Monday, July 30, 2007

ANIMATION EDUCATION - run lola run

shel here: took Lola out for a run.....working on a cycle.




ANIMATION EDUCATION: LOLA RUN TEST from handmadeheroes and Vimeo.

i plan on running her again in the next few days to see if i can incorporate some good feedback i got from justin (not like she needs the exercise, but i sure do!)

also, i was really happy to find some green goggles laying around, they so suit her. i think they came from GI Joe but he's welcome to come try and get them back.....if he dares!

6 comments:

Sven Bonnichsen said...

I really like the curve to her back as she's running. Nicely done! (And yeah, the goggles do suit her very nicely. :-) )

I'm curious... What sorts of tips did Justin give for improving? I always read your Animation Education posts with a bit of envy... Having some structure for the learning process seems really helpful. I've actually been keeping a little list of the excercises you've done -- thinking that when I'm done with CG, maybe I'd like to put myself through the same paces...

Shel Wagner Rasch said...

hey sven, thanks...and that's a great question....justin suggested that i:

1. the main thing he said was that because i'm doing a cycle, i need to keep where her spine is in space (her "line of action") more consistant (i have a few frames where she pops back upright and then goes forward again).
2. he also suggested i try pitching her "line of action" forward more in general (though that might get rid of some of the arch upright that you like...or maybe not...we'll see). he said it's a style choice, but that in general people stand upright, walk with the "line of action" about 25ish degrees forward and run with it more like 40ish degrees forward (he didn't say those numbers he just drew them and i'm guessing at the degrees). we had to laugh though cuz i personally have a quirky running style where i don't pitch forward, i stay pretty ineffiantly (from a real runners point of view) upright...
2. don't kick the back legs up quite so much (again, this could be a style thing but i would like to understand the basic natural movements before i start adding style).
3. he says watch the front foot at the "contact point" so that it doesn't "block her forward momentum" (i.e. have her contact foot happen more underneath her and not so far out in front of her).
4. watch the arm increments, there was a frame or two where i didn't progress them evenly, and in one instance hardly at all...
5. also about the arms he suggests hitting the most dynamic arm pose earlier (in the "thrust" pose, right before leaving the ground) and then opening them a bit in the "air" pose and then giving them some drag in the "contact" pose, to add a sence of thrust up and weight down.

i think that's all, that's what i'll try to work on on the next anim....please let me know if any of it's not clear, he was describing alot of it to me in little stick pictures so i'm not sure how well it's translating into words...

Shelley Noble said...

I'm jealous too, Shel . Having Justin give you pointers is like crazy gold.

I thought the run looked really fluid and real for the character. I think Lola should run like you do!

Craig Harris said...

Hey Shel...keep at it. One of the biggest reasons for pushing those poses is that when you push your still pose, once it is in motion the strength of it will be decreased by 10-20%. Animation is about pushing the natural motion and finding ways to make it feel more powerful. Justin is good at it because what is natural for him is supernatural already to most humans. And your whole family moves like that. Your reference and closeness to movement make you guys the best applicants on the planet to be animators. Good luck with the next run!!! :)

jriggity said...

thanks craig,

you are so right about that 10-20% decrease thing cuz i often feel like i'm exaggerating some pose and it comes out looking hardly noticeble.....i just have to get really pushy (shush justin!) and not be shy about exaggerating the poses. i really like seeing how you push your 2d stuff....inspiring!

Shel Wagner Rasch said...

whoops that comment above is from shel, not from jriggity....