[WIP] Crow Sprite Animation

[thepezman]

[latest update:     ]



I'm trying to create a sprite sheet for a crow, but I'm not having much luck.  I realize that anything with legs I can do fine with but that I have never actually animated a bird.  Since I've never done it, I'm not sure how to fix what's happening.

First, aside from the animation I feel I'm having some color trouble.  It's tough to find the balance that keeps it dark enough to be a black crow, but light enough in places to see the form.  I did what I could, but I'm still not sure of it.  I'm considering making the entire thing one color with maybe just a few flecks of highlights.  Thoughts on that?

For the animation, here's what's happened so far.  I'll actually let the animations speak for themselves.






Any help would be awesome ^.^

[Solluxx]

haha this is a really cool little project 
i think the main problem you are having is the tail, the tail on a bird should be about stationary with the rest of him, other than alittle residual movement i dont think it should move.
as you progressed i noticed you toned down the wings, i think that the first ones are actually the best and portray the power the bird has to exert to fly, the other ones make him look like he cant really get off the ground
these are the only big things i can notice, hope it helps

[BoneClown]

I'm not anyway professional, but I like your idea and making it with one colour (asume it is black) and hilight it. If I may suggest, you could use dark blue as hilight colour. Right now i think it looks  more like corvid(?) don't know if that means the right bird, but it looks like not crow. Hope this helps

[thepezman]

Phew I've been working through the problems.    

Sollux: you were right.  Going for a gliding animation wasn't cutting it. The wings were waving around like cloth in the windthough; not wings.  Once I fixed that I liked how the vigorous flapping looked. I also didn't realize how ridiculous I made the tail.  Fanning it out alone helped tremendously.

BoneClown: I looked up a Corvid but it looks pretty close to a crow by my eyes.  Maybe I found some bad pictures.  What do you think now, though?




Edit:
Hm the bottom right animation is pretty rough...

[Solluxx]

wow these sare so much better nice job now you just gotta fix the wing/body color. i really think Bone clowns idea was awesome, black but highlight it with a blue or purple. good update

[Chis]

They are better, but the rhythm is still off. As the bird's wings push down, his body should rise, and as his wings come up his body should likewise fall a little, but your new updates have this reversed. Your original nailed this though, so I think it's still the best one. You should just work on smoothing that one out while preserving the motion imo.

[BoneClown]

By Corvid I ment this:


But seems that crow/corvid can meen many birds. But if you are doing this one I'd say your colours are ok. Maby could make the light gray more light... and maby darker wings, tail and head more
For animation I can't say much, but what Chis said sounds right.

[thepezman]

I've had to move on for the time being, it's been a little while since I've touched the animation work on this.  I never posted the latest update, though. 



This is pretty close to the latest, I believe the only updates that have happened beyond this are filling in everything jet black.  I'm still not happy with it, but I may have to call it good-enough   There are plenty of issues, but what about unforgivable ones that I can't let slip by?

[Gamer36]

I find them quiet good but, IMO, I find that the holes in the black look like someone shredded the birds' wings, I'm not sure if you mean to do that or not.

[circuscommando]

I find them quiet good but, IMO, I find that the holes in the black look like someone shredded the birds' wings, I'm not sure if you mean to do that or not.

i think it's just unfinished at the moment.

I think it looks wonderful at the moment, can't wait to see the final piece.