his fall on the ground feels light and bouncy. Hes basically going to go down like a sack of potatoes being drunk, its going to be a hard fall, feeling his body rotate with one very low level overlaped bounce traveling down the body. Hes not going to bounce 3 or 4 times, you'll just feel the rotations as he settles at the end.

-Look at breaking up the timing of his steps, they feel a little regular.

-The character jumping back in surprise doesnt have a settle. He lands from the jump and just stops dead. Have him come out of the bounce. Also im not sure about his emotion building up to the touch. Is he angry with himself for being scared? or stretching? It seems unclear to me.

-A good excercise for defining the weight of an object is to animate three balls, all the same size. But animate one as a ping pong ball, another a beach ball and the third as a cannon ball. See how they behave differently from one another. Then you'll have a better understanding of the physics of your characters. Create the illusion of Mass and gravity.

Overall, i think its a nice reel with some strong acting. You can make it a great reel by checking the weight of your characters.

Thankyou,

-Anim Dailies

WilliamsnMichael - Spencer : Short film

-Michael Williams
-Spencer - Short film


Hi Michael,

I really like the idea of the dark basement. However there are some story elements that left me feeling quite confused, which i'll come to later.

-When the guy peers around the corner the second time i would try to make sure the pupils are visible. The eyes are the first thing you look at in any character and its important to get them right. Try to plant his fingers firmly on the corner of the wall.

-As he nervously approaches the entrance to the cellar I would look at his side to side motion. It feels sticky. I think the general weight positioning over each foot is good but there are strong glitches in the animation that really make him look light (this glitchy light movement comment applies to most of the film). I would film your self acting all of it to get something more natural. Check how many steps you take and how far apart they are. Look at how your head and arms move with your body. Great animation comes out of great reference. Think about gravity, weight and balance in your character, together with fluidity and mechanics.

-I like the camera rotating slowly back down the stairs, it feels very Alfred Hitchcock. If the guy casts a long shadow on the wall next to him the effect would be even better.

-When stepping down the stairs he seems to keep the same centre of gravity with each step. Shift his balance.

-The miss step and fall down the stairs feels quite erratic and awkward with the camera rolling, bouncing and pulling back to the other side of the room, then cutting to a close up. Animate the camera as if you were there holding it and filming the action. Your movements would be offset to follow the action rather than sync with it, and make the landing happen right in front of the camera, don't go to the other side of the room first. Concentrate on getting the fall working before worrying too much about the camera moves.

-The wrists of the character often bend unnaturally with the arm, like they're broken. Good Video reference will help with things like this.

-The eyes should lead the head rotation left and right, they generally feel quite erratic at times.

-The story gets very confusing for me toward the end. Who is the white haired guy? Is he a ghost? Why is he so small? And where's the end of story? There doesn't seem to be a conclusion. The cut and story telling here would have really benefited from good planning with a story board (thumbnail sketches, telling the story in picture form). This way you'd know if the story worked before you started animating.

-Try simply telling the story with pictures and see what you come up with. Any good story can be told this way.


-Anim Dailies

PefferLee - 1 year DemoReel

-D. Lee Peffer II
-DemoReel


Hey!

I think this is a really nice reel, it shows lots of potential, especially after only one year of animation, so congratulations!.

A few thoughts of what you could improve :

-The spiderman Jump, is a really good excercise and is also well executed.
I think lacks of a bit of weight, that is mainly because of how Snappy the timing is, in both the push and landing.
To make it feel more heavy, try and play a little bit more with the timing(slow in/out), you should imagine that the character is making a physical effort, in pushing and catching himself.
Something that you need to know, is how gravity and momentum works, study references of freerunners(for examples), they do all those kind of crazy moves!.
Also, you have to make sure that the posing shows the weight as well, for example, when he catch himself on the landing, with his hands, the more you can feel the "pressure" in the hands,arms and shoulder pose, the better!.

-The 3 guys Acting :
The acting of the blue guy has some nice bits in it, is well thought!.
-The main issue, is a general stiffness (for all of the 3 characters), expecially in the facial acting, you can push a little bit more the Eyes/Eyebrows animation.
-Sometimes is difficult to understand(blue guy), where and who is he looking at, make the eyes acting, clear first, than the rest.
-The hands, since they are really(REALLY) big, try to find a more appealing pose, and limit the gestures, (between "taxi" and "insane" for example) you already have lots going on(same applies to "everybody's", the hand quick movement), i think you could loose one or 2 of thosoe "hits".
-The last hand gesture, with both hands togheter is nice ("in a hurry").
-You might want to smooth and work a little bit more the head motion (blue guy), it is sometimes "clicking".
-The middle guy(yellow) seems instead to be "drifting " back and front without a purpouse, since he is doing something(trying to eat), you could work a little bit more on him, facial and body to make it clear on what he is doing.

