(wip) Kindergarten teacher (c+c) plus astronaut

[GentlemanFinn]

Hey all! Just found your forum and got excited!

I really dont know what im doing, but i am proud!

The goal is to make a jump and run animation, but i want to know if it is a good start or if there is some big mistakes i havent seen.

It would be cool to make a game, but right now its just fun

[Alex Sinigaglia]

He's breathing from his legs.
He has no neck, but that's a feature your style has, right?

[Dyluckk]

Welcome to the forum! 

He is not very fluid
It sort of looks like he is dragging his feet as he walks.
I think you should exaggerate the arm movement a little more as well.

Also he has a very square like figure, but you chose to make his hair a little noodle like.

I agree with Alex that he is breathing from his legs, I would recommend coming up with something that compliments the character a bit more rather than just having him pop up and down from his legs to "breathe."

[GentlemanFinn]

Thanks for the feedback:) i didnt think about breathing when i made the idle stance, but i get that it is strange that he is breathing with his legs!

I have a really hård time with his legs. Would it be easier to start from scratch or to try to repair the damage?

As it is now i have five frames in the walking GIF. Do i need more?

I am using graphicsgale and i cant get the onion layer thing to work. Can someone direct me to some help og give it here?

I am fighing the urge to use google translate on this forum. Hope you get what im trying to say without it.

Edit: yes it is part og the style (if you can call it that at the moment!) that he dosent have a neck. I like that he is square and i want the most og the movement ind his legs and arms.

I can change his hair. Does it have to be square too?

I tried to make his arms swing more away from his body, but it made him look "wrong" somehow. I can give it another try tho:)

I just tried some new hair:


Would that go better with the square body?

New idle stance:

[PsylentKnight]

I am using graphicsgale and i cant get the onion layer thing to work. Can someone direct me to some help og give it here?

Most likely you just need to check the transparent color box in the properties of each frame. Click the ... to access the properties.

[GentlemanFinn]

Found the problem! or got it to work anyway

I also found some old stuff i made a long time ago in photoshop:


Maybe i should combine the two?

[NaCl]

Welcome to the forum Finn! I love your guy! He is great! You made a very fun lil guy and you should be proud. His movement is also quite good, especially if it's your first animation.

I tried to make his arms swing more away from his body, but it made him look "wrong" somehow. I can give it another try tho:)

Don't be afraid to try stuff! You can always save your current version in another file, then try some radical changes and if it doesn't work, just go back to the other file. And I'm not talking about little tweaks... really mess the thing up and go all out!

[Dyluckk]

I just tried some new hair:


Would that go better with the square body?

Much Better 
I can understand what you are trying to say by the way! Your English is quite good.

Idle stance is still looks awkward avoid just having him pop up and down try to add more motion to it

[GentlemanFinn]

i tried another character.



Is this better as a idle stance? Just to get a better understanding of breathing!

NaCI: i got the imeression that my guy was dragging his feet? Do you find the animation accepteble? I have tried to chance the walking animation, but i find it difficult to make any changes that would work better as it is.. And yes it its my first animation

this is what i got so far:
New:

Old:


i have rotated the lower right (from the characters view) leg a little in the faward motion and i have filled some of the space between the body and the arm to make it look better.

New idle stance:

Old:


I have played around with the tie to try to simulate breathing.

Edit:
Tried to make a run animation for the astronaut:


I tried to make it cartoony. My goal is to learn how to move the legs, so I havent worked so much on the rest of the body. the movement is rough, but the general movement is there i think. At the moment the gif is only four images long, but i plan to make at least three more.

[PsylentKnight]

The run animation reminds me of a horse's gallop. The character's vertical movement should peak twice, once when each leg is most directly beneath him. Instead he's only peaking when this occurs with his right leg. If you're not going for realism then it doesn't necessarily look "bad", but it definitely looks "off". Also, for a run animation there should be at least one frame where both feet are off the ground. Else it looks like a power walk.

That having been said, the weird hobble he has going on is definitely unique and as I said earlier it doesn't look bad. So if you're going for awkward or quirky, then I wouldn't change anything.

[GentlemanFinn]

I like that you use the word "quirky". I wanted to use that word my self, but i didnt think about it earlier:) you are right about both the secund high point and the fact that he isnt in the air at any point. That is going to be my next goal!

If this thing ever becomes a game the kindergarden teacher could "transform" in to the astronaut in some storytelling mode. I would like to illustrate what working with children takes and what a healty fantasy can do in this inviroment.

Edit:
I tried to work on the run cycle for the astronaut. i cant get my head around peaking at the right places.. the legs is still rough, but this is more of a "is this better?" thing..

Old


i think that the breathing i have tried to put in to the animation is giving the impression that he is peaking at one point and not the other, but he is highest when he is in mid air.

[Gil]

Just to make sure: is the quirky nature of the run apparent to you? Like, do you realize that you break all conventions completely and that no one actually runs like that? I've only seen a run like that happen for someone who had a major accident leaving one leg crippled for several years impairing his motor skills.

I happen to agree that this might actually work in a game and that it looks like fun, but I wonder if you shouldn't also be creating a proper run, so you learn animation.

For reference, here's what it looks like when he's not on a treadmill:

[GentlemanFinn]

I am aware that all the things you just pointed out is true. I really dont like to follow rules and i really lever go for realism. The walk cycle i made for the other guy may be more natural, but the angle and style makes it unatural in the end anyway. I do realise that the proper thing to do is to learn to do it the right way first, but it really doesnt interest me that much.

How do you make him run like that? Just copy the frames with space between them?

Right now i really like the style of the run and dont want to change it. When i look at it i am thinking "that guy is used to run on the moon". I dont know the story behind him yet, but he have been in space most of his life. That is why he dont know how to run the right way:)

At some point in time i am going to make a run cycle for the other guy. It is problaly not going to follow any rules other then what i think looks funny. After that i would like to try to make  a new character with the purpose to study real body movement!

[Gil]

Fair enough, just wanted to make sure you take these decisions consciously . He does look like he's hopping around on the moon, but without the gravity.

It's not about realism btw, animation rarely is. You exaggerate reality maybe, but often, the way to make a character unique is when you break conventions.

I made that run anim by copying frames yeah . I use GraphicsGale which has a bunch of shortcuts to do that.

[GentlemanFinn]

Then he must be very unique I want to make a shooting animation with him shooting. I imagine that his body cant handle the power og the gun and that he moves backward when firering!

[Gil]

You could have the gun make him fall on his ass each time. Not sure if that would work in-game, but it sounds like fun

[GentlemanFinn]

That was what i was going to do:) gamewise it could work.. I am thinking that a game based on this charakter could be a stealth/ pussle game. If he is falling down every time he shoots, that would make shooting a rare thing. It would be a last resort og sorts..

Edit: i am having trouble creating a shooting stance.. I have two options as i see it. On one side i can use the idle stance and work from that or i can try to draw something new.

I have played around with option two, but i make him too girly every time. I am afraid to take it too far and destroy his atmosphere.

Hopefully i can make it happen and get somethibg great out of this guy..