1
Pixel Art / The Jumpy Boiz
« on: September 01, 2022, 07:55:44 pm »
They can't hear your crit. Let 'em jump.
Looping forever.
Thanks, Pix. It was good.
Be like water.
F
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They can't hear your crit. Let 'em jump.
Looping forever.
Thanks, Pix. It was good.
Be like water.
F
2
Pixel Art / little friend
« on: October 07, 2016, 02:04:16 pm »
i drew this little friend and i dont know what he is but i love him
3
Pixel Art / Self-Rotoscopination
« on: August 01, 2014, 05:29:54 pm »
Been staring down the barrel of animation for a while now. Without blinking.
Animation.
Animation, I will defeat you. I don't want to, I need to.
Been wanting to rotoscope actual video footage for quite a while. Years even.
An old nagging desire that finally came to fruition.
After converting my dining room into a ghetto, but useful, studio I tripod recorded myself walking (NO YOU CAN'T SEE THE ORIG FOOTAGE GET OUTTA HEER).
I rushed into it and did a terrible job walking consistently so I could make a smooth loop.
I also simply walked in a straight line, rather than in an arc around the camera, so as I walk my body's angle, per the camera's viewpoint, slightly changes.
Lessons learned.
33FPS
40 frames per loop. You're seeing about 3 loops. 1/3rd of the way into the image the anim loops once, then at the 2/3rds mark it loops a second time. Notice the right arm twitch. Terrible looping.
Scarf for a little extra secondary motion. Why not.
Only bothered tracing the major edges (no, I'm not actually a baldy).
In total - this whole project took ~10 hours. Tracing the 40 frames was incredibly tedious.
I really had no clear purpose in doing this. Just wanted to.
But I learned something else by messing with the framerate. Check it out.
Contrast the above with these framerate reduced vesions: (same timing, just different frame spacing)
15fps 50% framerate of original
8.3fps 25% framerate of original
Can you see the bad looping now?
Barely discernable in the 15fps version. Completely erased in the 8.3fps version.
Lower framerates are more forgiving.
When Disney animated Snow White and used all that super smooth rotoscoping, they had to be very careful.
One tiny glitch in the flow of movement and the whole illusion is ruined.
I'm going to kill you.
Animation.
Animation, I will defeat you. I don't want to, I need to.
Been wanting to rotoscope actual video footage for quite a while. Years even.
An old nagging desire that finally came to fruition.
After converting my dining room into a ghetto, but useful, studio I tripod recorded myself walking (NO YOU CAN'T SEE THE ORIG FOOTAGE GET OUTTA HEER).
I rushed into it and did a terrible job walking consistently so I could make a smooth loop.
I also simply walked in a straight line, rather than in an arc around the camera, so as I walk my body's angle, per the camera's viewpoint, slightly changes.
Lessons learned.
33FPS
40 frames per loop. You're seeing about 3 loops. 1/3rd of the way into the image the anim loops once, then at the 2/3rds mark it loops a second time. Notice the right arm twitch. Terrible looping.
Scarf for a little extra secondary motion. Why not.
Only bothered tracing the major edges (no, I'm not actually a baldy).
In total - this whole project took ~10 hours. Tracing the 40 frames was incredibly tedious.
I really had no clear purpose in doing this. Just wanted to.
But I learned something else by messing with the framerate. Check it out.
Contrast the above with these framerate reduced vesions: (same timing, just different frame spacing)
15fps 50% framerate of original
8.3fps 25% framerate of original
Can you see the bad looping now?
Barely discernable in the 15fps version. Completely erased in the 8.3fps version.
Lower framerates are more forgiving.
When Disney animated Snow White and used all that super smooth rotoscoping, they had to be very careful.
One tiny glitch in the flow of movement and the whole illusion is ruined.
I'm going to kill you.
4
General Discussion / True orthographic . . . isometric? uhhmmmm. Hello.
« on: May 18, 2014, 12:19:32 am »
Come on in! Mi thread es su thread.
Ok . . . Pix'ers, lend me your knowledge. More perspective confusion.
Is there really a right way to do this?
the rundown
Working on a big . . . "project".
Said project calls for endless tons of perspective illustration.
'What type of perspective projection shall I use' was my first thought.
I've decided upon slanted, non perspective-diminishing stuff.
