New forum member seeks help, reaches hand out hoping to be caught[wip]

[Mike]

Hello everyone I'm Mike and i'm new here.  I haven't been a pixel artist very long.  I have these sprites from a game I have been working on.  They are WIP and I was hoping to get some honest critique.  I'm actually very excited I found this site and can't wait for the feed back.

I hope its ok that they are in gif format

Running animation C+C please

Walking animation C+C

a spinning attack with his weapon, usuable while running C+C(this one especially)

His main attack...for now...feels more like a finishing combo though C+C even more so for this one

the crouching right before the jump

[Joe]

 In your walking animation, the hair is far too bouncy, and in the running animation it has no bounce to it.  Also in the walking animation, in frames 4-6 you should take out the dithering on his chest, it's out of place.  I think these would look better if you upped the contrast a bit.  I like how smooth the walking animation is, but I think in the running you should make his hammer bounce a little.  Finally, in your spinning attack you should widen the face.  But you're off to a good start, I like what you have here. 

[Mike]

Is there anyway I could get an edit on the running...i really dislike it, but I can't put my finger on why exactly.  As for the other things I'll fix those right up.  Oh yeah um...what do you mean by contrast?

[Sherman Gill]

I think the dither on the chest is actually part of the shirt.
Your walk animation is pretty good .
The run, on the other hand, pales in comparison. The run should have a lot more motion then the walk, since a lot more motion is involved.
I also suggest you study forms more, as your shadows barely change as things move currently.

Also, and/or the difference in value of two or more colors.
White and black are very high contrast.
Two greys very close to each other are very low contrast.

[Mike]

here is what i have for the walk now, not really sure how to change the bounce...
[edit] The hair is a real pain btw



With the walk i have it go back to the base hair every other frame so maybe thats it?  Also when he steps down his hair goes up, and when he is in rising his hair goes down.

[edit] run cycle WIP no hair bounce yet...actually with such small detail i'm not really sure how to bounce it properly

[Mike]

Here is my new edit of the running sprite, decided to stop boxing myself in and use more colors

[AdamAtomic]

never ever just put your legs in the exact same place and just change the shading to make them appear in front or back!  It makes your animation appear to have half the frames it actually does.

[ter-o]

never ever just put your legs in the exact same place and just change the shading to make them appear in front or back!  It makes your animation appear to have half the frames it actually does.

While I partly agree, I can see where this comes from. Check this chapter about character animation by Tsugumo, especially the girl part. That's where it at least partly comes from and most of the people are directed to read those tutorials when they start pixelling. No wonder, eh?

[CrazyMLC]

Here is my new edit of the running sprite, decided to stop boxing myself in and use more colors

the feet seem the stay in the center for about a second, this ruins the run effect.
I practiced runs a lot in a stickfigure animator, and i learned that you never keep the feet at the same place they were in the last frame, it ruins it.

Let me do an Edit...


Great animated sprites!

[Mike]

what a coincidence I just did that exact thing



eeerrr don't mind the hair as I'm still working on it

[ter-o]

Looking good so far, just try to make shoulders move slightly too (try running yourself like that and pay attention to shoulders) and you need to double the bounce on the hair for both steps.

[Terley]

well mike you can only work on something like this bit by bit, get the leg movements down, then add in some shoulder and weight in there with each step, some work on arms possibly slight bob of the head and hair weight and some final touches like clothing, etc. I wouldn't try to do it all outright otherwise you're stabbing in the dark, work on the characters movements before worrying too much about the hair I'd say.

[Sherman Gill]

Also,
metal things are heavy, and since hammers are just hunks of metal, the hammer should have a lot of bobbing as the guy moves.

[Mike]

I tried bobbing the hammer when he steps down, not sure if its right

[thedaemon]

You should drag the hammer for a better effect. I like how his feet are right now. Remember when you walk you bounce up and down very little, when you jog you bounce up and down the most, and when you run you bounce up and down very little. You have his head bounching when you should have has body rotating. I'm at work and only have paint or I would do an edit. But when his hips go up, bend his shoulder/chest down. Then back up when his hips go down. BTW This looks like a jog. I think you should go for a solid color suit as it just looks dirty and unclear. You can't see the arms. Try curving his right arm a bit or his left. Hope this helps.

[Mike]

Dragging the hammer was my first instinct, but I couldn't do it well enough without making it look like a mistake.  Since his top half lowers more the hammer ends up going through the ground, so then i tried to rotate it and clean it up and bit and it still looked bad.  If there is a way to do it I will as I would love to add sparkly particle effects as it drags on the ground.

Here is my try of that...remember this one is way older than what i have now so just look at the hammer part. 

Also thedaemon i would love to see an edit from you, cause I've been at this sprite for a few days now, tweaking and retweaking and I'm not sure I'm getting it.

[CrazyMLC]

Heres another edit to represent what everyone says you should add.

i made another edit also because i like animating sprites for some reason.

except the transparent one wigged out.

enh.
now its hard to see the sparks.
great progress so far!

[willfaulds]

i think you'll find this thread very relevant

http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=2201.msg26377#msg26377

good reference for dragging and motion blurs