Nat
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Posts posted by Nat
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Hey Dhar! Should have guessed you'd be the first to comment. =) Thanks for the comment, and to answer your question about the sneaking/walking/waddling, I'm not really sure what you'd call that. I acted this out and found myself doing this walk, kinda of a "don't mind me, ho-hum" saunter over to the other character. Not a sneak. Anyway, it may not be clear enough for the general viewing public, in which case, I'll change it. Was your first impression, "why the heck is he walking like that?" Did it seem to fit with the character, but you just weren't able to categorize it? I guess what I'm asking is; did it add or take away from the performance? Thanks Dhar.
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Hey peeps,
been working on this animation the last couple days. Just something for my demo reel. I haven't animated the second character yet, but he's going to be looking at a paper or something. Can you guess what's going to happen next? Yeah, he's gonna wipe it on the poor guy, but in a very discreet manner. Anyway, comments welcome! Enjoy!
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Hey. Not sure why, but I ended up doing a walk cycle for one of the farmhands, even though I'm not sure they walk in their scene. Kinda fun though.
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Thanks Dagoos! I'd been trying this by going into the tools panel and then selecting Options. This didn't seem to change the timeline at all. Anyway, the good news is that I've been animating in 24fps without even realizing it. So all is well.
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FYI, this is sped up. I did this animation. Take a look at it in the SVN folder. It's significantly slower. I think what happened was that I animated at 30fps and then we reduced it to 24fps. I've had some issues getting A:M to switch frame rates. When I change them in the settings panel, nothing changes on the timeline. Suggestions?
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Wow this has gotten a bit off topic, hasn't it? I had not idea this string was going on, and just read through it. Pretty funny stuff. But in all seriousness, there's also been some pretty heated debate over something that will affect the entire feel of this movie.
I think everyone has very strong opinions on the matter, and it's natural to get defensive, even angry. That's ok, it means that you really care about this project and don't want to see anything done to jeopardize (in your mind) the integrity of Oz (or your perceived conception of Oz).
The question I'm coming up to is; who's the final say on this? Martin? Rob? Rhett? It's pretty clear that there are two schools of thought going on here, and that's not likely going to change. It's seems that people either love these costume designs, or hate them. Pure and simple, no beating around the bush. I just came into this string, read the whole thing, and am not about to throw out another style critique, but what I will say is that we either need to be ok with half the group hating the design (either way we go), or be flexible to meet somewhere in the middle.
Old guys, accept that there may be some unconventional design going on here. Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean it won't work. We've trusted our directors this far, and if we're going to see this to completion (and want a taste of the all too real world of working for directors) we're going to need to let them have the final say.
Nancy, try not to take it personally when people critique your work (yes, it's hard for all of us). Part of working with a creative group (or clients, who are not so kind and respectful as you have all tried to be) is that sometimes, all the work that you've put your blood and sweat into, is going to be disliked. It's just a fact of life in this industry, and the sooner we can all learn to take criticism and allow it to make us better at what we do, the faster we'll improve our skill set.
Ok, I'll get down off my soap box now. Leaders? Directors? What's our next move?
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I think I'm done on my part (besides the sprites) but I guess I could mess around with Nick if it's worth doing. Who did this action? Would they like to add to it?
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Moved her other hand to the tree and added a little eye movement.
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The witch is just making sure no one's around before bewitching the ax. Did anyone else have trouble reading this action?
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She does have another arm, it's just at her side, but I agree that putting it on the tree would look good. I'll fix it. As far as the camera moves go, I didn't set that up, but I'm going to assume it's ok to change. I really don't see any reason not to just leave the camera static. Thoughts?
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Hey everybody. Did this clip this afternoon. I haven't gotten to the sprites yet so imagine that a ball of magic appears in her hand, which she then hurls at the woodsman.
Martin, I added a little under a second to this scene to make it work how I wanted. Is that OK? If not, I'll cut it back down.
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Thanks for the quick (and nice) replies. Gotta say Dhar, I'm really impressed with your last post (I know I should be commenting there and not here). Watching your progress has been very encouraging, and the best thing you do is being consistent. I'm a sprinter, you seem to be an endurance runner. When I was last at Hash HQ, Martin and I were both saying how consistent and reliable you are. A very good quality, and one that will grow your skills like nothing else. Alright, didn't mean to get mushy on you.
