Overly exadurated broad swordsmen (Attack animation updated)

[Souly]

->
Like so?

[Corsair]

I haven't been too actively working on my own stuff lately; I'd like to, but it seems I mostly don't ahve the time...

anyways, a few things i've done here:
(yes, i know it's a crappy edit.)


The thing is going to be heavy. The best thing i can say, to get a better idea of  how a heavy swing should look and feel, swing a baseball bat in front of a mirror. try to stop yourself midswing (and please! don't break the mirror! i don't want to be held responsible if you damage any of your property!) you'll notice that you can't just stop it - there's a little bit of a rocking motion due to the momentum.. Now there won't be as much if you swing something light, like a stick or an empty can of pringles.
so whenever there's a break in the motion of the sing, i had it 'rock' a little bit on the swing preparation, and when it hits the ground.

I've also increased the timing on a few of the frames - specificaly when he reaches a full crouch, and inciden

I've also added a bit more 'blur' when there is a large motion. This is purely my opinion speaking here, but i think it makes the motion look a wee bit smoother.

further emphasizing the heft of the blade, and for increased dramatic effect i've icreased the size of the 'splash' when it hits the ground.

Other than that i don't have much i can offer :\
A couple things i would reccomend doing, which I didn't do here is have the blade land flat on the ground. This has no real life basis, i just think it would look cooler The other thing, i'd ahve his cape flare up a bit due to the impact, for increased dramatic effect.

one more thing - on the second frame of the part where his sword is behind him, i'd ahve his front leg lift off the ground a bit. not too much or it seems goofy, but i think it would make it look as if he were putting a little more 'juice' in the swing.

[The B.O.B.]

I really hope you take all the advice being given, Souly, as there is some good critique in this thread, but your piece doesn't seem to be following it(as far as I could tell). It seems you're still going the same route you came into the thread with(though not to say you haven't changed some things, as you have...just not the more important concerns). I could repeat what has been said a couple times, previously(weight of sword in contrast to using it to attack, awkard attack poses, strange walk pattern, etc.), but I won't.

When I see the idle still, I'll agree it's not that intimidating. He does look quite average, and out of place with a big sword like that, in his hands. Speaking of hands, they look strange. I would always think they should be positioned differently, but I'll probably get barraged with some bull-poop over proper stances, and hand placement, and blah, blah. Just looks awkward to me, is all. I was thinking maybe a more open stance, such as this, may be a bit better for this particular character and his weapon of choice:



Also, I'm hoping the colors of the piece will address my future concerns, as every hue in this palette is getting mixed in with other places on his body. Style is a good thing sometimes, but can also sometimes blur the line between cool looking, and technically flawed. Don't let this piece be one those bordering that line. As the above edit shows, maybe a grey, or more blue-ish hue would be best, if it really is chain mail he's wearing. And the shirt portion, may be best as a loose tunic, or something...ok, so that's more from a design's opinion, and not technical. But I just feel his design is strange.

Also, on the walk frame, it looks more comedic, then serious. He looks like he's taking small bursts to tug at that huge sword. Instead, I would think that his stance would be more open, his walk more serious, and calm; Calm in the fact that he knows he has a huge ass weapon, and there's no need to rush at his opponent, or be too tedious. It's length gives him enough reach to get the job done. So a more stern, crossing of the legs may be fitting for a walk cycle. Here's an example:



...I don't know, I just think this piece can be so much better. You definitely have the potential to do it, Souly, it just seems like your backing into a corner with excuses. Why? I'm not sure, as there are some really good suggestions coming your way. I'm not bagging on you or your piece, and I'm not trying to be a prick either. I just hope some of this gets through, as what's there still needs more adjustments, in my humble opinion.

*animated ver. of sword swing pending...*

[tehwexxl0rz]

Wow, Corsair. :O The little wobble you added to the animation made a world of difference! 

Awesome edit The B.O.B., but one logical error caught my attention: his left hand (our right) needs to be gripping the hilt from underneath. Right now he's holding it like an oar.

[Souly]

I really like the idea of the tunic thing, it really helps cover all that emptiness.
Your helmet and shoulder pads are awesome, I think those are the two things that influenced the update.
The legs are still under construction.
I think I like this sword design as well.
I think I'm going to re-do the attack as well as the walk animation.
Now that I have completed most of the animations for both of them I'm sure I can work out the kinks first in a wire frame before I even add all the detail.
I really don't want to change his stance.
His stances are going to all be based on where his sword is.
So his attacks will be limited since he can't maneuver it around, only swing it in one direction until it hits the ground.

[Corsair]

The thing is there doesn't seem (to my relatively untrained eye, at least) to be anything GLARINGLY wrong with it, but a whole lot of little niggling details.

another thing, and i'm not entirely sure why I didn't key into this while i was editing it, but the crouch seems rather a unneccesary gesture. It would work well as a crouch on it's own, or a lead in to a crouch attack, but the more i look at it, the more it seems out of place.

Here's another crappy little edit showing an alternative:


I'm going to go ahead and apologize for how badly i've butchered things...
I've *attempted* to give the impression of a lean. it's probabl noticable, but most noticably, i've removed the crouch, and put a couple of transitions between the view of the edge of the blade and the flat; the forward leg i tried to have it look like it was rearing up but because i'm too lazy to do a quality edit, it ends up looking like crap.

but I don't think i'd be terribly difficult to work these things in should youchoose to do so, this is, after all, just my 2 cents.

Overall, I like your redeisgn, but i think i like the original sword design better.

[brianskywalker]

the crouch seems rather a unneccesary gesture

I'd disagree. The crouch made sense. Generally, when I try to pick some up, and realize it's heavy, I tend to crouch down instinctively so I can use my legs for much of the lifting, instead of my back. Lifting the sword looks too effortless without the crouch, to me at least.

Edit: Maybe a bit less of a crouch would be better though. In any case, you should do something to make it look heavy when he's lifting the sword. The extra bit of wobble in Corsair's edit definitely works, though, especially in his latest edit, it looks like the sword is nothing as he lifts it up, so it's conflicting to see the wobble after he lifts the sword so effortlessly.

[sharprm]

Souly is this for a game?

If not, maybe you could have a long animation. Like break lifting the sword up into steps like weight lifters break lifting the weight into 3 steps. I'm coming from the standpoint that if its that big and its made from a heavy material, you couldn't swing it fast like a normal sword (maybe its for ceremonial purposes?)

[tehwexxl0rz]

EDIT:



- Re-did crouch completely
- Tweaked sword angles (removed spin, just a personal preference)
- Increased wind-up for swing
- Added more motion blur to sword better connect frames
- Smoothed out body motions
- Made the footing consistent

Hope you find this helpful.

[dtek]

Hey, great topic, I can add, since lots of the crits seem to be related to the impression of weight, here's a use of timing/spacing to help convey the weight of an object, the green ball is heavy and has an even spacing/timing, while the blue ball changes speed more

but how that applies to the sword and your guy.....