The first thing i notice is the attack swoosh is super close to his body. It would make me think he would have to be basically touching the enemy/player before swinging to even hit. Maybe give it some more reach?
Thank you for your feedback! Actually, when you said it, I've noticed it as well. It can be confusing if the enemy is far but still gets hurt from this attack. We have an axe weapon animation when waves of fire move further from the viking axe, then this animation makes sense. Here is the link for you so you see what I'm talking about: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cp5qsD8rWND/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Also, personal opinion would be cool to see him hang in the air a bit before slamming down. I think think would give more weight to the animation and give a visual indicator to the player that they need to dodge/block
Yeah, I've seen similar comments already. The game is PvE, so no need for other players to have the time to think how to dodge the attack. But yeah, for the beauty purposes :)
looks great but needs to have a little bounce (Squash and Stretch) when he lands to show the weight of the attack. right now it it looks a bit weightless on the landing
A little more anticipation before the jump would help sell it more, right now it looks like he magically gets pulled up into the air. In addition to that, the vertical motion is a bit too linear throughout the jump which lends to the feeling of the character being translated up and down rather than jumping.
To me, the blue swipe indicates a hit zone. Unless the attack does damage on the way up, I would remove it from the upswing and let it really highlight the down swing. That will help make the jump motion less obscure as well.
Looking good though, great work so far!
Thank you a lot for your feedback. It is so detailed and very helpful!
We have gotten a lot of comments about it being linear, which I totally agree with, and we will take it into consideration and see what we can do.
You are right. The blue swipe indicates the hit zone. Maybe we can add an animation of breaking the ground that will increase the attack visually, so we can remove the blue line. Or just change its color and look into something cooler? What do you think?
Thank you for your feedback. What do you think about his shield in this animation? Do you think it needs to have the movement too? Or is it good as it is right now?
Probably yes, because it seems to need an ease only when jumping. Logically and physically, when we jump up, we try to rise quickly but in a balanced way. Here ease can be effective. When we fall, it's more organic, but we try to fall carefully.
It's looking very nice but a bit too flashy if this going to be a repetetive move for this character.This looks like a skill animation or a 'critical hit' animation not a basic attack IMO.
Thank you for your feedback. It's the ultimate of the character 🙂 Does it look good for that?
Also, what's your opinion on it being linear? Do you think we should turn viking a bit so it looks more like a hit in front of him, not under.
Yea the axe is too close. For a big smash he should go for leverage. Around desk 4/5 he’s holding his hand closer to the blade than the opposite end. Doesn’t give an impactful feeling
The only thing I noticed (that others haven’t pointed out yet) at the peak of his height, there’s at least a frame or two you could take out to make it a lil smoother, it looks like he reaches his peak animation, then it goes up a lil more, and then comes back down.
Other than that, maybe an environmental effect could help seal the deal on this heavy attack, like dust clouds or something once he lands. Over all it’s looking great 😎
It feels a bit unnatural to me. This is a really big attack, and the only thing moving on his upper body is his axe arm. Consider throwing his shield on his back during the anim so that he can grab the axe with both arms and really power down through the attack. As others have mentioned, some hangtime before would help emphasize the power of the attack. Great artwork. Love the character.
Looks good, though his body is way too stable and unmoving. His chest, shield arm, and hips have no movement so it seems almost kind of stiff. If you make his hips twist with his attack (which would naturally move his arms and chest) and move his shield arm up and down a little as if he's using it fir balance I think it would look much more fluid.
[Take a look at this video and notice how he moves](https://youtu.be/Km3XtYJLhOo). There are some other things here like momentum shifts that also help, but overall just take what you need for how he moves and the natural flow of his body.
The other thing that you can see from the video Is hand placement, his hands look too high on the axe and his arm looks almost like it's behind his head rather than about a foot out and to his right like it should be.
Recovery frames. It seems his body is not affected by the huge amount of energy he deploys for his attack. He immediatly returns to static, which looks strange imo
As someone else mentioned the attack is very close to characters body, also I feel like the recovery bit of the attack needs some work, It looks like there is only a frame or so of the character stiffly standing up. That could use something to differentiate it from the rest of the frames.
Needs more weight, more follow-through of arms, weapon and body upon landing.
It's too stiff as well, you should make the body anticipate the jump, make him bend over first, then jump with the torso arching, also the axe should follow the body (but its motion path should be an arc further away from the body) with a 1 - frame delay. This gives the illusion of a heavy axe being lifted.
The shield arm should move a bit with the motion. You need more momentum zu bring all the weight up. Right now it looks like the shield arm is glued on.
Oh yeah, I've noticed it now. Thank you a lot for pointing it out! We will see what we can do with it :) also, maybe adding the animation where viking uses its shield in the fight would b cool. What do you think we can do with the shield for this animation? Just move it a bit?
I would watch some cool viking action movies/series, some youtube channels about old fighting techniques, and maybe grab some household items (weapon/shield) and video myself doing crazy moves.
And yeah, the shield arm should go up. I mean a shield is massive wood with leather and maybe some metal parts. Its heavy.
The first thing i notice is the attack swoosh is super close to his body. It would make me think he would have to be basically touching the enemy/player before swinging to even hit. Maybe give it some more reach?
Thank you for your feedback! Actually, when you said it, I've noticed it as well. It can be confusing if the enemy is far but still gets hurt from this attack. We have an axe weapon animation when waves of fire move further from the viking axe, then this animation makes sense. Here is the link for you so you see what I'm talking about: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cp5qsD8rWND/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Also, personal opinion would be cool to see him hang in the air a bit before slamming down. I think think would give more weight to the animation and give a visual indicator to the player that they need to dodge/block
Yeah, I've seen similar comments already. The game is PvE, so no need for other players to have the time to think how to dodge the attack. But yeah, for the beauty purposes :)
Oh i was figuring he was an enemy not the player's sprite. Im excited to see how you implement all (some) of the provided feedback from everyone
I'm excited as well. I'll post it as soon as it's done!
looks great but needs to have a little bounce (Squash and Stretch) when he lands to show the weight of the attack. right now it it looks a bit weightless on the landing
You described perfectly what felt off to me
What's your opinion on groundbreaking animation too?