When viewing a square room, you'll be able to the see the left (and maybe right?) side wall. The ground will be flat - 0°, and the visible wall's base will run at: 35°.
Like dis: (notice all the 35° angles?)
These are just quick sketcherones, scanned in and a precise 35° line plopped on top all over the place.
Oh, and that hideous floor plate tile. This brings me to my real point -
the problem
How does one draw something flat and non-rotated but then WARP it to comply with my isometric 35° standard.
I want to do this to various flat graphics so I can use them to draw on top of as a guide.
It's really hard to draw so that my lines stay a consistent 35°. Having a sketch warped to the correct shape/angle would be sweet.
Like this here:
In illustrator, I've drawn that hideous floor plate tile (originally a perfect square) and attempted a non-perspective warp on it. But it seems too elongated.
Is there a formula?
It's EXTREMELY important I get these types of standard things right so I don't jack everything up later down the road.
What are your thoughts? Comments open season. Any advice appreciated.
Ok . . . Pix'ers, lend me your knowledge. More perspective confusion.
Is there really a right way to do this?
the rundown
Working on a big . . . "project".
Said project calls for endless tons of perspective illustration.
'What type of perspective projection shall I use' was my first thought.
I've decided upon slanted, non perspective-diminishing stuff.
When viewing a square room, you'll be able to the see the left (and maybe right?) side wall. The ground will be flat - 0°, and the visible wall's base will run at: 35°.
Like dis: (notice all the 35° angles?)
These are just quick sketcherones, scanned in and a precise 35° line plopped on top all over the place.
Oh, and that hideous floor plate tile. This brings me to my real point -
the problem
How does one draw something flat and non-rotated but then WARP it to comply with my isometric 35° standard.
I want to do this to various flat graphics so I can use them to draw on top of as a guide.
It's really hard to draw so that my lines stay a consistent 35°. Having a sketch warped to the correct shape/angle would be sweet.
Like this here:
In illustrator, I've drawn that hideous floor plate tile (originally a perfect square) and attempted a non-perspective warp on it. But it seems too elongated.
Is there a formula?
It's EXTREMELY important I get these types of standard things right so I don't jack everything up later down the road.
What are your thoughts? Comments open season. Any advice appreciated.
5
Pixel Art / Cacani - Computer Assisted Cel Animation
« on: April 28, 2014, 01:41:20 am »
I am salivating uncontrollably. In case you needed to know.
Look at this.
http://www.cacani.sg/
http://cacani.org/
https://www.youtube.com/user/cagntu/videos
Now brace for disappointment: as far as I can tell, the software in question isn't yet publicly available, despite its ~5 years in development.
I'd pay a high price for such a tool.
I'm trying to find out if there's a realistic ETA or not.
Just something to be aware of.
04.28.14 EDIT*
Received a response to my questions about an ETA and price. I'll share it here:
Their Facebook page is apparently their chief means of updating the public at large:
https://www.facebook.com/CACAniAnimation
CACANI Facebook vidz
Look at this.
http://www.cacani.sg/
http://cacani.org/
https://www.youtube.com/user/cagntu/videos
Now brace for disappointment: as far as I can tell, the software in question isn't yet publicly available, despite its ~5 years in development.
I'd pay a high price for such a tool.
I'm trying to find out if there's a realistic ETA or not.
Just something to be aware of.
04.28.14 EDIT*
Received a response to my questions about an ETA and price. I'll share it here:
Quote
Thanks for the inquiry in CACANI. We do not have a specific time for release, but we will be updating our facebook page on any new announcements.
We can not comment on pricing at this time, but we are looking at the possibility of different price ranges.
Keep on checking our pages for any new updates.
Thank you for the interest,
Jose Velasco
CACANI Chief Operating officer
Their Facebook page is apparently their chief means of updating the public at large:
https://www.facebook.com/CACAniAnimation
CACANI Facebook vidz
7
General Discussion / Profiting from web games
« on: May 27, 2013, 05:18:39 am »
Regrettably, I still don't understand the business side of web game development.
Take Kingdom Rush, for example. A great little turret defense game. IMO, ranks high up on the list of best-ever flash turret defense games. I, for one, love it.
But . . . how did it profit? How were the devs paid?
It was done by Armor Games (apparently). I'm sure each group probably has a slightly different business model, but surely they're all very similar.
