Character Animation Reel

[anmKevin]

hey man, thanks for sharing.

I think a lot of your acting scenes aren't too bad, but could use more polish. There are parts where it looks like linear keys only. The one where the guy jumps from platform to platform could really use a lot more work. There is absolutely no sense of weight. He doesn't seem to push himself when he jumps, and that's simply due to there being no anticipation, or barely any. The walks aren't bad, but you probably don't need to have that many. All in all, for a student to do that in 2 months is not bad at all.

[GoldenCamel]

you reel is okay. not great, not too bad, somewhere in the middle.

[jipe]

GoldenCamel:
As usual, chiming in with a blunt, honest, yet entirely unconstructive comment. Do everyone a favor and either back up your "thumbs up/down" with some helpful critique, or don't bother posting. AHMEDJr gains very little from your one sentence feedback.

AHMEDJr: Your reel shows potential, but needs work. I would shorten it considerably, as 50-60 seconds of good animation is much more desirable than 2+ minutes of average animation. I recommend cutting all of the "DMP Animations" clips that appear after the credits; they are not nearly as strong as your personal exercises.

Shot 1 - Broadcasters:
Needs better staging; the characters are seated directly in front of the camera, looking right at it. The audio does give you a justification for making the characters look at the camera, but why not try a different camera position? An angle like in this image (http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2005/12/23/PH2005122301648.jpg) is much more interesting. Also, the characters usetoo many gestures. Every. Single. Syllable. Is. Being. Hit. With. A. Gesture. Take some of the hand/arm movements out and mix up the timing so they're not all the same speed.

Shot 2 - Walk Cycle:
I'm guessing this was meant to be a "vanilla" walk. It accomplishes that, but may be a little too vanilla for my taste. Maybe a little more exaggerated hip movement (not too much, though), and loosen up the torso/head so they're not so stiff? Also see if you can fully extend the legs before they hit, to increase the contrast with the bent position.

Shot 3 - Orange Guy Walk Cycle:
I don't think this walk is pushed nearly as far as it could be. If you're going for cartoony, go for it! Don't hold back. Push the timing so it's less even, and push the poses. Do something crazy with the feet. Experiment!

Shot 4 - Real Guy Walk Cycle:
Not as convincing as shot 2's walk cycle, in my opinion. The character hits each step stiffly; try to get more movement in the hips.

Shot 5 - Coffee:
Has the potential to be your strongest shot, but needs better staging (think like a cinematographer!). The finger point at the cigarettes by the guy on the right isn't necessary - what if he shows it with his eyes and a little motion of his head? A lot of the motions of both characters look as if they're still in linear, like Kevin suggests above. They lack ease in/ease out and the timing is very similar, which means it's less interesting. If you can work on this one and really push it, I would put it at the front of your reel.

Shot 6 - Knife Guy:
The quick fist motion at "life" seems out of place, as does the shoulder shrug/look upwards at the end. The first half of the clip is definitely stronger than the second half. Maybe focus on defining a situation & motivation for the character. Where is he? Who is he? Is there another person in the room that he's talking to? (Probably). Instead of trying to act in a void, put the character smack dab into a situation and make that clear to the audience.

Shots 7, 8, 10 - Box Push, Run, Platform Jump:
All of these lack weight (in varying degrees) and feel unnatural. Push your timing, making sure things are slowing on the way up and speeding up on the way down, with enough overlap on each body part. How things land is an important part of showing weight. The box push is the most successful of the 3, but it feels unmotivated, character-wise.

Shot 9 - Snappy Walk Cycle:
Much more lively timing than most of your other animation; I dig it.

Overall, good work. Keep animating, and good on ya for seeking out critique - I look forward to seeing some of this stuff revised.

[GoldenCamel]

GoldenCamel:
As usual, chiming in with a blunt, honest, yet entirely unconstructive comment. Do everyone a favor and either back up your "thumbs up/down" with some helpful critique, or don't bother posting. AHMEDJr gains very little from your one sentence feedback.



couldn't care less if he gained anything from my post or not. this is a forum, everyone's entitled to their opinion and i said mine. thank you.

[AHMEDJr]

Thanks anmKevin.
You are right about the Jump. It was my first exercise and I animated everything in a hurry to see the final result and it didnt turn out that good. Shouldnt have done that. I will remove that jump and make a new one, and will also try to make my animation smooth.

Thanks GoldenCamel.
Yeh I know I am somewhere in the middle. That's why I posted the reel here at cgtalk. I showed my wip to some guys but everybody said its cool. I knew it was ok but couldnt pinpoint exactly where I was losing focus. Should have posted my exercises one by one here under WIP Forum. My bad.

Thanks jipe.
Now you did exactly what I had in my mind, that I am gonna get pinpoint review of my reel here at cgtalk. Thanks again for your time. I will try my best to do whatever you said and make some corrections. I will also come up with some new ideas and start a fresh. I will work on my timing, exaggeration, weight and scene setup. I am really obliged that you spent that much time reviewing my reel.

[yogeshsherman]

HI AHMEDJr Nice work after a long time I find someone from Delhi.
I must agree with jipe the points he raised are valid I think you should also work on some of your camera skills as it will add to the whole scene.
Overall a nice effort .keep up the good work .

My Work (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=421934)


(http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=421934)

[AHMEDJr]

Thanks for your reply yogeshsherman.

yes....jipe did a nice job and I am really thankful. Man I did all the work here at home without any help or constructive critic. I am looking for a job now to enhance and polish my skills (as anmKevin said..). I will move to south if I couldnt find a job as character animator here at Delhi.

I saw your work yogeshsherman...Its AWESOME. 2nd still was really cool. Infact everything was cool on your page. Great job. :thumbsup:. Where r u working now?

[yogeshsherman]

Thanks for your comment.
If you beleive me don't move to south so early as I know how companies are working there and your work is good enough just need a little improvement so after that you can approach any company you want .
I know in delhi it is very difficult to find animation work but it is not impossible :thumbsup: till then keep animating.

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