Pixelation

Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: Morph on August 23, 2006, 03:07:39 pm

Title: Explosion for in my game
Post by: Morph on August 23, 2006, 03:07:39 pm
Hey!
I'm making a game (a game you maybe heart of: "Battleships" but the name will be different. It's a game you can play over LAN and everyone should have to play it! :P). Now i made this explotion for the game:
(http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/10/animatedks6.gif)
C+C please :D
Title: Re: Explotion for in my game
Post by: djork on August 23, 2006, 03:32:26 pm
Don't make it simply recede back into a smaller blob of orange.  After it gets to the big fiery ball stage (mid-way through your animation) make it turn into smoke and fade/drift/dissolve slowly... perhaps twice the number of frames in the initial explosion itself.
Title: Re: Explotion for in my game
Post by: Morph on August 23, 2006, 03:40:49 pm
Yeah that sounds cool! Gonna try it!
Title: Re: Explotion for in my game
Post by: Frychiko on August 23, 2006, 05:51:39 pm
Looks nice enough for what it is.

I don't know what program you used, but something went wrong after the first frame. There's antialiasing, stray pixels, and dithering all over the place.

I think in the last frame, the explosion shifts right one pixel, kind of looks odd.

Btw, it's spelt 'explosion'.

Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: Morph on August 23, 2006, 06:36:45 pm
it's very strange, i had that problem with other animated gifs also. I just used flash so it's kind a strange. that blue pixels ???... . But if you can me suggest an better program i will try that one ;)
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: niceidiot on August 23, 2006, 06:52:26 pm
You used Flash to make the explosion?

Anyhow, here is an explosion I made a while ago to give you some reference:

(http://www.myronmcmillin.com/WIP/images/24x-explosion.gif)

Heck, here are a few more smaller sizes:

(http://www.myronmcmillin.com/WIP/images/16xexplosion.gif)

and a smaller one:

(http://www.myronmcmillin.com/WIP/images/8xExplosion.gif)


They are a bit "puffy" but they should get you started, they are all low frame-count and low color.
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: Morph on August 23, 2006, 07:02:10 pm
Hehe, yours look nice ;) but your like a pro isn't it. I will try to finnish some smoke on my picture, i'm working on it now. But your explosions are exectly what i need ;) mine didn't really look as i wanted, but i'm finnishing mine and see what it will be  :P
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: Morph on August 23, 2006, 07:22:26 pm
Here's my explosion with smoke:
(http://img367.imageshack.us/img367/7140/explosion2lq0.gif)
I think it's better (except the strange quality) and that i could perfectly use it but i want to hear all your decisions ;D

EDIT:
Someone said the smoke was too green. I don't know if there's anything wrong with my monitor, but is it too green?
And that flash animated gifs looks really to strange to me, so everyone who knows some other program, tell me!
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: ter-o on August 23, 2006, 07:35:35 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/YwERMBg.gif)

Here's a reference for more advanced explosion.
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: Morph on August 23, 2006, 07:37:05 pm
That looks really great! But i'm not that good to make that  :( and it would also be too big for my game, so what do you think of mine?



hehe... first saw your picture and than mine... than mine looks a bit less good looking ;) hehe... i think i need more practice ;)
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: niceidiot on August 23, 2006, 07:38:45 pm
Yeah, it is green and too many colors period, Also, the smoke has too many frames in my opinion.

I edited down the frames and colors to this:

(http://www.myronmcmillin.com/explosionEdit.gif)

Feel free to use it as you like.

-n.i.
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: Morph on August 23, 2006, 07:41:11 pm
Ah thanks! i didn't saw the smoke was green on this monitor, but yours look good. With wich program did you make the animated gif?
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: niceidiot on August 23, 2006, 07:49:27 pm
I am probably going to get kicked in the gut for admitting it, but Photoshop.  I have adjusted the keyboard shortcuts to be similar to Pro Motion, especially in terms of the animation palette because it has no default shortcuts, and I have a modified brush set, but I use photoshop for all my pixel work.

But I am just a prole amongst gods, ask the real artists what they use.

