AuthorTopic: Creating a 64x64 platforming animation. [WIP]  (Read 9255 times)

Offline Rylan

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Creating a 64x64 platforming animation. [WIP]

on: November 20, 2013, 08:38:46 am
Hello!

My team is designing a platformer game, and I am in charge of the graphics, including their animations and composition. I have worked on various personal projects where I have made platformer characters, however I have let many mistakes slip with them; this time I want to treat my project more responsibly, and to boldly step forward and improve my skills instead of cutting corners when things become hard. This main character needs to turn out particularly well, because, this being a platformer, the character will be in the center of the screen majority of time regardless of other surroundings.

I have only gotten as far as this running animation.


Once I decide to start sculpting the character, I will head towards a style similar to my previous attempt.


I am not under any animation restrictions other than I would like to keep it down to a manageable level. I would like to aim for relatvely generic and fairly natural human animations rather than exaggerated and cartoony. Some of those animations will have to be jump, leap, crouch, several sword slashes, digging, and perhaps edge and wall climbing as well.

But first things first. The running animation started out pretty abyssmal, tho I smarted-up and looked up some running references, and got the current look. I decided to do the most essential animation next, the vertical jump, but my google-fu did not discover any similarly useful references. I mostly found occasional references of a short forward leap, and I cant remember ever making a satisfying jumping sprite or animation yet. At this point, I am clueless as to how to start.
« Last Edit: November 20, 2013, 08:59:26 am by Rylan »
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Offline Agent K

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Re: Creating a 64x64 platforming animation. [WIP]

Reply #1 on: November 20, 2013, 01:22:59 pm
i'm no expert, and don't claim to be, but the redhead isn't posed in a very feminine stance, kind of a slouched posture.  Try looking up some gesture drawings of females to get some pose ideas.  Also the proportions are a little weird, are the boots supposed to be twice as big as her legs?  Boobs could also use a little lifting and her legs, waist and torso sort of mush together.  Try and show off the curves a little more.  She looks rugged and I assume thats what you are going for, but I think given the state of her jacket with no bra, she's not the most conservative character so show off her features a little more.  These are just thoughts from a noob so take them how you want.  I'm sure you'll get a much better C&C from some of the other guys.

Offline Ymedron

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Re: Creating a 64x64 platforming animation. [WIP]

Reply #2 on: November 20, 2013, 01:57:42 pm
Why should she be in a feminine pose?
I think she will be way more memorable if she's posed in a way that befits her personality and not just "I AM WOMAN WATCH MY BUTT". Also I for one am dead tired of females being nothing but sexy in games.
Even if she's "not the most conservative" character that still doesn't mean she is dressed like that because she's here to be gawked at.

Regarding the pose she currently has, I'd recommend relaxing her arms (they are also fairly short, the fingers should end up at about mid-thigh) by letting them bend. The head is facing to the right while the rest of the body is in a 3/4 view. It makes her look like she's focused which works, tho 3/4 view is usually more appealing since you can see more of the face and get a more dimensional feel from it.
Also my art tumblr: ymedronart.tumblr.com

Offline PixelPiledriver

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Re: Creating a 64x64 platforming animation. [WIP]

Reply #3 on: November 20, 2013, 03:10:57 pm
Some thoughts:


The up and down motion of the run should include the entire body, not just the head.
If you really want natural over cartoony animation then do some rotoscoping.
Just be sure to clean it well or it can end up a bit lumpy.
And knowing that it is, we seek what it is... ~ Aristotle, Posterior Analytics, Chapter 1

Offline tehwexxl0rz

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Re: Creating a 64x64 platforming animation. [WIP]

Reply #4 on: November 20, 2013, 03:38:16 pm
Pay attention to PPD's edit! :)

Specifically note how much more room you can have for detail when you remove internal black outlines. Also don't try to add texture everywhere - it has a flattening effect! Instead focus on defining major volumes with shadows and use highlights sparingly.

Boobs could also use a little lifting
Not at all. They are already quite perky considering the lack of support.

While we're on the topic of breasts, take note they'll be fully exposed when the jacket moves (if you animate it realistically.) Nothing wrong with that, but if it's undesired consider altering the design. ;)

Offline Agent K

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Re: Creating a 64x64 platforming animation. [WIP]

Reply #5 on: November 20, 2013, 05:00:17 pm
Why should she be in a feminine pose?
I think she will be way more memorable if she's posed in a way that befits her personality and not just "I AM WOMAN WATCH MY BUTT". Also I for one am dead tired of females being nothing but sexy in games.
Even if she's "not the most conservative" character that still doesn't mean she is dressed like that because she's here to be gawked at.

