Topic: The Animation Challenge

Welcome to the Animation Challenge!

The Animation Challenge is designed to encourage animators to improve their animation skills by participating in a fun weekly competition. There are no prizes except for the glory of winning.

Each Wednesday, the winner from the previous challenge becomes the host and will post a new theme. The theme should be challenging (so no basic walk cycles) but also possible to make in stop-motion by a typical brickfilmer (no battle scenes with 50 figures). Topics from the previous thread can be reused.

The deadline for submitting your entry is the Monday following the challenge. This gives you 5 days to make an entry. The host must choose a winner by Tuesday. If they do not, a moderator will choose the winner instead. Once the winner is chosen, the cycle begins anew on Wednesday. If the host does not pick a theme by Wednesday, a moderator will pick a theme.

Remember, your focus should be on good animation. Sound design or music is not required, and stories are discouraged. There is no time limit, but try to keep your entry focused on the actual theme. Hosts should comment on why they chose the winner, and also give feedback to other entrants.

Posts only consisting of "Cool theme!" or "I will enter!" will be deleted. Discussion is encouraged, but let's keep this thread uncluttered.

This is a continuation of the previous thread, which at 524 pages needed to be put out to pasture. Every 50 or so pages this thread will be locked and new thread will be created.

Re: The Animation Challenge

Rioforce won the previous challenge, so he is this week's host. Take it away, Rio!

Re: The Animation Challenge

admin edit: Please keep discussion related to the animation challenge and not criticism of moderation policy. Thank you!

Last edited by Sméagol (April 15, 2015 (03:11pm))

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"Nothing goes down 'less I'm involved. No nuggets. No onion rings. No nothin'. A cheeseburger gets sold in the park, I want in! You got fat while we starved on the streets...now it's my turn!" -Harley Morenstein

Re: The Animation Challenge

I'm glad we have a new Animation Challenge topic so we don't have to stay in the old bloated one. Thanks for creating it, Nathan. mini/smile

The new challenge is going to be Diving! Your character (which doesn't have to be a minifigure, it can be something else if you want) has to dive off something into water below. The deadline is April 20th. Good luck!

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"Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." - 1 Corinthians 10:31b

Re: The Animation Challenge

And yes, the challenge started 4 hours ago and I have an entry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyK4Gf_FH2E

I wish I could do better, but I don't have the extra time tonight and the upcoming days will leave me no time to animate.

"Bless you for making this." -Sloth 2016 * on "Chicken Shaped Lighthouse Attacks Police"
http://bricksafe.com/files/harborlightpro/400x100%20BRICKSINMOTON%20PIC%202.jpg
Ephesians 4:29 -"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers."

Re: The Animation Challenge

Does the subject have to be diving into water?

"I wear black even when I'm not animating. I'm like a walking funeral parlor."
-PushOverProductions

Re: The Animation Challenge

Legocloniac477 wrote:

Does the subject have to be diving into water?

No, he can be diving into lava or something else. I suppose that he could even be diving onto solid ground if you wanted.

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"Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." - 1 Corinthians 10:31b

Re: The Animation Challenge

My entry is done, watch it here.
https://youtu.be/QqUJHDHX_dk

-RandomBoaz    YouTube

Re: The Animation Challenge

Here is my entry : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHtRpBnXBDQ

Re: The Animation Challenge

This is my entery : https://youtu.be/sdmrvt0XlZI

NoodleBrick  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6o33_ … 8DiJG6gE1w

Last edited by soupmanjack (April 19, 2015 (09:09pm))

Re: The Animation Challenge

I love the raw feel to your entry noodlebrick. and love the board animation. good luck everyone.

Re: The Animation Challenge

I know I am late. My excuse is that I took a while to type this post. You can disqualify me and I won't mind because I have doubts about myself. If I am disqualified, can the judge (mod/Rioforce) give me feedback?

The first test is the dive. https://youtu.be/lv67AvLcVO0

I chose to participate in this because of some water splashes I've seen in Robot Chicken, using wrap/film as water and cotton as foams of water, and I thought I could recreate them. It was hard for me the move the minifig, and everything around it to keep the wrap/film from moving. Another problem I also had was the amount of wrap/film and cotton I should use, lego minifigs are very small compared to Robot Chicken's puppets so I had to scale down my materials (you can tell that I didn't) or else the splash would have been too big.
My opinion on my test was that two steps was enough and I over-animated the foot. The jump didn't look like a jump because it didn't go high enough and more like a fall. The stuff in mid-air was satisfactory but could have more frames in between and needed a better rig. The splash was too fast and needed to be a bit more smoother and the plastic-wrap /cling-film moved too much and the light set up made reflections which didn't look pleasant.
If I took my time to animate everything again, it would be 25% better than what it is right now.

