What Makes GOOD Animation (2B & Eve Analysis)

Personally, I love the animations in both games, but today I want to dive into what makes them different and why-!!
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[@TheRoyalSkies]

I really love the animations of both games - They have different styles, and different purposes, but they're both beautiful works of art - What other games do you love the animations from?

[@Rin8Kin]

2:58 - I think Michael from GTA5 has exactly same walk animation. It's not "generic and boring" it's animation of middle-aged average male walking toward exact destination (i.e. not walking in the park).

[@LeSpicey]

The animation for Devil May Cry 5 are purely awesome too! It’s just really cool to see how much personality they went to put in there. Also, for earlier games, Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper, the original Spyro the dragon games all were gold

[@ForcePF]

Monster Hunter World has incredible animations

[@Alex-pj8nz]

You are going to be label as a male pig by the feminist movement.

[@RaichuWizDom]

Dust: an Elysian Tail. Good mix between snappy and flowy, the gameplay is all full animations while the dialogue screens are minimalist, and the art style in general is still chef's kiss to this day. The Don Bluth influences help a lot, too.

[@Yazoon_S]

2:26 "Let's look at THIS animation" Yeah I was definitely looking at the animation, and nothing else

[@Damian_h]

i was waiting for the impact frame but i end up noticing the whole animation was the impact.

[@danielsithole1591]

*sips tea*

[@GA-br8wj]

We can all get behind that

[@TKUltra971]

Even the cosplayers attempted to do that walk on stage LOL. It was great.

[@RaichuWizDom]

Come now, we can all get behind that choice, I think, no need to get cheeky about it. And not to butt in as some glute-d'err, glutton for interaction, but I feel like you're assuming some ulterior motive here. OP's just doing his thing, recording useful information for posterio-posterity! Yes, posterity is the word. It's just a useful comparison, no other reason. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

[@randallmakhanya]

2B's feet also don't slide while she walks as far as I can tell.

[@pewpewdragon4483]

I noticed that immediately too. Eve appears to be skating in this case, as opposed to slipping

[@exnozgaming5657]

2B's movement uses root motion for covering distance during walk animation. Seems like eve's movement don't .

[@nixellion]

@@exnozgaming5657 You don't even need to use root motion for this, you just need to properly sync up animation and movement speed between Blender\Maya when animating, and your game engine, set up blend trees properly and try to not allow movement speed that stays too long between your blend tree animations.

[@cocobos]

2B walks lock with her walking speed, Eve relate with analogue stick so need to manually match with her animation

[@nixellion]

@@cocobos this can still be synced through a blendtree with multiple walk-run animations at different speeds. If not enough animation speed can be adjusted.If not enough can add some ik to that.

[@ExpensivePizza]

Animation is like grammar, the more you know the more you notice how many terrible ones are out there.

[@TheLuconic]

That’s a good point. So if you want excellent animation, it’s best to have a quality amount of animation knowledge, practice and skill sets.

[@RYXPfan]

I totally agree - and it's funny it really applies to everything in 3D design! Weight painting, animation, even uv mapping potentially. Animation may be the most obvious of these though 😅

[@vosdraug4628]

Yes, but grammar is objective and logical. This is subjective and projected.

[@AnEveryManJack]

That's basically the Dunning-Kruger effect.

[@Soulsphere001]

That goes for everything, really. The more one studies anything, the more one realizes what goes into making anything good and what to look for when trying to avoid bad products.

[@Rin8Kin]

Damn those actress are exceptionally expressive.

[@TUROCK320]

This is the job budy ;)

[@themonsterunderyourbed9408]

Yeah and that makes terrible animation. Over expressive animation is a band aid for bad storytelling.

[@blizzardgaming7070]

​@@themonsterunderyourbed9408it depends on the character, the style of the animation she is shown moving is clearly trying to be expressive. If a traumatised war veteran in a realistic fps was moving like that it would be bad.

[@Mr.Marbles]

@@themonsterunderyourbed9408 you can see how she mostly does anime / cartoon characters. and that is how you expect them to move.

