Sheep walk cycle - feedback?

PuppyPuppyPuppy

Working out getting accustomed to everything in Spine. Here's my first animation that, once I can be completely happy with it, will be part of a project I'm working on. I'm not sure what I think. I go from liking it to being uncertain of the character design. Thoughts? Any feedback is appreciated.

Erika

Hi Puppy! 😃
I see you're starting great! the only thing I would fix is how the leg bends the fluff, I can see a line that could be changed to make it smoother, you could also let a slightly greater area be influenced by said leg.
I like the design! Might maybe make the legs as large as the feet near them, and maybe make the head also look on the other side, but that's hair picking.

PuppyPuppyPuppy

I see that problem spot. Thanks! I also agree that the head could look both ways, but I'm not sure how to get that nifty 3D-effect rig to work so that it can achieve that effect.

Having said all of that, I think that there are more than a few flaws in the character design (like having leg and head proportions wrong, even if it is a cartoon) that merit a redraw. It also doesn't really fit perfectly with another character that I've yet to animate that I'm really happy with. All in all, a good exercise to get some of the Spine basics down. Back to the literal drawing board! Woof!

ErikH2000

I really like your sheep.

Re "I also agree that the head could look both ways, but I'm not sure how to get that nifty 3D-effect rig to work so that it can achieve that effect"

The slot that holds the head could have some extra attachments in it for frames of the head switching to the other view. Unlike your other assets that tween with meshes to produce a great 3D look, those head turn frames would probably have to be hand-drawn. To cut your work down, you could make the head switch really fast and use a blur effect.

The head-turning might not be valuable for your project. I just think it would look cool.

PuppyPuppyPuppy

I have a dog character as well that I've yet to animate and I have quite a few options on him for various facial expressions as well as head directions (profile and 3/4 view). I was curious about the idea of attaching all of those to a head bone and swapping out the slots depending on the head direction. In theory, I should be able to get a much greater head range doing just that. The trick is going to come down to figuring out how exactly to rig that.

Finally have the updated version of the sheep. The biggest difference is obviously the character design.

I've opted to limit the head turn in this animation, although the 3D effect is built into the rig. I'm using it here subtly for some head bounce.

I've got a nice running gallop up next as well as a jump.

Xelnath

Looks like something from LootyGames

tuanhm107

the body shouldn't wobble that much. Can you show us your rig bones and how you animate the body?