Michael Cuevas
@michaelCuevas27
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Principle Animator/VFX/3D @UncappedGames https://t.co/kKUeHue0KH https://t.co/boIpO6F41t
Joined May 2010
my favorite walk cycle animation. Our next closed beta Nov 7th you can sign up here:. model by: @games_mythos .concept by: @MrJackArt
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Illyana's sequence in Marvel Rivals is stunning. hats off to the cinematic crew 🤯🤯🤯🤯
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15 years, 12 applications and 3 tests before I landed a job at Blizzard. Started out as a generalist more than 21 years ago and now I specialize as an animator. below is part of the #animation test that got me in. #gamedev
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simple exercise I sometimes give students:. 1. 3 poses: start, middle and end.2. create 3 sequences using poses.3. stepped only no curves (24fps/2s or 30fps/3s).3. work on all 3 simultaneously. Spiderman rig by @KielFiggins
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One way I advise students on pushing poses in 3D is to "break cardinal planes". Front = Coronal.Side = Saggital.Top = Transverse. In the example below, the eyes/head hips are parallel to the transverse plane, creating a "square" or "blocky" look 1/3. #animtip
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Exercise I used to give to students:. Translate a 2D animation to 3D.1. Pick a sprite animation from a favorite game.2. Extract key poses.3. Animate and apply your current knowledge.4. Keep it short. 🔥Fired up for the new animation school term with @rickyframes #animtip
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For beginner animators, I recommend the following short & simple drill to train your eye sensitivity for timing and spacing using most 2D/3D animation packages (Maya in this case) . 1/8
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Getting an education in 3D animation is very different than it was when I started in 1995. 5 things I would do if I was 19 again and starting out:.
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One of my favorite things about SF5 is the flourishes added to some moves when a character recovers to his/her idle. Not only do they smooth the transition but they vary based on the strength of the attack. 👌🏼. (Also, I just noticed the change to her crouching animation)
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#animtip for animating jumping characters from left to right:. -Vanilla physics. Gradual ease into and out of the apex . -Hitting a "wall". Common mistake when trying to create "hang time". Looks like they get "stuck". -Stylized Hang Time 💋🤌🏽💕
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Y and Z animation curves for COG
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some walk cycles from our very talented animator Kevin Spangler @KevinSpang36559 . stubby legs? no problemo
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You never really “graduate” from the basics. Go do some fun stuff and when you get stuck, come back to them.
#animtip for animating jumping characters from left to right:. -Vanilla physics. Gradual ease into and out of the apex . -Hitting a "wall". Common mistake when trying to create "hang time". Looks like they get "stuck". -Stylized Hang Time 💋🤌🏽💕
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Repost of an animation process video I did for a move in Heroes of the Storm.
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When it doubt, cut frames as my old coworkers used to say. These days, if the rig allows it, I'll cut frames and try to add a form of smear or double. my old mentor told me that smears are something that should be felt, not seen unless closely examined. Smears should never
Blocking out the animation pose to pose is the most creative and fun part of my process. 90% of the feel, flow and timing is figured out. After that I put on my favorite playlist and refine the animation, usually starting with the center of mass and footwork.
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After 7 years, today my time at Blizzard has come to an end. Grateful for all the new friends I’ve made and for all of the memorable moments developing alongside some of the most talented people in the industry.
15 years, 12 applications and 3 tests before I landed a job at Blizzard. Started out as a generalist more than 21 years ago and now I specialize as an animator. below is part of the #animation test that got me in. #gamedev
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In this Spider-verse sequence, Miles is on 2s (12fps) and Peter is on 1s (24fps, same as the background)
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Blocking out the animation pose to pose is the most creative and fun part of my process. 90% of the feel, flow and timing is figured out. After that I put on my favorite playlist and refine the animation, usually starting with the center of mass and footwork.
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Received quite a few private messages on the topic of independent learning in 3D Animation. Here are my top 5 #animtips for those forging their own path. 1/7
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Me: Make sure to make your poses dynamic. A+ Student:
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some fun animations for Tracer and our summer event. #gamedev #animator #animation #blizzard #heroesofthestorm
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20 frame loop adding forms to a rough animation pass
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often advise beginner animators to avoid using reference like this to practice animations with unless they have a very solid understanding of fundamentals. There's a lot of subtlety and nuance needed to make effortless action believable else it ends up looking like a mistake.