[@lukejones7164]

​@@themonsterunderyourbed9408 That's a stupid take

[@weebnerdgaming4908]

Yeah, Eve's butt jiggles less. That means her steps are less firm. 2B meanwhile exudes experience just by the walk alone.

[@n9it]

That's one hell of a way to say one has more confidence than another.

[@edgelord121]

Or maybe her butt is more firm

[@petr_ix]

It's true, the movement sequences are a masterpiece with 2B, I couldn't play Stellar Blade after NieR: Automata without constantly slipping to comparing the two games and expecting NieR: Automata quality.

[@plain_simple_garak]

The old butt jiggle personality test, works every time until you get arrested

[@night00glider]

Save 7 minutes by reading this comment.

[@TKUltra971]

2B's walk cycle is the stuff of legends for animators. A gold standard for sure.

[@heyhoe168]

Yep. Little jiggle due to heap flexibility is peak art.

[@gabrielquintanilla7118]

For future reference you can also say her “Gait”

[@linnen_elm]

@@gabrielquintanilla7118 _GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT!!!!_

[@insert_username77]

The animator's ability to animate 2B with one hand is commendable indeed

[@alittlecreepywhenyou]

LOL Agreed 🤣 I immediately went searching for some reference shots so that I could recreate her...attributes for a model in The Witcher 3. I actually couldn't find that many, which was surprising to say the least.

[@isaacfrand3824]

I don't know if I should've gotten that joke as fast as I did lol

[@lanzer22]

Another way to describe the differences is that 2B more resembles a runway model. There stride for 2B has more emphasis on each step, and the upper body is more stiff with the shoulders also matching each step with confidence as you can see the hips sway more. While Eve's upper body is generally more fluid to convey the softer and more innocent nature of the character.

[@user-li5cr6wv5b]

Eve just walks, but 2b is showing herself off.

[@angelofchoasdeath]

2b moves like a woman with a purpose no wasted motion. Eve is relaxed but unsure but still confident in her figure.

[@thathandsomedevil0828]

That confident GAIT of 2B made me fall in love with her hours into the game. I could watch 2B walk for absolute HOURS!!

[@Viewable11]

2B's steps indicate 100% that she wears high heels. Each step impacts sharply on the ground. EVE's steps indicate that she wears flat and soft shoes (although she wears high heels as well). Each step is smooth, as are all motions of all her body parts, EVE moves graceful like a cat.

[@angelofchoasdeath]

@@Viewable11 That's what I said but if I were to go into more details and use cat analogies here goes. 2b walk would be considered a perfect "catwalk " one my cousins is super model. Like you said sharp and deliberate as I said no wasted motion. For eve maybe other animations she moves like a cat with grace. But for walk animation she like a kitten or beginner to intermediate at walking in heels. Another example is Ada wong she's always confident sleek in her walking animations flats ,heels and heeled boots. Usually mo cappers get this right but in re4r you can clearly see the mo capper didn't know how to walk in high heeled boots.

[@pasindudinusha6507]

2B moves like a queen. She's awesome.

[@weijiadeng8012]

⁠@@Viewable11 It’s actually not heels for eve,her feet are different from humans, it’s more close to paws of cats, digitigrade in nature.

[@DanteHellDrive]

Bro knows his thumbnail game lmao

[@TheSEWEGI]

I could watch 2b walking for hours. It's beautiful

[@S1EEPLES5]

Same.

[@elijah5573]

🤨

[@ukkilevegetal1729]

Y'all down bad

[@S1EEPLES5]

@@ukkilevegetal1729 im worse.

[@hiramesensei3112]

i usually finish in like 3-5 minutes tbh. honestly if you're going on for hours you might wanna see a doctor

[@adam-k]

Can we just appreciate for a second how freakishly good that motion capture actor is.

[@numinous4789]

Almost like she does it for a living 🤣

[@kingol4801]

@@numinous4789 Bad argument. Lots of skilless people also do substandard work for a living.

