Hey folks,
I just finished a short animation exercise after a long long break. The lovely rig and model come from Ali Tezel, check it out, it’s a simple yet wonderful rig.
Honest and constructive thoughts and critiques are highly appreciated (I'm trying to get better)!
[VIMEO]46775916[/VIMEO]
QT-Version: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/59266276/crabbot_web.mp4
Cheers and Thanks!
PExcellent, I would love to see more and with sound. You did a great job getting the bot to look “alive”, which is always hard to do. At the end, I wanted to see more and I think others will too.
I’m trying to learn animation at the moment, so my opinion/thoughts are not well informed, but I do think the timing is really good. Very expressive I think.
I agree the body mechanics are working very well; my favorite part is the bot’s entrance. The way that you animated this guy makes him appear curious but very timid at the same time, so you can build on those characteristics even more. The body mechanics are solid, so if you want to work on it more i would focus on the acting; or make a more acting focused shot for the next exercise.
The only thing i really noticed was the “eye animation”. Even though its just a hole, i think you can get a little bit more from the eye darts. Right before the ball hits this fellow, the eye should at least look in the direction of the ball as he does the jump. Keep that in mind for the actions he does after; he’ll look in the direction of the object, and as hes feeling the ball his eye might dart up; trying to recall what this object feels like. It’s nit picky stuff, but you’re at that level my friend. Other than that you have an excellent shot here.
cheers
double up the size of that eyeball. . coupla guys i work with looked at it and didn’t see the eye till the 2nd viewing.
For me its the acting choices that throw it towards the last third… Here’s what he does or looks like he does…
pops in walks over (Ace!)
gets frightened by a ball… autopilots into tank mode (Ace btw!!!)
then turns and faces us
steps back and he’s completely forgot about that ball he just reacted to… touches n feels it then reacts again to it with fright
steps away and is hit by another but shows no shock.
The whole acting thing feels a bit strange. Here’s what i would do and i suggest you at least block it out to see how it looks 
-pops in walks over
-gets frightened by a ball… autopilots into tank mode
-while still facing the ball his head should pop up… point the tank nose down at it so it looks like he’s looking at it.
-turn head, stand back up
-have another ball come in right to left in the foreground… then a second one come in left to right… this is his reason to step back in the way he already does… your animation is already looking like he reacts to one or two passing in the foreground
-he steps back into the original ball he hit… in infuriation he should kick it off screen or towards camera.
-this kick of the ball triggers dozens to drop down from sky
-from there character can really panic as they fall about him and hit him on the bonce then sprint off screen.
its just an idea. It REALLY is a beautiful animation and i’m smitten with the character design and the way you’ve animated it but the acting choices feel a little ‘lost’ to me. the suggestions i made above will wrap up the piece nicely and tie in with whats happening along with adding a bit of cause n effect.
good luck - itching to see more
Hey folks,
sorry to reply that late, but I thought this thread was already dead. Should check notifications 
Thank you very much for your ideas and suggestions. I really appreciate! I agree with your comments on the acting flaws (and yeah, the pupils could be a little bigger). It was animated pretty straight forward, no big planning, I just dived into it.
Skipping the planning phase is not a very bright idea, i know, but I just felt like I wanted to animate that little fella. Next time I’ll be more aware of my acting choices.
Here’s another short piece I just did, check it out:
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=153&t=1074898
Cheers.
P
ah mate i just think you should go back and biff that crab bot - shown that to a few animator mates and they absolutely love it but agree those act choices would make all the difference… i agree tho …time is a factor and its learn and move on i guess
LOVE that tennis serve animation - i dont think you could push that any further heheheh!
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