Dallion: Character Animation Help! Run and now Punching! D:

[Sokota]

Okay so I am working on a new game project with my team, and have made this character, Dallion, who is going to live inside a steampunk world. I need some C&C on his run animation, which took me a few hours to do. It's the first thing I've really sprited or animated in 6 months so be easy but fair!


Dallion

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Punch [WIP]

He has a lot of other poses to come, such as jumping, sliding, ledge grabbing, ladder climbing, rope/pipe climbing, and some fighting moves (punching, kicking). Also, if anyone wants to see the engine so far (it's basic at the moment), I'll be happy to post it.

Sokota

Thanks so much!

[linx]

I like it!  A problem with the run animation (IMO) is that his hands seem to be going wayy too far up.

[beaux]

character looks awesome.  i would shorten up the number of frames it takes for a complete "run" cycle.  it seems like hes semi-slowmotion running or jogging.  take like 3, 4, or 5 frames off and he will look more like hes running than jogging.  nice work!

[WM]

A tiny bit more vertical movement wouldn't hurt -- you know, a little more bounce in his step. 

I would focus particularly on his head when doing this, seeing as that is key to getting a noticeable "bounce".

Here's a reference picture to get a good idea when to bounce:




I really like your style: very clean, but still detailed.

[Sokota]

Okay so updated the run some, based on what you guys said. I lowered the arms and fixed a leg issue (I think), and I messed with the air some. I think I have to fiddle with the hair a little more to get it to look better, but that's what I have so far. Thanks for the kind words guys, I feel like maybe I'm doing something right for once lol. Next up as far as animations go, will be a shimmy and some attack combos. That should prove pretty difficult.

Sokota

[Sokota]

Okay so new problem. I like the run, but now I am working on making a 3 punch combo...I had plenty of references for the run, but not as much for the punch, so this is what turned out so far...It's wonky and somethings quite wrong with it, and I don't think it'll flow well into the next hit (A punch with the left arm), so yeah...this is my first animation made in GIMP, so excuse the blurriness? I don't know why it did that. Anyways, it's 12:30am and I'm tired, but please critique and help me out! Thanks so much!


 

Sokota

[Vermolius]

There's some strangeness already in the way the punch is flowing. Sure, you can lean in when you punch, but unless you meant for it to look as though he was just leaning forward into his punch with this weird foot jitter following, then you're doing it wrong. I'm not sure if you intend for your character to have some training in combat or not but you can always look up a video of someone executing punches in a particular way (in this case, boxing/muay thai). If you jump to 8:00 he starts doing some combos. There are a ton of different fighting styles and tons of demonstrative videos on youtube. Peruse, pick something you like, try it out yourself, then turn it into crazy tiny pixels.

If he is a brawler try looking for street fighting, otherwise you have a ton of martial arts/trained fighting styles to choose from.

[Konrad]

The character doesn't look to me as if he's some sort of martial arts fighter, I think brawling fits better here.

Right now the punch looks really wimpy.
1. I think that it's ok that your character leans forward if you want to imply a powerful punch. But you should definately correct the leg movement. It's way too stiff.
2. There is no shoulder movement. The upper body will turn when throwing a punch.
3. As a result of this you should make the left arm show up in the animation.
4. The animation of the arm looks like a recoil animation from a gun. Probably because of lack of frames. Also the arm should not go straight back.

[st0ven]

i think a good place to start for your punch, very seriously, try the action out yourself in front of a mirror to get a good solid feel for all of the body mechanics involved. that should at least give you a proper start. if someone were to animate an edit for you, itd probably look like a small version of you punching the air in front of a mirror, heh. so try that out and report back!

[WM]

Make him step into the punch -- just pay attention to the center of gravity and dont be afraid to let him turn a little when in action.