[C+C] Character posing

[nornagon]

Hi pixelation,

By trade I'm a programmer, but I've always wished I could make art to go with my games. So: I'm starting. My approach has been to find a lot of the kinds of art that I'm interested in making, then copy the techniques I see and riff on them.

For example, I took the character on the left (not mine, and sadly I don't remember where I found him ) and reposed him into a neutral standing pose.


C+C? I have no idea what I'm doing :-)

[PypeBros]

Well, basically, you're "undoing" what you should do. A dynamic stance is important for a character to be identified as a hero. I'd suggest you do the opposite exercice: pick a neutral puppet and turn it into a character by giving it a dynamic stance.

[nornagon]

I'd like to try my hand at a walk cycle, but perhaps this particular character would actually run everywhere

[jams0988]

Try a run cycle, then! I think they're easier anyway, personally. Less time spent with the feet on the ground, so it's less confusing. =)

[nornagon]

Any suggestions on what program to use for animating? I'm using a Mac, and have been using GrafX2 so far-- it doesn't seem to have animation features.

[jams0988]

Graphics Gale and Pro Motion are my two favorites for pixel art. Graphics Gale is free (for the basic version, anyway) and more intuitive, imo. Pro Motion does some pretty cool stuff with tile maps and stuff. They're both good for different things, I think.

I use Graphics Gale a bit more, though...it suits my workflow a little better I think.

[nornagon]

Neither exist on Mac ;_;

[jams0988]

That's why I don't own a Mac. Trade it for a PC. =P
There are a million little niche programs out there, but 95% of them get made for the PC, since that's where most of the market is...
I don't know of any good pixel programs for the Mac, sorry. =(

Someone else might, though...

[Charlieton]

There's an excellent thread called "Tools, Resources and Linkage". Seems like you might've missed that one. There are some pixeling programs for Mac listed there. I don't know if all of them can be used for animating, but I know that at least GIMP can be used for that purpose (altough in a very roundabout way). Either way, it's for Mac also: http://www.gimp.org/macintosh/