CGTalk - How much MORE do you animate?

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Mooncalf

02-07-2004, 04:54 AM

Hey y'all,

So here's the scene: You've got your character walking around, doing this and that, blah blah blah... but the shot that the scene calls for never reveals anything below the waist.

Do you animate the feet even though they'll never be see? Or do you bounce the torso alon while the feet hang and drag below the frame?

Is there a standard answer for something like this? That is, would most people say the same thing, or does it vary from animator to animator? (or project to project, or director to director, etc.)

- M

SheepFactory

02-07-2004, 05:35 AM

I do animate the feet. not the whole thing (no rolls etc) but i put my feet to where it should be to get a better idea of weight and timing.

I find it harder to animate if the feet is hanging loose.

ChrisHale

02-08-2004, 01:41 AM

I usually animate the feet so i know how to move the torso properly. Sometimes when you try to fake it, it can look like its faked.

TRi-14

02-08-2004, 05:26 AM

I agree with Sheep and Chris on this one. When something is out of frame, like feet, i would animate them but don’t worry about making them perfect, just do quick keys on them to get placement of the rest of the body right. If you don’t do that you may end up getting the torso not to move correctly and it would look all weird.

In cases where you would only see the characters feet, then you would not have to animate anything else on the body (only things that would change the look of the feet).

I think it’s a very case specific matter and most times a personal thing. Don’t not animate something off screen just because... you may need to because of skin deformations or various other reasons.

-chris

Mooncalf

02-08-2004, 05:32 AM

Thanks for the responses, y'all.

I was a little concerned that I needed to move some offscreen legs and feet in order to get the body placement right. I was worried that it's "not what professional animators do."

You know, all those insecurites you had when you were just starting out, too. Thanks for making me feel not so unpracticed. :)

- M

adavies

02-13-2004, 10:49 AM

definitely animate the feet. sometimes you can tell if they're not moving by the deformation on the pelvis if it's in view and it is really hard to get the timing and position of the character looking good if you dont.

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