AuthorTopic: New concept art (Read 17725 times)

JillandJack · **on:** October 01, 2012, 07:03:13 pm

I would like someone to critique

Hello,
I was quite hesitant on giving away to much of my game design document but if it will help me get a better critique i guess its worth the risk. I will leave out most of the details but hopefully you will get the general idea/story of the game.
I am trying to make a platform game, the story involves all the jack tales into one. It starts with jack and jill they go to a wishing well. Jill makes a wish. Shit goes down Giant picks her up goes to castle. He makes minons candles which he sends after Jack. Jack then jumps over the candles in the game. Forest lvl.beanstalk lvl. castle lvl.
My game is directed towards a younger audience, I am trying to make my characters as cute as possible. I was trying to make my characters 16x16, just for a simple starter game. I am having trouble making sprite characters as you can see. I am quite a beginner at this. I am hoping for some examples anyone can give me to get on the right track. I was thinking on giving the main character jack a bucket for a helment to make him stand out more. But i am having a very hard time making the bucket, it just seems like a brown block on his head. I also was thinking on making jack more of a joker, or a clown with bells on his hands and feet. But the orginal story i have worked out involves the bucket.
Thank you so much for the people that have helped me get adjusted to the forums so far. I really appreciate it.

chris,

here is some concept art:
here the artist link if you like his work:
http://graphicdesign.rrc.mb.ca/08-09_GD2/dalleyn/index.html

newGuy · **Reply #1 on:** October 01, 2012, 07:10:25 pm

Try the forum's Image Hosting and Posting guide.

Phlakes · **Reply #2 on:** October 01, 2012, 11:30:05 pm

Step 1: Open up your nearest image editing program.

Step 2: Draw the sprite in there, then upload that file here.

Then we can help.

Also at the right edge of your posts is a button that says "Modify". Use that instead of posting ten times in a row.

Also also, like XLR8ED says, put the image URL (the one you posted up there) in the middle of [ img ] [ /img ], without the spaces.

TheMonsterAtlas · **Reply #3 on:** October 01, 2012, 11:31:32 pm

??

Code: [Select]

[img]http://i1323.photobucket.com/albums/u587/JillandJackForever/imlqowncy0nht34uebsfmzgr24225515521_zps39a34839.jpg[/img]

That's what you use, Jack.

Facet · **Reply #4 on:** October 02, 2012, 01:24:02 am

Jack, if you continue to post numerous times in a row or spam useless stuff you're going to get banned pretty quickly. I've given a strike. Please read the rules and the FAQ before posting, thanks.

Edit - That was quite blunt, sorry

.

I don't see the connection between the two images you have already; are they the same character? what type of view are you aiming at? what are they for?

There's a nice introductory tutorial here which should help with technique and I'd recommend lurking the forum for a little while in order to acclimatise too.

ptoing · **Reply #5 on:** October 02, 2012, 11:19:37 pm

Please stop to just edit your original post. It does not help the thread being readable and making sense.

PixelPiledriver · **Reply #6 on:** October 13, 2012, 03:49:05 pm

You could greatly reduce your color count.
Many of these colors aren't helping or changing the way that he reads visually.

If this were my character I might do something like this:

Less total colors.
More color re use.
Broader surfaces.
Thicker plane changes.
etc.

You need to play around with the design more and find something that you like.

JillandJack · **Reply #7 on:** October 15, 2012, 12:20:09 am

wow that looks good

i wish i could do it half as good as you..
I kinda gave up on trying to make him 16x16 with a bucket it does not seem possible at this point
i tried again making him with bells can any1 let me know if im improving? i tried using not as many colors does any1 see improvements?
I am also having a hard time making characters in the side view, and trying to give my sprites personality and showing there emotions. the only thing i think i can really do is change my characters skin tone. Like make his face red when angry, or is there a way to give characters 16x16 eyebrows of sorts?

any ideas or examples would be appreciated

update first sprite!

