Pixelation
Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: sfried on July 12, 2009, 12:19:13 am
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I've basically went over and redid the leg animation (and some arm movement) using the block model, resulting in eight frames this time instead of the original six. In the end, it does move more fluidly than my previous attempt, but I sill feel something's off:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/sfried/Misc/Eiko_Run_ver3.gif)
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I think your contact frame is the main problem. There should be one frame where her heel is just touching the ground, but the weight is not yet on it. Then in the next frame, all of her weight is on that leg, and it is bent. The difference between those two frames will give the animation some weight, which it seems to currently lack. Right now, once her leg touches the ground it never looks like any weight is put on it, just like she glides over it.
Other then that, her legs snap back too much, kind of like she is trying to kick up some dirt behind her. Just alter the frame where her leg is far back, and it will be alright.
Also, try and get a good pendular movement going with her arms. They snap around too much right now.
Keep up the good work.
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It looks like the problem I always get on my 4 frame animations, simply moving to quickly to the other foot, makes it confuse the eyes, and look like it's the same foot. Just add one or two with the heel on the ground, and maybe edit the color a little on one side.
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i think if her torso were slanted forward it would help dramatically
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Thanks guys.
Could it be possible so that the frames where her heel hasn't touched the ground be nudged downward so that they do contact? I tried to drop the sprite in those portions so that heels are now in contact with the base and it does look less like a person hanging from wires trying to run. It does look a tad bouncier, though.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/sfried/Misc/run.gif)
I also reduced the kickback from the leglift, and somewhat shifted her torso a little so that she actually looks like she's leaning.
Of course, if the above doesn't work, I just might have to draw separate contact frames.
I still need help with the arms. Is there a good reference for the arm swings?
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i think your edit is a bit better, but i feel i still see a few issues that can be improved upon to help sell it.
The main problem is still the weight and the impact onto the ground. to me the awkwardness is that there is no bend of the spine or dip in the hips as the heel supposedly contacts the ground. so the animation almost looks separated at the waist, where theres one animation happening with the legs which by itself looks fairly convincing, and another animation going on with the torso which to me mismatches the motion of the legs.
as the heel plants on the ground, the rest of the body has to accept the weight onto that foot. imagine taking a step while youre walking. putting your foot out, you subconsciously feel this to be a very normal act, but thats only because you are confident the ground youre walking on is flat. take that assumption away and your body is going to be searching for and anticipating that contact (whether this is done consciously or not depends on the assumed terrain and lighting conditions amongst other factors).
I think the other area im taking issue with is the extension of the arms when they are in front of the torso (elbows being brought backwards look convincing enough). Particularly with the back arm. the extension looks over exaggerated and the wrist is bent slightly weird. imagine her wrist twisted 1/4 revolution towards the camera and i think the angle would be more proper. in addition, the forearm isnt often brought that high into the air when one is jogging at this pace. the forearm lines stay fairly parallel to the ground throughout. i think if you fix this with your back arm in particular, youll find that the animation might look entirely more comprehensive.
I do like the detail of animation in the pony tail of the hair. it has decent whip and motion. also the subtle twisting of the torso is commendable.
One other detail that looks like youre starting to touch upon is how the shirt will react when running. if you run yourself youll know that when youre descending after a stride your shirt will pick up and potentially expose your middrift. accentuating that detail will really give the animation another dimension of detail.
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as the heel plants on the ground, the rest of the body has to accept the weight onto that foot. imagine taking a step while youre walking. putting your foot out, you subconsciously feel this to be a very normal act, but thats only because you are confident the ground youre walking on is flat. take that assumption away and your body is going to be searching for and anticipating that contact (whether this is done consciously or not depends on the assumed terrain and lighting conditions amongst other factors).
When the heel presses to the ground, should the character slightly shrug or lean forward? I'm trying to figure out what you meant by "dip in the hips".
I think the other area im taking issue with is the extension of the arms when they are in front of the torso (elbows being brought backwards look convincing enough). Particularly with the back arm. the extension looks over exaggerated and the wrist is bent slightly weird. imagine her wrist twisted 1/4 revolution towards the camera and i think the angle would be more proper. in addition, the forearm isnt often brought that high into the air when one is jogging at this pace. the forearm lines stay fairly parallel to the ground throughout. i think if you fix this with your back arm in particular, youll find that the animation might look entirely more comprehensive.
So you're saying the left (backgroundmost) hand's palm should be facing the camera more, right?
Also, exactly how high should the right (foregroundmost) hand exactly be. What did you mean by the "forearm lines staying parallel to the ground"? And what about the armswing timing?
I just want to get all of these things right so hopefully I can fix them all in one go.
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Should I put more bend on the knee as the foot contacts with the ground, or should I make her lean slightly forward each time she makes a step?
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I modified a few more things. I took into account the weird wrist and hip angle which I tried to correct (the leg is further stretched out during recoil to suggest the angle of her pelvis, as opposed to letting the jean fly "mislead" as if the hips were bent forward):
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/sfried/Misc/eikonew3.gif)
I was thinking I might just make separate animations for jumping, falling, and impact.
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I think that this is still lacking the recoil everyone is talking about when her feet make contact with the ground. She is bouncing up and down with the run but it doesn't quite seem natural because of the body position.
http://www.idleworm.com/how/anm/02w/walk1.shtml Has a really helpful walking tutorial, but it definitely transfers over to running as well. Right after the front foot touches ground would be your recoil phase where all of her weight has been put on to that foot causing the bend in the knee and the lowering of the body as your are really catching yourself every time you step. Gravity is pulling you down and you prevent falling on your face by swinging that foot out front and catching your weight.
Hope this helps some. Keep it in mind when you move to her jumping animations as well. When she lands there is going to be recoil.
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http://www.idleworm.com/how/anm/02w/walk1.shtml Has a really helpful walking tutorial, but it definitely transfers over to running as well. Right after the front foot touches ground would be your recoil phase where all of her weight has been put on to that foot causing the bend in the knee and the lowering of the body as your are really catching yourself every time you step. Gravity is pulling you down and you prevent falling on your face by swinging that foot out front and catching your weight.
Thanks for clearing that up. I was confused about the part the poster said about the dip in the hips and bend in the spine, but I guess I know which frames people are referring to now. And thanks for the link. It really helps.
Are there any good jumping references out there?
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I've edited the knees at the recoil point so that its more bent. As a result, I've also shifted the torso slightly lower. Apparently the problem with the previous one is that the knee was not bent quite enough to make it look like a convincing recoil:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/sfried/Misc/eikonew4.gif)
So here's what I've gathered so far: The recoil/passing is the lowest part of the bob, which is right after the foot makes contact with the ground. The knee of that foot should be at its most bent position since the frame after that is the high point. Am I getting this right?