Attack Animation For Games

I made this animation in order to get an understanding of what it takes to make a successful attack animation for games. The base pose is ideal for establishing a characters personality or attitude as he transition into the attack. All the characters movements will derive from the base pose so it has to feel strong and balanced as well as natural since all the characters movements will derive and return to it. The anticipation, hit frame, and recovery poses are also needed to make up a successful attack animation. Because the animation will most likely be viewable to gamers from all angles, it's a good idea to check the silhouette of each pose before committing to it.

Quadruped Run Exercise

Here's a quadruped run cycle I just finished. I was able to find a lot of useful resource material to help me through this project. Edward Muybridge's side view of a horse in full stride helped as well as Richard Williams explanation of his own approach. I'll be using animation layers to add to all the cycled animation I've done so far.

Storytelling Poses

I thought it would be useful if I spent some time dissecting a scene from one of my favorite movies (Ratatouille) by determining which poses in each shot were the "storytelling poses" Each one of the images above were selected because I felt the posing in each most clearly communicated the important idea of each characters actions and reactions to one and other throughout the scene. These aren't necessarily the most extreme poses rather they are the poses that encapsulate a feeling or expression. Although the scene is devoid of any sound that would telegraph the significance of the interactions between the characters, we are still able to clearly understand what the emotional response is to their unexpected encounter.

It's nice to appreciate those that came before you.

Ub Iwerks truly was a genius. If you need proof, just watch "The Hand Behind The Mouse" He single-handedly animated every memorable scene I can think of from the 20s and 30s. Not only was he possibly the greatest animator of his time he was also an amazing special effects technician. I highly recommend the documentary mentioned above, it is both informative and very entertaining. 

Light Push Exercise

Getting comfortable with pose to pose and working on the timing of my animation. This exercise was great for exploring other animation principles as well, such as arcs follow through, and anticipation. I'm still taking my time really mastering body mechanics so the facial animation and acting exercises are yet to come. For now my goal is to successfully convey a progression of simple actions that lead to a simple idea in a believable way.

Idle Animation

Just something I did for fun and practice.

Walk Exercise

Just another exercise.

Run Cycle

Working on the basics and getting comfortable with body mechanics.