AuthorTopic: Angry farmer  (Read 5546 times)

Offline jahasaja

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Angry farmer

on: September 29, 2013, 06:58:19 am
Hi All,

I have been working on my game and the graphic for it for a couple of months now (total noob but I am having a blast).


Here is my latest enemy he is supposed to be a farmer. I am kinda happy with his movement but I would like to know what the expert thinks to see if I am totally wasting my time  :-[ .



the biggest problem i have with him is that he might be a bit to clean.. Farmers should be dirty right :-)..
« Last Edit: September 29, 2013, 12:35:46 pm by jahasaja »

Offline Decroded

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Re: Angry farmer

Reply #1 on: September 29, 2013, 08:17:41 am
What software did you use?
Was going to edit but by Photoshop is doing some strange things when I load this in.
Its just typical of Photoshop to do retarded things with animations  >:(

Overall this guy looks nothing like a farmer to me.
More like some low-level kungfu punk kid.
Nothing says farmer better than a straw hat and overalls.
Those shoes he's wearing would be horrible for trudging around in the dirt, so boots makes more sense.
And why not use a farming tool like a hoe or a rake for a swinging weapon?
Or even a pitchfork with a deadly jabbing thrust?

Anyway the motion of the swing is too constant.
You need slow in, slow out (https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=animation+slow+in+slow+out).
So you need to add 1 or 2 frames of very little movement at the start, then some sudden large movement, then some slower at the end.
Its popular to add a blur during the large movement frames.
Try bending the pole if your going to leave it that long.

Your also trying to squeeze too much into each frame.
For example the motion of the hair.
Do the swing, then add some extra frames at the end for the hair to follow through.
The same should go for the vest.
We generally like to break objects up into multiple pieces and add delays between each piece moving as it creates a MUCH better effect.

Offline jahasaja

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Re: Angry farmer

Reply #2 on: September 29, 2013, 08:56:31 am
I used Photoshop elements. Strange..

is this one better:


Thanks for your feedback! here are some thoughts:

the pitch fork is for another enemy  :). ()

I will work on the slow in and slow out at a later point, I might make him lift up the pole again (I need to time it ingame though)

"low-level kungfu punk kid".  :yell: Well, he is supposed to be a low level farmer. But I see your point. Good point with the shoes I will change that directly.


"Your also trying to squeeze too much into each frame.
For example the motion of the hair.
Do the swing, then add some extra frames at the end for the hair to follow through." I do not fully understand this. Do you mean that the rest of the animation should not move only the hair in the end?


Offline Decroded

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Re: Angry farmer

Reply #3 on: September 29, 2013, 11:02:57 am
I mean the hair flings forward too instantly, actually in sync with the swing.
After the swing is much more realistic and better looking.

The running guy's pitchfork has a weird jiggling thing going on.
And he is running awkwardly so try bringing his toes up on the front foot and adding a bit more air-time because his front foot just drops to the ground too quickly.
I'd give him a bit more vertical movement overall, using the waist as the central point.

Once you fix that, try changing the angle of the pitchfork.
So AFTER (not in synch) he lands, let the sharp end drop down a bit, stays down as he raises up, then as he starts to drop down again, let it point up a bit.

Also check these out...
http://wayofthepixel.net/index.php?topic=15740.msg143846#msg143846
http://wayofthepixel.net/index.php?topic=15679.msg143469#msg143469
« Last Edit: September 29, 2013, 11:11:07 am by Decroded »

Offline jahasaja

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Re: Angry farmer

Reply #4 on: September 29, 2013, 12:22:43 pm
Thanks for the feedback.

here is a new version of the running one.. With all your thoughts incorporated



I am not sure I did correct for the pitch fork part. It seems a bit wrong.



Okay, I went a bit crazy and made a bunch of extra frames to see if i could create some weight to the strike.  I am not "PixelPiledriver" so the result is a bit mixed..



Edit: oh and i tried to do as Decroded said and added the hair fling in a later frame.
« Last Edit: September 29, 2013, 08:30:32 pm by PixelPiledriver »

Offline PixelPiledriver

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Re: Angry farmer

Reply #5 on: September 29, 2013, 10:08:50 pm
Yo.
Here's some thoughts on this.
I added in some text for each step to better explain my process.

On the first pass I tried to figure out the size of the stick and keep it more consistant.
Also worked on making the end of the stick follow curves that are easier to see.


Added some frames to help reset the animation by having him hoist the stick back over his shoulder and then control its weight with his legs.
A few slight tweaks to the anticipation of the swing.