I like your entry N0odleBrick. I contemplate whether or not to use a board for mine, and I chose not t because: a) I would waste some time finding flat bricks; and b) I didn't have a good idea how I can make the board bouncy the way I wanted it to be, it would have ended up like a see-saw. Your technique is new to me and inspiring. That is quite a fancy rig you have got, and the brick-built splash was very good.

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-FilmyGuy1

Re: The Animation Challenge

N0odleBrick, that was killer, I loved how you handled the animation, very fun and cartoony with just the right amount of exaggeration.

Re: The Animation Challenge

Thanks for all the entries!

The winner of this challenge is.... N0odleBrick! Congratulations. I really liked your entry for the diving board, the exaggeration, and the cartoon-feel of the entire thing. However, if wish you would have removed the rig. IMO, the dive isn't practical to animate unless the rig is removable, but I feel as if you could probably mask that out with a little work, so that's ok. mini/wink

@Harborlight, your entry was nice. The minifig dove from a not-so-high place, but it still looked nice, I like the flip and the water splashes. Subtle, but effective.

@Randomboaz, your entry was unique. It showed the minifigure diving into solid ground, not water. I liked it. I like how the minifig defied gravity for a split second there, then fell on down. The ground-hitting was nice, I like the bounce when he hit his head.

@Aiwha, your animation was very smooth, but the dive wasn't the best. It looked like he was being grabbed by a magical force and thrown into the water. He had no real physics, he just launched off the platform at high speed and fell straight into the water without moving. Though, the water effects were good (I really like the ripple), and I like the paper water.

@Kd2000, Don't worry, you weren't disqualified. mini/wink You showed us a diving animation, and it worked. I like how he walked, and jumped, but the air-flipping looked strange, I couldn't tell if he was defying gravity and showing off, or if he was falling uncontrollably. The splash was great, very unique. I like the water he splashed off of his face too.

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"Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." - 1 Corinthians 10:31b

Re: The Animation Challenge

Thank you!
Rioforce, I could have masked it and fully intended to but i accedently messed up my lighting about halfway through the animation so a masking frame became impossible.

Re: The Animation Challenge

N0odleBrick wrote:

Thank you!
Rioforce, I could have masked it and fully intended to but i accedently messed up my lighting about halfway through the animation so a masking frame became impossible.

I thought you did a great job with your entry, the cartoonish feel along with the smooth movements made it a fun little piece. Now it's your turn to pick the challenge, I look forward to what you are going to pick.

I might just enter the next one...

"Bless you for making this." -Sloth 2016 * on "Chicken Shaped Lighthouse Attacks Police"
http://bricksafe.com/files/harborlightpro/400x100%20BRICKSINMOTON%20PIC%202.jpg
Ephesians 4:29 -"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers."

Re: The Animation Challenge

are we limiting this to JUST lego? or like for instance, if we want a challenge based on making CGI/stock footage fit in with this, would it count? or no?

Re: The Animation Challenge

rioforce wrote:

I couldn't tell if he was defying gravity and showing off, or if he was falling uncontrollably.

Showing off. It was all improvised and fairly unprofessional. My theory for it looking like it was defying gravity was because the background behind it wasn't moving at all.

Cooked Cat wrote:

are we limiting this to JUST lego? or like for instance, if we want a challenge based on making CGI/stock footage fit in with this, would it count? or no?

I am not a judge nor a mod, but I guess you could.

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my dad doesn't want me to brickfilm on because it's his computer, but he's not home right now at the moment.
-FilmyGuy1

Re: The Animation Challenge

Cooked Cat wrote:

are we limiting this to JUST lego? or like for instance, if we want a challenge based on making CGI/stock footage fit in with this, would it count? or no?

Nathan Wells wrote:

The theme should be challenging (so no basic walk cycles) but also possible to make in stop-motion by a typical brickfilmer (no battle scenes with 50 figures)..

Bolded for emphasis. This thread is intended to improve stop-motion skills.

Re: The Animation Challenge

So, since I won I am suposed to pick a theme. When am I suposed to choose the new theme? Am supose to wait for Nathan wells to post something telling me to pick the new theme? Or am I just suposed to do it, starting the new animation challenge?