Motion Capture vs Handkey Animation - Maya Power Tips EP8

[@harveynewman]

What's your preference Motion Capture or Handkey and why?

[@SirHosisofLiver]

Definitely tweaked mocap too much and got that creepy underwater look in the beginning. Then when I was assigned some simple hand key anims and was totally lost without the mocap data. Now I can do both pretty well, but it definitely requires a whole diferent mindset and I prefer one or the other depending on my mood that day haha. Great video.

[@harveynewman]

Thanks for sharing Michael. Couldn’t agree more that change is daunting but once you go through it you learn your lesson that’s for sure.

[@Benimation_anim]

Love videos like this Harvey! Currently at Santa Monica we use a mix of Handkey and Mocap for our gameplay animations. Its definitely a balancing act when mixing the two. Great vid!

[@harveynewman]

Hey Benny...Thanks...ah yes that's a bunch of fun, and you get to learn how to blend both for maximum impact. Hope you're having fun man.

[@beatselekta]

I came here after seeing Love Death Robots' JIBARO episode, which astonishingly used handkey animation, not mocap. Thank you for explaining this in a way I could understand!!

[@harveynewman]

Hey Emma Welcome 👋. Thanks for the kind words and glad you enjoyed the content. Jibaro is a stunning piece of work! Make sure to stick around lots more content planned. :)

[@Niphern]

I use mocap for everything pretty much. Even for stylized animations and Dinosaurs (got some behind the scenes vids on my channel). Ever since I started to do the performance myself I realised how you can use the data as a strong base and then keyframe on top to evolve it too what it is you need. Thats the perfect mix for me, 50% mocap 50% keyframe. Cant agree with you more of how unappealing it looks when mocap is "too cleaned" or when the data is basically butchered in the baselayer, rather than worked on in layers.. Its the first thing you have to teach animators that is not used to working with mocap

[@harveynewman]

Indeed Niphen and it’s a mistake most of us do when starting to work on mocap. Glad you’re enjoying it man.

[@mutanazublond4391]

Then you will love my up coming Doco animated partly called ''Real Black Role Models and their love for Animals and White People ''

[@titinilofle]

I've always had this (preconceived?) notion that mocap session where always acted out by professionals, but as an animator doing it myself sounds like a perfect day of work, I hope I get the opportunity someday!

[@harveynewman]

I'm sure you will Russ...and you'll love it. Definitely makes you appreciate it more.

[@BritK-xh4gz]

It seem you would be a better keyframe animator doing mocap. You are looking at perfect timing all the time with mocap.

[@harveynewman]

Yeah it's better, but only because you get to create your animations from nothing. So it's a way more creative way to work. Thanks for watching

[@Aaron_miraz]

I forgot to comment hahaha, well mocap is used a lot in games, usally for realistic character movement, but you have to adapt the mocap to the virtual enviroment not present in the capture. The video was awesome as always.

[@harveynewman]

Thanks Aaron.

[@hobojohnson1285]

Harvey please man please we have been waiting for 4 years for a reveal, you guys have 400+ developers and 49 million dollar budget and switched to UE5, please we need something about EVERYWHER3

[@harveynewman]

I know it’s been a long time but bare with us the wait will be worth it. We are working on something special and keeping it under wraps so we focus on making this game great is the best thing we can do right now.

[@marcjamesarmour9163]

How do you practice editing mocap? I don't have access to mocap equipment and I always see mocap and motion builder experience required at a lot of studios hiring animators.

[@harveynewman]

Grab some free mocap from Mixamo. They have quite a lot to pick from that allows animators to practice their mocap cleaning skills. www.mixamo.com

[@elishap1536]

Great explanation brother

[@harveynewman]

Thanks for watching Elisha. Glad it was helpful.

[@jacsonsmith3030]

may be a silly question, how to stay focused?

[@harveynewman]

Not silly whatsoever. I made a video a while back. Have a look and hope it helps: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZoGToq2NpLJrbtE

[@jacsonsmith3030]

@@harveynewman thank you very much harvey

[@jebinkoo4191]

Is VFX company agree with using my own mocap equipment for animation? are they like it???

[@harveynewman]

Hey Jebin. If you work for a VFX company they’ll have their own mocap equipment.

[@johndogbey8006]

Currently having sleepless night with hand key animations since I have no mocap device.. Lols

[@harveynewman]

Yerp I can relate John. Keep powering through brother.

[@bogdanvasile5460]

Is it possible to only use keyframe for animations that are usually done with mocap, such as parkour or combat... if you don't have a mocap suit? I mean can it even be done realistically (with more time than cleaning a mocap), in such a way that it feels as good as a mocap one does?

[@3oxisprimus848]

I'm making Animated Movie and I intend to hand animate to get a unique stylized look. What do you think?

[@harveynewman]

Great. Keep going and make sure to share it when you’re done. ;)

[@3oxisprimus848]

@@harveynewman Well here's the first part: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ooacl4aXq8aIgq8

[@dabetho3201]

Just adding all your videos to watch later once I buy my graphic tablet. May I ask you more or less how much money does a 3D Animator earns in his first job? According to google it's 38k-45k per year. Is it true? I'll study at Washtenaw CC at Michigan and then transfer to Eastern Michigan University to finish my bachelor, do u think they re good?. Thanks again for your videos bro.

[@harveynewman]

Sup Dab. Thanks for watching man. Yeah in the US sounds about right. I’m not sure about the Universities in the US but one thing’s for certain as long as you put in the work and let you talent shine it doesn’t really matter where you study. Companies will want you to work for them. Most important thing is to have a strong/original showreel showcasing your unique talent.

[@a.p.2018]

let me grab your I want to break into youtube doing shorts and skits, but I know golden rule is have a current stream of content, thats why I am planning on getting an 2 Xsen awinda suits. because I notice that everyone with one suit has to time interactions with two characters are in a scene so having two can kill alot of production time. also FYI if anyone is the southern California area im looking for another animator to under take this so hit me up .

[@amoguskakaspaceoreao9742]

Handkey animations is kind of smoother I mean come on watch the bully beta fighting styles video.