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Learned a lot since this 👇🏼 maybe time for an update.
simple exercise I sometimes give students:. 1. 3 poses: start, middle and end.2. create 3 sequences using poses.3. stepped only no curves (24fps/2s or 30fps/3s).3. work on all 3 simultaneously. Spiderman rig by @KielFiggins
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By adding natural twisting and bending through the spine and up through the head, the parallel lines are broken 2/3
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process vid for blocking out a game attack animation. Model by @TheGreatJug and rig by @KielFiggins. I try to get 90% of the timing locked down by the time I'm done with this stage. Sometimes I skip the last part entirely.
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🧵let's talk about timing and spacing using chainsaw man 1/8
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A lot of times when I'm constructing combat animations, I have "formulas" for specific kinds of moves. I'll breakdown Juri's Tensenrin* from Street Fighter V to illustrate my approach to "aerials". (long thread). *I'm not the animator for Juri
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A video I made a few years back illustrating some subtle differences in animation between SFIV and SFV. It also illustrates that often it's in the transitions where you can add "character" and "style" to things like attack animations
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When I first started out as an animator, I struggled with overshoots, settles and moving holds. Not only did I not know how to tackle them, but I was also unaware that my animations NEEDED them. My characters look decent in motion but looked terrible when they stopped 1/2
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previous post: After refined COG, footwork, hand arcs and secondary, I add some sort of smear if the rig supports it. General philosophy on smears:. 1. Should "feel" it, but not see it.2. Should work with timing and not the other way around.
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If I'm going to spend a long time with a character rig, I usually spend a few hours setting up common hand poses. Especially "finger guns" and "double finger guns" . #animtip
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demonstrated to someone my approach to constructing quadruped walk cycle using layered animation method. 1) footwork and cycle one limb.2) mirror and offset to opposite limb.3) animate weight shift.4) skateboard optional
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At Blizzcon, someone asked "When do you know to add smear/stretch when animating?" Told him to go check out @Fighters_Gen. X-Men: Children of the Atom is as influential to me as any Disney film/short & still step through the sprites to this day. Hope you see this dude!
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1. Analyze motion/movement often. Don’t just look at reference when you need to work on something. Get Keyframe Pro or similar and download from Mixamo or any motion capture library. Look at short snippets. Compare and contrast different styles and sources.
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5. Spaced practice. Animate in intervals either 1-2 hours every day or every other day using short exercises that make you retrieve and reuse principles in different situations. Avoid 8-12 hour marathon spurts. Give your eyes a chance to reset and let your brain refuel.
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Wrote an FK/IK match 'n' switch for @KielFiggins rigs available here: A little different from original tool as it's a single button press and will work on any limb control in any mode (FK or IK). 1/4
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While I wait for the fall term, here's a collection of some student work from the past 2 years teaching Games Workshop 2 with iAnimate. Love seeing all the creativity, styles and improvements over 11 weeks 🙏🏼
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snippet from a class demo of a vanilla head turn. fun getting out of my comfort zone
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@JingleJoshs Think of it like dancing: someone leads, someone follows and the relationship can change.
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3. Study The Animator’s Survival kit deeply. Packed with practical info especially the first half of the book. Love the Illusion of Life but it sits on my coffee table far from my work desk.
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2. Move more. Get training in any sort of physical activity where you are taught specific mechanics especially footwork (football, ballet, boxing, hip hop dancing, stage acting). Shooting reference is great but acting out movement with high physical awareness is also good.
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Something I noticed in #Streetfighter6 is the use of smears. Top is PC with post processing turned up. Check out Chun Li's striking hand
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short dialog and secondary animation exercise using the Lyette rig from @KielFiggins and techniques from @Foofinu's online class. Acting is an area I really want to improve on! Can you guess what movie the line is from? 👀
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Early 2015, at the end of a Heroes of the Storm production meeting, someone said "Wouldn't it be funny if Cho'Gal played rock-paper-scissors with himself?" as we all shuffled out the door. Block-out of that animation.
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10 gamedev #animtips:. 1. The best way to solidify animation principles is to apply them in as wide of a variety of situations as possible (cycles, slow action, fast action, acting, interaction etc).
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one of my favorite shots from Demonslayer. 99% sure Nezuko's animations are 3D CG. mixture of 2s and 1s at 24fps, she's always on model and the footwork is impeccable, Not to mention multilayered clothing and hair.
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Spent some time on Heroes of the Storm making tools in 3DSMax. Below is a procedural "bounce" script that I originally developed to simulate fat on Cho'Gal. Turned out to be useful in other areas :)
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New iAnimate school term started so I want to talk about stages of learning, problem solving and striving towards mastery (in anything really, not just 3D animation). a thread
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old viewport spider-gwen exercise. checking to see if the animation works from all angles
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When polishing, I start with COG refinement, the imaginary center of gravity of character moving through space (green ball here, roughly). Footwork is dictated by the COG. I like buttery smooth with some snappy segments. continuation of this post:
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A little more explanation on cardinal planes for posing. In the 1st picture, notice how the eye line, shoulders and hips are squared and parallel with the Y plane. I like to spice things up where it makes sense 🔥. previous post here:
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4. Learn from very few people at a time. As I’ve said before, parsing different critiques from multiple sources is a skill in and of itself and can lead to confusion. Absorb what’s useful add to your toolbox.
