CliffHanger Anim- Nick Whitmire

[-Jack]

Haha i loved it. I thought the animation was well done, very few parts seemed unnatural though there were a couple. For example, towards the end, when he picked himself up after finally landing, he seemed to bend a little too much. Again, there were a couple points that seemed a little off, but overall it was nicely done. I thought it was humorous and showed off some well done animation, nice work!

[key_framer]

Hey man,
This is off to a great start!! I laughed pretty darn hard the whole way through! However, I'll point out some stuff that caught my eye... Before I start...is there any way to post with a frame counter? If you;re using Maya I know there are some good ones on highend 3d...just search for "frame counter" under the mel section... I was trying to step through it and count frames, but it's pretty long and I got lost trying to count and take notes... I'll make more of a general comments list instead of trying to pin point certain frames...

1) I wish he tried to wave at the camera little bit sooner than he does...right now it doesn't quite read as that. Maybe instead of look...run...look and start to wave...he waves the first time....or instead of a wave...maybe he gives a thumbs up to the camera. I think the thumbs up might read more quickly.

2) watch your spacings...there are a couple of pretty big pops in there right now. If you repost with a counter I can get more specific, but for example...watch his head as he trips over the rock in the beginning. I think it'll read more smoothly if he continues his forward momentum a few more frames before you reverse his spine arc and whip him down the mountain (maybe to the last frame where his right foot is touching the rock...). Another time could be when he is airborn (the first time). he is falling at a specific rate and then he somehow speeds WAY up before he grabs the rock... it could be the camera...not sure... there are some others, bu it would be much easier to crit if I had some frames to refer to...

3) Watch your arcs... one of the biggest arc things I see is after he falls from the boulder that ripped out of the wall he bounces off the ground and does a backwards flip in the air and then slams back down...watch his hips...they kind of bounce all over the place. At one point, it looks like he is gaining altitude after he starts his fall...once again, this may be due to the camera...but with only the backdrop in view, it reads a little funky...Also, there are quite a few times that his limbs could use a little arc tweaking...

4) This one may be just me...keep that in mind when you read this next part;) I don't "buy" the part where he grabs the rock...sorry man...I can tell that you spent a ton of time with it...but I think that he needs to grab it while facing the rock. This could be easy...oops I mean "easy" to fix by rotating/flipping him one more time in his big fall area...I think that parts needs more rotation anyway, because he does whip himself around pretty fast at one point and that momentum would carry him through more of a summersault... And so when he does save himself he is facing the boulder/ledge. And instead of him staring at the cam and doing his eye quiver (which I do love!) he could be trying to climb back up when the rock rips free from the wall. However, if you do keep what you have, I think you need to add something to let the audience know that the boulder is about to rip out of the wall...maybe while he is staring at the cam, the boulder slowly starts to detacth. That would help a lot with the anticipation for the rock slip...WE know it but he doesn't...or he could see it and therefore give the cam a look and the ol' eye quiver lets us know that he knows his "ride" isn't over yet... But, I think he needs to face the rock...but I also know that at this point you're probably sold on what you have already;) Oh, and if you do keep what you have, watch out for the first couple of frames when the rock rips out...he quickle turns to face the wall (Which he wouldn't have to do if he was facing the wall already;)) and his arm goes right through his head...ouch!!!

5) Squash/Stretch... I love the addition of it, but I think there are times that it needs to be tweaked... or even added... Here's a spot that I think you need it. On his last grab..before he does his AWESOME slide down the rock on his stomach, I think it would read so much better if right after he grabs the rock, his legs still have all that momentum going...let the legs stretch out his spine, arms, and maybe even add a little in the legs area (That make sense?)...so he's grabbing the rock...but everything below that grab point (his hands) wants to keep going that original direction (away from the wall and down)...and therefore the limbs and spine streeeeetttcchh before slamming into the ground... sorry if that doesn't make sense, but I think you'll understand by stepping through your anim... Another example of where I think you need to add it is when he gets hit with the boulder at the end. I think that where you currently have his head pop off his body should be "wrapped" around the boulder and leave the head on for that last frame...also at the point of rock hitting him...I'd try to keep his head closer to the frame right before he gets hit...I think there's too big of a jump/pop there...to sum up...keep his head attached for one more frame and in that last frame really stretch his rig to wrap around that boulder. here's an example of where it needs some tweeking... when his head pops off, it's just like the good ol' bouncing ball exercise you've done a ton of times... meaning, his head would lengthen before it hits the ground and not flatten like you have it...there are a few other places that I can see a little tweaking going on, but I think that I've written a long enough novel to get you started;)

Once again Nick, you've started a VERY great and fun animation. I just want to see you take it to the next level and clean up all the great work you've shared wit us!!! Hopefully, this crit makes some sense...if you repost with a counter I'll try to clear up any confusion...it's just easier to refer to number/frame ranges than verbal descriptions of areas;) Thanks for posting a great anim to watch my man!!
-Tim

[mayazeus]

Thanks Tim for the advice. Made alot of sence without totally destroying my confidence....heh. Thanks dude.



Nick

[mistasam02]

LMAO!!! i knew that rock had to be coming!! LOLOLOL :D :applause: i was just picturing Homer goin "doh.. Doh.. dOh.. DoH..." haha great work dude! theres nothing i can add on top of Tim's post, but yea looks very good and very funny! cheers!

[key_framer]

yo Nick,
I'm glad that you took my rather long crit as constructive...I really meant no harm by it. I know how hard it can be to take crits sometimes...especially, when you've put so much effort into a piece already. Actually, I was hesitant to write so much stuff...but, I just really liked what you've started and wanted to point out a few things that I think will make it extra super duper. I hope to see more great work from ya man!!!
-Tim

[golden14]

Hey Nick, great piece. It's definitely something different and entertaining. I thought it was pretty solid, but there were 2 parts that really stood out to me that could maybe use a little tinkering.

When he initially trips over the rock at the start, it almost happens too fast compared to how fast he's running. Also, I think his body may be bending backwards a bit too much before he goes forwards, which might be the other reason it looks a little off.

The other thing was at the end, when he goes to get up off the ground. This is just my opinion, but I think it might look a little better if when he initially raises his upperbody off the ground, he does it a bit slower. After a fall like that, it seems like he would be real slow to get up. The rest of him getting up looks to be the right speed, its just at first that looks a little too quick.

Other than that, its excellent, very funny. I hope everything in Cali is going well.

- Shay

[CGTalk Moderation]

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.