[@Christian___]

The 2B walk animation is top tier. Eve's animation is different in tone as you said, but it's also not in the same tier for quality.

[@GabeHowardd]

Eve animation is extremely inferior, looks straight out of PS2 era

[@angelcrush1582]

​@@GabeHowardd that's definitely not true wtf, especially if you compared it to todays triple A titles

[@GabeHowardd]

@@angelcrush1582 she's literally skating

[@SpeedKing..]

My man needs glasses. Or maybe he's disgrace by something​@@GabeHowardd

[@chitoo95]

@@GabeHowardd glaze more

[@kimjiro4591]

Eve's walk cycle is sliding lmao

[@nixellion]

Yup, I left another comment about this. It's sliding, and it just looks not nearly as realistic or detailed as 2B's. To put it plain - it's much cheaper walk cycle compared to 2Bs, in terms of work time and attention to detail. OR if it was mocapped - too much smoothing was applied to it.

[@kimjiro4591]

@@nixellion I put my dime on the mocap-but-overly smoothed. The sliding tells a lot more about this game's technical though. Animations are not root-motion probably due to physics simulation conflicts, which means there are a lot more problems under the hood.

[@fosteredlol]

@@kimjiro4591 Are you suggesting that people should be using root motion instead for a fast action combat game like Stellar Blade? I have never used them but am working on something vaguely similar and curious if I should go back and give my animation system another look.

[@Nickfooker]

@@nixellion also Eve's hips were not moving vertically, giving it even more of a sliding motion compare to 2B (of which has a slight hips falloff when her feet touch the ground).

[@davidc1179]

@@Nickfooker Yep. Basically, 2B's feet actually hit the ground, which makes her feel more "real". Whereas Eve just floats.

[@tahnaiyarussell]

Straight away I noticed that 2B walks with more confidence, like she has more experience in this world and Eve walks with less of that. She seems unsure about something i.e. herself. Pretty much what you said. The timing of this video is interesting as yesterday I was sitting in traffic and noticed a guy's walk that made me think "Yeah, he probably used to get bullied in school".

[@eliotcamel7799]

Yeah, of course THESE are the examples he uses. Never change, Royal Skies.

[@NuclearWaffle0]

And that my friends is why "Appeal" is one of the 12 principles of animation

[@irgamr4478]

Mmmm yes... let's look at 2B's walk animation

[@danielsithole1591]

yes, with observant eyes......really observant eyes

[@Trevurie]

The walking animation are pretty good but what grinds my gears is what I call the "slide walking." If you see it you cannot unsee it unless you are distracted but if it is very noticable, there is no hiding from it.

[@rodiculous9464]

That's what bothers you but not when characters magically rotate in place without moving, Especially when prone?

[@Ma77eu]

this guy is so good at finding differences in their walk. personally i could only see 2

[@funniloneliboi]

"Mom don't look at me like that I swear I'm studying-"

[@jayenlow1191]

Both of them have an elegant walk but 2B's looks more purposeful, like a fashion model, while Eve's is a bit more relaxed and has a bit more grace that you'd attribute to an angel

[@tebz15]

I really liked the video, it made me see things i wasnt able to see before.

[@NotGovernor]

I'm sorry..... Did you say something????

[@taeliantalittia612]

Someone is talking in the background?

[@renstimpy9313]

​@@taeliantalittia612really?

[@insomniadevelopment]

You just had me stun locked, the sheer amount of character depth you are instantly able to extrapolate just based on the visuals and animation is just sth. that hasn't crossed my mind to this extend. I used to care a lot about sound-design but how they use post-fx and make it all come together really shows that making a masterpiece is a work of art, passion and dedication... Thank you for that video, I really enjoyed watching it! - Mike ^-^

[@SMNtheNight]

Maybe it's just me, but something I noticed with Eve is that as the game progresses, her special attacks and finishers on bosses look more and more confident, precise, and full of determination. I would say she even looks awkward at times early on, like she's really playing by ear. It parallels her rapid evolution from a "new born" that just started life on Earth, to a grown woman who has now seen what life truly is and eventually makes her own pivotal decisions as a result. The attention to detail is marvelous.

