Character Animation - Help appreciated ^^

[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.