Animation feedback please

#1

So I’m trying to animate something this long and sort of complex for the first time. I’m a total noob at animation so please help me with this if you can.

I’m still not finished with this clip, as im not 100℅ sure about the timings of the ball contacts in the second half of the clip.
Anyway, i was hoping to get some valuable feedback/critique/reviews. I’d be very greatful!
Thankyou!
(I also have a few ball bounce scenes animated prior to this in the same channel, feel free to check them as well)

Link to the video:

https://youtu.be/-dDQDAUo8Bg

#2

Hey looks like a fun challenge… my main criticism would be that the ball seems very undecided.

At first it stretches like a rubber dodge ball, but then rolls and hits kinda differently at each obstacle… most noticeably after the windmill when it hits the steps and completely loses expected momentum based on everything that just happened before. My suspension of disbelief is totally broken there as it suddenly gains a lot of weight! I think you’re focusing too much on conceptually executing each section without staying consistent to how the ball should correctly react based on real world physics.

Also noticing the slow down at the very end needs much smoother splines. Again I think knowing more about the type of ball would help with that.

Your previous ball bounces are also suffering from the same issues.

I’d recommend checking out these videos on Physics for Animators- https://www.youtube.com/user/AlejandroLuisGarcia/playlists?shelf_id=3&view=50&sort=dd

#3

Yeah i should put more thought on the ball’s properties i guess

That helps a lot. Thankyou!

#4

Alright i think i sort of fixed the ball animation to a certain extent. Although im sure there still a lot remains to work on it. This is what i ended up with for now :
https://youtu.be/-YZ76_uO9VE

And then i started trying to animate a pendulum, after multiple trials, this is what i got :
https://youtu.be/AuzrWTjAPcI

Help me out please

#5

The very final part of the ball roll is the only major thing that sticks out!

I still might slightly change the arc after the windmill to give more hang time and better match bouncing down the stairs… but that’s the sorta thing that is give or take at this point. Great progress!!!

The pendulum however… I would not over complicate it like that. I’d do a static closeup shot to focus on nailing the motion of swinging back and forth.

IF you’re set on having the entire thing move, set up the audience to know what to expect. Right now it’s unpleasantly random. Framing it lower towards the middle of the frame to move from left-ish to right would help setup expectation. You could also tilt the saucer towards the direction it will move… and should at the very least place a wall for it to hit against!

So basically the main problem with your pendulum is the staging.

#6

Got it. Thankyou very much BruceStoria!

#7

hello!
i worked pretty hard on this particular clip, although because i messed up at the beginning stages. anyway, here’s the clip. please give any feedback or critique you can, ill be very grateful! thanks!
https://youtu.be/Bk2lzlpefoI

note: the moments might seem weird but i plan on animation spikes falling from above which will cause the pendulum to dodge it as it is trying to go towards the right side of the screen.

#8

Heya… that’s looking a LOT better but now it’s hard to give useful feedback without actually seeing the falling spikes. Would get those in there even if they’re rough!

That reminds me… do you know about stepped tangents for blocking in animation?

Windows>Setting/Pref>Pref>Animation>Tangents
in tangent- FLAT
out tangent- STEPPED

By default that will snap down all the splines on new keyframes so you can focus on just poses and timing. Makes it easier to quickly figure out an entire animation before spending the extra time on smoothing it out with splines!

At this stage it might not be so useful… but up next you should definitely learn more about Pose to Pose, Stepped Tangents, and Blocking to help with future animations!

#9

hi! yes i have heard about stepped tangents but never tried it, maybe because it is new to me :s anyway ill give it a shot in my next clip. thanks for telling me!
about the spikes, alright then i’ll do some simple spikes falling and post that clip too!
thank you for your time! i’ll follow this with an updated clip soon.

#10

Cool man. Happy to see you improve! :slight_smile:

#11

you’re very helpful xD
here is the same clip with spikes as i planned them.
https://youtu.be/6OEsXEsvpcA

#12

Not sure where this will be used, but the last spike part is “not the best”. By that i mean for general viewer. While viewing it at normal speed it looks like the spike hits the flying saucer. I also thought that way and would have said that if it hits, why isn’t it changing it’s trajectory (the spikes), but after watching it at 0,25 speed i saw that it was actually sliding through the gap between spikes.
All in all, such little moments confuse the viewers, makes them think that the movie is wrong or that some sort of mistake was left out. Thats a rather negative feeling, while im sure you want to produce only positive feelings (at least thats the wibe i get).
Not sure what to advice for the fixing part, but always try to look at your animation from viewers point :slight_smile:

#13

Is that really how that looks? xD
Gee, thanks for letting me know. Ill correct it whem i use it somewhere.
And i did this clip just as a practice exercise, although if it gets positive revuews or very little negative revuews, i might improve/fix it further and make a, sort of, progress reel out of it. well, it’s basically to get my skills set right :3
Thankyou though!

#14

I think what this really needs now is an idea for what is shooting spikes!

I imagine at the beginning the ceiling comes down slightly with spikes sticking out of it ready to attack. This startles the bot which shows us why he moves to the other side of the screen… and has to dodge spikes shaking loose and fall down?

OR… maybe similar looking robot platforms are racing across the screen from both sides… shooting down spikes that he must dodge! Something like that could be cool.

Whatever you decide (maybe even just call it done) …for this exercise, the platform bot’s animation is pretty believable. I’d say now it’s just a matter of adding some icing on that cake!

#15

The first one is a cool idea xD thankyou! I’ll do something about it :slight_smile: now i guess ill practice with the tailed ball rig. Yay

#16

hello, i’m back! Thankyou for your support so far :slight_smile: edit: thankyou bruce xD
been practicing the tailed ball exercise, which proved to be a real challenge for me to get a grasp on. but now i think i kind of got the hang of it. still, it’s far from complete/decent. i plan on making this particular clip my final one for this exercise, so no matter how long it takes, i will work on this one until i’m satisfied with it.
i already have a couple of things in mind which i intend to add into the tail. by the wai, the tail is supposed to feel alive.
please take a look at the clip below and help me out. will appreciate it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdKr2jtTMGo&feature=youtu.be

#17

I like this one a lot so far

Can you try giving him a running start on that first platform instead of a hop?

#18

Im not sure what you mean. Are you proposing the balll to, kindof, slide/roll across the screen om the first platform, showing us that it is trying to gain speed?

#19

Yeah he’s a ball… let him roll (run) lol.

That long ground has me expecting a run before the platform hops. Might even change it so he runs first then hops 3 platforms to keep that pleasing rhythm?

OR just shorten the first ground to not even have that question mark.

Just some thoughts to consider. Don’t let me stall you!

#20

Mehehe. That’s actually a good idea though. I’ll see what i can do xD thankyou!