Screenshot Trick 3

 

 Screenshot trick number 3 - level 3 - moderate

Create movement - break the axis - 

the importance of face expression

In this third part of my screenshot trick, i will speak about movement.

We create movement if we know what's next.....what will happend after the shot.

Movement is important. It's not always necessary, but in some cases it's essential.

Movement can be created with your character, with NPC, by nature...well that's depend.

It's important for combat or running animation.

In this case we will just study the link between the movement, the face expression and the terrain.

Here is an example of a bad image 😔

In this image, Lorelei simply runs.

           - where does she go? we don't know

           - why? we don't know

           - does she feel something? we don't know

Well, it's boring.....this image is useless/ without sense. So, we need to add a direction. It's not necessary to show all, but we can give some clues to what's happen.

In this example, we will not use a pose. I will just use my running animation and i will stop it with the command consol TFC 1.

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First, add a face expression. Use FEP 4.0 http://www.loverslab.com/files/file/1527-fep-facial-expressions-project/

Fep allows you to edit your face expression easily and quickly. This program is essential.

A movement is based on a face expression. It comes together....always.

In my opinion, a pose without face expression has non sense....specially for action shots.

In this case we will add "effort" and a small "angriness" to her face. I recommand a force of 10-20.

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Then, we will break the axis of Lorelei on the ground. A character musn't be always at 90° according to the ground....specially when running.

Download "Screenshot pad" http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/69120/?

With this program, you can edit all axis of your character easily.

Edit your axis...rotate a little bit your Y axis on the left. Your new axis should be around 70-80°.

The goal is to delete the 90° character/ground

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I add a fire spell to her left hand to tell "it's probably a combat"...

i take care about " foot prints"... foot prints and particules add movement. So i stop my scene to the right moment.

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All elements are here now.

In the same place, we have now more movement.

 

- Where does she go?  below the slope...quickly...she watches her destination/objective.

- Why? Probably a fight.... With her sword and her active spell, she surely attacks an NPC. It's not a defensive action. Well, she is not drinking a cup of tea :)

 - Does she feel something? Yes, she is angry and totally ready (face).

 - Her Y axis is good. If she was static, she would fall.....so we understand she is running fast.

- You can notice "feet print particules" behind her. It adds speed to the shot.

- By chance, the rear skirt has a nice movement...it adds mobility

- The shadow on the ground create realism and combat strategy. Her "ennemy" has the sun in his face... it's a good moment for an assault

- I just added a blur on the background to mask some ugly shape and textures.

 

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This tip is good to understand that all elements are important in a shot.

The technique is easy but it can really improve the sense of your shots.

Well, that's just how i work...so i share that.

Of course, this approach is useless for armors showcase. The goal of my showcase is to highlight  armors and my characters....so no need to work on movement..it's static.

 

Thanks.