Looking for some sprite critique...

[zez]

Maybe I should consider a four-frame walk animation... I don't know if I have the resolve to get through a process like this for every character in the game. ^ ^;

NNOOOOOOOOOooooooo!
The current run cycle has so much character, and with the slightest bit of cleanup and a bit of work on the belly would be amazing. I promise that once you get in the groove of things, and are comfortable with the animation style it will get a million times easier. On another note, Im assuming this is for an RPG, yes? What is your target platform/what are you making it in? Do you have a team you are working in or are you going to try and tackle the task of making an RPG from top to bottom as a solo venture?

[StarRaven]

NNOOOOOOOOOooooooo!
The current run cycle has so much character, and with the slightest bit of cleanup and a bit of work on the belly would be amazing. I promise that once you get in the groove of things, and are comfortable with the animation style it will get a million times easier. On another note, Im assuming this is for an RPG, yes? What is your target platform/what are you making it in? Do you have a team you are working in or are you going to try and tackle the task of making an RPG from top to bottom as a solo venture?

Well, it's not 100% finished yet, still needs detailing/cleaning up. I hope you're right, that it'll get easier once I get in the groove, hehe. I'm glad you like it. The more I stare at it, the more I think something might be horribly wrong with it.

Yes, it is for an RPG. It's for computer. I was working with someone else, who was supposed to be doing the programming, but long story short, I'm on my own now.

Also, I'm going to go through and turn some of these animated images into links; it looks like they're starting to slow each other down or something.

[zez]

Im pretty sure its just the torso/stomach wiggle thats a problem. The left arm (our left, not hers) COULD use some tweening, right now it kinda jumps from bent to fully extended a little fast, but it wouldnt be that noticeable in a game, without me staring at it in place at some ridicules zoom.

If you want a coder/audio monkey shoot me a PM, Iv been wanting to make an RPG for awhile, but I always get bogged down creating the art assets and loose interest before I have much done (basically, I make the main character and like one party member, and enough tiles for an area then start on NPCs and say screw this. I usually already have the engine done at that point too, so its just making the characters and plugging stuff in.)

[StarRaven]

Im pretty sure its just the torso/stomach wiggle thats a problem. The left arm (our left, not hers) COULD use some tweening, right now it kinda jumps from bent to fully extended a little fast, but it wouldnt be that noticeable in a game, without me staring at it in place at some ridicules zoom.

I think I've finally fixed it.

It should just be her hips moving now. I'll tweak the arm a tad to match the right one better.

If you want a coder/audio monkey shoot me a PM, Iv been wanting to make an RPG for awhile, but I always get bogged down creating the art assets and loose interest before I have much done (basically, I make the main character and like one party member, and enough tiles for an area then start on NPCs and say screw this. I usually already have the engine done at that point too, so its just making the characters and plugging stuff in.)

Hehehe, you too? I'm the same, except that I've been working on the same rpg for a while now. XD I've got characters designed, got a good idea of what I want to do, but then I'll start on tiles and sprites and get stuck somewhere and then drop it for a while, and then by the time I pick it up again I'm like, "Ugh, what was I thinking? Better redo this stuff...." and then I never get anywhere. 8D Fun fun. This is the third time I've redesigned the sprites. Hahaha~

I kind of suck at programming, honestly. XD I mean, I'm not completely code-retarded but something like building my own engine would probably be way beyond me. I'm using the RPG Toolkit, and I've been designing and coding my own systems because the engine's default ones are a bit lackluster. *rambles* Anyhoo, I may indeed send you a PM. This game is one I've sort of determined to tackle myself, but a collaborative project at some point would be amazing.

[Helm]

This is a bit besides the topic but if you want my opinion, from all the types of games you can attempt to make on your own or in teams of two, a 20 hour jrpg is one of the most improbable ones to reach completion. Have you considered something of a smaller scope?

Also if you're getting stuck in that 'ugh what was I thinking, complete redo of art assets' loop you might want to hone your skills for a year or two before you sit down to make a game that'll take you 2~3 years to finish. Just to get on that certain level when even when you look back at your art you won't be annoyed by it being too bad.

All that said, I think your end sprite here is stellar, has lots of character and a nonstandard animation, which is a boon. Why not make something where you only have to animate 3-4 characters to such finish instead of an rpg?

[StarRaven]

This is a bit besides the topic but if you want my opinion, from all the types of games you can attempt to make on your own or in teams of two, a 20 hour jrpg is one of the most improbable ones to reach completion. Have you considered something of a smaller scope?

That's all right. I'm glad to have the opinion. To be honest, it's never really occurred to me to try to make anything but an rpg. I can't think of another genre that would allow me to practice the skills I want to the way an rpg can - those skills being pixelling, character design, story writing, and worldbuilding. In the end, I don't know if this game will ever see the light of day, but in the meantime, it is allowing me to practice my skills, which is really the point of it. On that note, though, I would still love to work on something else that is more likely to actually get finished (in a reasonable amount of time), especially if it means I can work with someone else. Collaborating is my favorite thing about working on a game! (Well, next to character design, hehehe!)

Also if you're getting stuck in that 'ugh what was I thinking, complete redo of art assets' loop you might want to hone your skills for a year or two before you sit down to make a game that'll take you 2~3 years to finish. Just to get on that certain level when even when you look back at your art you won't be annoyed by it being too bad.

You're probably right, here. I don't know if I can really just hone my skills without working toward a goal, though. If I wasn't working on this game, I wouldn't know what to pixel, haha. I'm reasonably sure that at some point, I'll hit that wall at which I stop improving. Until then, I'll keep doing and redoing until I'm happy. It's the only way to find the perfect style, I think.

All that said, I think your end sprite here is stellar, has lots of character and a nonstandard animation, which is a boon. Why not make something where you only have to animate 3-4 characters to such finish instead of an rpg?

That's wonderful to hear!

All excuses aside, you're still very right. What sort of game would you suggest as an alternative? I've seen a lot of work on sidescrollers, but I've never had an idea for one myself. I'm not sure where I'd start.

Wow, I wrote an awful lot. Anyway, I know it's a bit off-topic, but I enjoy the discussion nonethless. Sorry about the lack of a sprite in this update! I shall include a new character in the next post to make up for it!

[PypeBros]

and I'd like to have an "untransform" sort of animation rather than just a quick flip back to the beginning, and I'll have to add some more frames and clean up the movement quite a bit, but how is the concept? Any suggestions?

First, congrats for your adorable character.
I suggest for untransformation that the "fox" turns around so that the head is hidden and then the lady reveals spinning and raising.

[ErekT]

Yep, it's a great-looking animation Small problem that caught my eye: The ears dangle around a lot, what's up with that? It makes them look like removable props attached to the hair instead of the head. IMO the ears should follow the head movement more or less rigidly.

[Blacklight_Studios]

Oh, I love it!  especially how the hair kinda bounces in the running animation. the motion looks very natural to me, so it's a good sprite. :3

[Helm]

You can take all the aspects of the RPG you like and put them towards a shortform game. Something that takes 30-40 minutes to play, a condensed RPG if you will. Just one town, one set of npcs, one dungeon, one bit of wilderness. Will give you the chance to form your characters more and also give you the chance to ever finish it. Just a thought.