Hi all, long time lurker and occasional poster here, I remember joining this site years ago on a different account and domain. I posted here once about a year ago with some simple 64x64 MMA fighters. I've made ten of them now, and I'd like to think I've learned a thing or two since the last thread. Here is one based on heavyweight MMA fighter Alistair Overeem, who beat Badr Hari, one of the top K-1 Kickboxing stars, in a K-1 Rules match on New Year's Eve.



I started with a kind of victory pose (he is NOT supposed to look like he is throwing a punch):






After that, I decided I wanted to animate him throwing some punches. I tried to make it as true to his real fighting pose as possible:




I started with the basic jab and straight punch. I'm feeling pretty good about my progress so far, but I decided to post here in hopes I can get some general pointers about making these kinds of animations. I'm going for a realistic feel, but I also want to have some visual "pop" to the attacks so it doesn't look too robotic. Obviously I haven't finished these yet, but with no big clothing/jewelry details I felt the core animation was complete enough for critique:





Jab:




Straight:




And a little shadowboxing I threw together:




Any input is very much appreciated, I haven't animated a sprite like this in years, and I was never particularly good at it to be honest