Comment on Aurora (Video Link) by rikognition
I liked the pacing, some BG work, and a few of the effects were really good (especially the often re-used black smoke). The timing with the music was pretty good too.
The weaker part of the video would be the character animation itself. Since the style is essentially an emulation of Paul Robertson, the fact that the timing and posing was pretty average at best in comparison made it stand out as a sore thumb. Mostly, the characters' spines were too stiff and not enough follow-through or secondary movements. Had it been a more unique style it would have passed or been forgiven easier... and fit the backgrounds better (the styles between the backdrops and the characters were way too different).
Still, it's very solid work, only marred by the pretty mishandled emulation.
The weaker part of the video would be the character animation itself. Since the style is essentially an emulation of Paul Robertson, the fact that the timing and posing was pretty average at best in comparison made it stand out as a sore thumb. Mostly, the characters' spines were too stiff and not enough follow-through or secondary movements. Had it been a more unique style it would have passed or been forgiven easier... and fit the backgrounds better (the styles between the backdrops and the characters were way too different).
Still, it's very solid work, only marred by the pretty mishandled emulation.
Thanks for the critique! It's essentially my first time putting something like this together -- while the character style / deformation is very Paul Robertson, I didn't reference his animations -- in comparison, Paul's work is MUCH more fluid, dynamic, and over-the-top. Animation-wise, I actually referenced a lot of fighting games, particularly KOF and Garou (still overall pretty weak I agree). I'm not a character animator, it's something I really need to improve on. Up to now, most sprite animation I've done has only been walking, and some wave-like animations (clothing/hair). I'll definitely work on improving!
That's the spirit!