Pixelation
Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: Turbo on January 24, 2006, 06:41:37 am
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Run cycle update: at the bottom (or click here -> http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=796.msg9886#msg9886)
Hay guys, what's going on?
Here's a base pose of the main character for a little game i'm making. He's this bad ass soldier type guy, wearing black and grey soldier outfit and boots, and he's lit by the desert's warm sun. The game will run full-screeen at 320x240, so the pixels will be BIG.
(http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/5445/basev16wl.png)
(http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/576/basev1outline9fl.png)
Two versions, with outline and without. The outline completely changes the mood of a piece, but it's not supposed to be used, it's just so it may look better against the forums background.
I'd like to bring this to a state of excellence within my capabilities, because the remaining art and animation will be based on this one, so critique is MOST WELCOME. Go.
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stylish and very good colour choice. Lose the two gray pixels antialiasing the darker line under the armpit. You don't need them. Either leave the outline there, or take it out. I really like the warped physique and stance. All is well. Make the game.
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Thanks for the kind words. Nice to hear that about color choice, specially from you of all people. The pixels on the back aren't anti-aliasing, they're actually supposed to give him a bit more muscular volume on his back (with a bit of back-lighting - i'm now trying other combinations for this).
Just for my curiosity, could you elaborate a bit on the "warped" part? First time i've ever heard that :)
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I'm not too fond of the first one; I love the second though, and I only love the second because it looks thicker, but I hate the outline.
I would just beef him up. Thats about it. :)
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long neck, small head, 9 and a half heads tall, slim and lean. That's what I'm talking about.
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Oh that! Really hadn't noticed it, but i guess i tend to do that frequently. Nice to notice aspects of your stuff that you'd miss before. Thanks for pointing it out.
So, this guy went to the gym once, and came out weighing about 40 pounds more (which is to say, i tried adding some selout, cause i want him to be a badder ass and not that slim, as you've pointed out). I also tried cutting some colors, cause animating this thing with over 20 colors will probably take forever.
So, the original (on a different bg), and the new. Choose your favourite ploz:
(http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/6376/basev1bg3la.png) . . . (http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/9366/basev1selout2pk.png)
And i animated one of his idle stances, breathing. Opinions wanted!
(http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/9021/baseanimbreathv16qw.gif)
Thanks for comments so far! And keep em coming.
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Nice. The 1st one reminds me of "Flashback" or "Out of this World." Just a little bit.
On the 2nd one I do like the volume that the outline adds, but the outlineless style of the 1st one draws me eye. Arrg.
Em, alright then.
Like Helm said, he's kinda warped, but that doesn't lend to the "bad ass soldier type guy" look you seem to be going for.
Anywho, looking cool thus far. I look forward to seeing him in motion.
Erk. Whoops.
Ya done gone and beefed him up.
Looks like *his* right foot his could be moved to *our* left just about a pixel. Maybe his right forearm, too.
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Xion Night - right on the money! I was going for a "Flashback" type of sprite, with a "realistic" look, but without all the rotoscoping. The game itself will borrow heavily from Flashback, Metal Slug and Metal Gear Solid (though simpler, of course). So i'd prefer to keep the versions without the outline, unless people prefer the outlined ones (that way, the look will go more the way of Blackthorne, heh). Otherwise, i'd already have gone all crazy adding bulk to his upper body :).
btw, I tried your suggestions, but it looks better as it is with the foot and arm.
Another two versions, one with a smoother selout, and another in a shorter but bulkier version.
New selout: (http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/5982/basev1selout28rc.png)
New steroids: (http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/304/basev21be.png)
All together now:
(http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/5445/basev16wl.png) (http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/304/basev21be.png) NEW (http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/576/basev1outline9fl.png) (http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/9366/basev1selout2pk.png) (http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/5982/basev1selout28rc.png) NEW
P.S: goddamn graphics gale and its transparencies argh
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will borrow heavily from Flashback, Metal Slug and Metal Gear Solid (though simpler, of course).
I love you.
The very last update is best. Don't lose the pants colour, it's very important. Otherwise he gets a bit dull.
EDIT: well actually no... here's an edit with various modifications you might care for
(http://www.locustleaves.com/zoop.png)
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Oh cool, you edited the dude! Thanks for the pointers!
Regarding the palette change, yours is in fact better for a more neutral ambient color, like daylight with a bluish sky tint, but i was going for a yellow tint on purpose, for a "hot desert" feel, hinting at sundown. So i'll keep the original one.
Nice changes on the anatomy on the arms and legs (thicker arms and all). I'll use them, except for the left leg, keeps him more "dynamic" with legs apart. Nice job on the boots too, i was struggling with that and you solved it :). On the torso, your edit suggests a body armor (which makes a lot of sense, but oddly i hadn't yet thought of it), and looks really good, but he's supposed to be wearing a normal shirt. I'll definitely use it if i get him some armor (but i'm thinking more along the lines of a "load bearing vest" ala Solid Snake).
NU 1:
(http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/298/basev1f8dq.png)
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no, no body armor, I was just antialiasing with the colours you already had in the palette. If nothing else, you can take out the highlight shade, but I think the shirt needs a bit of aa
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Hadn't noticed the usage of other colors on the shirt's aa, nice one. Tried fiddling with the ones i already had to do that aa, but decided to keep what i had and add another inbetween color (still only at 16 colors, and i'm not worried about limiting colors on this one).
