2024 September Animation #01

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ANIMATION

Lately, I've been putting a lot more emphasis on composition, really pushing myself to create dynamic angles that add depth to my scenes. My goal is to have all my renders tell a story rather than just be a bland composition with random characters and settings.

While working on a recent animation, I discovered a trick that saved me a lot of hassle, especially when dealing with simulations. Instead of starting my animation at frame 1, I now start at frame 50 or later. This gives me a buffer and makes baking looping simulations much smoother. By doing this, I avoid the headache of having to retime all the keyframes for moving objects and properties later on. It’s a small adjustment that saves a lot of time and effort in the long run.

Another technique I’ve been exploring is the use of simplicage. I applied it to Pharah’s stomach in this animation, and it added an entirely new layer of realism to her movement. It’s a subtle effect but makes a significant difference in how fluid the animation feels. I’m definitely going to incorporate this technique more often in future projects.

THINGS I NEED TO WORK ON

I really need to start focusing on creating more realistic ass impact simulations. I'm not entirely sure of the best workflow to achieve a polished look yet, so I’ll need to dedicate some time to studying how other artists approach this. I tend to learn best by reverse engineering, as you may have noticed, so breaking down existing techniques will be a big part of that process.

Another area I want to improve is incorporating more dialogue-heavy scenes. Right now, I’ve been relying on a bunch of audio presets I ported from Overwatch, and while they’ve worked well enough to get the job done, they’re starting to feel a bit limiting. For my next project, I’m considering hiring a voice actor to create something more immersive and tailored to the scene. There are, of course, plenty of other areas I need to work on, but for now, these two—improving my impact simulations and enhancing dialogue—are where I’m focusing most of my attention.

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Also, I wanted to let you guys know that If you have any animation suggestions for any characters, you can drop them in the comments below or use the #animation-suggestions channel in my discord.