JBarrett

MyFault hit the Balrog...er...the nail on the head with the motion comments. A large part of what sells the scale of a character is its speed, and this guy's movements are too fast to make his size and mass believeable. Even though you've positioned the camera at the 6-foot level looking at a 20-foot character, it doesn't feel that way, and in the end, it's the feeling that counts, regardless of what the figures say. For starters, try using a different focal length. The default 35mm perspective is okay, but doesn't work very well for drama. A wider lens would help punch up the presentation a bit more. Try something around 20mm and see how it feels. Combine that with a lower angle and a closer position, and he'll start to feel even bigger. If you can get the camera tweaked and the walk working better, this could be a really sweet clip. (I'd offer to help in a more direct manner, but I've been a bad boy and still haven't purchased the v11 upgrade disc.)

Looking ever-better, Sam. Those legs are looking better, but something still feels odd about them. It might have something to do with their shape, and the fact that he's walking straight at the camera. I see that there's more bend to them as he steps, but it's hard to read that bend. Changing his overall movement vector would probably solve the readability issue, but it might mean a lot of work. It's one of those tough choices...do you fix it, or just learn from it and move on? Tough call. You've just about nailed the lip sync. I really like the attention you've paid to some of the "s" shapes in particular. It sounds like he's almost doing a "sh" sound in words like "stand," and you recreated that very well. It really helps to sell the impression that he's saying the line when you see the same shapes that you hear. (Hear shapes? You betcha... ) I like what you've done with the new approach before "Either I'm...", and the extra snap in some of the moves after that helps. You could probably push the snap even farther, though. Don't be afraid to go too far. A comment I've often heard says that when it feels like it's going too far, it's almost there. I still tend to go a little tame in some of my stuff, and Keith Lango was trying to stretch me out of that safety zone in a recent animation exercise at work, so this has been on my mind recently. The more I think about his overall presentation, the more I think it could use some global tweaking. He's practically dead-center in the frame the entire time, and it doesn't really help sell his inner turmoil. What might work to help sell the subtext of the spoken line is to keep him on either side of center during his opening remarks, and then have him move dead-center for the final line. That would allow the his initial uncertainty to match with a shifting, uncentered screen position, and then match dead-center with his "dead right" ultimatum. Now if I could just think about this stuff earlier rather than point it out when you're nearly done...

Pretty cool! Fun little scenario there. A few notes... A lot of the poses for the small ball hit and stick. While he should be appropriately snappy, there should still be some ease as he hits each new pose. Some of the motions feel a tad robotic/mechanical. One example is the way the two balls are "yelling" at each other toward the end (I guess that's what they're doing). For the yelling action they're just oscillating between two poses, making it feel kinda stiff. Consider adding some other element of movement in there to break it up, like very subtly rocking backward or forward during the yell, or varying the strength of the "hits" so it feels more organic. Another part that feels a tad stiff is near the beginning, when the small ball leaps high into the air, then does some squash-n-stretch mid-air. It feels like he stops in the air during that segment. Depending on the way you've got him rigged, you may need to cheat some of the movement to keep him alive during that leap. I agree w/ the comment on the small ball's rebound off the cube. That whole section could be more snappy, and it would really add some fun punch. Overall, though, you've got a great start on a fun test piece. Keep at it!

The speed is one problem, but from what I can see most of the readability issue comes from his body blocking the actual cut. I was going to suggest a larger anticipation before the cut, but considering the quickness of his motion, even a larger anticipation might get lost. Tricky, tricky...

Wow...I'm starting to get....chills.....and stuff.......

Nice work on the update, Sam! Definitely lookin' better. On a specific note, I like what you've done so far with the head tilt toward the end, but I'm not sure my original comment was too clear. It looks like he goes into a quick tilt for some parts, but then comes out of it back into his vertical orientation again. What I meant in my earlier notes is a level of tilting that continues through an entire pose, not just for a small portion of it. The angle you've got on the initial part of "dead right" looks good, but it still needs to be carried through to the end of that phrase for the full impact to set in. Keep at it!

