Animating! ... crap.

[slym]

After finishing http://www.pixeljoint.com/pixelart/66704.htm, I felt that I needed to animate the characters. The mockup itself was one of the only pieces that I actually feel is complete in my gallery. Anyway, this is what I'm currently working on. As you can tell I am not an animator xD

oldest:


newest:

[Wes]

exaggeate!! bring that arm back more, really stretch the bow out. maybe have him move his torso. there's like no power in that at all, man.

[slym]

I tried to exaggerate more, still working on lunging and making it look much more powerful.

[Chris2balls]

I'm making an edit, I'll update the post when I'm done.
I have an issue with the current pose: the arm holding the bow should be completely straight.
check this video out.

[slym]

thanks for the video! It helped out a lot with the arms. Addressing his left arm next, and then increasing the size of the bow.

[Phlakes]

And his right hand should be up by his face. I know the form too well from Boy Scouts, and he should basically be looking down the arrow when it's drawn.

EDIT: Aha!

[Chris2balls]

phlakes beat me to it:

(ignore the embarassing and unintentional foot movement)

you may also notice the body is almost lateral when drawing the bow, like shown in the video and in the recurve picture.

[slym]

Here's an update:

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff440/t_redmer/animation_fire4.gif

Made the bow larger, tried to fix the string stretching issue, and I also attempted to straighten the left arm. I should have clarified earlier that the stance is a lunge because he is supposed to be crouching. There is definitely more elegance to the animation when he isn't crouching.

Crist2balls: I am curious how you were able to make it look so much more powerful. How many frames did you use?

[edit] http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff440/t_redmer/animation_fire5.gif

Fixed the arms I think. I just still feel like it doesn't show enough finesse.

[edit 2]

I cut out a few frames, hopefully that helped a bit.

Chris2balls: Random epiphany! The reason why yours makes the character look much more skilled is because in my he starts raising the bow before the right hand even touches it!

[Chris2balls]

I used 7 frames, I believe. I then timed each frame differently.
Remember that the torso faces us as the bow is drawn, and that the hand drawing the bow gets level to the eye, whilst the harm holding the bow is slightly below but parallel to it; you haven't been observant enough whilst watching/pausing the video I linked you to. You may also notice that the arm holding the bow is straight and at its full length during the whole cycle, which I moved up in three frames.

[slym]

Tried straightening the arms out more. Haven't attempted work on the torso, but mainly because I personally think the sprite is too small for it to make a significant difference with the animation.