Quote from Somedreamyfella

I see the problem. xD I wanted to render this shaking there is some times when you stretch out real hard. Guess I exagerated it! (plus, now that I see it again, the second shacking dosn't seem natural at all...).
I hope I'll soon have fight animations to show you; I did this yawn animation first in order to work on my easing and visualization.

Ah i see, i shall be waiting for that : D

Quote from Somedreamyfella

Man, if anyone would have ever told me animating some dude yawning would tire me out, I'd have called him a bad joker and a lier. x'D

http://www.filz.us/files/b70a46d9/76b/Yawning.swf

1.) Arms became resized a lot. Resizing is not bad when done well(Remember the principle "Squash and Stretch") but in this example, it's way too obvious. Think of the stickfigures joins as if they're mechanical. This means that they have consistent length of the entire duration. Once you get that, it's time for you to exaggerate them to any degree you'd like.

2.) Back is stiff. When he's stretching forward, his back should also bend forward by a whole lot. Try it out in real life and you'll see yourself actually bending it forward a whole lot more than what's shown here.

3.) SFX is lacking. If he's going to sigh at the very end then everything else before that is silent, the change of pace will disrupt the viewers. It's not a lot though and I know that free SFX is very limiting so don't sweat it.

Personal Note: I'm glad that you're actually trying out things that are not the norms here(E.G: Stick fights). It's a great way to practice and improve your movements as whole as you actually learn the concept and give the illusion that he actually is yawning. It's easy to show someone what a punch is but it isn't so when you're trying to show them something that is commonly seen but rarely animated. Good job on this. Keep it up!

Quote from DigitalFlamer105

http://www.filz.us/view/73486888-34c/

I don't even know if that's how people run (>_>)

Alright, first things first:

THAT IS A BIG CANVAS FOR A SMALL MODEL! I can barely see the details on the little guy. Next time you animate something as simple as this, make it big or make it fit the canvas so we can all see your mistakes clearly. It's better to learn than to be afraid. Okay, C&C time:

1.) Arms are not moving. Try running with your arms awkwardly stuck in one position and I'll tell you, you'll feel uncomfortable. When you run, your opposite arm strides with the opposite leg and vice versa. As for the "How" on the stride, that's up to you. It's a "Style".

2.) He should at the very least, be bobbing forward and backward or upward and downward as his legs straighten out when he lands his foot.

3.) I noticed that the leg that's supposed to be going forward, actually moves back to the center. This is not how a run is. When you run, your front leg stretches forward, making you look like you're unbalanced but actually, since you're running, the momentum that your body is doing will force it to move forward.

4.) Which brings me to my next point, EASING. When you run that fast, you just don't stop on a single step. You keep moving forward until you slow down and then finally, come to a stop. Make him go forward a few more steps and then let him stop.

Personal Note: Make him bigger. Act out things in real life then visualize, or better yet, draw them on a piece of paper then work from there. I know it's hard as you're still new but you'll improve over time if you know what's wrong and try to work on it. Keep it up!


Kudos goes to you Ipman, for helping out these new animators. I'll try to help you out as much as I can.

Quote from Zero

[spoiler=]THAT IS A BIG CANVAS FOR A SMALL MODEL! I can barely see the details on the little guy. Next time you animate something as simple as this, make it big or make it fit the canvas so we can all see your mistakes clearly. It's better to learn than to be afraid. Okay, C&C time:

1.) Arms are not moving. Try running with your arms awkwardly stuck in one position and I'll tell you, you'll feel uncomfortable. When you run, your opposite arm strides with the opposite leg and vice versa. As for the "How" on the stride, that's up to you. It's a "Style".

2.) He should at the very least, be bobbing forward and backward or upward and downward as his legs straighten out when he lands his foot.

3.) I noticed that the leg that's supposed to be going forward, actually moves back to the center. This is not how a run is. When you run, your front leg stretches forward, making you look like you're unbalanced but actually, since you're running, the momentum that your body is doing will force it to move forward.

4.) Which brings me to my next point, EASING. When you run that fast, you just don't stop on a single step. You keep moving forward until you slow down and then finally, come to a stop. Make him go forward a few more steps and then let him stop.

Personal Note: Make him bigger. Act out things in real life then visualize, or better yet, draw them on a piece of paper then work from there. I know it's hard as you're still new but you'll improve over time if you know what's wrong and try to work on it. Keep it up![/spoiler]

Thanks for the Tips, I actually noticed how big the canvas is, I was just too lazy to download VCam again xD, I made it last night or afternoon because I decided to see if I can still do something like this. Anyway, thanks again.

Quote from DigitalFlamer105

Thanks for the Tips, I actually noticed how big the canvas is, I was just too lazy to download VCam again xD, I made it last night or afternoon because I decided to see if I can still do something like this. Anyway, thanks again.

No problem.

Just don't use this word/phrase when I'm around though. It makes me cringe.

Quote from Zero

1.) Arms became resized a lot. Resizing is not bad when done well(Remember the principle "Squash and Stretch") but in this example, it's way too obvious. Think of the stickfigures joins as if they're mechanical. This means that they have consistent length of the entire duration. Once you get that, it's time for you to exaggerate them to any degree you'd like.

2.) Back is stiff. When he's stretching forward, his back should also bend forward by a whole lot. Try it out in real life and you'll see yourself actually bending it forward a whole lot more than what's shown here.

3.) SFX is lacking. If he's going to sigh at the very end then everything else before that is silent, the change of pace will disrupt the viewers. It's not a lot though and I know that free SFX is very limiting so don't sweat it.