Anybody have a little info on this subject? I would love to know about it and I assume there are many others here who feel the same way.
Take Kingdom Rush, for example. A great little turret defense game. IMO, ranks high up on the list of best-ever flash turret defense games. I, for one, love it.
But . . . how did it profit? How were the devs paid?
It was done by Armor Games (apparently). I'm sure each group probably has a slightly different business model, but surely they're all very similar.
Anybody have a little info on this subject? I would love to know about it and I assume there are many others here who feel the same way.
8
Creating a series of creature paintings. Started with it's gestation egg. Then an interior view of the egg.
PREVIOUS IMAGES IN SERIES
NEW IMAGE IN SERIES
Up to date WIP steps:
Am now working on the creature shortly after birth, still a helpless hatchling, posed in an organic writhing mess of living tubes and veins and all that cool Gigeresque stuff I like so much.
As an adult, it becomes a six-legged hydralisk, preying mantis-looking thing. And like some insect species - termites and ants, there will be several different forms - from basic-looking workers, to a horned razor-appendage armed warrior class, maybe even a king and/or queen type.
WIP - A little inspiration I can cite would definitely be Zerg stuff from StarCraft II, like this pic of Kerrigan, hatching from an egg.
(WIP pic above is scaled; actual version is 3x larger)
Gonna get my lines right and then really get started . . .
The bg/surrounding environment was actually an afterthought. The organism itself was done first, then the BG tossed in after-the-fact, so it's lighting/shading will need to change I'm sure.
I anticipate this one to take lot of work, more than the previous two.
Now that I have a full-time job again and have dropped all freelance, I feel I have the bandwidth to sit around doing fun graphics projects again, instead of meaningless commercial garbage 24/7.
As with each new painting project I take on, I have certain goals, that I always hope will promote my skills growing.
So, GOALS for this one . . .
Just thought I'd post it here, and fish for whatever thoughts, comments, ideas you guys might have. I like the collaborative association, as well as the opportunity to be inspired by better ideas and also catch mistakes I'll probably make along the way. Plus, this is the only site I post "low spec" artwork on - no desire to slather the internet with my junk.
I expect a steady stream of progress for this project. I doubt it'll stagnate, unless I really get carried away with monotonous details . . . that tends to wear on you hehe.
PREVIOUS IMAGES IN SERIES
NEW IMAGE IN SERIES
Up to date WIP steps:
Am now working on the creature shortly after birth, still a helpless hatchling, posed in an organic writhing mess of living tubes and veins and all that cool Gigeresque stuff I like so much.
As an adult, it becomes a six-legged hydralisk, preying mantis-looking thing. And like some insect species - termites and ants, there will be several different forms - from basic-looking workers, to a horned razor-appendage armed warrior class, maybe even a king and/or queen type.
WIP - A little inspiration I can cite would definitely be Zerg stuff from StarCraft II, like this pic of Kerrigan, hatching from an egg.
(WIP pic above is scaled; actual version is 3x larger)
Gonna get my lines right and then really get started . . .
The bg/surrounding environment was actually an afterthought. The organism itself was done first, then the BG tossed in after-the-fact, so it's lighting/shading will need to change I'm sure.
I anticipate this one to take lot of work, more than the previous two.
Now that I have a full-time job again and have dropped all freelance, I feel I have the bandwidth to sit around doing fun graphics projects again, instead of meaningless commercial garbage 24/7.
As with each new painting project I take on, I have certain goals, that I always hope will promote my skills growing.
So, GOALS for this one . . .
- COLORING. Unlike the previous 2 pics in the series I'm going to avoid cheap gradient map coloring to colorize greyscale painting. Originally, planning this series I established that the milky green/blue gradient map coloring would be used on all pics and therefore be a defining characteristic of the series. Now though, I'm very bored and unimpressed with it. It's too digital, too automatic, too easy. There's just no merit in it. For this one, I want to take my coloring up a notch, or three. So even if at the cost of continuity for the series I'm going a totally new direction with how this one will be finally rendered and polished.
- I like noah. I want to figure out how he paints, so I'll be experimenting with different brushes, techniques, etc. The massive void between me and him bothers me - I want to close it a little if I can.
- DEPTH. Will try for a strong sense of depth. Might use depth of field blurring, might not.