- The stop motion animations are really nice excersises, is a really nice touch to put the "Trollface,and Fuuuuu", :)!
-I also think you did a good job on the 2d tests, is always good to practice 2d animations, and to show them on your reel.

-If your intend is to apply as character animator, you will not need to show your modeling skills.
You could edit your reel, by showing your 3d test at the beginning, followed by the 2d and stopmotion ones.
Try to keep it short, max 1, 2 mins, and keep only the best shots.

-Anim Dailies

Martin Haglund Eriksson - 11 Sec July

-http://youtu.be/cCHKZKglws8
-Martin Haglund Eriksson
-11 Sec July

Review:

This is great, I love that that you kept it subtle for the first part. It's even more impressive as you've only been doing his for 6 months! In general the acting choices are good, he feels believable and has quite a lot of life to him. Here are a few thoughts that I think would help make it even better.

- He feels a bit lifeless for the first two seconds. It would be nice if we saw his reaction to whatever his friend has just said to him, something that shows his utter disbelief. Maybe he could be looking at him at the start and we see a small reaction, something as small as a blink and a small grimace or frown, before he looks down to the table in dismay. He could even open his mouth as if to speak when he glances up at him, but he can't get the words out as he is so shocked at his stupidity!

Or if you intend to keep him looking at the table as he is, try and amp it up a bit with some heavier breathing in his chest and more anger in his eyes. Some tiny eye darts will help to show his inner thoughts.

- For the line "and totally redeem yourself!", I feel as though his facial acting should be excited rather than angry?! To me this line says that he thinks his friend has made up for all his past stupidity, so I think it would be cool if he has a big dumb grin on his face and excitement in his eyes! It would also be a nice contrast to the anger in the first part.

- I like that you put some eye darts in on "like this", but I think they're a bit too quick, try and hold on each extreme for at least 4 frames. And make sure you vary the timing, for example don't just hold for 6 frames each time.

- When he stands up at the end it would be nice to get a bit of overlap on his head.

- His head also stays a bit too level when he moves forward towards camera, rotate it forward a bit as he starts to come towards us for a bit of anticipation.

- Try and offset the fist slam from the head nod a bit more.

- The screen left shoulder sometimes feels a bit too disconnected from the chest.

Great work on the whole, we look forward to more!

- Anim Dailies

Barry Nardone - Beast Slayer

-http://vimeo.com/24369735
-Barry Nardone
-Beast Slayer

Review:

Barry thankyou for posting, its a great little action sequence. Nice poses. I like it. There are a few things you could do to make this work better.

-It feels a touch CG or unreal in its movement and needs more natural weight and mass. For example, the beasts swing seems a little light. If there were more cushioning, wobble, follow through and settling, it would feel like there were more of a mass and weight to the character. He looks like a big fleshy beast to me and id want to get that into the character. After all hes missed the little guy and we really want to feel the weight of his arm pull the torso around as he tries to regain balance. His arm seems to move a little fast for its size. Look at fine tuning your motion curves to achieve this.

-Film yourself going to grab something and missing it and see what happens to your body. You might even find yourself stumbling forward. I noticed a step just after that swing and i think it might work better if it came a little earlier right on the end of the swing, as a stumble.

-Just a note about camera animation: Make sure that the camera follows the action and doesnt sinc with the action or precede it. The camera can add to, or take away from any animation depending on how it moves with it. Animate a camera as if you were holding it and following the action. Theres quite a lot of space at top of frame and i think you could bring the camera closer (tilting up to follow the action). It would make it more dramatic and readable when the little guy jumps behind.

-I love the fact that the little guy jumps out of sight and leaves the beast wondering where he went. And the angle of the jump and its roll feel really good. Again there is some tweaking to be done to the weight of the character. Its ok to do big jumps if the landing is suitably heavy.

-You mentioned the little guys energy, and i think its because we dont feel him being tossed around up on the head of the beast. I want to feel him hanging on with his weight being thrown from side to side. He might even lose footing and scramble to get back up. Offset his side to side movement from that of the beast.

-The slice around the beasts neck with the landing is a little too theatrical, convienient and light for me. I'd seperate the cut and the dismount, so we can read them individually and make both of them solid actions. When the little guy lands make it heavy and the we want to feel an anticipation and push off to the start of his run.

-When the beast grabs his neck and falls it could be more dramatic in posing with him flailing bacward rather than just slumping down, side on to camera.

Its a nice action sequence with some great posing. Well done.

-Anim Dailies