JillandJack · **Reply #8 on:** November 26, 2012, 08:00:49 pm

Hello,
this character ties into my previous post:
(merged and shown above)~PPd

I am making the second main character to my game. I am still quite new to this, so all advice is appreciated. So the character i am trying to create here, is Jill like from the nursery ryhme Jack and jill. This sprite was heavily influenced by PixelPiledriver's Jack sprite he made for me. I really suck at colors and don't know what to do. I tried by best for trying to incorporated different shades of color, but i as you can tell i could still use help. The character is set in like older times like mediveal. She is wearing a bonnet. her clothes are red and white, but im thinking of changing since this sprite gives me too much of a "little red ridding hood" vibe. Which i havn't decided if that is a good thing or not. I am trying to make this character cute. I don't really know what kind of colors i should use to convey this. I also don't know how to make a moving sprite of this character. I wasted alot of time on the Jack sprite to move and was hoping for someone to demonstate how this is accomplished

Here is some reference work i used:

These are the two things i want:

1. How do i make a moving sprite of this character

2. A critique of this character

This is the sprite:

k well ppd here is my graceful run cycle:

...i hate run cycles...
-edit-here is the one with arms moving:

-edit- My "attempt" at this the body does not have motion, but that is next on my list. Anymore critiques on the jack run cycle or jill character would be appreciated.
I am trying to get the whole sprite moving in my run cycle like arms, legs, head bobbing, will post all updates of my run cycle

-edit- oh i almost forgot the character in this run cycle is in no way my character i did not create this character at all this was all my very poor adaptation of the Pixelpiledrivers character in a run cycle..

Final Ninja · **Reply #9 on:** November 27, 2012, 02:51:36 am

In terms of how you made the positioning of Jill, you did a pretty good job.

I felt that you could benefit from adding a couple more colors to make it seem less stiff (If that's the right word... describing colors is tough). The colors didn't seem to be combining well, it seems better when they flow into each other. Anyway, I did an edit for the sprite and the start of a walking animation. As to how, are you asking how to make them in an image editor or what is the best way? I made both of these in Gimp. It was a bit hard to make the animation because the legs were so linear, but I felt I did an okay job.

JillandJack · **Reply #10 on:** November 27, 2012, 03:54:21 am

Thanks!

i love your shading skillz

i want those shading skillz! lol

I'll just steal that walk animation

-edit-

(i was using sarcasm on this sentence) clearly does not work like it does in real life but, eh live and learn -edit-
thanks again

chris,

Facet · **Reply #11 on:** November 27, 2012, 09:05:06 pm

Simply taking someone else's work; getting them to do it for you, is not the purpose of editing. They're for more effective demonstration. If you like an example, try and learn from it by applying the idea.

PixelPiledriver · **Reply #12 on:** November 27, 2012, 10:31:46 pm

So here's some process on how I might make this walk:

1. Start with basic motion.
Theres no need for any real change in frames.
I just want to know where hes gonna go and when.
I like bouncy walks, as such, he bounces.

2. Add a frame or two to create a starting point.
Interrupt the motion with a unique frame.
Find a good spot that makes sense to you, like the initial contact, or the peak of his bounce.
This can look like crap at first dont worry about it.

3. Describe the action.
Break down the motion with more frames.
figure out how many uniques you need and how many times they can be reused.
Again they do not need to be perfect at this point.
Just draw them so that they are obviously different and show the action as it changes.

4. Polish the frames
So now you know how many unique frames you have.
Clean up each one to be clear, more unique compared to each other, and more specifically describe the motion of the aciton at the given time.

5. Add follow thru and other small details.
We can add more stuff just for fun to enhance the animation.
Follow thru is a good thing to do at this point.
Let's make the handle on the bucket move as he bounces up and down.
Overlapping the number of frames used to create Follow thru with the number of unique frames will create a nice contrast of motion.
This means, use EVERY frame to animate the follow thru, but keep the rest of the unique frames the same.