[@NonyaB-zp6lz]

Eve's walk cycle feels more stiff, less fluid; ironically, her animation feels more robotic and less human.

[@S1EEPLES5]

You bastard you knew I wouldn't be able to resist the thumbnail.

[@purplesauce827]

the shift in your contents pretty cool, this was really eye opening aswell thanks :)

[@leobuck2060]

👍!!! This video is WAY more than the thumbnail depicts. Very good content from start to finish; not just about game character development, but also the psychology of body language. Every 10 to 20 seconds I felt I was exposed to a New perspective or idea I hadn't considered. This video was right to the point and constantly moved forward: no filler, no lengthy backstories, no repetitiveness... You achieved in a few minutes what most content creators would drag out for more than an hour (they just wouldn't be able to help themselves!). Thank you, and keep up the good work.

[@nikoraskin401]

Amazing video! I love all of your more “basic” videos about animation and modeling concepts!

[@Rajivrocks-Ltd.]

Great video. Got it randomly recommended to me and didn't expect to watch it all the way through!

[@TakiGamesOfficial]

As a unreal dev I learned to appreciate animations with personality. There’s not many but there’s some animsets on the market with a bit of personality. If you have unique personality in your anims its what really sets you apart. Universal / neutral anims only belong in like multiplayer shooters or something. Character based gacha games like PGR, Aether Gazer, Hi3 have very specific personalities in their attacks and movement and they have to, to set themselves apart from eachother in a huge roster of characters.

[@Keirnoth]

Devil May Cry 4/5 also is like this!

[@kuroihana3228]

I had looked at the beauty of the characters and there environment but I did not notice this point. overall great analysis. Thanks

[@Photos-NXS-Jayce]

I'm glad someone brought this to light. Character design, is by far, is what draws me into gaming. I love when all the actions convey traits of the character. 2b & EVE are fantastic examples and appreciate your comparison.

[@AyataHiragi]

Great video!!!! Im actually building a world as a personal project and a lot of this can be applied to world building as well, thank you so much!!!!

[@RamzaWolf]

Good video! I would be interested to learn more about animations on a deeper level like this!

[@Tsathogguah]

Excellent choice of subjects for this intriguing case study. You are a gentleman and a scholar.

[@sergie2822]

Me: Accidently clicking the notification bell with 9+ on screen because I wanted to clear the notification... Me: Does it again, few minutes later... "Damn it..."

[@2Syndras1Cup]

bro, I am more concerned about Eve's gliding, that shit ain't even walking.

[@josephschultz]

Thanks for all the Info provided very helpful as I have just 8 more years till retirement then I'll start learning how to do Animations clothing ETC so starting to slowly gather up info

[@Sknueppel85]

Super Nice Explanation, Thank you!

[@blackpsychotigertells2827]

Man everyone of RoyalSkies' videos are great, keep it up man you spat I love to see other people explaining things I've been called a dork over.

[@samraines6966]

Spot on analysis on what the walk animations communicate for both characters. I'll also add that Eve's walk animation tells she's someone who's very curious about the world while 2B walks like someone who's very much done with all the shit the world throws at her.

[@jokerledger5400]

Another thing that help showcase a character personality is the neutral standing and idle animation, sometimes i would let the character stand in place for a couple of minutes just to see their idle and neutral animation. It a nice little details that goes the extra mile to bring life to the character.

[@user-li5cr6wv5b]

I remember climbing to the roof of a house in the streets, and was marveling at the sky box and music, enjoying the atmosphere, and that moment I first saw 2B idle animation when she looks around before dropping her no-bs facade and stretching her arms to the sides as if catching the wind and sunlight. The picture was stunningly beautiful.

[@ReelGames2020]

“Simply the work of art” - it sure is brother, it sure is!

