[C+C] Beat em' up game sprites

[timeatscookies]

Hi everyone,

I'm a new member here and would like some feedback/comments on some sprite work I'm doing for a game. So far all I have done is the idle animation for one of the playable characters. Please tell me what you think (: I'll be adding more as I go.

[Decroded]

Hey its a cool style. Something about his  face/head makes me want to be one of the bad guys though lol. Also his left (our right) hand moves to far and fast compared with the rest. and the belt area needs somesome movement try also rotating the belt buckle a touch see if it looks any good? and if u can do something subtle with the feet.
Look forward to seeing more mate ;-)

[8bitbeard]

I think the fact that his hip is not moving at all adds some stiffness to the whole piece.
I like your style, however

[yrizoud]

You'd rather check as soon as possible that this particular anatomy doesn't get in the way of the intended gameplay : Such character can't dodge a punch by crouching. He can't bend his head forward (after getting kicked in the shins for example) without causing a serious headbutt
You can expect it limits you to rather vertical stiff poses, and the characters need to be physically very close for their hits to connect, much like River City Ransom (NES).

[timeatscookies]

Thanks Decroded for your advice on the hand and belt area. It still needs a lot of work and I think I'm willing to perfect this sprite with the help of this forum, considering I am no expert at all. I had also tried to animate the feet in a subtle way as u suggested, but didnt have much luck :\ maybe someone could help me in that area?

As for the anatomy, I had considered shrinking the head's height a bit overall but I don't want to rip off Paul Robertson's style too much. I feel like I'm already ripping off his body style, and I do want the game's art too look somewhat unique. Also, about the crouching to dodge an enemy punch, I could probably have the character block instead and have an almost equivalent result to avoiding damage and/or hits.

And the problem with the hip, I agree, does make the piece look quite stiff. The legs and lower region need some serious improvement I would say, which is why I came here. I haven't been able to really fix some of these errors yet, but am looking forward to more advice the more I update.

Thanks again, all of you, for your comments. Please continue to share wisdom and advice with me for this piece. I'll update it as soon as I feel like I've made some improvements to the animation

EDIT:
Oh, and I forgot to mention, any tips on how to minimize limitation on gameplay due to the character's head size nature would also be much appreciated! For example, shrinking the head size a little, or another method? I want the game to still have the feel of a classic beat em' up game and hope to not be limited to vertical stiffness as yrizoud said.

[pistachio]

Looking unique VS. Making sense!

I'll have to agree with yrizoud here, and most of his points actually are something to listen to. There seem to be a number of things this sprite can't do without coming off as either defying gravity, or, heck, just defying physics. So fiddling with the proportions (no, not to make the head bigger) wouldn't hurt IMHO.

Other than that the legs seem to be completely static. In a fighting stance, I'd expect to see more bouncing back and forth, in the legs especially if you want to exaggerate it that much. Nevertheless, it's far too subtle especially compared to other animations like this. Proportion aside, you might want to look at some of the animations from other fighting games, such as the Street Fighter series, to get a good idea of how to properly animate a fighting stance. Even look at Paul Robertson's work if you want to (Scott Pilgrim?).

Sprite-wise, it has a lot of outlines, but the animation's something you want to look at first.

[timeatscookies]

Thank you pistachio for the advice. I'll try my best to take heed to sensible proportions with this character, probably in majorly modifying the style or size of the head.

You mentioned looking at some animations from fighting games such as Street Fighter. Well, I'm ashamed that it wasnt noticeable that I actually tried to base the animation off Cody from the Street Fighter series (Alpha 3?) I probably did a poor job.

Also, I was indeed referring to Scott Pilgrim when I mentioned Paul Robertson. I really don't want to make a Scott Pilgrim clone, and I'm afraid if I change the head shape it might appear that I am. However, I want the game/graphics to make sense and would sacrifice a pointlessly over-sized head for that. Please offer any advice you think could help, especially in this said anatomy defying physics area.

[Psiweapon]

You'd rather check as soon as possible that this particular anatomy doesn't get in the way of the intended gameplay : Such character can't dodge a punch by crouching. He can't bend his head forward (after getting kicked in the shins for example) without causing a serious headbutt
You can expect it limits you to rather vertical stiff poses, and the characters need to be physically very close for their hits to connect, much like River City Ransom (NES).

Ummm, sorry, but I have to disagree! 

Not completely, though. The head is really, in truth, XBOX HUEG, but remember: cartoons can do anything!

It isn't realistic to begin with, so what matters if the movements aren't realist either? Think Cow&Chicken or something similar, it doesn't matter if you make him strech his arms a bit or whatever. Hell, just think JoJo's Bizarre Adventures! (my f god, is that game awesome!)

About the head when crouching, all you have to do is *not* give the head a red hit box 

Making the art more realistic is indeed one answer for the question, but the other one is to make the action more cartoony.

[timeatscookies]

Okay so over the last few days I have been struggling with this sprite a lot. I finally was able to come up with something that I am somewhat content with. As before, comment and critique please (: Let me know what you think (honestly).

@Psiweapon: I understand what you mean about the cartoon nature of this character and how the game could feature more cartoon based action. However, I probably will stick with something more simple and less exaggerated with the head xD. Hopefully the new look will read better than the older one.

[yaomon17]

I think it could have more contrast overall. Also, there are some colors that were unnecessary.