Finished Gladiator animation

Hey guys,
Please have a look at my finished animation and give me some feedback on it....
Thanks,
Joe

hey it looks alot better than before! do you think you're going to adjust the lighting or anything before really calling it 'final'?

Hey thanks,
Can you be more specific on what changes I should make? Is it too bright? Please keep in mind that this file is compressed quite a bit and so the quality sucks.... I really do appreciate the feedback. Anything else? Should I have more of a background in this animation. The purpose of the animation is to be able to get a job at a studio somewhere and Im not really sure where to stop and call the project finished y'know?

i'd consider doing some research on the 12 principles of animation and what they really mean. there's tons of places on the internet you can find this at. once you think you have all of those into your animation to the best of your abilities then i think an animation could be called finished.

I agree with BColbourn, you'd really only be shooting yourself in the foot if you tried to get work at a studio with this animation. I know that's not what you want to hear, and I apologize, but it doesn't seem as though you have much animation experience. You're trying to tackle a more advanced problem, doing a fight scene between two interacting characters. There is alot to consider when you're doing character animation, such as line of action, strong key poses, anticipation, overshoot, snap back, overlap, timing, weight, balance, moving holds... on and on. There are alot of subtleties that seem overwhelming, but are a joy to animate, once you start to understand the basics.

Start with a bouncing ball... and don't just animate a bouncing ball one time and consider yourself schooled. Animate a bouncing ball over and over and over again, in different scenarios until you understand weight, timing, squash/stretch, ease in/out, etc... until the animation looks realistic, or believable. Also, use reference. Make a video of yourself acting out the movements of your characters and try to copy that motion as close as you can, until you understand how the motions work. Then you can build on that with exaggerated poses, timing, etc...

John K's blog is a great resource for learning the fundamental principles of animation, and everything associated with it. Granted, that guy seems to hate all things CG and doesn't hesitate in letting everyone know what his opinion is about it, but there's no denying the man's knowledge. There's alot to be learned from him, just take his fascist 2D slapstick cartoon animation nazi attitude with a grain of salt. Also, a great book to pick up would be "Animation" by Preston Blair. Here's a link with a few pages from the book:

I second Octave's post.

I've been animating for quite a few years now and I'd consider a sword fight up with one of the hardest things to animate - fun, but very demanding. Take Octave's advice and read those links - study study study! Bounce balls and keep bouncing them (I still do it myself from time to time) and do lots of exercises focussing on the principles. It'll take time, but it's an interesting journey

hey octave thanks for those links. I didn't know the Preston Blair stuff was online, those pages are seriously amazing.

Hey guys,
Thanks for taking the time to write me. All very helpful and insightful things that I needed to hear. I will take the advice on bouncing some balls. I am curious as to what needs to be in a demo reel to get a job in this field? Do I have to go back to school or can I just work on improving my stuff. I know I still have a lot to learn and am willing to put in the effort but do you think I can get a job at a studio at ground level? What did you guys do on your demo reels? Again thanks for the links and the input. Looks like this one will go back to the factory:)
Joe

Probably the thing to focus on most if your goal is getting a job is to have a sound understanding of the 12 principles (as others stated) and how to apply them in various situations. In a work environment you'll be animating tons of different things all the time with different characters. There's nobody in the world who's animated every single action possible, so no studio is going to expect you to have experience animating every possible possibility of motion. However, with a good understanding of the principles, a good efficient workflow, and the ability to communicate well with the team, you'll be able to eventually animate a particular action for the first time and have it look like you've done it many times before. Don't be afraid to go all the way to the basics, take your time, and really let those principles hammer themselves into your brain. Gambatte!