Character Animation - Help appreciated ^^

[CatBerry]

Hello,
im very new to this forum. It took me a while to find it again. I remembered finding an exelent Tree tutorial here, so i decided to visit and if possible get some help and inspiration

I am working on a Character for (maybe) a game.
It's animation frames and... well i would like to have others with experience in pixel work have a look at it. This could prevent me from finding critical mistakes in the middle of working on cloth and all that x.x

I guess i said enough for now. Here is the little guy:

Rows:
1-3 walking
4 get hit
5-6 using farmtool/attack1
7-8 using farm too/attack2
9 sit

*edit*
ehr... does this already fall under nudity? o_O if so ill change the title ofcours ^^;

[PixelPiledriver]

Don't have time to help at the moment.
But you'll get a much better response if you upload the animations instead of a sprite sheet.

does this already fall under nudity?

should be fine as is.

[CatBerry]

wow thanks o.O
did you do that so fast? O.O (some of them are a little bit wrong though) ^^ anyways thanks a bunch i do animate them for myself all the time but i tend to forget to save them :| i will ceep that in mind for the next time

[PixelPiledriver]

did you do that so fast? O.O

Used Graphics Gale with custom grid set to 42x50.
Not sure if that was the intended frame size.
The grid snap option lets you select a block of pixels with a single click making it easy to selectively copy frames over to another file of single frame size and save out a gif.

i tend to forget to save them :|

Don't forget 
Come up with a file naming convention for versions.

[CatBerry]

Ah, okay o.o
I should have a look at it some time soon ^^

thanks to you i did discover some mistakes at the back view attack o.o

i will try not to forget next time
right now i work on ground patterns like grass and dirt and stuff o.o im quite proud of what i managed so far ^^

[Crow]

Welcome!

Cute character. At this point, though, there are still some issues. For one, it seems very pillow-shaded in some places. Also, you shouldn't be afraid of some contrast and saturation. Make sure the details are clearly visible. I'd love to give some animation advice as well, but I can't

right now i work on ground patterns like grass and dirt and stuff o.o im quite proud of what i managed so far ^^

Post everything~

does this already fall under nudity?

should be fine as is.

Indeed.

[CatBerry]

Well i am still playing with the colors. The plan is to use a light (preferably unique) style. Something that would be good for a Harvest Moon like game

I oriented my first floor tile sets on this guide, because i do not realy have much experience with pixel work ^^;
*creates a little overview*
Okay i threw everything that i have made for the game so far together. It's not much though
All of them are first trys, except the character and the wall. 

[PypeBros]

I note that your character, chest, tree and monster are on a flat, sideview perspective suited to platformers while you're floor is top-down view. When you'll combine them in a mockup, that's going to look weird.

[CatBerry]

Then please help me to change the character that it is in a perspecive like in the gude.

[PypeBros]

Cyangmou has drawn great tutorials about that.

When you'll get comfortable with boxes, pack boxes of different size onto each other to define the rough volume of your object (à la minecraft) and then "sculpt" them into what you want to show.

[CatBerry]

sorry, that does not really help :|
Ofcourse i kind of do understand what you are saying but really... most pixelated charakters i found for games from that perspective look the way i made them. or maybe i am just stupidly blind who knows.

and the box thing... i am not entirely bad with perspective but that.... i really can not comprehend.... could be my lack of english though...

*edit*
I edited the character, pushed the eyes and ears down, pushed the whole head down and then added some more shoadow below it. The Legs are one pixel shorter now.
I wonder if that does do the trick xD

[PixelPiledriver]

Here's a quick edit that uses 4 frames instead of 3 and recycling the mid pose:


Using the idle pose in the walk cycle will cause him to drag his feet.
Take a look at some walk cycle charts and read up on some animation theory:


Are you editing these animations as a sprite sheet?
It's important to see the changes from frame to frame overlapping so that you can control space, timing, alignment, etc.
You could edit each animation separately, or in 1 big file if you prefer.
Then generate the sprite sheet automatically and apply some minor rearranging with select tool if needed.

pack boxes of different size onto each other to define the rough volume of your object

and the box thing...

PypeBros is referring to using cubes as tools for constructing forms in perspective.
Start out with a single or simple collection of cubes and put objects inside of them to help determine the angle to draw them at.
Here are some examples:

[CatBerry]

Seems like i did understand him.
But using that to overwork the character i think that would be overdoing it. i am not aiming for absolut perfect perspective, as long as it does not look odd to the usual player it should be okay.

mh... i guess i have to add a 3rd picture to the walk circle... but i wont add such obvious feet, that does not match into the style it self ^^ it just feels wrong looking at it 

thanks for the refference though

*edit*
I did a little mock up the shadows are quickly drawn so they look horrible lol ^^

[Decroded]

Lots of things to fix in mockup besides the weird wall thing and chest with roots underneath and randomly placed sprite.
Work on ur perspective.
Make some cube and cylinder overlays to help u there.
keep shading on front surfaces darker than tops of things.
use  highlights to define edges.
try not to use the same colours in sprites and tiles.
chest lost in wooden floor perfect example.
as a general rule, saturate ur sprites more than background tiles and add more contrast to make them pop.

[CatBerry]

thanks
may i ask: did you read a single thing i wrote? ô_O
like that i am still experimenting with colors? and that i do not want flashy colors in my sprites?
ah whatever...

[coffee]

Decroded was just pointing out things for improvement that you didn't read about earlier. It's not enough reading a tutorial once or do a thing once to get it. You need to do it over and over and over again to get it right.

