Pixelation

Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: Gunne on November 19, 2006, 09:53:39 pm

Title: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Gunne on November 19, 2006, 09:53:39 pm
haha, all those walking anim. drives me nuts (in a good way), so I attempted one myself! It's my first solid animation, and I think I did a good job on it. Ofcourse there are some glitches, and details are not correct at some frames. But I don't know how to make it better, C+C is welcome...

(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/PUD-syn/barb.gif)

I like it better at 2× zoom
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Soup on November 19, 2006, 09:54:36 pm
The head turning does not flow with the rest in my opinion.
s'all good.
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Ian on November 20, 2006, 02:04:55 am
The major problem with the head is that he turns to the left but does not do this same motion to the right (in fact there are a number of frames where his face does not turn at all).  You may want to make his head come to the point of practically facing us.  Other then that the animation is very smooth and a very barbarian like walk.
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Peppermint Pig on November 20, 2006, 05:35:07 am
Good looking! Head is an issue. Looks like it's viewing to the right for too long, then quickly looks left. Create a loop that uses a 'center' twice in the anim: center, right, center, left


Keep in mind the chin line, as well as the ear/neck linework, too. They seem to flicker a little.

Simple, attractive coloring. With that dark red, the bright saturated red is really outstanding, sexy, and helps with the walking motion, mostly: In the one frame where the right foot is pretty far back, there seems to be too much red on the waist.
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: ceddo on November 20, 2006, 06:17:57 am
Sweet! Reminds me of asterix & obelix :P

Yeah, the head is an issue. It looks like he's nodding his head in a 'no' every time he does two steps.

Another thing I only noticed at 4x zoom: he looks like he hops every time to land at the same time as the other foot. It looks like he's walking normally at normal speed, but I looked at the frames individually and I saw it.
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Gunne on November 20, 2006, 08:09:44 am
thanks for the comments

It's good to hear that the animation is smooth and the pants are sexy :P.
I see why the head is a problem and I fixed it, along with the ears and shading of the pants, does it look better now, or leave the turning out at all?

@ceddo: I'm not quite sure if I know what you mean by the "hopping", could you please explain it to me. Unless you meant that the feet are to close to eachother in two frames..

So here's the update:

(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/PUD-syn/barbe.gif)

Different Palette:

(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/PUD-syn/barbo.gif)



Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: baccaman21 on November 20, 2006, 01:51:20 pm
nice... good stuff...

The 3/4 view is wicked... a really good approach IMO... this stops the legs and arms from 'strobing' if done perfectly square on... particularly if you use the same arm/leg shapes as reference for each other... now - a couple of crits...

One thing I tend to do (regarding the head motion) is to twist the head ion the opposit direction to the shoulders... (which is opposite to what you've got here) so when the Right shoulder is forward, the face is fully revealed, and vice versa... tis looking good though regardless...

Another thing you need to do to make the walk sequence 'read' a little better is the EXTREME frame - that is the one where the legs are at their widest point... the toes on the leading foot need to point up... with the heel making contact with the floor... (I've a made a few edits with this mind) - another thing I noticed, and perhaps cos you had it 'limping' at one point, is that you've pushed the whole sequence up by 1 pixel so that the feet lost contact on the EXTREMES... now if you're doing a run, then fair enough... but this is a walk... and one thing a RUN does that a WALK doesn't is leave the floor... whilst walking at least 1 foot is always in contact with the gorund at any one point, BOTH are on the EXTREME keyframes.

And Finally... to add that stylish touch... you want to give the hair a little more 'loosness' (is that a word ?!?) - to do this, on the frames AFTER he drops down (his head bobs up and down) then keep the hair line high... and THEN drop it on the following frame - or the one after if you want it really floaty... this is what's called secondary movement... and can be applied to all sorts of things - like, scarfs, and capes and things that are LOOSE on the body... sword scabbards etc...

I've made a few edits myself here (my changes mainly in a VERY dark blue so you can see them if you pull it into your editing package) - It's not 100% correct but will give youi a guide to work from...

yours (http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/PUD-syn/barbe.gif)  my edit(http://pete.ptoing.net/barbe2.gif)

All in all though... good stuff... keep on pushin!

Cheers
Pete :)

Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Helm on November 20, 2006, 01:53:32 pm
bacca, if that ground scroll underneath is there to show how many pixels the sprite would move through the animation, it's quite wrong. There's a strong stride there which would average about 3-4 pixels per frame really.
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: baccaman21 on November 20, 2006, 02:39:18 pm
yep I know. But lunch ended before I got chance to edit it out... :P should be gone now...

Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Gunne on November 20, 2006, 03:27:15 pm
great ;D, thanks for the comments and edits baccaman21!

It's true what you said about the extreme frames, when I started this animation it was supposed to be a running cycle. But walking seems easier to begin with to learn the basics!

I tend do to most things you said and did in the edit, but I'm not sure about the motion of the head in a opposite way. I'm afraid he's going to look like a mannequin on a catwalk if I do that, but I can try it..  :-\

So this is what I got now, still not 100% perfect but I like it:

(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/PUD-syn/barbos.gif)
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: baccaman21 on November 20, 2006, 03:48:27 pm
'tis nice as is...  I wouldn't bother, but try it another time and see... ;)

the thing sI like most si that evry pixel moves - it looks like each frame is drawn uniquely and not 'just' a cut and paste job moving a pixel up or down or whatever ...

nice...


Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Gunne on November 20, 2006, 03:59:05 pm
haha, yes it took me some hours to figure every pose out :P. Copy and Paste just don't works for me though, I think it's easier to figure each frame out by scratch.

this is the template I made before colouring, I worked the way you had described in Joseph's animation...

(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/PUD-syn/walkintst.gif)

I really enjoyed this progress, and sure gonna animate more these days, C+C still welcome ;)
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Ryona on November 20, 2006, 04:28:53 pm
Oooh! Very nice and smooth animation! And the character design is lovely. I totally like how the li'l barbarian looks. ^_^
This character can so be used in a neat and fun game. Have you thought about that?

Oh! I just thought of something! Try having one with a weapon in his hand. His hands are in fists, so it would be so doable.
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Gunne on November 20, 2006, 04:33:05 pm
hehe, you can read my mind ;), I already had plans to make a little game out of this, first part with melee fist fighting, later on you get a sword, or an axe, oh man, and final stage would turn you into a demon (not sure yet :hehe:), I'd so many game-idea's that it's one big chaos in my head :P

Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Ryona on November 20, 2006, 04:48:00 pm
I know what that's like! lol
I too have alot of game ideas. Three that are in the works infact.

What you have planned for your game sounds really cool. I'd so love to try it out when it's done. Keep us informed!
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: baccaman21 on November 20, 2006, 05:40:11 pm
haha, yes it took me some hours to figure every pose out :P. Copy and Paste just don't works for me though, I think it's easier to figure each frame out by scratch.

this is the template I made before colouring, I worked the way you had described in Joseph's animation...


Glad to be of service... ;)
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: junkboy on November 20, 2006, 08:31:15 pm
Splendid walk cycle. Promise me you'll add tons of gore if you turn this into a game!
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: crab2selout.png on November 20, 2006, 11:22:13 pm
Great post, bacca. I especially like the forceful forward-pop you added to the head. It gives the walk a certain confidence and strength that I like.
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Gunne on November 21, 2006, 01:12:20 pm
here's just a quickie concept how you will look like in the middle of the game, don't mind the sword :P as I did it really quick...

Junkboy, I'll put loads of gore in it ;), anyone with ideas?

(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/PUD-syn/barbosskirtsword-1.gif)

Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Sherman Gill on November 21, 2006, 06:15:21 pm
... Is that a sheath? It looks like some form of... Ass-cape. Other than that it's all good :).
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Faceless on November 21, 2006, 06:23:07 pm
Pretty sure it's an ass-cape Gill.
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Gunne on November 21, 2006, 06:51:59 pm
yes, it's an ass-cape but either on using that I'm not sure however :P
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Ryona on November 21, 2006, 09:31:33 pm
Ass-cape... That just makes me giggle for some reason. lol

Anyway, I like the look! The cape and sword certainly gives an additional "badass" look to him, which kinda shows that he's gone far in his quest.

And the sword looks great. Nice and broad, which suits a big burly man.
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Gunne on November 21, 2006, 11:00:10 pm
Whoa, I was just working on some ambient lighting using the grey of the gloves, and I screwed up, I think I need some help with this :lol:

(http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/8028/barbosamgbx5.gif)

P.S. dunno if image works because I used Imageshack. Photobucket is off... :ouch:

-Edit: Ok so I went back to basic, but not completely, I let the yellow in the iron as I like it, and the grey in the abs and chest. I don't know what you mean with the legs of baccaman, because they're almost identical, I think it's the hair the makes his version smoother!

