Gap Jump - Final

I finished my gap jump this week and I'm moving on to another assignment. I think this turned out well but I would have liked to polish a few more things. Steve gave me some great feedback and helped push this animation a lot further, telling me what worked, what didn't and where I could take parts to the next level. I'll be getting a review in the next day or so and I'm sure he'll have a ton more to help me out. Very cool.

Love the hop!

EDIT: So, I got my eCritique for this and I have to say, it opened my eyes to a lot of things. Here's the major points of what Steve had to say:

1) The run is too floaty - I need to speed it up some and make him really tear in there if he is going to hop to a stop.

2) The hop doesn't have any overlap - I need to show the hop affecting the ball/hips as he stops.

3) The ending where he's off balance needs a quicker transition - I need to have him fall forward more and then quicly catch himself with his extended foot.

4) Overall check on my arcs - There's a tool for this and I know I have to use it more.

Anyway, good eCrit and I already know how I'm going to attack my next project, jumping on a box (keeping it simpler to make sure I nail it!).

Gap Jump - Planning and Blocking

Here's my first assignment. This one will span 4 weeks (planning, blocking, blocking plus, polish) and I'll turn each step in for Steve to review and give me feedback. So far he's liked what he's seen but has also given some great critiques such as not doing two things at once. For example, I had Ballie stopping at the edge of the gap on one foot and, as he gained his balance by sticking the other foot out, he shot upwards to help himself out. Steve suggested I have him shoot up and, at his peek, shoot that leg out and move in to a hold. Man, that little difference was huge. But I guess that's why he's the mentor and I'm the student!

So far so good. I'm in the Blocking Plus stage and I've adjusted the timing a bit so the jump is faster, some holds are a touch longer or exaggerated and some other tweaks. I'll be posting the splined animation soon but here's my blocking and planning stages.

Quick sketches, notes and detailed doodles.

Planning out specific poses that I wanted to nail.

Gap jump Blocking

Side Sneak - Final Class 1 Assignment

For whatever reason (probably dissatisfaction), I never uploaded my final assignment from Basic Foundations. Well, here it is. It's not great but I've come to the conclusion that I'm learning, of course it's not going to be perfect. I struggled, I found things I wished I had done differently, etc, but that's the best part - I'm learning.

Anyway, the plan was a side sneak, which went awry for several reasons, but it's a stepping stone, and that's how I look at it.

Not so sneaky-pants.