Regarding the pose she currently has, I'd recommend relaxing her arms (they are also fairly short, the fingers should end up at about mid-thigh) by letting them bend. The head is facing to the right while the rest of the body is in a 3/4 view. It makes her look like she's focused which works, tho 3/4 view is usually more appealing since you can see more of the face and get a more dimensional feel from it.

I get what your saying, I was just refering to the hips forward shoulders back "S" formed stance.  PPD's edit show this. And honestly, granted idk the circumstances, chances are if I saw a woman in that getup on the streets, shes getting gawked.  But your right, maybe thats all she's got and the zippers broke, IDK.

Offline Rylan

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Re: Creating a 64x64 platforming animation. [WIP]

Reply #6 on: November 21, 2013, 01:30:05 am
Okay, let me address these one by one.

@AgentK
These would be very helpful and perceptive remarks, if that was the type of a girl that I was going for. Rather than being a damsel in distress, this would be a gal who adventures and does not have to worry whether all the eyes are on her. Think about often mistakenly mixed practices of parkour (which is about efficient movement) and freerunning (which is about showing off). I like big boots (and boobs, before anyone asks) so I have drawn them especially big; although I probably would not have settled on that design after a few revisions.

@Ymedron
Thank you for your remark, on treatment of females in games. You have spoken my thoughts a bit better than I could if I tried. As for the pose, I would like to clarify that this is an older drawing from my previous failed attempt, and not of this skeleton; I specifically did not draw a sprite for this skeleton yet as I dont want to lock myself into an end-result yet, this is exactly what I have done the last time. By the time I had all the desired animated frames, there was too much work to redo for what is a fundamentally flawed animation that could best be fixed by starting over. And as for the sideways head, I indeed wanted the focus that this glance achieves, but I also am not feeling confident that I can do a 3/4 glance consistently yet. I will give it serious thought once I start drawing the form, and I will map out at what occasions I need what look direction.

@PixelPiledriver
Thank you for the edit, a progressive one too! A lot of blockiness is taken from the figure, especially torso and legs, and I can see how the eyebrows were changed a little bit by the last frame too. The lips fit in as well. My only complaint, if I may, would be that the end result made her head look a bit big to me, or the hair is rather voluminous, the back in particular. More importantly, the animation. I see what you mean by the bounce of the whole body. Worth a try to add it to my skeleton. Though I dont think that I'm ready for sub-pixel movements, and (if the head is an indicator) two pixels up and down is a bit much. Maybe just one pixel down, on stomp. I also know that the spine is not moving in that animation even by a bit, but I need it like that for the time being, lest I got confused by what is aligned to what. You could say that it's... the backbone... of my animation. Also, I dont want absolutely realistic movement. I do want a character with above-average physical abilities, such as jumping multiple times own height, quickly and effortlessly climbing ledges, and using moderately fast running as the default means of movement. Finally, rather than rotoscoping, I used this as my reference, with slightly less pronounced movements for a slightly lesser running speed.

The blog page:
http://atingey.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html
The actual reference:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_lAMFfvtm_sk/S7vGCN3EmZI/AAAAAAAAAUk/_r7aqiPsyBw/s1600/hotfuzzrun.png

@tehwexxl0rz
I agree about the texture. I like to sculpt my pixel art overall, so I guess that several more iterations would do well for my model, as well as the practice of my sculpting. I agree that the exclusion of internal outlines (ok that sounded like an oxymoron) leaves more pixels for details, however there is a deeper underlying reasoning which I am about to, yes... outline.

I was going for a fairly ambitious solution here. Since my main programmer is experienced with arrays and data structures, I have considered my option to represent the character in layers rather than as a single sprite, in the make-your-char style. The character would have a single body model, over which desaturated apparel would be overlaid (top, pants, boots, and the like) and then coloured by colour blending. This is mainly why there was no shirt underneath as well; it is not set in stone, and would be worn separately from the jacket. I have not seen many games doing this, for example virtually the entire Final Fantasy series lets you see the different wielded and used weapons, but always the same armour. Terraria definitely comes to mind, where every wearable is visible, though animation is very scarce. They handled the genders by having the default bodies and armours look the same on both makes and females, but the appearance could be biased either way by choice of different hairstyles. There was also a definite male/female choice, but it only changed the character voice, and the only (ever) voiced sample was the grunt upon being hurt. On another hand there is Elona; also scarce on animation, but it gave distinct male and female bodies (burly and slim) and numerous pieces of (visual-only, no actual armour shown) apparel noticeably meant for a certain gender; you could equip any item on either gender, but they looked off by a few pixels in some cases if used on the wrong body. If I went either of these two routes, I clearly will only need a few pieces to get the character going while more clothing choices can be added over time with no penalty. There is of course the third option, that I chicken out and make a static gender character with a static set of worn clothing and a static colour set. Am I biting more than I can chew?

