[CC] Series of Knight Animations!

[Swifty]

Howdy all, I thought I'd throw up my rough Knight Attack animations for some C+C. These are for the auto attack, so nothing too fancy..





I really want to push my work for the game they will be in, so any feedback or thoughts are much appreciated, thanks!

[IrresponsibleFreelancer]

I find the motion of the swing is wrong. The swing would be more of a swipe the way it is now. If you want a swing with a bit more power he should bring the sword further back with his hand and the tip of the sword should start farther in the other direction from the end of the swing. You can't get any power for the swing without any windup or anticipation. Other than that it looks awesome the motion blurs awesome and everything else seems perfect 

[Swifty]

IrresponsibleFreelancer, thanks for the feedback! You're right, it definitely needed more anticipation, I've adjusted the right side attack animation:



Edit: I went ahead and did the left side attack too:

[Swifty]

I went ahead and did the top and bottom attack animations:





I had a friend point out, that as this will be in a rather fast based combat/action game the anticipation might be too much. If that's the case I'll drop the in-between and go straight to anticipation > contact.'

Edit: I've just notice in my right attack animation, his sword leg is staying behind while his body is twisting forward with the attack.. I'll have to edit it to bring it forward to add power behind his attack.

Edit2: I've already tweaked the top attacking animation:

I've kept his shield static for two frames after the attack, it looked too fluid/weird otherwise... I think it distracted from the attack overall.

Edit3: I tweaked the top animation again, I was told his attack looked like it was from the wrist, which is exactly right as I didn't move the arm at all. Looks much better now:


I also fixed the right side attack like I pointed out above:



To avoid spamming by constantly replying I'll throw these in as an edit too:

Here's a death animation:


And here is a generic "Use" animation for doors, chests, levers etc:

[IrresponsibleFreelancer]

The only thing i can see wrong right now is the death animation.  It doesnt seem dramatic enough, he should fall to his knees in defeat then pause then fall onto his stomach.  All this takes is a couple frame pause before he falls down completely.  Also when he reaches the final part of his fall he lifts his shield up a little bit.  I find that a bit bizarre as he is so weak maybe you could get him to drop it and leave it on the ground. (same with the sword)  In the "use" animation i find you changed the character a bit, you made them slightly thinner and also when they put the sword away they shake back and forth like a sick in the mud.  This doesnt make much sense they sould only move forward and backwards once or twice not so many times over and over.  Other than that all the animations look really good nicely done

[Swifty]

Thanks for the feedback man, I really appreciate it! I worked on your suggestions with the death animation, and improved the blood splatter I also animated the Left side too:





I also had a play around with the use animation, but I couldn't get it to look right, I'm not sure if I addressed the thinness issue either! He looked too stiff without movement on the sheath/draw.. not sure, I might need to rework this one completely.



Thanks again for your feedback!

[IrresponsibleFreelancer]

What i meant by thinness was his stance.  Normally his feet are about a pixel wider and also since hes not moving his heavy armour and movement of the sword would take a wider stance to support.  But goodness gracious that death animation is awesome the blood looks great and the timing is awesome very well done 

[Swifty]

What i meant by thinness was his stance.  Normally his feet are about a pixel wider and also since hes not moving his heavy armour and movement of the sword would take a wider stance to support.  But goodness gracious that death animation is awesome the blood looks great and the timing is awesome very well done 

Ahh I see what you mean now! I'm going to rework the whole thing, I'm not happy with it

But first I've finished off the up & down death animations now:





Now I'll have a go at getting a better "Use" animation happening, I'm thinking of having him sheath his sword slowly with minimal blur. Make it look less like an attack an a casual action.

Edit: Looking at the perspective between those two animations, I might need to change the down death animation to better suit the up death animation's perspective.

[wzl]

hey swifty, love the sprite and animations. cool style

I was thinking about the use animation though. if i'd be a knight i'd mostly fight, right? i cannot be bothered by door handles or locks and especially not disarm for that. you're a brutal force that just gets what it needs. I think a kick for opening doors and chests would be more appropriate


something along the lines of this perhaps.
recovery is a bit wonky but you get the idea

[Swifty]

wzl thanks for the kind words Man you're kick animation is god damn beautiful! So powerful, great use of counteraction and it's straight to the point. I like it!

I had another go at a more passive approach:


I think the issue with my animations is I'm spending too much time on the sheath/unsheath when we need the action to happen right away... which makes me think I'll go with something like yours wzl!