Student Animation Demo Reel 2009

[TYGAR]

Hey what's up man,that is a nice start,but I think the animation is a little stiff and floaty(all of it)maybe get back to some basic stuff(bouncing balls,posing)sorry I am not too detailed but I think you need a better foundation and the dance moves seemed like random movements,do something people can identify,unless that's how you dance then you have bigger problems lol.

[ericdibuono]

I think you may be pigeon-holing yourself with your reel content. It seems like you focused more on making it a joke than you did refining your animation. Nothing feels 100% natural in it. I would go back over the whole thing and re-work your passes. Another thing you may want to consider is changing the song, because rick-rolling potential employers may be frowned upon. Don't lose hope, keep motivated and you'll get much better.

[Tad Ghostal]

Yeah, I'd suggest changing the song also. Mainly because it puts a date on the animation. If you are still sending this same demo out in a year, potential employers are gonna see it and might think you haven't really done anything new over a few years span.

[detached]

I'll focus on the horse scene in this critique. For your first ever animation material, this isn't terrible I've certainly seen a lot worse.

On a reel, you want to have the absolute best of the best animation you can do. But not only does it have to be good, it has to be fun to watch. The first scene on the reel was better animated than the rest. I would guess you spent the most time on that. This last shot feels more like a filler and that can be dangerous on a reel. You always want quality over quantity.

There are a few technical problems I noticed with the animation. The first thing that stood out was the stiffness. They feel like they're hitting brick walls at the end of their movements. There needs to be more follow-through on objects especially if they're moving quickly. When the horse rears up the first time, it looks like he hits his head on something. But this is the case with most of the movement in this shot.

There also needs to be anticipation in there especially with broad movements. When the horse rears up the second time its like ropes just pulled him up. Basically go down before you go up, up before down, back before forward. Etc.

Watch out for intersecting geometry. The horses hoof goes through the ground plane a few times. I noticed this in other parts of the reel as well. Theres also some joint popping in there.

It won't take much to polish up these shots. But it would be well worth it before shipping the reel.

[RustyGray]

Hey what's up man,that is a nice start,but I think the animation is a little stiff and floaty(all of it)maybe get back to some basic stuff(bouncing balls,posing)sorry I am not too detailed but I think you need a better foundation and the dance moves seemed like random movements,do something people can identify,unless that's how you dance then you have bigger problems lol.

Thank you everyone for your helpful feedback. I definitely plan on mastering the fundamentals but I know that's going to take some time. With the dance moves I wanted to get some wacky movements and have them seem imperfect as this guy is just your average no rhythm dude. So I video taped myself several times for hours on end trying a lot of different approaches. The movements were pretty funny, but I probably could have executed them better in the animation. Perhaps later or in another dance I throw in more cliche or typical moves...pull a John Travolta.

[RustyGray]

I think you may be pigeon-holing yourself with your reel content. It seems like you focused more on making it a joke than you did refining your animation. Nothing feels 100% natural in it. I would go back over the whole thing and re-work your passes. Another thing you may want to consider is changing the song, because rick-rolling potential employers may be frowned upon. Don't lose hope, keep motivated and you'll get much better.


When I go to animate a scene I try my best to include every aspect of it (timing, spacing...) and not focus on just one thing. Story is heavily weighed with the animation so that my idea is clear. In this case it was to make this guy embarrassed. So if you mean I was trying to make a joke with rick rolling that is not the main point, its just a little extra humor. I was looking for a song that would be something you could easily get embarrassed about in public but still seem reasonable. I'm kind of curious why you think employers would frown at the rick-rolling, as its the first time I've heard that from anyone. Could you elaborate?

[RustyGray]

Yeah, I'd suggest changing the song also. Mainly because it puts a date on the animation. If you are still sending this same demo out in a year, potential employers are gonna see it and might think you haven't really done anything new over a few years span.