(http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/7353/basev1f22yd.png)
Just added a buffer color between the two shades in the shirt. Since it's made of black fabric, i don't think adding brighter shades would help, as light usually doesn't add much brightness to this kind of material. To me, either two or three shades seem enough... Besides, it's easier to animate and motion kind of obscures imperfections, if handled well.
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Looks fine to me! Time to get moving, dude. Only 1,000 sprites left to draw until you're done.
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Here's the idle animation (while not holding weapons). Over/underdone? Moar frames? Remember, it's going to be seen at about 300% in the end, zoom in a coupl'a times.
(http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/TurboLento/idle_anim_v1.gif)
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His head should move a lil bit upwards, along with the chest. Also, consider some movements on the legs.
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I disagree, Filax. I think over exaggerated movement in the legs and head would clash with the realistic style.
I like that you only used the space in your sprite for the animation. Reminds me of how they made Samus's breathing animation in Super Metroid. I like how well you've used your buffer shades to suggest subtle movement of the chest. Even at 2x or 3x zoom I was surprised that the chest was all done using one extra pixel on each side[of the chest].
I don't have any complaints with it; it's probably not worth it to spend to much time on the idle animation, since the only time one will likely to see it will be when leaving to go to the bathroom or something.
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I would say that moving head one pixel up, then down would make it better. More than that, it would just be too mush..
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No, 1 pixel is too much at that ratio.
However, do move the head via change of colors a la subpixel movement. Or try it. I dunno, too lazy to make an edit.
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Thanks for all the comments!
Filax_666: i tried adding some movement to the legs, but it seemed too exagerate given the small size of the sprite (since wrinkles look to big, and the legs don't move that much when one's breathing). I did give a go at the head movement, though (see below).
crab2selout.png: Thanks for the kind words :). At this size, i came to the conclusion that motion would have to be pretty much with buffer shading and subtle transitions. I've played Metroid only for a while before, but i'll check out the sprites to see what they did over there. Interesting that you say that the idle anim won't be seen that much, i had a different point of view (but i usually stop and admire the animations in games, marvelling at how pretty the colors are. And then i catch a bullet.)
Firefly and Crazy Asian Gamer: see below.
Original - Head bob 1px up - Sub pixel head movement
(http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/TurboLento/idle_anim_v1.gif) (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/TurboLento/base_anim_breath_v2.gif) (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/TurboLento/base_anim_breath_v2_2.gif)
I see where you're coming from with the head movement idea, and if it were a larger sprite i'd definitely apply it, but at this size, i think even a subtle movement in that area doesn't work very well. I still prefer the original version, i think i'll keep it.
Thanks for all the help people. Working on a run cicle now, will post a wip soon.
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Yeah, leg movement was probably too much...keep that third one, it looks great!
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The sprite looks pretty good and will probably make for good animating. However, I wouldnīt use a breathing animation for sprites this size, the overall movement is simply not enough to be really noticeable, and too much to be anything close to life.
My suggestion would be not to use a breathing animation for idle mode, but rather something with more movement. Shifting his weight, moving his legs, flexing his arms, etc..
looking forward to more...
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I agree on adding animations such as those you mentioned, and cycling through them randomly. But if i remove the breathing, leaving just sporadic animations, the sprite tends to look static and lifeless. I think some sort of continuous movement is needed, even if barely noticeable (at the size this shows up, even just one pixel moving is quite easy to see), and breathing seems to be the most probable and significant movement at that size. I did try to keep this to indicate the lowest possible pixel movement (to my abilities), so it would most realistic, while keeping in mind the size.
I hope it doesn't sound like i'm rebating critics, i'm just trying to find a balance between them and my views, not losing sight of the original vision while at the same time finding out it's weaknesses...
By the way, love your stuff :) and hope to hear your comments anytime you please.
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I like it, but to me, it looks like his chest is a balloon and inflating and deflating way too unrealisticly. Maybe if you kept the outline of the chest the same and just moved the pixels that are inside of it.
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I didnīt mean to suggest to leave the sprite completely static at times, but rather to have one (or more) idle animations that are a bit more expressive. It might not fit with the style of game you want to make, but I think that at the size and resolution you mentioned, a lot of movement would look good. I.e. go crazy a bit. ;)
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Thanks for the comments so far, taking them all into account.
Hase: yeah, that's more what i had in mind, cycling through some different anims.
Razz: thanks for that suggestion, i'll try that when i come back to this animation. Doing some work rotation now...
Here's a preliminar version of the dude's running cycle. Do you see problems with it? I'll have to clean it up, further define his body parts, and shade it properly, but that comes after getting a satisfactory motion. Can't wait to hear those cc's.
(http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/TurboLento/run_anim_1.gif)
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the motion is excellent. very fluid :)
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Since your breathing cycle is pretty exaggerated, exaggerate his run cycle. Add more bounce, bend more knees, have him lag a bit, and then burst forward a bit, distort a few things here and there (you know, Einstein's theory of relativity, haha).