Think outside the box

[This is a continuation from YK's jump critique.]

So.

Why is he jumping?
What is he jumping over?
Who is he and where is he that motivates that jump.

Basically, you need to sell the jump, you need to make it more exciting.

(lunch time, hold on, will be back!)

... ok, I'm back.

So, more exciting, right.

Think about movies or situations where you saw someone jump, think how you could incorporate your jump into a situation like that. When you start your assignment, don't think of it as an "assignment", an "exercise". You need to have fun. And since it's YOUR animation, and not a scene with notes from a director, you are not confined to that director's vision. You are the director. So you can do whatever you want to. You are allowed to have fun with it :-)

A jump. The character has to jump OVER something, or AWAY from something, maybe he jumps to get out of the way of falling rocks, or off a cliff into water, or jumping into bushes in order to hide, onto the sidewalk away from a car, that car could be a cop car, so the guy jumping could be a criminal, or the other way around, the criminals are chasing the cop and the cop has to escape, or a guy escapes from prison and jumps over the wall, or an explorer is in a cave and the cave is breaking and rocks are falling all over and he needs to get out, or it's an athlete, so think of any sports activities during which someone jumps, or soldiers, or kids on a playground, or you have movers lifting up a piano on a rig into the 5th floor, then the cord snaps and the piano falls, so the movers have to jump out of the way,

or, or, or...

Have fun, think outside the box, don't treat your animation as an "assignment", make it entertaining, don't have it look like an exercise but like a shot out of a movie (or a TV show, etc.).

I understand that some of you guys are just starting out in animation, but the principles of animation, body mechanics, all that good stuff is present everywhere. If you do a 2 year old toddler walk or a standard human walk, the walk mechanics are in both, you'll learn the same things, you'll run into pretty much the same problems. But one is generic, the other one will be more creative, more entertaining and more rewarding.

Cheers
Jean-Denis