Sup guys! I just discovered Pivot and spent a couple of hours fiddling with it. Found this site becuase someone linked it on the stickpage forums. Used to be HUUUGE fan of stick animations when I was younger (xiao xiao, unbalanced, etc.) so I decided to try my hand on some.
Also, its my first time using this software and I might not know helpful shortcuts and stuff so any help with that would be amazing! (Finding out that I didn't have to press spacebar to adjust previous frames, and that </> would let me scrub through was mindblowing) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *UPDATE 06 170814 Animated a thingy :D
Goddamit I just realised I forgot to animate his hips going down as well. #@*$&@# I'll probably die trying to fix it gah. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *UPDATE 05 140814
Spoiler:
Tried to animate a kick today. I need some crits on this. It still looks wrong and I can't put my finger on why...
-updated after LordPivot's suggestions (Changed the back leg a bit and made the back less bent)
Also, question. Do you animate the big poses first or do you animate straight through each action? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*UPDATE 04 110814
Spoiler:
Alright did a more realistic jab animation on 18fps. Tried to do a little pant at the end too. Punching is tiring guys. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*UPDATE 03 110814
Spoiler:
Tried my hand at a run cycle. I tried doing it in 18 frames like you guys suggested but it just felt so choppy and wrong :( I might just be doing it wrong though. I'll figure it out... Anyways, this one is at 23 fps.
Doing a jab next! (Don't know why my comment never showed up hmm) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*UPDATE 02 090814
Spoiler:
PUNCH DONE. Woot. Spent a good hour and a half tweaking all the key poses. Phew. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*UPDATE 01
Spoiler:
Felt like starting my punch animation with a call out.
Man, pivot doesn't let you copy and paste figures huh :( That YOU bit was a pain in the ass to do manually. I guess I have to plan my shots next time.
Any other critiques would be awesome!
Gonna Do a punch next! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
070814
Spoiler:
Walk on Spot (Maybe a bit too much follow through on the arms...)
LIMP - easier to do than the walk lol *(OH SHIT I GOT THE ARMS WRONG! Gahh)
Feeling like doing a punch next! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last edited by hellothisiskan on Sun Aug 17, 2014 1:47 am, edited 14 times in total.
Uh, not much to say about the walk loops since its done with an odd figure.
The point one, at the bottom, looks ok with the movements, although at one point (right before the point) the back bends backward, and the idle arm that isnt pointing seems very subtly shaky, although those mistakes are a short easy fix, and the back could probably stay the way it is, but the one thing that bothered me was the fact that the legs didnt move at all. This kinda explains itself, people dont have their legs so static like that, so moving them even if it isn't that much would look better.
hellothisiskan wrote:Man, pivot doesn't let you copy and paste figures huh :( That YOU bit was a pain in the ass to do manually. I guess I have to plan my shots next time.
Tip : Use one single stickfigure (draw it yourself) then you can add it on each frame faster than using separate figures.
If you want some really detailled CC, a longer animation would be nice.
For starting off in pivot, your animations aren't entirely bad. What FPS do you use? Also, welcome to the forums!
Ma' thread "Some people get so caught up in perfecting their movements and effects, that they forget what an animation is meant to do, entertain people." - LordPivot
I really recommend using about 16-18fps. >20fps is reserved for the Xelites, DD15Xs, IPwnalls and Senzos. I still use 16fps all the way . and actually, your animations are pretty good. I'd imagine you're an older guy, >18 maybe? Older animators tend to have a knack for animating at first. Basically, just practice. the walk and limp looked pretty good, a bit shakey (the spaces between each frame weren't consistent) and a bit fast but not a big deal, especially as they're your first animations. I have a problem with the punch though, the poses (positions of the stickman) were totally wack. they don't look natural at all.
improvements: watch some videos of punches/ whatever you want to learn about, reference them in your animations. this will help you nail down poses, pace and stuff. and use 16-18 fps.
edit: oh and by the way, helpful tip, review your animation at 7fps as you go, it helps identify issues with spacing and flow (momentum, continuity of spacing) I think if you read this tutorial by Mitch which covers basics, you'll find it really helpful. http://thedarkdemon.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=665
Hey bro. I can give you some advice, even though I'm beginner too... I've been animating a while just not on the site.
With the punch, you want to get him into a pose, but not like a big exaggerated pose, just slide one of his feet back and lift his arms towards his head. Things like that are good beginning poses for a punch.
If you want to show how much power you want in the punch, have more frames between when he has he punch ready to when he actually throws it. Throw some effects in there too, because your beginner, you should focus on shaking the floor.
Your improving fast! The kick is good for the most part, the speed is okay but you just need more movements inbetween each frame. What I think is wrong with it is that the stick leans back to far for the kick and slows down too much. Another thing that might be the problem is that his doesn't keep his back leg high enough for long enough in the air. Try changing in and post it again!
Ma' thread "Some people get so caught up in perfecting their movements and effects, that they forget what an animation is meant to do, entertain people." - LordPivot
the gravity on the ball was very well animated the run was a little crappy i guess [or walk or whtever] u should try up some run loops and walk loops and get a good style courtesy
@LordPivot I really appreciate the crits dude! Tried to fix the animation, but adding more frames to the animation caused it to slow down. Thats what you meant when you said add more inbetweens right?
@Bullzeye Thanks man! Which run did you think was crappy? The kick animation or a different one? Yeah I'll work on some loops soon. The style thing will appear whenever it appears I guess haha.
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