6. Other small effects
A shadow can help ground the character.
The way it is drawn can change depending on how your game is presented.
Having some change in the shadow is fun.
But keep in mind the shadow shown is unnatural.
Realistically the shadow would get bigger, and weaker, as he moves higher.

7. Other effects 2
Particles are good.
They fill space, enhance motion, and give meaning to animation.
Drawing them directly on the frames, or creating them thru code in a game engine both have interesting properties and uses.

8. Do it again!
I quite often do animations 3-5 times.
Make a slight variation.
Or try something completely different.
Save the old versions and compare them.
Use the insight to create a better animation

Change vs. Motion
The animation is 14 frames total.

But there are only 4 unique frames. (this is actually a lie, there are 5, open up the file and figure out why!)

The rest of the frames are used to convey motion, rather than change.

The walk I've created is intentionally very stylized.
It does not directly hinge on the traditional walk cycle, altho this is an important lesson to learn and practice.
Practice to understand the basics of animation.
Break the task into a series of steps.

Quote

I'll just steal that walk animation
thanks again

Quote

Simply taking someone else's work; getting them to do it for you, is not the purpose of editing. They're for more effective demonstration. If you like an example, try and learn from it by applying the idea.

Facet is absolutely right.
Don't do this!
For what you think you gain in productivity, you will lose in self ability.
Use what people have provided as reference to create your own art from scratch.
You will learn more and get better faster.

Some of what I have written might not make total sense, I am in a bit of a rush.
If needed ask questions, np.
Try again and have fun with it (don't take mine! use as reference!).

Edit:
So ptoing messaged me:
"That runcycle of the Fez dude you made has absolutely no weight"
This is a good critique.
Naturally we tend to make things subtle on the 1st pass.
Push what you already have further on the 2nd or 3rd pass for a variation.
Play with the space and timing.
Whatever the animation is, exaggerate and create more contrast (of course sometimes this can mean the opposite).
When it starts to go too crazy dial it down a few degrees and you'll usually end up with something just about right.

Weight
We can add more weight with a few minor additions.
1. More contrast to his vertical movement.
Put more space between the highest peak and lowest point in his bounce.
The faster the motion, the more resolve and cushioning frames you should use to make it feel natural.

2.Offset parts of the animation from the rest.
The head bobs, and the neck strectches, slighty off from the body.

3. More follow thru elements.
Making the hair light and flexible reinforces that the static elements are thicker and heavier.

tim · **Reply #13 on:** November 28, 2012, 05:45:22 pm

This is amazing PixelPileDriver. Thank you, even if I'm not the op.

JillandJack · **Reply #14 on:** November 29, 2012, 12:32:46 am

ya, pixelpiledriver you really outdid yourself this time. I don't think ill be the only one referencing this

so to you and Final ninja i say

Here is Jill in here a run cycle:

Kinda messing around trying to make it look like she takes a bigger step on her second stride:

K now I'm on to faces, or emotions. If you see any crutial emotion you think im missing please don't be shy to tell me i forgot one or two, or that i don't know what im doing and should cut my wrists, cuz your eyes are bleeding because these sprites are so bad

all replys will be appreciated

Will be posting more updates soon, next on the list is the candle minions.

oh, just for mabe people who are super new like me. this is for those who kinda wanna know how i went about making the bonnet, really the only thing that i've created thus far without a actual pixel reference.

also just for me to look back and see how im improving.

as you'll notice i started out as football helment and played around with that forever till i realized that all her hair would get tucked in the back, i then made it super big and began to trim down. Although it does not show in the strip i really played around with those black lines. I had the bow on the head since that was where most of my refrences had the bow but then later decided to put it near the neck. cuz then that gave something that could animate. The colors, i used were just some colors i wanted the character to have, i mostly just followed the shading of ppd character he made for me. But then changed the shading a bit after final ninja gave me some tips.

-edit- If your reading this and are good at pixel art check out Final Ninja sprites and give him the critique i couldn't, thanks

link:
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/index.php?topic=14889.0

Happy pixeling these upcoming holidays everybody!