Whoops...forgot that the other reference I made to Keith's tutes was elsewhere. Anyhoo, Keith Lango has some nifty new tutorials up on his site, some of which could help with certain issues in this clip. http://www.keithlango.com/

Looks pretty good, Sam! Here are some things that could still be punched up a notch... The overall body poses don't really sell his tension as well as they could. The line of action is very vertical all the way through, even when he blows up and yells. Lip sync. Overall, it's not bad. Some shapes aren't as strong as they should be, though. Some examples...the "r" sound in "get in here" needs a stronger purse of the lips. The jaw should close a bit more for the "t" at the end of "I know that," and his relaxed mouth right after that, before the next phrase begins, is open a bit too much. It doesn't give the jaw any place to go for the first sound on the next word. Nice work on closing his lips during that frustrated part, but they need to open a little sooner...listen really closely to the audio and you can hear when the lips separate again. When he looks down, lower the upper lids more. A lot of the time they're still pretty far open, and it feels kinda odd. Try doing that yourself...at least for me, I find that even when trying to force my eyes "wide open," the upper lids are at about half-mast when I look down an extreme amount. Try adding some side-to-side tilt to his head on some poses. This would be especially helpful at the end when he goes ballistic, to contrast with his attempt to rationally explain his point to his audience in the earlier part of the clip. The head pose on "dead right" seems to be an ideal place for some tilt to really help sell his frustration. His brows could be used more effectively to sell all that inner turmoil he's feeling. Keeping them so generically wide doesn't say much about his emotional state. I picture a bit of a sad tilt to them in the earlier section, then as *his* patience is getting tried while he talks to them about trying *their* patience, start to introduce some downward poses in there. He's fighting within himself to keep from blowing up. Eventually it doesn't work, and he belts out his final line, where the brows should really dig in to sell that anger and frustration he's feeling as he tries to make his point. Even though the feet are off-screen, don't totally ignore them. True, you don't need to go whole-hog and key foot and heel rolls, but there should still be some feeling that the feet are planted on solid ground when they're supposed to be planted on solid ground. For the bulk of the clip it feels like he's floating, including his feet. You can just tell by looking at the legs that there's no bend happening during all those accents and steps. After his "I know that" accent, it feels like the hips and shoulders are going in opposite directions...the hips slightly left, the shoulders slightly right...leaving him in a bit of an odd stance. The arms feel a tad stiff. He's tense, so they should be stiff a little, but there's something un-tense-ly stiff about them that's hard to put my finger on. The completely-straight fingers during his "crazy" swing are a problem. Part of the problem is also the hand's angle to the camera. It could be turned a bit more so that the back of the hand is facing the camera. Another problem is the nearly-horizontal position of the forearm. Get the wrist higher, with the arm at more of an angle, and do something more dramatic with the fingers. Another tutorial to check out on Keith's site is his recent blurb on forces, which will help another issue with that "crazy" swing. The hips and arm both come out of their extreme poses at the same time, so the power behind the move doesn't feel quite right. If the hips are the driving force, then the arm should have a little delay to it. That should keep you busy for a while.

Looks like a cool beginning, Sam! I love how you incorporated some of Jimmy Stewart's mannerisms into this guy. The lip sync is pretty good, but could still use some polish in a few places. The last line especially feels like it needs more work. Keep at it!

These are the things that stuck out to me... His nose/snout feels just a hair too large...not much, but enough to feel "off" His mouth also feels a bit big, partly due to the snout size issue, but also partly due to the angle. Looking at some Eeyore pics online, his mouth has more of a downward curve to it, where yours is more flat and leans more toward a horizontal orientation The tail needs to be wider, thicker, and more "blocky," like it's cut out of thick cloth. On a similar note, the head of the nail/tack holding his tail on needs to be a bit larger Here's a pic I found that illustrates most of these items fairly clearly http://members.lycos.nl/yoarra/color/coloring3/eeyore.gif Other than that, it looks really good so far. Keep at it!

Take a well-deserved rest, Sam. Really sweet work on this little clip! 3... 2... 1... WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!

Looks pretty cool! Can't wait to see this bugger MOVE!

Awesome work, William! I wish I could be at the show to see your demo. But alas, the fates have conspired against me once again.

