Alright, this will be a mostly informative semi-rant / tutorial for your brain regions, so buckle yourselves in. Raw and unrevised (not swearing :P).
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1. Overview
Why am I writing this guide, and what is it? Well, this is a method under which I plan to break the negative habits of beginning animators. This is not an in-depth guide; instead, it's a sort of code of conduct. This is intended to improve the quality of the overall Pivot community and encourage thinking outside the box. Read on to find out.
/!\ This is not intended to chastise or criticise beginners' animations, just to guide them.
2. So what's up? (general statements)
It seems as though every single beginner animator follows a pattern, thus:
1. Discover Pivot Stickfigure Animator
2. Make anims with default stick
3. Post on forum(s) - recieve generic criticism over choppyness/usage of defaults/etc
4. Look around and see what other animators are doing and copy it
What this leads to a generic cycle among beginners.
Unfortunately, this usually leads to the stagnation of ideas, often resulting in beginners quitting Pivot and not improving.
The reason?
The stale philosophy of Pivot.
3. What's wrong exactly?
The issue with most beginners is in step 4 - beginners copy others. It's accepted that that's necessary to gain ideas; however, this is a problem with originality.
Take for example the average beginner pivoteer. They use nearly the same style stick, constantly make these "tests", and have unoriginal fighting styles. Very much always the same, and many will agree that it's almost painful to watch sometimes.
4. How do we fix this?
The source of this trend is the community. Often (usually) the same advice is offered to every beginner - work on smoothness, realistic moves, and make some "tests".
First thing - "tests" suck. There is no need for anyone to make a "test". Tests are for school, not Pivot. If you really want to try something, make a real fight and put some effort into it, because walking/beam/jumping tests with one stick jumpin' around everywhere are a waste of your time and many others'.
Secondly, make your own stick figures. I know, it's hard to make good guns/weapons in Pivot when you're new. Try anyway. You might be surprised how good you can produce a stick after a few tries and a little time.
Moreover, though, don't be afraid to break from the norm in custom stick figures. Almost everyone now has the same-looking custom stick; you know what I mean. Make an eccentricly large/small/oddly dimensioned guy (not out of proportion). Add clothes and things. Make some hair. Add claws or spikes or something. Open-circle heads are the only thing I discourage, as they are, frankly, lame and crappy.
On another note, black line anims are highly generic. I know I may sound like a hypocrite here, but I'm trying to break off of the "guy running around on one black line" animations as well. They're all the same. Even if you have to make a small background, even without a fill, maybe just one mountain in the back, anything is better than a black line. Be creative with it. Take ideas (don't copy. . .) from Google images or from artwork if they inspire you.
After you've decided on these, I have two more suggestions:
- Put effort into effects. A long line != a beam. Add some chargeup, maybe lightning, a fireball, an explosion, a particle effect as it disperses (my favorite).
- Movements shouldn't be restricted to the normal. Stylize stick movements. Use speed delays and double framing. Double framing is a godsend to Pivot in fight scenes; speed delays are great for quick transitions. Use fade effects of varying speeds or styles between scenes. The movements themselves don't have to be the same old style either - have your stick flip, do some 3D spins (totally possible without making new sticks), make some combos. In fighting games, who looks better - the guy who whores on the same kick-punch constantly, or someone who chains moves together? Obvious answer.
Lastly;
be original and use detail.
Just overall here. Originality and paying attention to details make anims so much better.
5. Final statement
I hope this has helped the reader rethink how they go about animating or critiquing others' animations. A little new stuff goes a long way.
Anything you'd like to add or suggest?