Phlakes · **Reply #15 on:** November 29, 2012, 02:30:24 am

You shouldn't just copy PP's work. You don't learn anything that way that you wouldn't from just looking at it.

Take what you did learn and start a new one from scratch. Maybe use the other one as a reference for a bit, but you should try to do as much as you can on your own.

Naturally, and I don't mean to offend, you probably won't be as happy with it, but you shouldn't sacrifice experience to make good things now, you should sacrifice quality to get experience.

(I was talking about PPD's sprite earlier, also - Facet)

JillandJack · **Reply #16 on:** November 29, 2012, 07:14:43 pm

Well Phlakes, first off. I want to thank you for helping me when i just started out, without you replying to my thread at the start, who knows i might still be uploading spirtes on graph paper.
The fact that you people care about my success is what makes me love this forum even more..

Thank you guys, even you too newGuy it been about a month since you been on but, i want you to know when you ever get on that the link really helped.
K, now on to the issue here. I don't know what everyone is refering to. Are you refering to the run cycle i made of ppd's Jack:

or that i keep using the skeleton of ppd's jack character in all my sprites?
If you are refering to how i made the Jill bonest and how it is pasted over ppd's Jacks body. Hopefully people arn't insinuating it is some sort of guide to steal someone's character and tweek it a bit so you can call it your own. Because that was not my intent i was just trying to show my thought process on how i made the bonnet.
Like I'm totally new to pixel art but the style of character ppd made is what i sorta had in mind when i first was making the game. So i just tried to make that jack sprite do a run cycle because that is the sort of characters i would be doing a run cycle on. So it doesn't really make sence to me to go building a some other sort of character who would have a different run cycle, sure i would learn a bunch and sure i would know more about pixel art but it would not be helpful for me when i want to make this game.
I am not claiming all my sprites are original, i know that the jill spirte running sprite looks almost exactly like ppd's but it isn't. Looking back even referencing his material i still managed to screw up. Like there is pixels there i havn't deleted, stuff like that.
I am trying to make more orginal sprites and i am working on some. But staying on something that is totally "orginal" isn't that fun for me. Like that is mostly what i am trying to do when i am pixeling is just having fun with it. I try not to copy peoples work because that's not fun either. But trying to re-invent the wheel everytime i pixeled got kind of slow since in the end, it looked like crap and i ended up deleteing it. (which looking back was a big mistake)
If it offends ppd that i took his character he made for me and tried to make a run cycle out of it. ill delete the sprites.
Sorry if i offended anyone,

chris,

-edit- to ppd: Well this one is pretty much the same as the other ones when he is jumping, hopefully this what you meant XD -edit- shit wrong one just let me switch it -edit-

-edit- k now it the right one ^^ -edit-
i don't get what you mean when you said motion vs change...-edit-

K, just a update on what i currently working on, started candle stick, still need more sources on what kind of flame i should use. But put that on hold and started new project. My online friend hates the me gusta face and is in taekwondo so i thought i could do a funny gif of her kicking the shit out of it. I just started doing her hair but, my gamemaker program does not have very good base color pallete like i don't have brown. Having trouble with hair, found a pixel image for me gusta face. Currently working on hair of the sprite her hair is brownish. Was trying to do it in a ponytail but gave up since all the references were crap. I don't know if this looks like a taekwondo suit. Hopefully it does... So far just getting her to point finger at the ugly face then probibly going for one of those flying kicks then a bunch of punches to face. Wanting to give the face like bruises and scares at the end of it too. But if some one could provide a nice brown color palatte for the hair it would be appreciated. here what i got so far:

-edit- what is happening in the sequence above is just taikwando girl is just pointing to the me gusta face like "im gona kick your ass mother%^&*er" -edit-
does the hair look ok?
Oh and does anyone know how to make like a super long gif files
lately ive just been using sites like this:
http://gickr.com/
i tried using Gimp but first i don't know how it works, and the tutorials i find say you need like this video tab and the verison i got does not have it. So any help would be good. I am definetely going to be using more then 10 images for this gif lol

-edit- K.. well candle stick still never got done. But i started with the giant and kinda turned him into a wizard. I don't know if i made him evil enough anyways Let me know what ya think.