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Long time no post. Been busy (please don't beat me...shiver). Haven't animated the woodsman, but Nimee's coming along. Rhett, or someone, her hand rig is all screwed up in this file and I can't get it straightened out (literally). Anyway, I'll try to start being more involved.
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Hi all,
Not to beat a dead dog...or was it horse? Anyway, I don't want to beat any deceased housepets or livestock, but I thought I'd post my final revision of this shot. Based on many different comments, including ones made by my wife (she was right), I've toned down the whole second half of the animation and I think I much prefer it. Take a look, make a comment. Cheers.
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Hi there,
first off, Listen to your wife! Always! Not just with animation. My experience has proved that wives are usually right, and we're going to have to come to grips with it sooner or later. But seriously, though I get all defensive at times as well, sometimes the best critic knows nothing about animation, and they don't have to, because animation is based on something we're all experts on: real life. Everyone (with the exception of the blind, whom I would assume are not reading this and thus will not be offended by not being included in "everyone") sees natural human motion all around them, all day, every day. So, where we might not all be able to replicate natural motion in an art form, we can all spot bad imitations of it.
First off, I'm not saying you have a bad imitation, but I've found that deciding on a process when I animate helps me get different aspects of weight and motion right, one step (literally in this case) at a time. People do this many different ways, but probably the most common would be to start with the hips, torso and feet, and then move out to the limbs and outer extremities like the hands and head, which will have a certain amount of secondary motion applied to them.
So, applying this method to this shot, let's get the standing and then start down the steps correct. Walk down a couple stairs yourself. Notice where your legs bend, where they're straight, when you take your weight off of your back leg and transfer it onto the front leg, and how your body "falls" onto each new step and stops as your foot hits the next stair. Examining all of these aspects of the action will help you more accurately portray it through your character. Once this looks natural, move onto the arms and hands (quick hint - turning on the IK constraints on the right hand will make it easier to keep it on the rail).
Again, sorry for the novel, but I believe it's very important to get some basics down before attempting these rather complex shots. I hope what I've said helps, and there's definitely progress between the two posts. You've got the right idea going, and by addressing some of the basic shifts in weight and timing, the entire animation will gain validity with its imitation of life and believability with its viewers. Happy animating!
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Hi Will,
So, you're from the mother country!!! I grew up in "the 'couve" and have since migrated to Portland, but it's good to see there's another local user on board with TWO (besides Rhett, who, may I point out, Rocks...and Rolls)
Anyway, on to your post. First off, animation is difficult. There's no way around it, no magic easy button, it just takes a lot of time and practice. I held off on animating characters for a long time because I was afraid to start the uphill climb, so it's awesome that you're getting involved with TWO.
Everything a character does should have a purpose. If their eyes shift, it should tell us something, hand motions should correlate to what their saying. So the first question to ask in this instance is "why is Woot doing what he's doing?" Why does he look down? Is this introspective? Is he looking for words, not sure what to say? As you have it now, Woot's head turns directly to the side and then down and continues turning. It's almost a 90 degree turn. An easy way to see how natural of a movement this is, is to try it yourself. Perhaps a smaller movement would convey what you want it to. The same with the hand motions. What are they saying, and are they saying it at the correct time? Ok, so meaning and timing. That's all acting, which is a whole other aspect to animation, aside from the logistics of motion.
Next, and I know it's just a rough cut, so I want you to know that I know that you probably know some of this stuff already. Ya know? Anyway, anticipation and follow through. When we turn our heads, move our hand, arms or torso, there is both anticipation of the action, and a certain level of follow-through. This means that an action does not just start or stop abruptly. So when Woot extends his hand, maybe he moves it up a bit first, and nods his head and then gestures and looks up at the same time. This gives our eyes the hint that the motion is coming and that Woot doesn't move in a robotic way.
Follow-through is on the other end of the motion. Again, our body movements don't just stop abruptly, there's a certain amount of ease and give that happens. For example, raise your hand as if you're extending it for a handshake. If you'll notice, your arm moves up and then, before it comes to a rest, it moves down just a little bit. That's follow-through. The movement doesn't just stop. Another thing you might notice, and we exaggerate this in animation, is that your hand may lag behind your wrist just a little. So as your arm is going up, your hand is pointed down, and then catches up as your arm comes to a stop.