[@sinakhaligh6686]

"Simply a work of art"

[@lordbarron3352]

I feel stock animations are like frozen factory-made dishes in restaurants. They have their place in certain settings where it can work (greasy spoons, diners, indie games with no budget, etc) but generally if you use slop, people WILL notice.

[@mokadelic4037]

2B definitely comes off as sharper and colder than Eve, much more precise and calculated with the way she struts, which reflects her personality and her... "role", so to speak. If you know, you know. On the other side, Eve strikes me more as a secure, confident, but also cautious type, someone who is always keeping an eye on their surroundings, both for safety and curiosity in equal measure. Eve is someone who knows she is in a dangerous environment and is cautious, but still hasn't completely lost the sense of marvel and awe for the world she lives in. This in opposition to 2B, who knows she is basically living in a dystopia where her masters are gone and all that's left is hostile machinery.

[@1977Yakko]

Interesting analysis. You focused on the artistic and practical elements of how the game looks and moves without going down that rabbit hole of whether the two characters are "too sexy".

[@eatmylaz0r]

You nailed it man, I couldn't say it any better. A great animation could possibly make a game go a long way just by itself.

[@judesheckelberg5135]

2B's animator did a great job considering they only used one hand.

[@lexiconprime7211]

I am way too old and stupid to know/learn how to do this, but it's really cool to listen to. Always wondered what language I was missing to convey my issues with certain "generic" video game animations.

[@BananaKyat]

I have been waiting for someone else who appreciates 2B's animations the way that I do. Practically flawless from a communication standpoint. Really great video.

[@ALSPEHEIR]

This is the type of analysis I can get behind 👍

[@TBou_nyncuk]

Big kudos to the creator of the 2B walking animation, the man created this masterpiece single handedly

[@francescoschuster1623]

The animations are something I really like about FromSoftware games too. It's incredible how they make each boss and enemy look so unique and interesting when they are kicking your ass.

[@KingKabisi]

I appreciate both your animation review and Dillon Goo's animation comparison. I wish he went over some of the more subtle animations like you did as i do think they are the more interesting ones that have the small attentions to detail. Like for example did you know thst Eve has 2 variants for most of her movement actions. When she double jumps she can either flip with her legs in unison or with one delayed and she can vault onto platform with a spin or normally. Same thing with her dash, she can dash with a spin or without one. There are even more subtle ones liike how she spins her sword in her hand when she does her . (Square, Triangle, Triangle, Triangle, (if i remember right)) Combo finisher.

[@yearight1205]

Gotta admit, I stopped playing video games a while back and mostly just focus on cinematics and practicing lighting in my free time. But now I fully understand why I see so much 2B when I go post my work around lol

[@wr5488]

These two games gave me a feeling no other game has matched. When you first land in the abandoned city/silent street and the music starts going off in both games… goosebumps. Made me feel like a kid finding a secret castle to explore, this weird feeling of exciting mystery. Think only Death Stranding might’ve given me that feeling too.

[@oswynfaux]

They also exaggerated the hip action of the high heels in the first character and less so in the second

[@Unknown-hm7qx]

2b is confident and strong, eve is confident, yet walking gracefully

[@obscurity3027]

This is a fantastic analysis. Subscribed.

[@hungbuiart]

as they say: "Good things takes time."

[@MrReubenTishkoff]

Good cake takes time to bake. 😊

[@scorcher64]

I'd love to see a similar video for character clothing/outfit styles for characters in general. You have people still thinking revealing clothing are only there for lewd reasons and not similar principles applying to character personality.

[@melusirams8551]

2b's walk animation is so beautiful

[@sarcasm-83]

Writing when you said to answer, so this might go completely "wrong" from the answer you have, but 2B's walk gives me the vibe she has more experience and therefor more confidence, even if both are confident.

[@flaviusiacob1558]

Dude, good video. Thanks!

[@marco1941]

Gentlemen of culture, here we meet again, educating ourselves on useful knowledge and skills of the current age.

[@Masuraodesu]

Thank you!

[@BrandonNinja]

Great video!