All of that said, PPD most accurately addressed my plea by briefly discussing the animation that I have presented in the first post. I have intentionally specified that the standing lady sprite is from my previous (and specifically failed) attempt, and that I will mearly use this style as a rough goal that I find functional and doable yet visually appealing. Before I draw any of that though, to avoid errors from my past, I want to animate a credibly moving skeleton first, and my next animation (current tweaks aside) would be the vertical jump one, about which I am still rather clueless. The above comments will come in quite handy once I get to that point though.
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Offline Ymedron

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Re: Creating a 64x64 platforming animation. [WIP]

Reply #7 on: November 21, 2013, 02:10:33 am
I was rather urgent about the pose issue since it's a rather important thing for me, and was somewhat worried about a kinda normally posed char would turn into another boobs-and-butt posed one.

Now, animation.
I think the main deal would be having a more clear pumping motion for the arms. I found this image series of a running person that might prove useful:

Angling forward increases the perceived speed, since the character is more off balance -> has to move forward quicker to regain footing.
Straighter back would make it look more like a jog or a leisurely run.

Imagesearching the word Muybridge shows a lot of handy animation sequences, some of them jumps.

http://www.morehousegallery.com/images/inventory/600/muybridge%20e%2000005.jpg
http://www.shaneaherne.com/research/muybridge-jump.jpg

Abe's Oddysee and Exoddus from my experience have very convincing jumps as well. I can't find any of them ripped separately, so I took the liberty to separate the upward jump from the lot.

(source: http://www.spriters-resource.com/fullview/41368/ )

All of these have a generous amount of anticipation which will make the jumping more difficult to do in the middle of everything. Abe's oddysee and exoddus are games where the challenge comes from executing jumps at the correct time and thinking quickly. Based on your animation requirements, your game is likely more about platforming and fighting.
Megaman has a nicely convincing leap that works for both upward and forward jumps.


Hope these are more helpful than my previous post.
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Offline PixelPiledriver

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Re: Creating a 64x64 platforming animation. [WIP]

Reply #8 on: November 21, 2013, 08:58:53 am
Some thoughts on the run:


I cheated on the leaned one and just used Slope so it came out a little distorted.
Could be cleaner.
Probly should have modified the hips more.
Etc.

Quote
I also know that the spine is not moving in that animation even by a bit, but I need it like that for the time being, lest I got confused by what is aligned to what.
Try drawing guides on a separate layer.



Also your skeleton lacks a hip bone to space the legs and show the rotation.
You've done well to place bones to define the shoulders but the legs connect at a point like a stick figure.
Adding one should help you visualize the space and draw different versions over the top more easily.
« Last Edit: November 22, 2013, 04:51:51 am by PixelPiledriver »
And knowing that it is, we seek what it is... ~ Aristotle, Posterior Analytics, Chapter 1

Offline Tourist

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Re: Creating a 64x64 platforming animation. [WIP]

Reply #9 on: November 22, 2013, 08:14:55 pm
I would suggest a different approach for the animation.  The fluid visual choreography of well executed parkour depends on the interaction of the character and the environment.  Designing the animations separately from the environment may not look as nice.

Perhaps start from the environment instead.  How far or high are the jump distances?  How fast should the character cross x distance?  If the set of moves includes, say, a wall jump, what does the wall look like, how high is it, how far away is it between walls?

Once you have the environment dimensions sketched out, then start on the character animations.  Perhaps start with a simple sphere to get the timing, stretch, and squash.    Replace the sphere with your stick figure, using the center of the sphere as the center of mass.  The stretch and squash can be done with the limbs or angle of torso rather than actual squashing.  Focus on modeling the dynamic elements of force and motion. 

Then worry about the fine details of leg and arm placement at the same time you are adding details to the environment.  A grab motion needs a handhold, and a handhold provides a spot to grab.  That sort of thing.

Tourist