Fixing the “calling for the light” animation

After cleaning up the major problems (such as the sword going through the character’s leg) we concentrated on the start of the movement. It didn’t make much sense to slide her hand down from the top of the sword, so we made her grip the handle in the middle instead.

Likewise, we fixed the way she grips the sword when entering into the fighting stance. Now it looks like her natural, habitual gesture and the grip itself is more suitable for the battle.

We also steadied her left hand when she gets up. This way the sword doesn’t shake and looks heavier, while the movement itself looks more stable and confident.

We also brought the tip of her sword to the surface in the beginning, so that it doesn’t look like she’s digging the ground with it when she begins to move.

The other thing we adjusted was the way her palm faced the sky - we turned it a bit to make the gesture more natural and to show her fingers. The palm was made softer, instead of a straight line, to show that she’s receiving light from above.

Finally, you may notice that her knee pad is slightly below the ground when she’s kneeling. However, we ran an in-game test of this animation and it was fine there, so we didn’t spend more time on correcting this.