I see your point in that, and I would probably change the song on that basis. Although I definitely do not plan on sending out the same reel in a year. If I did it would not be the best work I can do. Good call though, thanks.

I take it a few of you guys went to Full Sail as well?

[RustyGray]

I'll focus on the horse scene in this critique. For your first ever animation material, this isn't terrible I've certainly seen a lot worse.

On a reel, you want to have the absolute best of the best animation you can do. But not only does it have to be good, it has to be fun to watch. The first scene on the reel was better animated than the rest. I would guess you spent the most time on that. This last shot feels more like a filler and that can be dangerous on a reel. You always want quality over quantity.

There are a few technical problems I noticed with the animation. The first thing that stood out was the stiffness. They feel like they're hitting brick walls at the end of their movements. There needs to be more follow-through on objects especially if they're moving quickly. When the horse rears up the first time, it looks like he hits his head on something. But this is the case with most of the movement in this shot.

There also needs to be anticipation in there especially with broad movements. When the horse rears up the second time its like ropes just pulled him up. Basically go down before you go up, up before down, back before forward. Etc.

Watch out for intersecting geometry. The horses hoof goes through the ground plane a few times. I noticed this in other parts of the reel as well. Theres also some joint popping in there.

It won't take much to polish up these shots. But it would be well worth it before shipping the reel.

First off thanks, its good to get another take on the horse. When we were planning our reel we were required to take on an action scene, lipsync, and a quadruped animation. Since then the quad has been moved to optional but it was quite a fun, useful, informative time. It could be removed, but its pretty advanced mechanics, and its a different skillset a lot of animators dont have experience with.


The Dance did take the longest but it is also the longest animation at 30 seconds.
I expected the Biped Animations to come out strong since that is what is taught in the school and its what Ive spent most of my time on. There was a lot more experimentation, studying, and re-blocking just to figure out how a horse moves in all facets. However, despite the difficulty, I was fascinated more and more with horse movements. I'll be doing more horse animations shortly so I can better apply follow-through and anticipation like you mentioned.

Thanks again everyone, I appreciate it. I'll take all the critiques I can get, so I'm happy to have received yours.

[Tad Ghostal]

I see your point in that, and I would probably change the song on that basis. Although I definitely do not plan on sending out the same reel in a year. If I did it would not be the best work I can do. Good call though, thanks.

I take it a few of you guys went to Full Sail as well?



I'd hope you'd be able to put a new reel together in a years time. At least have a website with up to date content. The last place I worked I'd critique reals/web sites of applicants w/ the art director. A lot of people would put like "2006" on their animation work, and that was the newest work they had put on their site. They'd send me a cover letter saying how passionate they are for animation but they hadn't put any new work up in 2 years. It was kinda hard to take them seriously, which is why I tell people not to put physical dates on stuff.

Yes, I went to Full Sail, graduated from computer animation class of 03/06 and I interned in the game design program's asset production class for 3 months doing animation and other artsy stuff. It was a good time.

[RustyGray]

I'd hope you'd be able to put a new reel together in a years time. At least have a website with up to date content. The last place I worked I'd critique reals/web sites of applicants w/ the art director. A lot of people would put like "2006" on their animation work, and that was the newest work they had put on their site. They'd send me a cover letter saying how passionate they are for animation but they hadn't put any new work up in 2 years. It was kinda hard to take them seriously, which is why I tell people not to put physical dates on stuff.

Yes, I went to Full Sail, graduated from computer animation class of 03/06 and I interned in the game design program's asset production class for 3 months doing animation and other artsy stuff. It was a good time.

Wow that's pretty crazy. Guess those same people don't ever plan on advancing anywhere either. I can only imagine how annoying that must get when reviewing reels to see animation dated so far back. Well expect to see a new demo reel post from me again; at least at the beginning of the new year if there is a necessity.

Interning at Full Sail does seem like a fun learning experience, and I might do that for roughly 3 months before Summer Internships at companys. That way I keep pushing my skills while I await an answer.

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