I have an issue with combos. I can animate a great punch, kick, grab, etc. Thing is I just can't put the moves together. Like, I know how to make things flow nicely, I just can't come up with moves to do.

If things aren't clear for you then look at this:

http://sta.sh/01mhdkzxomww

So I animated this kick. Then what. I have no idea where to go from there. That's what always happens. I animate one move, then I have no idea where to go with my character without making him stop, get some balance and go again.

How do you people pull off things like this: http://www.hyunsdojo.com/dojo/2374/

If you want to make something like the guy from hyun'sdojo than the best thing to do would be to ask him for the .fla, so you can see how he made it.Hope it helps^^(you can download Terkoiz's rushed and shock .fla's from his yt channel)

I am not qualified to help you since I can't animate myself, but I came up with these tips that may help.

1. Start animating with a clear idea of what you want your sticks to do.
Example: I want Stick A to punch Stick B twice before finishing with a kick to Stick B's jaw.

2. After you animate the first move, such as a punch, take the momentum from the momevent he just did and use it as a starting point to go into your next movement.

Example: After Stick A punches Stick B, have whatever limb you want Stick A to use next swing back to gain momentum, then animate it flying out to strike Stick B. Use the momentum from the strike to lead into the next attack.

Hope this helped. Happy animating.

What you're describing is choreography, specifically fight choreography, which is not something you'll learn by animating individual movements starting from unrealistic and awkward poses.


If you're interested in being a fight choreographer and an animator, then you need to practice and study both. Watch martial arts scenes on Youtube in half speed and pay attention to how the human body moves, maybe even try to emulate specific movements. It all comes down to practice, and what you're currently doing is only going to make you better at animating individual movements. Figure out what you want to do and study the work of people who are already doing it.

Well, in the example animation you gave, that final position was a perfect opening for a punch. Just do the individual attack and observe the position made at the end of the attack, and see which limb has an attacking advantage, i.e ready to attack and what type of attack it's ready to perform.

Watch animes with awesome fight scenes. See anime characters are like humans, if you watch them over and over, you will understand the movements and how they do it.

Quote from Salt

So I animated this kick. Then what. I have no idea where to go from there. That's what always happens. I animate one move, then I have no idea where to go with my character without making him stop, get some balance and go again.

How do you people pull off things like this: http://www.hyunsdojo.com/dojo/2374/

No, but back on topic, there are tutorials of that everywhere. Or is that in Pivot? I keep mixing that stuff up and don't know if a certain tutorial was in pivot or flash... But either way, they should help you with animation. Well, that's what I think, since I moved to flash with experience in pivot. Though I'm certainly not affected by the tutorial, you might be. The only reason I'm not affected by it is because there are some moves I can't do because I don't know how to transition some. But there are some that I can, because that's what they taught me in the tutorial. Try going to the pivot section. There is a tutorial on dark demon that focuses more on the principles of animations and each of its components, easing, comboes, ect.

Thanks a lot for the advice guys, especially you exilement.