I-edit- tried to start -edit- from scratch this time, but i find i still rely heavily on references, Here is the picture that i referenced alot. If you notice i got the hair style and eye style off this one for my Jill character. But for the giant i mostly referenced the girls top part of the hoodie, since that was what i had the most trouble with. -edit-
-edit- i tried to make him bigger but, every time i tried i kept feeling that he drifted a little too far away from the style i am trying to develop. I am really trying to make him look like the final ultimate evil guy. But when i look at him he just seems like a second teir boss like the boss's wizard or henchman. Trying to use as many triangles as possible in his character design to make him look sharp and dangerous. Hopefully some of this comes across when you see him. Anyways a first impression of this character would really be appreciated. Even if you just joined the forum and know nothing of pixel art, just saying what comes to mind when you see him would be some really good input. That would help me make this character the best he can be. I was thinking on giving him like those gothic wrist bands with spikes, but did not know how i would incorporate them. Or mabe even chains on his wristes with broken pieces of chain hanging off them but if i do this i think i might have to increase the # of pixels i use. Anyways just want your insight since i sorta broke away from the jack skeleton ever so slightly.
-edit- wow i type alot...anyways after showing my roomate i think, ill explain the giant sprite more. The two things on his shoulders are suppose to be spikes. He suppose to have a plate of armor on his chest, yes i tried to make it look like he had a pot belly. Idk if ill change that, still working on story a bit. He got a belt, idk what to do for the legs i was thinking just black. I might add a cape. He just has a hood with armor on top of it. Really what got me off on this whole wizard thing was i kept asking myself how do i want to feel when i see this character, thus the hood, red eyes etc.. -edit-
-edit- oh and the things around the sprite in the end is some bones on the ground and a bag of flour, i kinda hoped it would make me feel like he was more of a giant if i did this i guess... -edit-

PixelPiledriver · **Reply #17 on:** November 30, 2012, 01:54:29 pm

Quote

If it offends ppd that i took his character he made for me and tried to make a run cycle out of it. ill delete the sprites.

I am not offended at all.
But grabbing my sprites will not help you, and is not how I intended to help by posting in the first place.

Quote

So it doesn't really make sence to me to go building a some other sort of character

Art requires raw experience and that means starting from scratch over and over again.
It may not seem like it now, but for a multitude of reasons it DOES MAKE SENSE to build another character of your own design.

If you wish to reference do it side by side, and draw your own frames.
Referencing is not the same as copy paste.
These pixels are exactly the same:

These feet are decisions that I made based on many factors.
The amount of time I had, colors available, how the animation flows, random quick decisions etc.
I had control of these choices and they filled the need of how they are used within the animation.
Control is necessary.
By taking these you have lost control.
You must make your own choices, of feet and everything else, that fit the context of what you are creating, and fit the style of choices you make naturally.

My above post is not a straight forward guide to drawing a formatted walk cycle.
It is advice on process to creating ANY sort of animation.

Quote

or that i keep using the skeleton of ppd's jack character in all my sprites?

Creative exercise is good to flex the mind.
In some way there is something to be gained from an exercise of editing my edit.
But at a certain level, this will only take you so far, and that distance is much shorter than I am sure you want to achieve.

Quote

i don't get what you mean when you said motion vs change.

I have not explained it well enough on my blog or here. (I believe I covered Change on my blog, but not Motion yet).
Change and Motion a basic concepts of animation.
There are different ways to apply them, but lets just talk about the simple stuff.
Brace yourself because in explanation it sounds very dull and silly.
But this is important!