- FORM. Strength of form. Especially when I try to feign perspective my shapes/forms seem to take on a 'fake' look and feel. I want a believable illusion of 3D with strong, interesting shapes that are correctly lit.
- EERIE LIGHT. Want to use light to re-enforce a weird, alien vibe. Might set the main light light source as coming from the floor so there's that automatic eerie, bottom-up lighting effect. Will obscure much of the scene in darkness.
- DETAIL. Lots of detail, covering all surfaces. Will try not to be too repetitive, but give the eye many different things to bounce around on.
- TEXTURE. I never really have figured out how to add nice texture to my paint. Will try. Previous two pics are just basically airbrush style, which I'm bored with now.
Just thought I'd post it here, and fish for whatever thoughts, comments, ideas you guys might have. I like the collaborative association, as well as the opportunity to be inspired by better ideas and also catch mistakes I'll probably make along the way. Plus, this is the only site I post "low spec" artwork on - no desire to slather the internet with my junk.
I expect a steady stream of progress for this project. I doubt it'll stagnate, unless I really get carried away with monotonous details . . . that tends to wear on you hehe.
9
General Discussion / --- Expanding the C64 palette to 32 colors ---
« on: July 05, 2011, 01:12:52 am »
Currently engaged in a game project. All graphics use only the Commodore 64 palette. After already completing quite a bit of art, the game is now changing significantly.
As a result I feel the C64 pal is now inadequate for what I want to do with the game's art, since a slightly different art direction is being chosen. So I set out to "update" it.
Unfortunately, I assumed I could remap the palette easily and quickly with new/better colors, while not manually re-pixelling any existing art. But no. This was a naive notion on my part. Afterall, the C64 palette is a good generic 16 color palette. Not easily thwarted.
-- View a quick test --
So, that was a failure. Learned, and moved on.
___
Rather than alter the existing pal, I'm just going to add to it, round it more. That way the existing art can stay and not require updating, and at the same time I can create new game art with the new colors.
Sven suggested I not exceed 32 colors for the new expanded C64 pal. I agreed.
So, the idea is to add 16 more colors. I suck at palette creation. Never tried it before actually. With so many great palettes readily available I haven't had the need until now.
___
Let's get started.
The rest of this post is pretty much images, since this is an inherently visual/graphical issue, I figure why not. I hope the following images are decipherable. They convey my C64 pal editing progression.
Notice, the first thing I do is investigate the existing C64 pal's underlying luminosity values.
Disappointing, but this is as far as I've gotten. I'm hoping for some insights from you Pixelatians.
I get the haunting feeling I should have more midtones and less darks and lights. As of right now, my luminosity range is pretty much an even gradient from black to white, with a little bias towards shadows (mainly because I've always wanted more darks in the C64 pal).
Thoughts?
As a result I feel the C64 pal is now inadequate for what I want to do with the game's art, since a slightly different art direction is being chosen. So I set out to "update" it.
Unfortunately, I assumed I could remap the palette easily and quickly with new/better colors, while not manually re-pixelling any existing art. But no. This was a naive notion on my part. Afterall, the C64 palette is a good generic 16 color palette. Not easily thwarted.
-- View a quick test --
So, that was a failure. Learned, and moved on.
___
Rather than alter the existing pal, I'm just going to add to it, round it more. That way the existing art can stay and not require updating, and at the same time I can create new game art with the new colors.
Sven suggested I not exceed 32 colors for the new expanded C64 pal. I agreed.
So, the idea is to add 16 more colors. I suck at palette creation. Never tried it before actually. With so many great palettes readily available I haven't had the need until now.
___
Let's get started.
The rest of this post is pretty much images, since this is an inherently visual/graphical issue, I figure why not. I hope the following images are decipherable. They convey my C64 pal editing progression.
Notice, the first thing I do is investigate the existing C64 pal's underlying luminosity values.
Disappointing, but this is as far as I've gotten. I'm hoping for some insights from you Pixelatians.
I get the haunting feeling I should have more midtones and less darks and lights. As of right now, my luminosity range is pretty much an even gradient from black to white, with a little bias towards shadows (mainly because I've always wanted more darks in the C64 pal).
Thoughts?
10
2D & 3D / Victorian girl
« on: May 03, 2011, 07:42:34 pm »
Having trouble getting this girl to look 17, instead of 71.
Very WIP.
Will update soon . . .
Very WIP.
Will update soon . . .