Alon Helman - Jump - Critique

I'm not too concerned about the speed. It works for me now, but it's hard to know how much faster you went. You can always render it faster with the speed that you like. Also depends how stylized you want to go.

The changes work pretty well, especially the added frame in the root. I'm still not a big fan on his right foot pose at x18. I would rotate that more in, it looks kinda broken. You could start on x16 with a more inward tilt and rotation and then go further on x18.
This may sound picky, but his right foot feels like it's slowing down before the impact a bit too much. I would delete x27 and go from x26 to 28 (so x28 happens on x27). It won't be super harsh because the toes are still up for one frame and then there's a full plant. That will soften it enough. But right now it's a bit too soft.



I'm a bit hesitant now about the speed up, after looping it for a while. And only because of his head spacing from x16 to 18. It's already borderline fast, so with a speed up, that will get too fast. You will have to adjust that if you speed everything up.

Sorry if I didn't see that before, but at the beginning, when he leans screen left, his left foot is moving as well, so there's nothing that motivates the root translation. You need that foot to be planted so that it can push the root screen left. If you delay the foot from getting of the ground it might make the step before the jump a bit too fast. If that's the case, just add a few frames to the beginning of your shot, have him lean to the left during those added frames so that the weight distribution is working better and then lift the foot for the step and push off.

On x21 I would bring the arm a bit more back so that you have a cleaner silhouette and make a fist (the hand pose feels a bit soft).



You can open up the hand after around x26.
Watch out for hand/floor intersections on x31 and 40+.

Hope that helps!
JD

Alon Helman - Jump - Critique

Nice update! I really like the settle after the landing!

​My thoughts (using quicktime frame counter starting at x0)

- I would give the squash pose one more frame (or two). So when he goes down, you'd have a bit more of an ease in and out before the push off; right now he goes down at x14 to 15, and then immediately up on x16, so a one frame direction change is a bit abrupt; also, track the spacing from x15 to 16 and you will see that x16 to 17 is much smaller (and so are the following ones), which means that you have almost a pop as a jump over one frame and then an immediate slow down, which all in all looks a bit off in real time

- watch out for the screen left leg (persp view), it pops from bent x16 to straight x17.

- you can start pulling in the screen left knee at x18, so that the knee cap is not pointing to the left but to the right

- on x26, you could have one foot tilted sideways and out in Y, so they're not so twinned and parallel; one foot could also land a frame later, just so it's not all so mirrored

Hope that helps!

JD

Alon Helman - Jump - Critique

Very cool, I like how you have him swing his arms sideways and land crouched. That gives a nice contrast in terms of body shapes across the shot. Good thinking!

You mentioned that the keys are aligned, so for your next pass look out for offsets in your movements, so that different body parts start and stop at different times.

My only comments would be about the weight distribution at the beginning. He leans to the left (I'm looking through the persp camera), but the screen right leg gets off the ground a bit early. So on x7, I would have his left leg still on the ground so that the root is a bit more leaning over his right leg, then lift his left leg, but push the weight shift more. So on x9, it doesn't look like he's over his right leg enough (it looks better in the front view camera clip, but the persp is more interesting so I would base your anim on that view and push it so that it works towards that camera).
ON x18 you seem to overstretch his legs, with the IK controllers being still on the ground. I would bring up the legs, and I would also rotate down his left foot, so it doesn't get off the ground horizontally.
As you spline out the keys, it will help the arc of the head, but just in case, make sure that when he goes down and up around x14, that there isn't a direction change over one frame like now. You can drag the head a bit as the body goes up for that.
Watch out for his right arm once he jumps. It swings to the right, then left, then back to right and finally left until he lands. I think you can simplify this a bit more, so it's not so frenetic.
The head could also have a visible impact once he lands on x27 and on, just a little down/up move so it's not so stiff.

Great first pass! You mentioned that you needed to go back to basics, but you're kicking butt, I don't see you struggling at all!

Cheers
JD

Alon Helman - Sitting - Critique

Alright, that looks great, I just have minor comments.

One would be about the head spacing. I think it should overlap a bit more as he sits down, so it finishes a nice arc as opposed to having such a linear path. It feels like the chin hit a table top or something. Here's what I mean:


Watch out for his left arm, it feels a bit IK until x46; especially around x29 and on, where his elbow goes in but the rotation of the wrist is the same. And watch out for x40 to 43, it feels like the hand is stuck in space as the rest moves. Overall it looks like it's on the same horizontal path. When he turns around, in the x25 area, his body could be rotated sideways a bit, which would give the arm a little path in the path, so you get an arc.
I like the arm action when he sits, but I'm inclined to say that it is a bit fast. I would at slow down the arm pull back, which feels literally like he's pulling his arms back, instead of them naturally bouncing back. It's okay he that is his voluntary action, to pull his arms back, but in this shot right now, it looks like he's hurrying to pull them back, which feels a bit weird.

Contrasted with this fast movement are his feet, which feel slow. Those I would speed up by at least 30%, so it doesn't look like he's deliberately keeping them off the ground.