Motion:

Is the perception of an object moving.
The difference in position over time.
The main mass of the object is moving thru space.
You are able to follow the object with your eye.
In your mind you think "that thing is moving".
You dont question that it might be another object on the next frame further away from the object on the previous frame.
They are "the same object".

Change:

is the perception of an object as different.
The difference in representation over time.
This can be illustrated and applied in many ways.
Redrawing, deformation, scale, volume, color, etc.
The object may change so much that you perceive it to not be the same object at all.
It is also good to think of it as the amount of change within the entire animation, not just of a given object.

Motion and Change:
can work in isolation of each other, or be combined.
The classic animation exercise that lets you experience combining Motion and Change is the "bouncing ball".
If you have not done this exercise you NEED TO, a few times over, to understand the basics of animation.

What about the fuzzy stuff?:
Like rotation?
Well its a bit of both.
The above is not a strict rule set.
It is a way of thinking about it simply.
In practice you can apply it with greater complexity.
Be creative!
At some point I will add more examples to my blog.

Please use the above to carve your own path.
It will be difficult, but the hard work is good, and pays off.

JillandJack · **Reply #18 on:** December 05, 2012, 05:28:09 am

mmk... after much fooling around, i made my first original sprite will no references. ( thats a lie i totally copied the flame from somewhere, i just can't find the picture

)
Close your eyes

, and behold my creation

If he looks like he is running backwards, that is because i do things backwards

.....

Me tryin to plan this sprite out...
http://i1323.photobucket.com/albums/u587/JillandJackForever/IMG_0196.png
me tryin to plan things out:
http://i1323.photobucket.com/albums/u587/JillandJackForever/IMG_0194.png
-edit-here is me adding bounce to his step:

//edit ptoing: please do not directly post big pictures like that which do not even need to be this size or are hard to make out anyway. Thanks.
-edit-

K.

-edit- If people can give me a critique on candles, and the Giant (wizard) that would be cool.
I kinda know i suck at animation.. and that the running sprite needs work, but that is because i did not really look at ppd post just for trying things on my own and that what i came up with.
If anyone can just comment on character design and what you think i should add to them, if i am using the right colors etc.. I really don't care if you have alot of experiance in pixel art i just want to know what impressions people get from them, so don't be afraid to comment.

I don't have time right now but i'll add more to this candle running sprite like the flame dieing down when he hits the ground mabe and a few other things. -edit

-edit- found the link to the candle

http://img.electro-maniacs.net/69979.jpg
-/edit-

Jeremy · **Reply #19 on:** December 05, 2012, 07:59:46 am

Your run/walkcycles still look more like ice skating. Notice how in PPD's edits the body of the sprite rises and falls, as the feet push against the ground.

This uses more frames than what you're doing, but it illustrates again the need for up and down movement to make something convincing:

JillandJack · **Reply #20 on:** December 11, 2012, 08:21:35 pm

Well, here i go with my second attempt:

It looks like i am missing a key frame or something or one frame was duplicated i am aware of this and will fix it later it looks good on my computer ill try to remake it into a gif, later on
Last run cycle i thought his legs looked a little too noodlely... so i figured i should make him more stubby
i don't really like the bounce in his step to be honest, but if you need it for the illusion to walk..

anyways a critique on this guy would be nice:

What you think he his?
his clothing?
Does he look bad or good?
What can be improved?
what just does not make sence?
If this is horrible i should just start from scratch again

all advice apreciated

coffee · **Reply #21 on:** December 12, 2012, 11:52:51 am

Ok...I'm gonna throw myself into this.

First of all I get the feeling that you are not thoroughly reading what people have written. If you actually want to improve you need to chill the beans a little and go back to your original sprite. You musn't rush these things.

Learning is a process and if you would have sticked to your first character with the fez and done it to the extent that you feel you have learned something, this candleman would be a lot better and easier for you to make.

So I suggest you take a step back, actually read what people have said and pick out the things that you find interesting and helpful for your learning.

