This is perhaps a little premature, but maybe not. Getting your animations into a finished stage is something everyone struggles with. If the core of your animation isn't working (poor posing, timing, sequencing of beats), then you won't be able to build on top of it properly, and any fluidity you add may not save what's there. That being said...here's a summary of some polish notes partially derived from Keith Lango
He makes the point that the next step from poses to pose to first pass has a general sameness to it.
some general topics for polish
-arcs..smooth and physically accurate
-facial...overlap in posing...make sure you don’t hit each pose in a linear way. let parts overlap to avoid
evenness.
-no two motion lines should have the same arcs...watch this in the wrists in particular
-strengthen poses in main poses as well as breakdowns.
line of action - is it interesting, does it have a good readable curve (concave, convex), is there enough
curve reversal from pose to pose
offsetting
-check for twinning. a frame or 2 offset isn’t generally enough to fix a twinning problem
-find a part to emphasize - have it arrive early or late.
overlap
-avoid that ‘hit and stick’ syndrome
-get the right amount of overlap. too much is soft, too little is sticky.
-does the overlap have believable physics
-is the ease in too linear (breakdown key problem)
energy
-are the feet frozen. consider a weight shift
-does the size of the anticipation match the speed of the reaction.
pacing
-vary the beats to make the scene have an interesting texture.
-vary fast and slow (at least 3 speeds)
-make sure the amount of time per action is plausible
“it’s broken, but i’ll get to it later” - address the most glaring errors first. - otherwise you run the risk of
the ‘wrongness’ seeming right.
-ik pops
-hitches - too much motion in a short timeframe. Use a ghosting tool
-is the overshoot amount right? too much, too little. Is everything in the pose settling at the same time?
-elbow pointing the right way. Settle in the elbow for IK... pose the ik handle and pole vector together,
but be careful of too much motion in the elbow.
More notes....
Good Keys for clarity. Strong poses that read well in silhouette.
Anticipation Action Reaction. To quote Chaplin ‘Show the audience what you are going to do, do it, then
show them you’ve done it.
Overlapping Action.
People ‘unfold’. Lead the action with the head or the hips. Pupils lead the head turns.
Add a breakdown drawing if offsetting it in the graph editor doesn’t give you the desired effect.
Shoulders
Remember the rib cage compresses and expands. Moving the shoulders as part of the performance
can help create this effect. Shoulders are also useful to create a sense of breathing. Use shoulders when raising an arm. Lift the elbow, then wrist, then the shoulder.
Arcs
All the joints move based on rotations, which should naturally give you arcs in the movement -
check them from your final camera, by tracing them using a 2D drawing tool. IK joints are quick to pose,
but you need to do a lot of arc work that you get automatically with FK.
Accents -
Head Body Hands Hit the accents 3-4 frames early.
Hand poses, overlapping the fingers from each other, then overlapping each finger joint. Try to avoid a
feeling of underwater swaying with the overlapping of the fingers, a little overlap can go a long way. Bend
the wrist as part of the hand pose.
Vibrations and Settling
Head Accents to make the characters look like they are talking. Nods and shakes.
Movement in the hips (root node), to give the character a sense of weight
Eye Direction Use the lid rotate controls to change the shape of the eyes, based on eye direction. Eyes
are incredibly flexible in how they change shape as you look around. Be aware of this, and push it to give
the eyes an organic feel. Be aware of how the shape can change from one eye to the other. Try to get
some rhythm into it that is reflected in the brows, cheeks and mouth. If all the parts of the face are not
tied together it can look like a mess.
Eye Blinks
Make sure the eyes close completely on the blinks. You may have to dial out other eye shapes
during the blink. Use half blinks as well as full blinks, like a flutter. Good for eye flick direction changes,
to have something in there. Think about using the lower lids (wink) as well as the upper lids. It’s a decision
based on how the character is emoting, what kind of a blink you’re after. Consider using the brows
subtlety during an eye blink, to tie all the parts of the face together. The rate and rhythm of eye blinks
are part of the personality of the character.
Facial expressions
Change expression before or after a big move to make the character look like they are thinking.Choose a time when the character is fairly still to make the expresssion change. Use Asymmetry and tie all the parts of the face together. Use the jaw and brows to get a sense of squash and stretch .Don’t have everything in the face change at the same time, or it will look mechanical. Play with breakdowns, mouth first, then eyes. Eyes first, then mouth. These things overlap and are offset. Timing of these transitions is important.
Add dirt in the curve for long transitions, like a slow eye brow raise. This is in the final polishing of the scene.