Almost there, just little things. It's overall really cool though already!
JD

Alon Helman - Sitting - Critique

Hey,

that's already looking nice, the drop of the root feels really good. The legs are on the right track, I would keep going with that. What stands out to me right now in this version is the head/neck area during the hit and the recoil of the spine.

The turnaround-looking-back-move feels a bit linear both in timing and in how the flat the arc, so watch out out for that part on your next pass.

Alright, the two main points:

- if you follow the spacing of the head it moves down pretty quickly as he sits down but from x50 to 51 it's stuck in space; I like the drag you have as the spine goes to the right but I would keep the momentum going with the head, so that the spacing from x49 to 50, 51 etc. gradually diminishes for a softer ease in as opposed to that quick stop you have now
- same quick spacing/timing stop happens from x60 to 61 with the spine; you will have to continue the forward move a bit longer and give it more hang time, so that the 2nd hit on the back piece of chair happens maybe around x75, as opposed to x64 that you have now
- look at the back of the head from lets say x56 to 60. Look at how it changes direction very quickly with no drag from x60 to 61. You will have to loosen up the head and neck anim so that there's a bit of drag in the head
- this might just be me, but with a chair that has wheels like that, I would have it roll screen right a bit more; unless it's some thick carpet :)

Looking good, keep going!
Cheers
JD

Alon Helman - Walk - Critiquec

Hey,

much better! But it still looks like the feet are slowing down before they get off the ground.

The rest of the walk is super cool!!! Nice work!! Love the head anim.

If I'd be super picky, then in the sideview, it feels like you're doing some drag and overlap on the fingers, they feel a bit loose, but that's super subtle. The other thing would be how the arms stop swinging back after x26 until around x4. I think you could feather off a bit more so that the arm continues and stops in a more smooth transition.

But still, very nice work!

Alon Helman - Walk cycle - Critique

Alrighty!

The cycle's already looking good! You mention that he could break the cycle and wave and I like that, it would add a nice little moment.

Animation wise, there only a few little spots that stood upon first viewing.
- I like the rhythm of the root up/down movement, there's good weight in that and how it translates into the head for the overlap
- The head feels a bit detached, as if it was IK. Is the neck stretching when the head goes up? You could also have some sideways tilt, it feels a bit locked vertically
- looking at the front view, the hips look like there's a little bit too much Y rotation in there
- watch out for finger intersections through the hips (screen right one, front view; and left one I think too); I would also add a little bit more of an arc to the swings of the arms (they can do a little figure 8 arc when seen from the top); right now they are a bit straight they way the swing back and forth
- could you lessen the knee pop form x16 to 17? And watch out for the other knee, which goes back until x27, then forward for one frame, but then back again to x1 and forward again on x2; in real time it looks a little bit wobbley
- The feet moving backwards feel uneven spacing wise; the moment the foot touches the ground to the moment where it lifts off there should be only two keys, with a linear curve from touch down to lift off. Right now the spacing distance changes and the screen right foot even slows down before it gets off the ground (watch for toe intersections around x4 with the ground); you could also tilt them a bit more sideways around x12 for instance (screen left foot, front view)
- I would also offset his eyebrows and lower the top eye lids a bit, he feels spaced out)

Hope that helps!
Cheers
JD

Alon Helman - Spidey - Critique

Hey,

If possible, could you include a frame counter? I'm going to use the quicktime one which starts at x0.

Overall it's already looking great, I like your timing! Few things I'd look out for as you move on:

- the hand on the window frame starting around x46 to 75 is super locked. Especially when he gets up, you'll have to move the wrist with it.

- when he gets up during the x60 area, you could move the screen arm up a little bit. I know he's bored/annoyed, but right now that arm is just stiffly hanging down. So either have it swing loosely or bring it up into another pose.

- the body rotation around x55 is a bit simple, it looks like it's just rotating in one axis towards us, you could make that move a bit more complex

- watch the silhouette of the screen right leg at x69. I would make sure that you can see more of the thigh. If you squint, it looks like he has a short leg. The knee also rotates very quickly around as that foot moves and at x71 that leg looks broken, with the knee to the left and the foot almost horizontal. Watch that whole transition

- you could bring up the screen left arm up a bit at x75 for a clearer silhouette

- the head could also lean a bit to the right at x75, so it's leading the action a bit. Right now the head is mostly vertical throughout the clip

- around x83, wonder if you could scootch Spidey more screen right, so that you don't hide his screen left hand behind the body. Kinda works though, since the arm is clean silhouette wise, but just give it a try to see how it looks like.

- I would lower the hand around x83, down and screen left, so it's not so overlapping with the right leg

- silhouette on x95 is a bit muddled in terms of right arm and body and left leg. A clearer silhouette would be good.

- and if you move the body more screen right, looking at x103, you could also get a nicer silhouette for his left arm. Right now on that frame there's just the upper arm, would be cool to see the forearm as well

- when the foot goes down from x85 to 90 it's a bit linear, there's no arc and the foot pose doesn't change. I would end up in a different pose so that from x100 to 139, the shin is not so centered with the foot (visually). You could rotate the foot more to the left (hope that makes sense)

Cute rig! :)

Cheers
JD