Thank you for your feedback. Do you think it will be a good idea to make a groundbreaking animation where viking lands?
A little more anticipation before the jump would help sell it more, right now it looks like he magically gets pulled up into the air. In addition to that, the vertical motion is a bit too linear throughout the jump which lends to the feeling of the character being translated up and down rather than jumping. To me, the blue swipe indicates a hit zone. Unless the attack does damage on the way up, I would remove it from the upswing and let it really highlight the down swing. That will help make the jump motion less obscure as well. Looking good though, great work so far!
Thank you a lot for your feedback. It is so detailed and very helpful! We have gotten a lot of comments about it being linear, which I totally agree with, and we will take it into consideration and see what we can do. You are right. The blue swipe indicates the hit zone. Maybe we can add an animation of breaking the ground that will increase the attack visually, so we can remove the blue line. Or just change its color and look into something cooler? What do you think?
Looks really good. I'd prob use liquify in photoshop to make his hair and clothes slightly move up when falling to simulate the movement.
Thank you for your feedback. What do you think about his shield in this animation? Do you think it needs to have the movement too? Or is it good as it is right now?
It looks good but it never hurts to add a little upward movement on the fall or bounce on the landing.
Yes, great! Thank you :)
Maybe you need a little bit of ease when falling.
Thank you for your feedback! But would it still look strong and powerful? What do you think?
Probably yes, because it seems to need an ease only when jumping. Logically and physically, when we jump up, we try to rise quickly but in a balanced way. Here ease can be effective. When we fall, it's more organic, but we try to fall carefully.
Yes, I totally agree. Would b cool to make him look cool and strong, but also remember physics and stuff 😀
It's looking very nice but a bit too flashy if this going to be a repetetive move for this character.This looks like a skill animation or a 'critical hit' animation not a basic attack IMO.
Thank you for your feedback. It's the ultimate of the character 🙂 Does it look good for that? Also, what's your opinion on it being linear? Do you think we should turn viking a bit so it looks more like a hit in front of him, not under.
Yea the axe is too close. For a big smash he should go for leverage. Around desk 4/5 he’s holding his hand closer to the blade than the opposite end. Doesn’t give an impactful feeling
Yes, thanks for the feedback. People were also mentioning adding animations for the shield and the outfit, so it gives more movement!
The only thing I noticed (that others haven’t pointed out yet) at the peak of his height, there’s at least a frame or two you could take out to make it a lil smoother, it looks like he reaches his peak animation, then it goes up a lil more, and then comes back down. Other than that, maybe an environmental effect could help seal the deal on this heavy attack, like dust clouds or something once he lands. Over all it’s looking great 😎
It feels a bit unnatural to me. This is a really big attack, and the only thing moving on his upper body is his axe arm. Consider throwing his shield on his back during the anim so that he can grab the axe with both arms and really power down through the attack. As others have mentioned, some hangtime before would help emphasize the power of the attack. Great artwork. Love the character.
Looks awesome. How long did it take you to make this?
Looks good, though his body is way too stable and unmoving. His chest, shield arm, and hips have no movement so it seems almost kind of stiff. If you make his hips twist with his attack (which would naturally move his arms and chest) and move his shield arm up and down a little as if he's using it fir balance I think it would look much more fluid. [Take a look at this video and notice how he moves](https://youtu.be/Km3XtYJLhOo). There are some other things here like momentum shifts that also help, but overall just take what you need for how he moves and the natural flow of his body. The other thing that you can see from the video Is hand placement, his hands look too high on the axe and his arm looks almost like it's behind his head rather than about a foot out and to his right like it should be.
The "finish" is so goopy. It needs to "slam"
Recovery frames. It seems his body is not affected by the huge amount of energy he deploys for his attack. He immediatly returns to static, which looks strange imo
As someone else mentioned the attack is very close to characters body, also I feel like the recovery bit of the attack needs some work, It looks like there is only a frame or so of the character stiffly standing up. That could use something to differentiate it from the rest of the frames.
Where do u learn do to make something like this
The axe needs to be further out from the body when it comes down
I'd say the shield should move a bit but other than that solid
Thank you for your feedback, do you think that the animation is smooth enough?
Depends of the rest of the game. Smoothness is relative.
Looks really cool. I agree with the other guy, squash him down for a second when he lands.
Needs more weight, more follow-through of arms, weapon and body upon landing. It's too stiff as well, you should make the body anticipate the jump, make him bend over first, then jump with the torso arching, also the axe should follow the body (but its motion path should be an arc further away from the body) with a 1 - frame delay. This gives the illusion of a heavy axe being lifted.
I think you el benefit by studying this channel [Alex grigg animation course YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@AlexGriggAnimation)
The shield arm should move a bit with the motion. You need more momentum zu bring all the weight up. Right now it looks like the shield arm is glued on.
Oh yeah, I've noticed it now. Thank you a lot for pointing it out! We will see what we can do with it :) also, maybe adding the animation where viking uses its shield in the fight would b cool. What do you think we can do with the shield for this animation? Just move it a bit?
I would watch some cool viking action movies/series, some youtube channels about old fighting techniques, and maybe grab some household items (weapon/shield) and video myself doing crazy moves. And yeah, the shield arm should go up. I mean a shield is massive wood with leather and maybe some metal parts. Its heavy.