Test 4
Since my fast compressor broke I've been slower than I'd like posting tests. I have to output clips twice to get the small enough and it's time consuming.
In any case, finally here's the latest. This test has all the main body actions, minus some smoothing out. (It's still a little too stiff and artificial for my liking) I plan to keep tweaking it while I tackle more movement in the face: tongue, ears, nose, eyes, adam's apple.
xvid 1.1M
Please, comment away! I'd really like to hear your opinion on the acting... What's NOT working??? The more particular you can be, the better.
Thanks ahead of time, and stay tuned for more tests!
posted by Glenn @ 3:09 PM
8 comments
8 Comments:
This is looking mint, Glenn. But you wanted a criticism, so here goes: Maybe there could be a suble settle in the arms on the "smithereens" pose?
Thanks, Dave!
I thought I'd add a bit of shake in his arms to suggest he's straining his muscles. Definitely some residual body movement as well.
Glenn
Hey Glenn,
Looking solid man. Really good.
He's looking a little stiff around the hips and shoulders on the walk.
The "heads in the sand" part might have too much arm movement. I'd consider keeping verything subtle and nuanced up until the cutrain drop.
The "blown to smithereens" pose might be too close to the "zarg armada" pose. They both fit well and look great but maybe mixing it up would be better.
I really like the poses around "believe your safe" and "precious earth".
But the hold after "believe your safe" seems unnatural, are you adding some animation in there?
I'd like to see some action in there that isn't just gesticulating with the hands.
An example would be to pick a bit of lint off his clothes and examine it before flicking it away. That might work in place of the hold after "believe your safe"
Just an example - not necessarily a suggestion.
Anyway, it is looking good and that's my 2 cents!
Great input, Art! I should be addressing most of your crits in the next test.
The "believe you're safe" hold is still unnatural looking. The goal is to instill a sense of a restful pause, which will require a lot more attention to the subtleties. Perhaps a slow blink, settling of the shoulders and hips and overall ambient movement. If it still doesn't work after that, I'll try something else.
The "heads in the sand" animation leading up to that point is also more energetic than need be so I'm glad you mentioned it. Often, the tendency in animation is to gesture too much or beyond what the emotion calls for. I'll tone it down and see how that works.
The similarity between the "smithereens" and "Zaaarg Armada" poses was a concern I had early on. I am leaning towards changing his Armada delivery but so far I'm not decided on the alternative. I'm reluctant to take away the symmetry of that final pose. Maybe it's just a matter of taking away his skyward-looking "ZAAARG" pose?
The lint flick example definitely gets the wheels turning on ways to add nuance to his acting, which is what we want. If any more suggestions come to mind, I'm all ears!
Glenn
I figured you were already on top of what I said but I mentioned it anyway.
It's hard critting your stuff because I know you plan to fill that stuff in, so it's redundant to mention it. Redundant is not the right word but you know what I mean.
If you change one of the poses, I suggest keeping the Armada one - the symetry is powerful and that is the one you want to hit in my opinion.
Maybe a fist-squeeze for the first pose?
I'm sure something will come to you.
I'm glad you look at the work this closely, Art. It's easy to go 90 percent of the way and leave it there. I'd much rather go the extra mile and be proud of the results. Your attention to the details is keeping me on track! THANKS!
Hey Glen,
I know it's been while since I've actually animated a few things, but I watched the recent video and it's looking great. I have a few things I thought you might want to look at.
In the opening, when he turns and walks the movement seems very robotic and I think it's because you have the hips moving in the same direction as the shoulders for the last few steps. It just doesn't look natural, take another look and tell me what you think?
I think the final pose for "zarg armada" works well, but as you've been told by others, it shouldn't be used in the "blown to smithereens" portion. Maybe have him move to more of a crouch position and act out the explosion horizontally instead of vertically?
Either way, it's looking great man. Keep up the good work.
Matt
Thanks for posting your thoughts, Matt! You still have the eye, that's for sure! I've already made progress on loosening up the walk to make it look more natural. Hip and shoulder swing is a big part of that. I'm also a little closer to what I had in mind for the "blown to smithereens" part. I hope you guys like it! Stay tuned for a new post VERY SOON!
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