[WIP] kick and punch animation

[toaster]

hello,

I'm trying to make a kink animation.
This is what I have so far.

I found this topic and I used it as a reference:
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=11410.0
Please tell me wath you think of it.

Toaster

[Greger]

hello,

I'm trying to make a kink animation.
This is what I have so far.

I found this topic and I used it as a reference:
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=11410.0
Please tell me wath you think of it.

Toaster

Stand up, and kick in front of you. (But first make sure you won't kick something down!)
Notice how the whole body interacts when you do that? How your body twists, how the leg you're standing on turns to its side? That's what you should try and emulate, make it seem as if the whole body is in it and not just the leg that's kicking. 

[toaster]

Here's a punch:

It's just a sketch so far.

I still don't know if I'm happy with the kick. I'll try to use Gregers tips to improve it.

Toaster

[Elk]

Alright, since I'm karateka, this helped me alot more about these kind of movements...when you make a front kick like that, it's called "mae geri", if you want to do it sideways, it's a "mawashi geri"

you should look vids up

[toaster]

Thank you. That's realy helpful.

[Elk]

Videos in general are very helpful in the process of animating

Big animators in the industry @ dreamworks and whatever even recommend the usage of videos to animate

[toaster]

I continued working on the punch:

In the second version I removed a frame to make it faster. Wich one do you like best?

[Decroded]

I continued working on the punch:

In the second version I removed a frame to make it faster. Wich one do you like best?

Try also adjusting the speed of the frame you removed instead of just removing it.
I also think he drops his other hand too much for the force that appears to be coming from the punch.
IMO better if he keeps his guard up for most punches and only drops it for like the massive punch at the end of the combo or a charge-up punch for example.

[toaster]

I changed the left arm:


Here are some other images:

kick
Stand-jump-fall
run (sorry, not animated)
duck

Edit:
I made another kick:

I used this as my reference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mudiww3A9c&feature=related

Edit:

It's not the same kick as in my last edit. This is a Ushiro Geri :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP43B-mmHHs
Here are the frames:

Any comments?

[1up]

I think the main problem with these attacks is that there's not enough "oomph" behind them. They're very obviously a punch and a kick, which is good, but they lack that same kind of power that an actual punch or kick would have simply because you seem to be too scared to draw a completely new pose for certain frames (or at least, that's how it comes across). To make an animation with such an "extreme" feel as an attack, you can't be afraid to draw in plenty of movement between frames.

I made a quick edit to your punch to show what I mean
Yours:


Mine:


The two biggest problems I saw with yours were the overall lack of movement in the character throughout the animation, and the lack of any kind of "snap" or "oomph" in the punch, it feels more like he's just pushing his arm out there instead of throwing an actual punch.
Regardless, this is a nice start and I'd love to see how far you're able to take these animations.

[toaster]

Thanks 1up. Yours looks great.
Here is my new version:

I think it's much better.
Now I'm going to search the forum and youtube for some reference on the legs.

Toaster

[Mush]

It does look much better. Very nice job.

As for leg references, why not just stand in front of a mirror yourself? What I noticed when I was making a punch anim. was that my left (front) knee bent forward, and my right (back) leg rotated inwards.

[toaster]

Two legs for the secret agent :

[Greger]

Two legs for the secret agent :

There's a bit more oomph in the punch now, still the whole body needs to move. When you punch you use your whole body, stand up and punch the air with almost everything you got. You'll notice how your whole body transfers energy, beginning in the legs and all ending up in your fist.

What you should do too, is to make the animation smoother by adding two more frames at the end where he slowly pulls back his arm when he has punched. Add one more frame where he shifts his weight backwards before he punches too.

[toaster]

hey,

I paused my work for a while but now I'll continue. This is what I have so far:

I'm going to start all over with the first kick animation, and I want to make a third punch.
These are sprites for a game, so I have to make lots of kicks and punches to combinate.
Any suggestions for a third punch? (punch-punch-punch)

Toaster

[toaster]

third punch:

It's really WIP.
The right arm is far from perfect and at the and of the animation there is a problem to but I'm working on it.
Any tips?

[ErekT]

Wow, nice progress! The third punch is a little hard to make out because of the colors you use, but so far so good from the looks of it. I'll echo the others for body movement: putting body weight behind the blow is what gives it power. Or from the mouth of Bruce Lee: "You gotta put your hip into it"

[PypeBros]

his torso looks oversized compared to limbs. You may want to check that on an anatomy reference picture.

[adamisgr8]

I reccomend doing a jumping punch. You might think it isn't very original though, you can use it for practice anyway ^_^

Very good animating! Looking forward to this.

[toaster]

Still WIP:

Tips?

[Greger]

Still WIP:

Tips?

You have to make the punch more straight, and give it more of an oomph. Stand up and hit the air. Make sure you really try to hit hard. At first your fist goes sort of slow, it's because you are powering up. Then when you're halfway through the whole weight of your body is in the punch and it goes a lot faster. This can be done by first moving the pixels of his arm a few pixels (say 3-4 pixels) and when you're halfway through you make the arm go 6-7 pixels. This will give you the illusion of a harder hit. Obviously you don't have to take 3-4 pixels but the general theory still stands.

[toaster]

I think that's a great tip greger. I put in an extra frame to slow down the first part of the animation:

The result isn't as good as possible, but still better than before?

[adamisgr8]

Onwards and upwards toaster!
I do karate and would love to see a yoku geri. (Sidekick) Is thiss all for a game? Or for practice?

EDIT: I meant yoko geri. =D

[toaster]

Both!
I'll see a youtube video of a yoku geri and maybe make an animation of it tomorrow.

[toaster]

Not a yoko geri... Sorry.
But it's a yoko geri kekomi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mudiww3A9c

WIP

Edit:
I put in an extra frame:

[toaster]

third punch with legs:

I added legs and removed one frame to give it more power. I think the legs could be better. Tips to improve them?

[setz]

Right now, the legs are giving off this really strange optical illusion: the back leg seems to dissapear, and another leg seems to come out of nowhere infront.

[adamisgr8]

Right now, the legs are giving off this really strange optical illusion: the back leg seems to dissapear, and another leg seems to come out of nowhere infront.

The opposite for me! Well done on the side kick

[JonasO]

Sorry for necromancing...
In the kick, have you tried removing the "leg back" frame?
I think you should try and use that frame either for staying longer full stretched out, or for the turning movement - the abrupt turning looks somewhat strange, especially since the silhouette of the fighter doesn't change in that one frame...