Worked more on the anticipation of the swing.
Added in some frames with tighter spacing.
And a couple frames for transitioning into pulling back the stick.


Decided to have the swing cross over the mid point and end with the stick on the other side.
Kind of like a baseball bat swing.
Deleted a couple frames to add more speed.
Stacked a couple frames to add more speed.
When the stick is behind him its obviously too long but didn't get around to fixing it.


Put more time into figuring out which frames should be stacked into multi frames and which should not.
Drew in some more pixels to show speed.


Tweaked some timing by duplicating frames of the stopped points in the animation.
made the stick closer to his body and more vertical when he brings it back around to place on his shoulder.


Tightened up the spacing on the stick as he brings it back around.
Added in some more frames to slow down the part where it is vertical, as objects that move on arcs in perspective take more time as their X changes less and their Z changes more.
Added more inbetween sticks for the blur, changed its shape a bit, turned out pretty messy.  :lol:
These 2 are exactly same.
Only difference is the one on the left is 6 delays and the right is 5 delays.


The above is fine and mostly working well.
But I wanted to do 1 more pass and add some stuff.
Added in some light hair follow through.
Here I've dropped the animation to 4 delays.
This helps the fast motion pass more quickly and not stick so much visually.
However the difference in speed between 4 and 5 is significant enough that I felt some of the timing needed to be reworked.
But that's a good thing.
It allows more room to create contrast between speeds.
On the left is the same animation as above at 4 delays, no tweaking.
On the right I've duplicated frames at various points to create progressions and contrast in the timing.


Altho I'm not sure I've characterized it correctly there is hopefully something you can learn from it.
There is some charm in your version where he appears to lose control of the stick.
That may be more appropriate for what you want.
Even so the motion could be better.

Didn't mess with the other farmer yet.
He boils in some areas.
Are these by chance rotoscoped?

Quote
I am not "PixelPiledriver" so the result is a bit mixed..
There is nothing too special about what I do with animation.
Just relax, practice, pay attention, get comfortable with your tools, use math, try new things, and take your time.
This took me about 50 mins of work + 10-15 on the final edit that I added.
« Last Edit: September 30, 2013, 04:36:47 am by PixelPiledriver »
And knowing that it is, we seek what it is... ~ Aristotle, Posterior Analytics, Chapter 1

Offline jahasaja

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Re: Angry farmer

Reply #6 on: September 30, 2013, 04:56:09 am
once again I am blown away.. Thanks alot!

I will definetly use a lof of this. You really gave the swing some weight.

It really takes a lot of learning to get the timings right.

Yes, some of the frames are rotoscoped.. (I hope that is not too frowned upon?)



Offline PixelPiledriver

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Re: Angry farmer

Reply #7 on: September 30, 2013, 05:08:05 am
Quote
Yes, some of the frames are rotoscoped.. (I hope that is not too frowned upon?)
No not a bad thing at all.
Just something I thought I noticed.
Rotoscoping is a good tool especially for rotations.
However during the process of tracing some oddities can occur.
Such as the wiggly boiling of the running farmer, usually caused by a lack of paying attention to spacing in the animation in favor of making it look overall like the photo.
And sometimes weird things that people do in real life that don't add to the clarity of an animation get picked up.
Don't be afraid to use rotoscoping as a basis and then take control of the animation by hand.
« Last Edit: September 30, 2013, 05:36:22 am by PixelPiledriver »
And knowing that it is, we seek what it is... ~ Aristotle, Posterior Analytics, Chapter 1

Offline jahasaja

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Re: Angry farmer

Reply #8 on: September 30, 2013, 07:01:51 am
Yeah I can see that it is an issue for the running farmer. I am not sure I know exactly what boiling means but I totally see the wiggly part. I will work on that.

Thanks again though. I am working on fixing and cleaning up the animation now.

Offline PixelPiledriver

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Re: Angry farmer

Reply #9 on: September 30, 2013, 08:24:51 pm
Quote
I am not sure I know exactly what boiling means but I totally see the wiggly part.
Boiling is just an animation term that describes the wiggles.
Because it is much like the random/wave surface offsets of boiling water.


Removing boil helps you keep visual control of the animation.


Usually the term is used in the context that the distortion is unintentional.
However boiling effects can be used in animation to express certain actions or give a desired stylistic result.
And knowing that it is, we seek what it is... ~ Aristotle, Posterior Analytics, Chapter 1