Walkcycle/3D Model Feedback

[Problem]

Hi everybody,

I'd like to get some feedback on this walkcycle:

[imgzoom]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1891681/walkcycles.gif[/imgzoom]


It's a 3D model animated with Blender, and so far I'm quite happy with it. But please feel free to tear it apart and comment and criticise everything. This walkcycle will be used as a base for quite a few other characters, so I want to make it as good as I possibly can.

[cat]

The movement of the tie, where it meets the vest, is weird.
Despite the toon shader it is visible that the animation was not done "by hand" in 2D, most noticeable in the front view.
The coat looks pretty good for a 3D model, though.

[Gribbler]

I think it looks great. Reminds me the games from Pendulo Studios.

[Andail]

I think the legs should extend more; they're too bent now and I'm missing a frame where the heel lands and the toe points up. He's also turning his head unnaturally. You usually don't look from side to side like that when you walk.

[Anian]

I like the render. Is that Blender's default ink/toon render?

[Problem]

Thank you all! This is some very helpful feedback. I decided to remake the walkcycle from scratch, trying to incorporate your suggestions.

[imgzoom]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1891681/walkcycle2.gif[/imgzoom]

Is this better? I'm not quite sure about the arms, do you think they move too much?

@cat: It's not a problem if it looks a little bit like 3D. But it's important that the sprites blend well with hand-painted backgrounds. But for this I'll probably open another topic in the critics lounge soon.

@Anian: Yes, it's Blender's toon shader. I had to play around with the settings a little bit, but it wasn't too difficult to get the shading right. The outlines were more complicated. That's something that Blender doesn't do very well by default, because the thickness can't be adjusted easily.

[Tabata]

... But please feel free to tear it apart and comment and criticise everything. This walkcycle will be used as a base for quite a few other characters,...

Both walk-cycles look like the walking is done somewhat deliberately carefully (might be because of the age or a little handicap or during deep thinking)
Especially the first version looks pretty cool and fits nicely to that character, inclusive the anim of the tie because it matches to that kind of movement very well.

I wouldn't use them completely as a base for several/all characters (for example, a typical woman walking like this doesn't fit in my eyes).
The part that looks a bit weird (better: that doesn't look usual) for my taste is the neck â€" it looks kind of stiff, like having a stick instead of a spinal column, not being able to turn the face towards the direction he is walking â€" it's more a special individual behavior for this char, but not for several different or all chars in a game.

Well, I need to repead â€" It's just my personal „feeling“ about this walkcycles â€" being cool for one specific character, just not ordinary enough to be used as a base in all parts. 

[Problem]

Thanks, Tabata! Your're right, of course I won't just copy the walkcycle. The characters will share the same basic animation skeleton, scaled to fit their individual body shapes. Then for every character I'll apply this walkcycle and change certain aspects of it, trying to match the individual personalities. But I want to have at least one basic walkcycle to start from, so that I don't have to recreate it from scratch for every character.

[Monsieur OUXX]

He's turning his head unnaturally. You usually don't look from side to side like that when you walk.

[Problem]

New version:
[imgzoom]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1891681/walkcycle3.gif[/imgzoom]

I reduced the head movement even more and corrected a few minor things with the arms and legs.
Not related to the animation, but I also made the outlines a little thinner.
Any more suggestions?

[Ryan Timothy B]

His movements look a little robotic, the arms especially. I also think that the head bob which angles his head down is inaccurate and makes it look like he's a chicken pecking food, or timid and wants to cower down with each step - almost seems like there's a slouch too.

The biggest thing you could do with his hands to eliminate the robotic look, is tuck the thumb inward having it nearly resting against the underside of the forefinger. Whereas his hand currently looks like it's as flat as it would be laying on a tabletop.

The toon look is fantastic though. I really like it.

[Problem]

Thank you, Ryan! I relaxed the hands a little bit.
I think I'm getting close to the final version, but feel free to comment if you find anything else that should be fixed:

[imgzoom]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1891681/walkcycle4.gif[/imgzoom]

[selmiak]

the motion is very fluid, I wouldn't change that.
He looks sad though, lift his eyes/head/point of view a bit.
the transition from lit to dark shadowy on both his legs looks off

[Problem]

Thank you selmiak! I'll see if I can change the lighting a little. Posture and body language is something that will have to be adjusted for each character's personality, and for this character it's just what I intended.

Well, I think this is finished for now. Thanks again to everyone who gave feedback, you were extremely helpful.

Hats off to this community!

[imgzoom]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1891681/hatsoff.gif[/imgzoom]

[Dropped Monocle Games]

man, this is some great stuff!! nice work.. how hard is it to get into 3D stuff? I have only really done 2D

[Problem]

Well, the learning curve it pretty steep at the beginning. But if you have a sense of proportion (which you obviously have) and some patience, it's possible to learn the basics in a few weeks. In some ways it's a lot like 2D vector graphics, so things like bone animations won't be new to you.
Blender is free software and there are tons of tutorials on the web to get you started.
However the interface takes a lot of getting used to, as Blender is complex. It has video editing capabilities, and it's even a complete game engine in itself. You'll learn tons of keyboard shortcuts along the way. But nothing prevents you from trying. Just don't expect too much in the first weeks/months and don't be worried if there are dozens of buttons that you don't understand yet.

But of course I don't want to distract you from working on "Goat Herd and the Gods" (or even Witchy Woo II). So don't do it. Just don't. 

[Armageddon]

That's really great work. I feel his face is a little bit in the uncanny valley though, his mustache is a little too big, not a very good jawline. His head melts into his neck. Other than that though it's really high quality.

[Dropped Monocle Games]

Thanks for the info! I think I'll have to give it a real try at some point... love to see what I could do with 3D

But of course I don't want to distract you from working on "Goat Herd and the Gods" (or even Witchy Woo II). So don't do it. Just don't. 

Fair point... *backs away from Blender*

[Problem]

That's really great work. I feel his face is a little bit in the uncanny valley though, his mustache is a little too big, not a very good jawline. His head melts into his neck. Other than that though it's really high quality.

Thanks! I gave him a small face-lift:

[imgzoom]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1891681/face.png[/imgzoom]

Better?

[Problem]

Hi again,
over the last few weeks I made some great progress. With every new 3D model I create, I learn new modelling techniques. The 3D model from this topic has improved quite a lot, but now it's time to declare the character finished and move on. But before I do that, I want to show you the final character, as he will appear in ou just in case some of you have any additional feedback:



Any last-minute suggestions?