Animation: Pouncing toaster, hidden camera

Instead of attending to the pressing but boring task I had at hand, I poked around this spider-camera-robot sub d model I got off a recent 3d World coverdisc. What started as a look around turned into a rigging, and then an eight second animation of the 'bot walking up, looking around, crouching, cocking its "head", pouncing at the camera (knocking it over) then crab-walking sideways across the field of view from right to left.

The model's not my own, I know the lighting is dicky and there's not much of an environment to speak of, but if you guys can tell me any way to improve any aspect of the animation, I'll be in your debt.

Used max 5.1 for this one, btw.
Div X 5 avi, 370 kb

Great work, but...
don't you think that your bot's moves are a little too perfect? i think you should animate the bot a bit less "linear": every move af your bot is nearly a perfect motion from point a to b. adding a little "noise" to its movements would make the whole animation a lot more realistic.

nevertheless, great work!

Add a bit of inertia to the turns, eh? Sounds like good advice to me.

Version 2!
(400 kb divX 5.05)

Added footsteps when it looks to and fro, and it bobs up and down when the feet lift. When it pounces, the back feet don't leave the ground at the exact same time anymore.

What do you think?

Version 3! Come on!

Got some follow through on the glances, but I'm a little ambivalent about it.

looking better, biggest oddball I see are the stops, try to ease in and ease out some parts of the animation, make it more fluid

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manboy, hey ya got some good stuff goin there

my suggestion is bigger steps.. the leg movement seems way to tight and small ... a spider reaches out almost the whole length of it's leg where here it's too confined ....also the jump is to tight ... needs more secondary movement as well as nuclearwanze pointed out

your definetely on the right track though

it reminds me more of a crab than a spider... its leg movementa are small and short,,, like a crab, and after it knocks the camera down it scuttles off sideways... umm like a crab..


now i am off to work...

quick like bunny

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Comments?:
[URL=forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=326589]Gannon Paintover[URL]

Also... the timing on the jump, it seems too slow, spiders pounce really fast! I agree about the perfection problem, more noise, more interesting inbetweens/poses would make this animation stronger.

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