[WIP] Character sprite to be animated

[Calcobrena]

EDIT:

http://imgur.com/1ymVdMZ

(In case the image isn't showing.)

This is a frame for a character I'd like to animate, not really having any pixel experience (neither just pixel art nor animation).

I was wondering if I could get some criticism on the sprite, particularly the silhouette, use of colours and readability? Is the AA necessary?

Also, does anybody have any tips on keeping animating manageable? I've been using Aseprite on and off, but I find when my colour count/sprite size gets bigger, it becomes a lot harder to manage the flow of an animation.

[MysteryMeat]

it helps to use simple shapes or simpler color schemes. as a rule, if you are using a lot of colors or complexity it's gonna be longer to animate.

[yaomon17]

Also animate in parts and layers (after getting basic frames of your keys down). Animate say the hat first, then the arms, the torso and legs.

[sonicspin]

nice sprite, but
you asked about AA, right?
so i say about AA, don't use it in the outside of the sprite, because you're assuming backgrounds

[Calcobrena]

Is there anything I can improve for this?

[MysteryMeat]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQl7wDCKXSM

[MysteryMeat]

More in-depth though, if you want to see some good idle animations to take inspiration from the Mario and Luigi games are a personal gold-standard for me. All of them just have so much energy in them, love it!

[Calcobrena]

Ohh, thanks so much for the edit.

I do eventually wanna make a second loop, something more sedate though to fit the character.

They're a big source of inspiration for me too.

[MysteryMeat]

If you're going for a more sedate thing, some kind of hip-sway might work with some floaty-casty arm movements might work. Lotta idle animations are all about representing the personality of the character, hard to pull off with slower characters sometimes.

[heyguy]

You've got a really cool character! It reminds me of a Heartless/Black Mage type character from Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. MysteryMeat made some great improvements to your animations too! Wish I had better critique for you but Mystery pretty much fixed and stated it, I think your animation needed a faster pace. Can't wait to see your updates and second animation!