Old:         New:
  (http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/PUD-syn/barbosam.gif)        (http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/PUD-syn/barbosamn.gif)

 ???
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: crab2selout.png on November 22, 2006, 01:35:47 am
The solid black hair was working well and looked nice. I say keep it that way. I like that you removed ass-cape and sword. They were hurting your barbarian. Ax the ambient in your latest version. Doesn't look good at all.

Dont be afraid to use flat spaces, either. These later edits are getting very cluttered, when your initial designs were already great. If you're keeping hte sword try it out flat shaded like the hair was. I think the added contrast btwn it and the body would be more beneficial for the player and look more pleasing as well.

I like the progress, but go back to Bacca's edit and take a look at how he handled moving the leg+foot from its farthest back position. Your version still doesn't have the fluid motion of Bacca's at this part of the walk. Do this and.... PERFECT!
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: baccaman21 on November 22, 2006, 09:26:21 am
The solid black hair was working well and looked nice. I say keep it that way. I like that you removed ass-cape and sword. They were hurting your barbarian. Ax the ambient in your latest version. Doesn't look good at all.

Dont be afraid to use flat spaces, either. These later edits are getting very cluttered, when your initial designs were already great. If you're keeping hte sword try it out flat shaded like the hair was. I think the added contrast btwn it and the body would be more beneficial for the player and look more pleasing as well.

I like the progress, but go back to Bacca's edit and take a look at how he handled moving the leg+foot from its farthest back position. Your version still doesn't have the fluid motion of Bacca's at this part of the walk. Do this and.... PERFECT!


with all due respect... all I did was flip the toes up on the Extremes (legs furthest open)   :huh: :-[ - oh and did that secondary movement on the hair... ?
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Gunne on November 22, 2006, 11:56:48 am
I didn't want to start a new topic for this, since it's still about the barbarian. I start working on a portrait for him, still wip but I don't really know if the semi-serious style is sufficient enough. Maybe it's better to go for a more cartoony almost manga style?

I'm also not sure about the facial features, well this is what I've so far:

(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/PUD-syn/portraitbarba.gif)    (http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/PUD-syn/portraitbarbar.gif)

As you can tell by the image, fantasy portraits are not my strongest point :P
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Helm on November 22, 2006, 02:10:48 pm
Okay, this is probably going to sound and look discouraging. You've shown in the past that you can take critique and go with it to remarkable result. The portrait is very wrong in many ways. You seem to lack knowledge of how to structure a face. Now, it can be hidden by nitpick critique like the one in offer around here, but it would be best if you hit the books on it. Now, as resident apeman, I took it upon me to take it um, several steps further to show you where to aim for. This edit isn't really helpful in the short term, but should outline the deficiencies at hand. I can break it down for you, but in the end it's going to sound like 'learn to draw human faces' which is what you should do.

(http://www.locustleaves.com/portraitbarbar3.gif)
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Gunne on November 22, 2006, 02:31:13 pm
thanks helm, actually it just motivates me more. You're right that I've lack of the knowledge of the structure of the human face, but I've to say that this was based on a really fast sketch I draw in a more cartoony way. heh, the point is that I have multiple books about how to draw humans ( Anatomy, Western Comics, Manga/Anime, Fantasy) however I never actually did something with it besides looking and use it as a reference and I don't draw that much, just out of laziness to be honest. And to be given a critique like this means to me that I have to be more serious about drawing etc. You may say it's stupid of me, and it's is but that's simply how it is, nothing to change about that and I am glad that someone kicked my ass to grab the books and to do something useful with it, so that is exactly what I am about to do :y:
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Helm on November 22, 2006, 02:32:05 pm
Rock on. That attitude will get you far.
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Jad on November 22, 2006, 03:26:24 pm
Helm, do want to kick me in the face if I tell you that I think that your barbarian actually looks a bit like you? :D

Edit: I figured as much  :crazy:
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: Helm on November 22, 2006, 03:55:33 pm
That's why I said resident apeman!
Title: Re: walking Barbarian...
Post by: crab2selout.png on November 23, 2006, 08:54:30 pm
with all due respect... all I did was flip the toes up on the Extremes (legs furthest open)   :huh: :-[ - oh and did that secondary movement on the hair... ?

hmm, must've been looking at the wrong version while writing up my post. Looks great now.