The feet on PixelPiledrivers edit is not there just because he like feet. they are there to help you see that he actually moves his feet, which you do when you walk.
Your walk cycle looks more like he's standing still doing some kind of dance.

Your Mockup looks lifeless and weird. Even if you don't want a perfect perspective you need to work more with light and shadow like the tutorial(If you've actually read it) shows.
Where it's explain pretty simply that you put a brighter colour on top and a darker colour on the wall, simply making a different pattern doesn't help. There is nothing in your room that
says it's a room. Right now it's just a flat picture.

[CatBerry]

wait a miniute, i didn't say he was wrong and i said thanks, didn't i? o_O
i know that i have to change the walking cycle, but still i do not want it to have 3 numbers larger feet all of the sudden... thats understandable, isnt it?

And ofcourse i need to work more with light and shadow.
i am still learning these pixel things especialy how they look when put together.
anyways, thanks for the wall example, it helps a lot to see it.

*edit*
i just read the whole thread again... and realized how unfriendly my words sound when reading them out loud...
just so you guys know i do not mean it in any unthankful undfriendly way! i am just... not always overflowing with flowers ^^; and a bit too bold maybe :|
just in case if someone felt that im unthankfull, no i am not thank you all so much fro trying to help someone thickheaded as me!

[coffee]

*edit*
i just read the whole thread again... and realized how unfriendly my words sound when reading them out loud...
just so you guys know i do not mean it in any unthankful undfriendly way! i am just... not always overflowing with flowers ^^; and a bit too bold maybe :|
just in case if someone felt that im unthankfull, no i am not thank you all so much fro trying to help someone thickheaded as me!

Good thing you noticed 

The feet are not larger at all. But drawing them a bit larger when they are closer to the viewer helps with the perspective and depth. And in my opinion it looks a lot better(And it doesn't destroy the style you are aiming for)

[CatBerry]

Well, making the feet like that, looks like this to me

somehow... as if the foot is weirdly bend upwards... maybe the sketch helps to see what i mean.
thats why i tried to make it not that obvious ^^;

ofcourse i do admit that i might have a weird view of things anyways.

[PixelPiledriver]

i just read the whole thread again... and realized how unfriendly my words sound when reading them out loud...

Relax.

but i wont add such obvious feet, that does not match into the style it self ^^ it just feels wrong looking at it

That's fine.
I'm not suggesting the pixels should be drawn as I have placed them.
Just illustrating that visual change will help emphasize the action being shown.

The front view was perhaps not the best choice to show this concept as it involves more perspective than a side view.
Here is some side variations to show what I meant by using the idle causes him to drag his feet:


In A the foot slides across the ground moving forward and back.
While this can be used to express certain walks typically the foot lifts off the ground as it moves forward.
B shows lifting the back foot so that it can pass forward and become the front foot.
C is a variation that shifts the foot and leg forward, placing the marker closer to the center between the 2 frames.
Weighting the middle frame to one side or the other has different affects on the animation.
Other variations could be made.

somehow... as if the foot is weirdly bend upwards...

Unnatural deformations are very common in animation and help express visual change thru the use of exaggeration.
At higher frame rates exaggerated frames go mostly unnoticed as a stand alone frame and blend into motion improving it.
At lower frame rates those exaggerated frames stand out a lot more as we see them longer and they become an individual pose within the animation.
Is it the best frame for the current job?
Well not exactly but the idea is to emphasize change.
The amount of change to use depends on many things.
I tend to use a high amount of elasticity, but then again I tend to work at higher frame rates.
But it can work well at low frame rates as well.

A good process for creating animation is to make 3-5 variations.
The first time thru draw everything very clearly with extreme exaggeration.
Then with each next version pull back some of those extremes or try something completely different.
The idea being it's mentally easier to dial things back than to push them forward.
Here is an example I did for WingedDoom sometime ago:

Then compare them all and decide which is the best or combine a few if needed.
Side by side comparison is essential to making choice.
You will not be able to accurately judge with only your mind.
You must use your eyes.

[Decroded]

may i ask: did you read a single thing i wrote? ô_O

Nope, I did not. 
Just glanced through and wanted to help you with the very little time I had available.

My advice is to keep working in a screen size image like that as it will help you much more than trying to draw everything as individual tiles and sprites and trying to piece it all together later.
Take note of how coffee defines the planes first.
Work like that, start blocking things in, make some interesting architecture etc.
"Paint" the scene roughly first and worry about the details later.
In your version, I literally could not figure out what that was where the chest is after staring at it for almost a minute.

...i do not want flashy colors in my sprites...

Clusters of warm colour (e.g. a red scarf, gold hair) and higher overall saturation does not equal flashy colours.
Using those tools, along with others like contrast and detail, to control visual priority in your scene helps the player see all important objects on the screen without looking directly at them.
Similarly, you can clearly mark out your playable area as opposed to no-go spaces.

Your perspective is not bad anyway and only needs some slight tweaking really.
Just little things like the roots on left and right could be raised up a little more.

[CatBerry]

phew... what a weekent *dead*
my feet hurt, my head too... but well... it was work =_=

mh... i know you ahve a point but is ita must to have very strong colors? i really do not like it and i get lots fo feedback that my color combinations are great and all... i guess i might try to use some other colors here and there...

i'm sorry, i do not really get what you mean with the roots... maybe my lack of english knowledge