I made this in a hurry since i'm in school and I didnt have time to make it look like its running properly, right now he's swaying back and forth. But that's just a matter
of tweens.

It's 4 unique frames made into 6 if you dont count the particle movement moving on top.
The 2 duplicated frames are the first and the 3rd, when he is in the air to give it some pause.

Basically it got tripple the motion in your animation but with less frames. You just need to nail the keyframes

JillandJack · **Reply #22 on:** December 17, 2012, 09:05:56 am

thanks for your response

Quote

First of all I get the feeling that you are not thoroughly reading what people have written.

yes, this is true.
I just had 5 exams at the start of december, i probibly shouldn't of been posting...

Quote

Learning is a process and if you would have sticked to your first character with the fez and done it to the extent that you feel you have learned something, this candleman would be a lot better and easier for you to make.

Ya, i can sorta see what you mean here. The reason i didn't continue with jack, was i kept feeling i would just keep copying ppd sprite. I did that with jack, jill and to some extent the wizard(giant). Every time i tried i felt i was just making carbon copies of a character, and wasn't following the advice of people on the forums.

Quote

You shouldn't just copy PP's work. You don't learn anything that way that you wouldn't from just looking at it.

This is why i just kept switching. I just trying to find a character that i can find out in my own way how to make a run cycle. Instead of copying people. Which i previously did.

Quote

I made this in a hurry since i'm in school and I didnt have time to make it look like its running properly, right now he's swaying back and forth. But that's just a matter
of tweens.

how is everyone so good at this you did that in a hurry... mabe i should start doing things in a hurry

Quote

Basically it got tripple the motion in your animation but with less frames.

Ya, i see what you did there ill try and incorporate that in the next sprite i do.

Quote

You just need to nail the keyframes

what do you mean by this

Thanks again for your advice,

Tried going back to making characters in orginal 16x16 here is the candle sprite downsized:

the blue is sweat, was going to delete it but ended up being lazy and didn't. red is fire coming off candle,(got idea from coffee) he kicking up dusk (from ppd) he's blinking as he runs.

If anyone knows any good animation software, that they use for their pixel art? PM me a link

-edit-
hopefully you can see this better:

PypeBros · **Reply #23 on:** December 17, 2012, 12:55:04 pm

Quote

Tried going back to making characters in orginal 16x16 here is the candle sprite downsized:

That doesn't seem to help you animating it, imho.
Feet and hands are now barely identifyable, and shortening the height of the candle make it less identifiable as "a candle".

keyframe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyframes
in a nutshell, if your run cycle takes 1/3 of second, you start drawing 2 or 3 individual pictures that shows that movement, and then build up your animation by drawing additional pictures that will sit in-between (it's all in the running animation picture, btw).
I have the feeling that drawing the "motion blur" on those keyframes would help you.

animation software: http://www.wayofthepixel.net/index.php?topic=3467.0

JillandJack · **Reply #24 on:** December 20, 2012, 08:34:08 pm

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animation software: http://www.wayofthepixel.net/index.php?topic=3467.0

thanks for this link, i found it very helpful

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That doesn't seem to help you animating it, imho.

Ya, i didn't think it would either but i just did it that way so again i am forced not to borrow to much from other people's work.

Laying off the animation for the awhile, kinda getting frustrated

So tried again at this jack sprite. I <3 ppd jack sprite, but began asking people i know what they thought of it and i got some mixed responses. Some knew it was a bucket, others thought it was a pour spout (do pour spouts have handles

) anyways what i learned from this is that it need to be more square, or some people thought it should be.( i really don't think it needed to be more squre) But it gave me a reason to give this a shot

-edit-
Although i still have a long way before i can do this. I am starting to work on a series of skits for my game. I don't know if ill go the route of meatboy and add them as cutscenes or start a youtube channel to help gain a fan base...
One i am thinking of doing is when jack gets to the beanstalk he starts climbing and there will be some farmer doing something in his field. He will then stop, pounds his pitchfork in the ground twice and chants "Deh-Shay Deh-Shay Bah-Sah-Rah" jack then stops looks at him. Then another farm couple come and join in the chant. Then a shepard and his sheep come and join in the chant. (The sheep pounding each hoof before chanting) Jack then looks at them with freaked out eyes and quickly climbs beankstalk off screen.

Reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RvKD3V1V4I

i'll try and keep things relevent to pixel art, for next time. /edit

edit/update:
here i fiddled around with im a little more

Started with jill on this type of character design:

Hopefully these are better to see..

still working on jill, don't really know what to do the clothing, definitely needs a bit more color.
I don't really know if i am doing a good job with their anatomy,
i don't know if i should outine arms too? i tried it and it looked awful..don't know what to do about this..
I keep trying to incoroporate shading ( i don't know if i am using the right term here) with the jack character, don't know if this makes it look nicer or just messy

Quote

Less total colors.
More color re use.
Broader surfaces.
Thicker plane changes.

trying to go back and re-read advice, i think i am using less colors, and re-using colors (except for the handle of the bucket, tried doing the skin color but didn't really look right to me)
I think i have a idea of what broader surfaces are, but not 100% sure
thicker plane changes, again not 100% sure
Like does it mean that their is more color change, or make it look more 3d? hmm

references for these characters are just some sketches i got and ppd sprite, and my recreation of jill using ppd sprite skeleton. ( i really think i have kinda done it my own way here, but if i am still kinda going down the wrong path.. Please don't give up on me, let me know and i'll do my best to change )

-edit/update 4:21pm 22/12/2012-:

back at this animation stuff again..sigh

Really don't know what to do about the hands tried to outline them but all attempts seem to fail.
definitely need to fix since they seem to dissappear once by his side.
eyes could use more detail also, just starting to get into run cycle, just started with basic motion and adding in frame or two.
...argh re-reading i guess i still make sprites that look like their skating...sigh
back to gamemaker..
Update:
I just finished this, don't have time to talk about it or add more sprites. will later on
edit/update:

him facing away:

My current dilema..

here are my attempts to make a recognizable bucket:

edit/update:
All attempts to make a bucket have failed..

so, i am now on to making my sprite jump

Not yet done still needs a few frames to make the motion smooth, hopefully on on the right track

edit/update dec 29, 2012:
for some reason photobucket not working for me, so i can't upload images.

But, after talking to quite a few people i learned alot about what i am doing wrong. One was i made the bucket with the handle to the side, which makes it look more like a cup then a bucket. Another was that i can go at this bucket one or two ways. First make the bucket with two side handles or make it with one handle. The dis-adv: of the side handles is that they take up quite a bit of room on his face, the one handle bucket is hard to recongnize it is a handle. another thing i am having trouble with is the wooden bucket itself. I think if i can get the handles right people will automatically think is a bucket and will no longer think it to be some sort of hat. But another thing i was missing was the metal band that goes around the bucket with. Though i am also having difficulties recreating this, i am making progress which is not the case with the handles.

edit/update january 3 2013:
here what i learned about the bucket:

I realized that my sprite was a little to advanced for me, and i was putting to much time into making this sprite then the rest of the game. So tried taking what i learned so far and went back to 16x16 and used 4 colors. Hopefully it looks somewhat of a bucket on his head..
-edit- first one i should be just back pixels like the last two, instead of showing skin

Started on my first tiles:

edit/update jan 4, 2013:
finished jill sprite:

jill is wearing a bonnet, with a dress, she has no shoes.

JillandJack · **Reply #25 on:** February 12, 2014, 05:15:35 pm

[imghttp://i1323.photobucket.com/albums/u587/JillandJackForever/image_zps3be089a21_zps8ab80031.png]http://[/img]

[/img]
Dam.. sorry everybody just meant to edit a previous post.. trying to figure this out again..

-edit- this was created for me by:
source:
http://erichetherington.daportfolio.com/
-edit-

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