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Quick bi-pded walk cycle tutorial using @mayaanimbot 🧵 1/9. Rig: @KielFiggins model: Dmitriev Vasiliy
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Me: Remember class, good video reference will ground your animation in reality. Reality:
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What animation concepts/principles do new 3D animators struggle with? 🤔.
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Low tech jiggle solution: 3 skinned bones that are children of the chest/spine with translations unlocked and procedurally animated. When we brought Cho'Gall to Heroes of the Storm from World of Warcraft, we changed his overall body shape and opened up some fun possibilities.
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animators looking for work reply with your portfolio for a repost.
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A year ago, we were testing the range of motion for our newly modeled and rigged Recall unit at the same time Newjeans "Super Shy" came out
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side by side comparison of my animation tests for Blizzard ~1 year apart. The left was my submission to World of Warcraft/Cinematics. Right is my submission to Heroes of the Storm. Went for different styles but expressing weapon weight was top priority for both
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When do you like to figure out timing and rhythm to an animation sequence? For me it's right in the beginning when key frames are light and timeline is sparse before any additional polish (footwork, arcs, etc). More progress to come from a recent teaching session @iAnimate
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During my very short stint in Blizzard's cinematics department, I had a blast animating Tracer for her Heroes of the Storm trailer. There's some smearing and stretching in there if you can see past the motion blur. What a treat.
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#Animation set that I did for Valeera. Had fun fleshing out a unique interpretation of such an elusive character. I tried to incorporate Filipino military CQC in her attacks in addition to classic WoW Rogue flavor. #gamedev happy monday
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Had a lot of fun with these new Heroes of the Storm animations. Character art team knocked these out of the park. #animation #gamedev
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Spiral's 21 frame idle animation from Xmen:CotA. A couple of things to notice:. - the unique hand gestures and offset looping arcs of each limb. - subtle rotation of muscles up the arms as each wrist rotates. - 3 looping "bounces" of her body. - head orientation is static
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#animation set for D.Va and her mech in HoTS. thought it would be fun to compare, Idle, Walk, Taunt, Dance, and Recall between her two modes. At the end is her "collection" sequence that most people only see once. #gamedev #heroesofthestorm
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Advertise your account with one image :
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Me: Remember class, good video reference will ground your animation in reality. Reality:.
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hats off to the capcom character rigging department. Baggy pants with folds and wrinkles while making it look like there's a an actual leg in it is not easy for real-time game characters
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two of the very first prototype units created for @PlayBattleAces designed by @MrJackArt . These were fun to model, rig and animate
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Originally made this meme as a joke for a handful of my students 😆 didn’t think there are so many interested in/familiar with animation 😳. Is it required at University these days? 🤔.
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Casual observation after years of teaching: . students that practice/train for a specific physical activity have demonstrated a slight advantage learning 3D animation 🤔 with few exceptions. (Sports, dancing, martial arts etc).
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this curve shape unlocked a lot for me. Shout out to whoever animated Spidey in Cap3:Civil War 🙌🏽 2/2. #animtip
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@IcayCharles I think one problem is that the exercises in and of themselves are kinda bland. But that creates another problem where trying to make an exercise that uses those fundamentals in context increases complexity 🤔.
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another Maya viewport 2.0 test with a quick run cycle. 2 lights, shadows, depth of field, AO, anti-aliasing. Animated at 30fps and getting consistent 25fps-27fps during playback. sweet rig by @OlenkaStor. #animation #gamedev
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Often asked by students: What's the difference between feature pipeline and game pipeline?. Great infographic by Hans Goddard via LinkedIn.
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Happy 5 year anniversary to Heroes of the Storm. I ranked 5 + 1 of my favorite animations I was lucky to have worked on during my time on the team. 🙌🏽🤟🏽🤙🏽
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Happy Warcraft 3:Reforged launch day. Really honored to have had the chance to help animate some classic characters once again. Had a blast with this auto attack, trying to take advantage of the increased fidelity of the new Illidan
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I can't stress how useful short exercises like this are for both pros and students. They're not always the sexy demo reel pieces but they strengthen muscles and motor patterns necessary for consistency and improvement.
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