One of my coworkers mentioned to me that this was one of the “better animations he’d seen me do”, but also noted that although it was arguably good animation, it was confusing what the character was supposed to be doing. My reference was of a girl practicing martial arts alone in an empty room, and I’d hoped that his “practicing” would also read as natural. Obviously, though, it didn’t, so I decided to add in the element of a punching bag.
I downloaded the model online, then added the texture and rigged it myself. It’s comprised of four joints, and it was honestly a delight to animate. Though of course it presented the challenge of matching the swing to the punches, it gave me a chance to show off my overlap and weight skills. And speaking of weight, someone also gave me feedback that the punching bag “feels light”, which I completely see and agree with; however; I want to leave it that way because it is satisfying to watch. It can be a lightweight punching bag. I’m a bit too tired to decide what I think it’s filled with, but the best I can explain is it’s like those neon sandy pillows from the 90s. I don’t want to change it now, I’m very happy with the weight and timing of the arcs that I’ve done. I also like that he’s kind of ducking under the swing after the jumping kick, it feels more interactive.
So instead of adding in a comedic feline moment where he sees a cucumber and freaks out, I decided to make it more reliant on the punching bag; otherwise there’d just be too many elements involved. So I think for the ending I’m just gonna have it smack him in the face and he’ll fall down.