This leads to the next point, all of our body parts are connected, and thus affect each other as they move. To see this illustrated in real life, as you're sitting in your chair, sway your whole torso from side to side. Now, the first thing you'll notice is that you feel very silly. Second you'll notice that your head wants to flop to the side each time you change direction. Kind of the whiplash effect. You'll find your have to work very hard to keep your head straight and in line with your torso, you'll get a sore neck. Our bodies are a bunch of pieces chained together by joints and bones, so as we move, not everything moves together, there is a certain amount of lag. Take this head wobble illustration and apply it to hands, feet, arm to forearm to hand. Get the point? Wow this is getting really long. Sorry about the novel, but I hope it helps others as well to get some of the basics of animation laid out in a fairly easy to understand way.
Ok, last point I'll make today. Arches. When we animate, the computer fills in the motion in a linear fashion. So if our character is looking straight ahead in frame 1 and then to the side on frame 6, we'll get a very straight motion path from frame 1 to 6. What we as animators have to compensate for, is that there is usually some sort of arch to our movements. We rarely move in completely straight lines. The head turn is the easiest example. Though it may not always apply, a good thing to do in a head turn, is to add a slight turn down halfway through the turn. So frame 1 he's straight a head, frame 3 he's halfway through the turn, but tilt his head down just a little, then in frame 6 he's looking to the side and his head's tilted back to where it was in frame 1. Does that make sense? Try it and you'll see what I'm talking about.
Ok, ok, ok, I'll shut up now. Hope this helps, let me know if you have questions, disagreements, or comments.
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Thanks for the comments. Whether or not the last hand motion is appropriate is pretty subjective, and I'd like some other people's thoughts on it. I tried to make fairly minimal arm and hand movement, it's more of just a rotation and fan, but I do understand that the voicetrack isn't very upbeat.
Jeetman, in regards to your suggestion, I'm going to have to (and I very rarely do) disagree. Initially I had his hand turned down in a pointing position, and it looked too cliche and unnatural. When people are talking with their hands, and open upward, or sideways palm is a far more common way to gesture towards someone, rather than a one finger point. Of course I could be totally wrong, in which case, I'd love to hear some more opinions on the matter. Thanks for the crit though, just because I don't agree doesn't mean I don't appreciate the feedback.
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Well, when my wife first viewed the animation, she said the exact same thing that you did Dhar, so I guess it's confirmed: Tinman needs to leave his hand on his chest a bit longer. I updated the scene and agree with both of you that it looks loads better with a little pause. Thank you very much for the suggestion.
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Howdy. Did this last night and tonight. Fairly happy with it at the moment, but I think that an over arching problem for me is my acting. I feel pretty confident in the actual animating, but without strong acting, the best animation in the world is going to...SUCK. Anyway, take a look.
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Thanks for the comments Nancy. Anyone else have a thought on the axe toss? I'd like some more input on it.
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Updated the animation, took out some directionless hand motions.
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Way to lead by example Mr. Hash! You're off to a good start, and I'll make a couple suggestions. First off, I think that the bow could work well with the dialogue, but you might try changing the timing a bit. When I animate a scene, I say the dialogue out loud as I act, then I have a reference while I'm animating as to what action happens when. For example, on the bow have the anticipation (Woot leaning back a little and tilting his head back) happen during the lines "if it," then have then execute the bow on "pleases." The follow through and ease could happen on "your majesty" and perhaps Woot glances up at the Tinman. He then sits back up and puts his hand to his chest while he says "I should like to hear." Anyway, take it for what it's worth, animation (especially acting) is very subjective, and in the eyes of the beholder. You could probably animate this scene 100 different ways and have them all work.
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He was adjusting his crown in the reflection of his axe. I'm not sure about the mood either, but in this entire scene he's playing with his axe the whole time as Woot is talking to him. Is this the final audio? A lot of it is kind of monotone.
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Hiya,
another scene I did last night and today. The compressions really high, so it looks crappy, but you'll be able to get the idea.
Sneeze
in Work In Progress / Sweatbox
Posted
changed the walk to a more "normal" walk. Better?
sneeze_low.mov