Chasm: Character Animations

[slym]

Does anyone have resources or advice on how to even animate a jump cycle? I can understand the legs, but I can't figure out where the arms should go if they aren't holding anything.

[Ymedron]

My understanding of a jump:
Crouch, leap, descent and hitting the ground. The crouch and hitting can be shortened a lot in order to make the gameplay better (delayed jumps are quite horrifying). The arms follow these motions - during the crouch they bend up, and extend for the leap. During the descent they trail upward to varying degrees. When hitting the ground the arms bend again, and then straighten for the standing pose.

[Beetleking22]

Im not animation expert but i hope this help you somehow.. Here is samus jump cycle wich is imo pretty good.

[tehwexxl0rz]

1. The arc of the motion blur should be one smooth curve (atm it curves and then straightens out)
2. The blade should end more horizontal, not touching the ground

[slym]

Yup I have no idea what I'm doing. I'll post some jump stuff in a bit.

[ErekT]

Check it out:



https://www.cs.washington.edu/education/courses/459/12au/exercises/animation_principles.html

Don't mind the 3D bits. The principles apply everywhere. I think you should pay extra attention to anticipation and recovery; those seem to be recurring shortcomings in your animations. Also, grab a stick, bat or whatever, go out into the yard and have a few swings. As you do, try and pay attention to how your body moves. The best reference is yourself. Your brain knows how to do these movements already, but you need to get a conscious feel for them to apply that knowledge to your animations.

[slym]

Weird stuff still going on in the jump. I've ran through the slice many times. I've found it awkward if the blade moves any more than where it is now.

[ErekT]

Edit! All sloppy and shit. Hope it helps anyway.

[slym]

How about this. Kinda messy, but I think it's motion is a bit better.

[Ymedron]

It is an improvement, it looks like a very forceful attack!
The hair and some other white area there are flapping kinda funny. I think ErekT's edit could be helpful on that, as the hair in it has a clear movement to it. Hm hm.!