Personal Note: I'm glad that you're actually trying out things that are not the norms here(E.G: Stick fights). It's a great way to practice and improve your movements as whole as you actually learn the concept and give the illusion that he actually is yawning. It's easy to show someone what a punch is but it isn't so when you're trying to show them something that is commonly seen but rarely animated. Good job on this. Keep it up!

Wow! Thanks a lot for this really complete analysis! :D
-I'll admit I went way too fast while constructing my stickman as I was happy I could finaly draw straight lines. xD The result is I ended up drawing his arms with a single line for each... So, yeah, now that you mention it, it looks obvious that their's way too much resizing.
-About that back, I'll do some more efforts on visualizing my poses before drawing them, next time! :)
-("I know that free SFX is very limiting") It is!! God, I wasn't prepared to struggle that much about that. :')

Finaly, thank you for encouraging me to do other stuff than fighting! I think I won't join RHG battles or others competitions before I'm sure I can animate pretty much every movement that'd give my characters their personality! :) (even if I'm far from the best, drawing comics sure helps a lot with that, tho!) :)

Quote from Zero

No problem.

Just don't use this word/phrase when I'm around though. It makes me cringe.

Are you Terkoiz level non-lazy? OR ARE YOU EVEN HIGHER

Quote from Somedreamyfella

Wow! Thanks a lot for this really complete analysis! :D
-I'll admit I went way too fast while constructing my stickman as I was happy I could finaly draw straight lines. xD The result is I ended up drawing his arms with a single line for each... So, yeah, now that you mention it, it looks obvious that their's way too much resizing.
-About that back, I'll do some more efforts on visualizing my poses before drawing them, next time! :)
-("I know that free SFX is very limiting") It is!! God, I wasn't prepared to struggle that much about that. :')

Finaly, thank you for encouraging me to do other stuff than fighting! I think I won't join RHG battles or others competitions before I'm sure I can animate pretty much every movement that'd give my characters their personality! :) (even if I'm far from the best, drawing comics sure helps a lot with that, tho!) :)

As long as you learn, that's what matters.

Quote from Voracious

Are you Terkoiz level non-lazy? OR ARE YOU EVEN HIGHER

Gracious, no.

I'm still learning animation just like you guys. It's just that having the trait of being "Lazy" doesn't really benefit you as an animator. Sometimes, yes, but most of the times, no.

lol, Zero is much more better at CnC'ing than me... I better learn more

Quote from Ipman

lol, Zero is much more better at CnC'ing than me... I better learn more

No. I am not better at giving C&C.

In fact, giving C&C should not be compared from one person to another. What differs from you and me is that I just gave a more detailed C&C. So don't beat yourself over it and keep giving them criticism's man!

Generally the more you know about animating the better cnc you can give

Quote from Drone

Generally the more you know about animating the better cnc you can give

Take note "C&C" says "Criticism AND Comments".

True, the more you know about animating, the better you can give criticism but let's not forget about the "Comment". It's always great to have 2 audiences when showing your work:

1.) Those who animate
2.) Those who don't

This will give you a wide variety of things to work on, both specifically and generally. Animators will be able to see flaws that those do not animate don't. Likewise with the non-animators, as they tend to look at the picture generally. Saying things such as "Boring" or "It was really good!" would give you the gist of the OVERALL output.

Alright, so I tried to do my first combo:

http://sta.sh/021ojj8em5yn (Animated at 12FPS to make mistakes more obvious.)

I'm already aware of various issues such as resizing, awkward movements, awkward force/not enough force, and the weird arms towards the end with the second stick. I trucked it out anyway because making mistakes is probably the easiest way to learn, and boy did I learn a ton.

So outside of the things I mentioned, any CnC would be nice. Really, just have at it. I felt I messed this one up bad from the get-go.

Quote from Unbounded

http://sta.sh/021ojj8em5yn (Animated at 12FPS to make mistakes more obvious.)

I'm already aware of various issues such as resizing, awkward movements, awkward force/not enough force, and the weird arms towards the end with the second stick. I trucked it out anyway because making mistakes is probably the easiest way to learn, and boy did I learn a ton.

You pretty much just pointed out what the mistakes you already made. My only recommendations is to stop animating complex things like this and start to practice the 12 basic principles of animation using a simple object, such as a ball.

Yes, just because it's simple, doesn't mean you won't get better. Basically, it's like a staircase of learning. If you want to learn the concept, start off simple so you can focus on learning the concept rather than the model(Unless what you're trying to learn is creating a model, then by all means, go complex). Once you get used to it and have learned/mastered the concept, you can now increase the degree of the complexity.

Quote from Zero

You pretty much just pointed out what the mistakes you already made. My only recommendations is to stop animating complex things like this and start to practice the 12 basic principles of animation using a simple object, such as a ball.

Yes, just because it's simple, doesn't mean you won't get better. Basically, it's like a staircase of learning. If you want to learn the concept, start off simple so you can focus on learning the concept rather than the model(Unless what you're trying to learn is creating a model, then by all means, go complex). Once you get used to it and have learned/mastered the concept, you can now increase the degree of the complexity.

Oh don't worry, I've generally been trying to keep it simple by focusing on small actions that teach me multiple things at once. I just wanted to change it up a bit this time around.

EDIT: Okay, so I finally managed to do some work with a 360 degree rotation. It's not anything special, but I DID IT! :DDD

http://sta.sh/0r0xxdxpbt7

I know there's some issues with it like the wobbly torso and the slightly off legs (when he's facing the screen, and between the two sides it's not wholly consistent), and if you look at it too long the brain can get all messed up and see it reversing direction and such, but I'm still really proud of putting this together. It took a crapton of brain-busting for me to actually "get" how to do it.

So go for it! Cnc that thang.