[@mrkimitsu]

The thumbnail is CRAZY

[@fanshaw]

2B crosses her feet as she walks (like, but not as severe as a runway model) which creates a more purposefully exaggerated feminine hip sway. Eve still has the feminine wide hips and feet close together, but with a more innocent feet straight gait.

[@OMI788]

Everything about NieR series is an art

[@itsyaboiiizxc]

In other words. He's really saying the jiggle animations are what makes a game top tier. And I totally agree!

[@ZSleepingDragonZ]

LOL 9S has that generic Unreal 5 walking animation.

[@SSSamuraiiiOne]

As someone who draws animations in 2d (whether using aseprite or other software) I feel like just copying an animation reduces the personality you try to convey. So I use some as a template and then modify them to match the character both me and my teammate have in mind. Your video pretty much summed up the thought process behind the animations. Cheers

[@MrgnUTube]

The animation of 2B looks so classy in side of Eve's.

[@solomonmars5735]

Hi, what game was that Jungle clip with the Soldiers and pistol?

[@colex110]

2b walk cycle also includes the slight shudder in her step due to her heels. firm, precise and with purpose. Eve feels a whole lot floaty. abit clippy, abit more jiggly but nevertheless still points out her softer personality.

[@Madtography]

The outcome will also dramatically change when the same actresses natural walk was done in a different pair of shoes. like changing from flops to higher heels. her hips will automatically "bounce" more in heels, and yes, animators can, and will improve them.. ^^ but how good an animation actually looks is also very dependend on the model itself, the rig, and of cource the motion captured references they are based on.. ;)

[@ussliberty109]

With 2B's animation you can actually see the camera speed up and slow down with every step. Human walking speed does not maintain a constant velocity like Eve's does.

[@Rit02]

Their "PERSONALITY"are different 🤣

[@Baguetteling]

There's TWO reasons I'm thinking of.

[@siddharth9407]

As a student of 3d animation who's kind of struggling a bit I do find your enlightning.

[@SebastianSkadisson]

5:12 - 2B walks like a dominant woman, very assertive and determined while still having a sassy hip sway, Eve walks like a normal every day girl, way less assertive than 2B, a lot more girly with her hands up on her sides and way more laid back in slow walk, almost like she's about to just sit somewhere to enjoy a sundae. She's also chubbier than 2B, giving some of her animations almost a nerdy or tomboyish feel.

[@kunnykuni]

Eve's steps are softer, leading to less wiggle physics. This tells me she is more stealthy and/or careful in approaching problems and solving them. 2B is walking without with a purpose and no hesitation, as if she could take anything head on. The difference with Bayonetta is that 2B is not putting any fluff in her walk. She is just going from point A to B, while staying feminine. While Bayonetta puts on a show, exagerating her feminity and confidence, because she enjoys being a witch and humiliating her opponents.

[@mythsqueuemusic]

now that's something i can get behind

[@ishwarishwarnag2611]

What about Bayoneta animation

[@rodiculous9464]

It's good and you can tell they animated it to maximize her sexiness

[@Time2gojoe]

"Lets look at 2b walk" bro i have it as my screensaver you don't have to tell me that

[@permitfisher]

I’m not a gamer…not sure how I even had this vid in my suggestions. But this was very interesting…thanks Dude.

[@okeytay4]

Fantastic vid!

[@Vukf1]

Props to 2B's animator for doing such a great job with one hand!

[@gstreetgames2530]

2B is sexy and seductive, Eve is more elegant and intentional.

[@ace5]

did you have a video about how game devs weight paint asses? and how they deform slightly incorrectly? i swear i saw it, but cant find it now :(

[@baraneo8195]

banger vid, more like this please

[@DuhBla]

4:39 Royal Skies: This is how 2b walks Me: Booty Royal Skies: And this is how Eve walks Me: Booty Also me: Sorry what was the question again? I was distracted.

[@jarredcrowell5696]

There's something about the silence during the UE mannequin's first walk cycle that kinda made me laugh.

[@mechgouki7999]

Yes, I can stare at 2b's brilliant walk animation all day.