:)
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: Morph on August 23, 2006, 07:53:30 pm
Hmm.. doesn't have photoshop on this pc but i could use it when my own is fixed. But you heard it artist, tell me your secrets  ;) :P
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: Morph on August 24, 2006, 03:31:47 pm
Here's an update, my explosion with long, grey smoke:
(http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/6103/expgreybc1.gif)

The only thing i need now is sound, so if anyone can give me an tutorial on that it would be great ;)
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: baccaman21 on August 24, 2006, 03:42:28 pm
I am probably going to get kicked in the gut for admitting it, but Photoshop.  I have adjusted the keyboard shortcuts to be similar to Pro Motion, especially in terms of the animation palette because it has no default shortcuts, and I have a modified brush set, but I use photoshop for all my pixel work.

But I am just a prole amongst gods, ask the real artists what they use.

:)

Consider yourself kicked... ;)

P'shop for pixel work...  ::)

--- whatever works for you I guess...?


RE: Explosion...

you're making the classic mistake of growing the BOOOM aspect of the image over time too slowly... An explosion occurs almost instantaneosuly... it grows from nothing to BOOM! immediatly... so do that... begin witha  few pixels, leave them on screen briefly... then BAM! straight to the Big Bang frame... no Tweens... straight there... then you do the dissapate...  you need to look at this linky... http://www.mslugdb.com/main/gallery/sprites/boom.html to see what I'm getting at.

Point being start small... then BAM! IMPACT... that's what you're trying to acheive... Timing is key.
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: Morph on August 24, 2006, 04:03:23 pm
wow, thanks for that site, i'm going to study at that ;) when i can make such explosions i'm a reeaaly happy guy ;)

EDIT:
Ok i've deleted one frame so it's more a BOOM effect, what are your opinions baccaman and all the otheres?
(http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/6908/bigboompw0.gif)
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: niceidiot on August 24, 2006, 06:55:46 pm
Jeebus.   Metal Slug makes me cry tears of shame.

Looks much better Morph.  See how many frames you cut to get a good result.  It isn't about forcing more frames in, it is about knowing how many frames you need and cutting down to that.  Just enough to be expressive and get the point across.

Nice evolution.
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: Morph on August 24, 2006, 07:00:58 pm
Don't know if you can see it  :P :P but just cutting one frame gave it more action, we're on the right way!

EDIT:

here is a newer one with less frames:
(http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/7149/bigboom2oi2.gif)

Wich one is better, the old BOOM or the newer? Maybe the newest has a bit too less frames....
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: Cure on August 24, 2006, 08:05:34 pm
I prefer the older one, no doubt.  Then new one also has some stray pixels that linger in the bottom right corner, but that's irrelevant.
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: djork on August 24, 2006, 08:09:46 pm
I think the explosion portion is just right, but the smoke/dissolve phase is too fast.
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: sharprm on August 25, 2006, 05:28:32 am
Then new one also has some stray pixels that linger in the bottom right corner, but that's irrelevant.

When I look at the explosion 1x there are stray pixels but when its zoomed in there is no problem.
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: Morph on August 25, 2006, 12:53:35 pm
Great to here those reactions!  ;D So should i keep it this? or moke to smoke last longer than it does right now (right now = the "old" one)?
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: Morph on August 25, 2006, 03:17:53 pm
Pffff, i'm searching sounds for hours now but i can't find any wich really gives that BOOM effect and most of them doesn't fit with my animation. So can anyone give me some good tutorial for making my own explosion or help me in any other way to get an fitting BOOM explosion ;) and C&C on the explosion are also still will come
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: fil_razorback on August 26, 2006, 11:47:08 pm
Just blow in your mike ^^
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: Silver on August 27, 2006, 04:18:00 pm
Great improvement from the first one!
however if you want some good easy references check the C64 animations site
http://www.abc64.de/archive/listframeset1024.html
there is so many good booms animation references and with the usual c64 low colors.
good luck brother!
 
Title: Re: Explosion for in my game
Post by: Morph on August 27, 2006, 08:07:28 pm
Thanks  ;D and i will take a look at that site!