Character Animation - Tails

Trying to get continuous dialogue from this guy was harder than I expected so I took the "mash unrelated lines together with loose context" approach instead.

Sonic characters were what got me into drawing as a kid and it's been about eight years since I last drew one, so I wanted to see what I could do with all the 3D form and perspective practice my 13-year-old self skipped over.

New stuff I tried:
- Really close-up shots of a character's face + being a lot more careful about on-model keyframes during close-ups
- More squash and stretch on the head outside of 2-frame accents
- More diverse expressions and body language like laughs/chuckles, reacting to an invisible speaker, and different head-shaking angles

All lines are taken from Sonic Twitter Takeovers #4 through #7
Music used: Glutton (Hoshi no Kaabii)

[Soarfloh]

Tails can invent things practically from thin air but failed to make a good paper airplane, feels oddly fitting lmao.

[FoxyGekkerson]

I love how Tails' earpiece is actually in his ear.

[heyj]

Tails: "We don't let him on the internet anymore, not since the uh... incident..."

**The incident in question**

Eggman: "I've come to make an announcement!"

[SleepyftPanda]

I can see this as the end of a running gag of an episode where the whole gang's been trying to remember how Tails taught them how to make a paper plane with their all their attempts failing before its revealed that he doesn't know either despite being a literal engineer.

[KairrotsR.Delischouse]

THIS ANIMATION IS SO PEAK THAT I THOUGHT IT WAS IN 3D FOR A SECOND IM NOT KIDDING??

[Veo]

I appreciate the way his eyes dart around while listening. It's what real people do when listening closely to people that aren't right in front of them.

[ThatGrayCartoonPony]

Excellent work on the more diverse expressions and body language, in particular those micro anticipations before delivering his lines that perfectly encapsulates his though process. Makes the anim look that much more authentic and lively.

[GumPunk]

Using the isolated voice lines for one end of a phone call is so creative!

[MmmMmph]

The ears moving along with his facial expressions are just *chef's kiss*

[davikaaful]

The whole animation is amazing, but the facial animation, chair turn, and hand movement at 0:20 is so smooth!

[AsuraRaver]

Tails' character animation here is BEAUTIFULLY done! I'm also very impressed on animating paper being folded into an almost complete paper airplane!

[Solesteam]

I'd like to imagine Tails is talking to a friend that's not Sonic or any known character, just someone he's kept in touch with for a while but doesn't vist often.

[DeceivingStareYTP]

I wish Tails was my internet service provider

[thatkingdomheartsguy]

I like this characterization of Tails. He's a good person but not afraid to get snarky as well.

[TailsIsDisappointed]

Everything has been washed away by CGI nowadays, this brings me back to the Don Bluth era of animation, beautifully curated. I genuinely wished we could get a new Sonic show with this style of animation.

[Cutecore_tails]

The fact this kid can invent literal airplanes, gadgets, BOMBS but can’t figure out how to make a paper airplane is so funny

[cow-stealin-gal]

For some reason, I have a hunch about the “incident” regarding to the lines “we don’t let him on the internet anymore”.

Very nice animation!

[JLMetak]

Kirby anime music goes with every silly low stakes situation

[hotelmario]

I love the 70s Disney-esque pencil lines that appear when the poses go static. It has that hand-drawn charm.

[PriVerAnimation]

So many great moments in this piece! 👏