Looking better, esp. on the hip movement. A few more notes... The two holds on his "surprise" reaction are still very stiff. Loosen/soften them up a touch. During his opening walk, his left arm looks like it's going through the left leg. Speaking of arms, the looseness of the arms during the opening walk is getting better. Some other parts still have the arms feeling too stiff, though. Another arm note. As he's cautiously advancing toward the gap, his right arm is getting lost behind his body, with only the fingers showing up below his butt a few times. Try cheating the arm a little more into view for a little better silhouette during that segment. As that right arm comes back into view before he leans over the edge, the wrist and fingers snap into position a bit too solidly. Ease into those positions more smoothly. This is really turning into a sharp piece, Sam. Add another "Woohoo!" to your collection.

VERY nice work! Really fun little clip there. As with many others, one of my favorite bits is his run in the distance. Really well executed! Woohoo!

The odd thing is that Williams' "belt line" comment contradicts the illustration he made just one page before (the weight shift example on page 146). Re: the hip issue, all I know is from personal observation of my own walk, which meshes with the weight shift illustrations. It's a similar balance issue to when you're standing with your weight primarily shifted over one leg. The weight-bearing leg is straighter, with the pelvis tilted up on that side. The relaxed leg is bent, in part because the pelvis is lower on that side. It all depends on the look you're going for, though. If you want to be realistic about it, then the pg 146 weight shift guide in Williams' book is a good example. If you want to break away from tradition and come up with something different, feel free to break the rules and switch the weight the other way. I was just suggesting the more realistic approach since (as stated before) a lot of the rest of your motion was fairly realistic in its approach Anyway, it's lookin' better! Keep at it!

Looking great so far! A few things to think about... Not sure if you're intentionally going for a caricatured walk, but for a more natural walk, the hip tilt should be reversed, with the side over the planted foot tilting higher than the side over the passing foot. Consider reducing the gap between his two main reaction poses after he sees the gap. It feels a little too forced; i.e. "look at me, I'm reacting", especially compared to a lot of his other movement, which feels much more fluid and natural. The quick backward step after he reacts to the gap has an odd feeling to it. The bouce, pace, and final pose make it feel kinda feminine, whereas most of his other moves have a clearly masculine flavor. Try reducing the bounce level, and also varying the pace of that move. Perhaps he makes the steps a little quicker, but the body move into the final pose is more long and drawn out, with lots of ease on the end. After backing up, his wide back-and-forth look feels a tad redundant, considering he'd already done that when originally reacting to the gap. Consider something more subtle. Even though he doesn't have any eyes to indicate more specific direction, you might be able to give the *impression* of an eye dart by using a very subtle head turn. This could also blend in with his cautious advance toward the gap, which would *really* give it some nice flavor. Some of the holds are a too solid. Hopefully smoothing these out is on your list of thing to tidy up. If not, consider adding it. The arms could especially use a bit more fluidity and flexibility in many places. They feel a tad stiff in spots. Really solid work so far, Sam! Keep at it! Woohoo!

I hate to take issue with this, but I must... I've got a close friend who is mostly deaf, and who relies a lot on lip-reading. Despite his severe hearing problem, he still loves to go to the movies, and one of his biggest complaints about animated films is the poor lip sync on characters. The only way he knows what's going on is if he lip-reads. If the characters' mouths don't give him an accurate picture of what the characters are saying, then it can literally ruin the experience because his whole connection to the story is broken.

When creating lip sync, sync to sounds, not words. Listen to each sound being made, figure out the shape the mouth needs to be in to create that sound (including taking into account how strong the sound is in relation to surrounding sounds), and recreate that shape using the controls you've made for your character's mouth. Lather, rinse, and repeat. I do lip sync pretty much straight-ahead, with the only pre-game analysis being on an emotional level; i.e. getting a bead on the emotional state of the person speaking.

Lookin' better, Mike! It still feels like the head's a tad too small, though. Or maybe it's the absence of a neck that makes him feel awkward. Or a little of both...???

Sweeeeeet stuff there, Sam! You're really capturing the emotion well. I especially love the sad clip...incredibly well done! Inspiring! Woohoo!

Looking good! The head's not the right size in proportion to the body, though...needs to be bigger. That's the main thing that jumps out at me now.

That's one killer Rex, Carl! Nice work! Can't wait to see more from this beastie!

Killer work there, William! I'm glad you're still working on this. The model blew me away when you originally posted it. Schweet schtuff!

Gorgeous work! Can't wait to see more!