Reanimating Escanor vs. Meliodas Animation Process

Introduction

• Attempting to reanimate the disappointing fight scene between Escanor and Meliodas from Seven Deadly Sins.
• Original anime episode was poorly received, causing disappointment among fans.
• Aim to create a faithful reanimation based on the manga.

Initial Thoughts

• Manga chapter provides a different vision for the fight compared to the anime.
• Goal is to reanimate the scene closely to the manga.

Preparation Steps

• Reference Board:

  • Gathered images of Escanor and Meliodas, including their weapons, facial angles, and Meliodas's tattoo.
  • Compiled images from both anime and manga for layout and consistency during storyboarding.

• Face Drawing:

  • Practiced drawing Escanor and Meliodas's faces to warm up and get familiar with their designs.

Storyboarding

• Created a detailed storyboard using keyframes from manga and anime.
• Focused on making sketches more accurate to save time later.

Animation Process

Cut 1

• Meliodas looks up at Escanor, expressing his bad mood.
• Line art focused on static elements first, followed by basic mouth animation for speech.

Cut 2

• Escanor responds, claiming he’s in a great mood.
• Followed the same animation process as Cut 1.

Cut 3

• Escanor taunts Meliodas about proving he's better.
• No movement, just a still frame with the characters drawn together.

Cuts 4 & 5

• Focused on the gripping of weapons as they prepare to clash.
• Close-up shots with detailed weapon drawings.

Cut 6

• Escanor charges up his attack, aiming for smooth animation.
• Experimented with Kakani software for automatic in-betweens, but faced challenges with usability.

Cut 7

• Reimagined the shot from a panning down to a wide-angle shot featuring a quick and slow-motion attack.

Cut 8

• Background and impact emphasized, no 2D animation.

Cut 9

• Meliodas appears unfazed, hair whipping from impact, speaking confidently.

Cut 10

• Focus on Escanor laughing, with a close-up of his eye opening for dramatic effect.

Cut 11

• Fast-paced sequence of Escanor’s slashing attacks on Meliodas.
• Used smears to enhance movement.

Cut 12

• Simple animation of Meliodas kicking Escanor in the face.

Cut 13

• Complex animation with a panning camera and hair movement.
• Took a break due to frustration before refining and redrawing frames.

Cut 14

• Transition cut of Meliodas turning into a tornado.

Cut 15

• Highlighted the speed of Meliodas's spinning while showing Escanor's struggle to keep up.

Cut 16

• Final cut featuring Escanor and Meliodas's last strike, incorporating previous frames where necessary.

Backgrounds and Compositing

• Collaborated with a friend for CGI backgrounds.
• Drew over the CGI references and added stylized effects.

Final Steps

• Added audio from the original episode and sound effects.
• Completed the animation after three weeks of work.

Reflections

• Learned a lot about discipline and creativity.
• Acknowledged the struggles faced during the process but felt proud of the final result.

Conclusion

• Encouragement to support on social media and look out for future content.