AuthorTopic: [WIP] [C+C] Game walk cycle - Newbie  (Read 3158 times)

Offline Xolotl

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[WIP] [C+C] Game walk cycle - Newbie

on: January 06, 2014, 02:29:40 pm
This is my very first attempt at a walk cycle and as might be expected, I'm finding it incredibly difficult. The limbs are currently unshaded; I plan on doing that once I've got the shape and motion working. Am I on the right track? What am I doing wrong?

Offline cauli

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Re: [WIP] [C+C] Game walk cycle - Newbie

Reply #1 on: January 06, 2014, 10:34:15 pm
Hello Xolotl

It is much easier to start with an orthographic view, a side walk cycle.

I would suggest you to rework your walk using this image as a reference. It's from the book Animator's Survival Kit.



Notice the foot angle, height of the whole body compared to the legs angle, the bending arms can make. Your little guy is too stiff.

One major thing I noticed is that it looks like he walks one step forward then one step back. He never lifts his right leg! The arms movement are more plausible (no need for the shoulder movement though).

Offline astraldata

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Re: [WIP] [C+C] Game walk cycle - Newbie

Reply #2 on: January 07, 2014, 01:21:44 am
Also, the leg that is supposed to be deepest in the background seems to be on the same plane as the leg that is closest to us. Lift that leg up a pixel or two so that the silhouette shows some distinction when the legs are close together. It also wouldn't hurt to lower the tip of the toe to show when the leg begins to bear weight on the front leg (in the contact position).
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Offline Xolotl

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Re: [WIP] [C+C] Game walk cycle - Newbie

Reply #3 on: January 07, 2014, 04:06:19 am
It is much easier to start with an orthographic view, a side walk cycle.

Is the cycle I'm working on not orthographic because you can also see the front of the character? If so, are there any problems with using a non-orthographic walk cycle like mine for precisely horizontal character movement? It seems to look OK in the engine, even though he's not directly facing the direction he's walking in. I'm opting for the slightly odd angle just so you can see more identifying details on characters even when you're not looking at them head-on.

Offline astraldata

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Re: [WIP] [C+C] Game walk cycle - Newbie

Reply #4 on: January 07, 2014, 04:59:18 am
Ah. I see what you're going for.

Originally I assumed it was a top-down perspective based on the slight above/in-front camera on the head. Both of our points still stand however. Even with a slightly front view of a side walk, your character will still follow the same steps in the walk cycle cauli pointed out above with his reference image, albeit a bit less exaggerated with a less animated, more realistic, character. Regardless of the style, however, animation still requires you to understand the basic tenets of motion such as gravity, and in some cases still exaggerate them -- including in a "realistic" portrayal of someone performing an action -- because it won't read well otherwise.

We're artists/animators, not photographers/videographers after all. So silhouette is very important for our drawings to read well -- and that goes double for an orthographic view! You still need to be sure the front and back legs are distinguishable in silhouette form. There are multiple frames where the pixels on the hips, thighs, and butt are identical and stationary between frames. At least shift them around a pixel or two between frames to indicate subtle motion in the hip and thigh areas. In addition, you could make the shirt wrinkle slightly as the arm moves to indicate further motion.

The key to animation is *change*. The more *change* you add, the more life you give your animation -- even if that change is only a pixel or two shifting around or shifting its value here and there.

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Offline Xolotl

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Re: [WIP] [C+C] Game walk cycle - Newbie

Reply #5 on: January 07, 2014, 05:38:40 am
I'm aiming for 3/4 view, like this:


I only intend to create four directions. I suppose my question is whether - in your experienced opinion - it would look OK if I drew the horizontal sprite and animation from the slight angle it's currently drawn from rather than an absolute side view.