AuthorTopic: Flourish Animation  (Read 29602 times)

Offline astraldata

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Re: Flourish Animation

Reply #60 on: October 02, 2018, 05:47:07 pm
I want to point out that I have uploaded an animation of this character before :p


The string is magic, but I did realize it just disappears once the ball hit the ground.  I made it get sort of overdrawn and pull back towards the hand once the ball releases.  I still feel like the ball needs one more frame after it hits the ground, but I couldn't come up with anything that looked right or didn't make it seem slower.

Hehe -- I was only kidding! ^__^
The "Imabadass" pose just made him feel so much like Sasuke (to me) with his "I'm too cool to be bothered, but I guess I'll do it and maybe you'll shut up." attitude he clearly exudes prior to the animation. That's not a bad thing though -- just the impression I got. :)


Anyways, regarding the ball --

I think the problem is that it appears to be generating some kind of resistance to the "string" in your new animation before it is suddenly pulled, but that "resistance" just comes out of nowhere. Perhaps you could show the magic "string" attaching itself to the ball somehow (and possibly causing the initial anticipation before the "pull" -- the "resistance" to the pull being from the string "hitting" the ball to attach itself to it -- that you're looking for?)

Regarding the "attack" portion of it --

The "release" of the ball (where the string detaches itself from the ball -- and possibly slaps the ground after the ball takes off into the air) is a key moment to emphasize the impact and strength of the attack that will be flying toward the opponent.

That being said, changing the arc of motion to better match the energy exerted is a good option.

The resulting angle of bounce is too shallow for the direction the ball is flying (in order to maintain its momentum), which is why the ball looks like it is "slowing down" to the eye (even with a small number of frames).
If you want the ball to look convincing, have it hit the ground (from behind the arm) at a more obtuse (open) angle (*before* it bounces) than what it is right now. Currently, the "bounce" angle is too acute (closed/tight) to retain the feeling of a fast-traveling billiard ball.

The number of frames isn't the issue -- it's the angle of bounce and the speed you're trying to reach *after* the bounce that is at odds. Yeah, it works in anime that things seem to move at whatever magical speed the artist wants it to, but it only "works" because the artist keeps the magical movements as close to the action as science allows. It's just that the magical forces anime characters exude sometimes come from otherworldly sources -- and despite how it appears, these forces always stay grounded in physical rules and the angles and the quantities of force/energy used/exerted always remain consistent across the board.

"Magic" is not an exception.
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Offline Rosier

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Re: Flourish Animation

Reply #61 on: October 03, 2018, 01:05:57 am
Hehe -- I was only kidding! ^__^
The "Imabadass" pose just made him feel so much like Sasuke (to me) with his "I'm too cool to be bothered, but I guess I'll do it and maybe you'll shut up." attitude he clearly exudes prior to the animation. That's not a bad thing though -- just the impression I got. :)

He's definitely that sort of character type, so I'm glad that comes across at least.  :p



Made the ball fall without the sudden stop, though still made it need to catch up to the rubbery string being pulled.
Added the string before it goes taut.  Cheated a bit by making it show up with magic, but it hopefully gives a sense of loose to taut.
Changed the angle of the bounce to be more obtuse.  I also turned the impact green, so it co-opts the string as being partially behind the force.  The remains of the string also fade away between the hands, whereas before it sort of snapped into them.

Offline astraldata

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Re: Flourish Animation

Reply #62 on: October 03, 2018, 09:47:18 pm
Changed the angle of the bounce to be more obtuse.  I also turned the impact green, so it co-opts the string as being partially behind the force.  The remains of the string also fade away between the hands, whereas before it sort of snapped into them.
The magic is a nice touch -- the whole action reads better imo thanks to the varied silhouette of the magic string appearing. It definitely adds to the "anticipation" or "tension" factor in terms of readability. Great call on this one. :)
I think the new angle is a little better, but it really needs to be a lot more obtuse before it hits.
To accomplish this better, you could try taking the ball's path and diverging it a little to (our) left as it is being pulled toward the ground by gravity.
The ricochet looks a lot better though -- it comes across as "superfast" now.

The only other thing is the initial "toss-up" before pulling it down -- this throws the first part of the animation off pretty badly.
The ball kind of looks like it's being pulled (very ineffectively) by one of those "sticky hand" toys (i.e. a thin, stretchy string that could break at any moment and can't even hope to hold the heavy weight of yanking a billard-ball at that speed/tension without snapping) -- This video shows a more effective "sticky hand" tension than your magic string seems to convey:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOw0rQo6cPc

It's definitely coming along though -- and if you change nothing else, the angle it hits the ground must be even more obtuse (and must _feel_ natural, like it is legitimately being pulled by something. Spacing your frames is vital here -- and to truly "get this right", you'll absolutely need to hone and then utilize your sense for the natural weight and momentum of the "materials" you're simulating in this animation.

It's advanced stuff, but I really do think you're getting there! -- Keep it up! :)
« Last Edit: October 03, 2018, 09:51:52 pm by astraldata »
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Offline Rosier

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Re: Flourish Animation

Reply #63 on: October 06, 2018, 05:04:38 am


I decided to just make him toss it backwards a bit.  Makes the angle more obtuse, and allows the string to start dragging it back rather than just pull it in a direction.

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Re: Flourish Animation

Reply #64 on: October 06, 2018, 01:30:16 pm
I realize this is a nebulous crit, but it looks weird to me that the projectile goes flying at a different angle than the one with which the ball (reads like a yoyo to me, tbh) hit the ground. A slightly lower angle would still look fine because of friction, but such a dramatically different angle makes the last part of the animation feel disconnected from the build-up.

Offline Rosier

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Re: Flourish Animation

Reply #65 on: October 08, 2018, 08:23:07 pm
I realize this is a nebulous crit, but it looks weird to me that the projectile goes flying at a different angle than the one with which the ball (reads like a yoyo to me, tbh) hit the ground. A slightly lower angle would still look fine because of friction, but such a dramatically different angle makes the last part of the animation feel disconnected from the build-up.

Edit:
Don't know what happened here, but basically the reply was, "A wizard did it," which isn't wrong. :p
« Last Edit: October 09, 2018, 08:45:43 pm by Rosier »

Offline astraldata

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Re: Flourish Animation

Reply #66 on: October 22, 2018, 09:02:47 pm
Almost there!

What might help is if the string had a blur when it is pulled (nearer the arm and hand that pulls), essentially making it look "thicker" just before it pulls the ball down.

The main thing is that the sudden "tension" the cord/string needs doesn't read well enough right before the ball is pulled.

Just emphasize the "tension" right before the ball is pulled, and you'll have probably nailed the motion. The key here is anticipation and the buildup of energy. A quick frame of "thick" followed by a frame of "thin" can do that (but, in this case, the thick is near the hand/arm and the thin is near the ball) -- assuming that makes any sense.
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Offline Rosier

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Re: Flourish Animation

Reply #67 on: October 26, 2018, 01:50:10 am



And now to give him the chair. 


The last bit where he kicks and stomps is a bit rushed.  I couldn't really think of something I could pull off, and wound up with that after a few tries at a bicycle kick.  I just REALLY wanted to animate someone using a folding chair as a weapon.

Offline Rosier

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Re: Flourish Animation

Reply #68 on: October 30, 2018, 03:15:37 am


Character is supposed to be mock-saluting before they fall back and turn into a liquid with a small splash, followed by an uppercut.

Offline MysteryMeat

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Re: Flourish Animation

Reply #69 on: October 30, 2018, 06:25:27 pm
have the goo move forward a bit into the uppercut rather than trying to hinge it around the same foot location i think
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