HENSHIN!

[shaheen]

So, I'm working on a platformer based around typical sentai/ninja/robot stuff. The character is obviously based on existing characters, but he'll act a bit like Freakazoid or Skullomania (from the Street Fighter EX series) when in action.

Anyways, I know that the foot on (our) left is extremely messed up, but I'm wondering what you guys think of everything else. Is the contrast/shine too harsh? Anatomy is not really an issue for something like this (in my opinion), unless you've got something to make this guy look way more badical, but all critique would be appreciated.



The following, however, is an animation that I made for an idle stance of the same character. I'd like to know maybe how I could add some movement to at least the scarf area around the bottom of the head/helmet, and of course if I should change the way the scarf is actually moving. Right now I think It looks pretty bad having the entire sprite besides the scarf static.

[crab2selout.png]

My major beef is the shading style isn't consistent. The scarf sticks right out to me with its simple outlines and lack of AA/shading. Go to the helmet and scarf ends and there is shading but no outlines. The rest appears to be a blend of the shading you used in the scarf and helmet. The first thing you can do is decide how you're going to colour/shade this and apply consistently.

You should look at sine waves for the scarf. I don't know much about the physics of fabric flapping, but the best scarf animations I've seen are based on a sine wave. It pops up in the movement of a lot of other things as well. It's a different subject, but I used a sine wave for this snake animation I did a couple months back. Never got around to colouring it.


Camus always said(don't know if he still visits here) that you should have a purpose in mind when you animate something. Before you go and animate that scarf, think about what it would add to your animation. Think about secondary animations you can add that would help express the character. Help us to understand what kind of person/robot/ninja he/she/it is.

[Skull]

he'll act a bit like Freakazoid or Skullomania (from the Street Fighter EX series) when in action.

Genius, I can totally see that taking shape.
Looks fantastic so far, I love the pose and the colour scheme. The animation seems good, I think that the end of the scarf could 'flap' maybe a bit.

But overall, I'm in awe.

[Takai Soyokaze]

Actually, it reminds me of Viewtiful Joe, plus I don't think had extra animation for his body when standing other than the usual rocking back and forth.

This sprite, you could add extra fold and stuff on the clothing, but don't do that if its supposed to be superhero tights. Maybe a shine on his goggles would look neat. That's just to solve issues you might have with the animation.

As for the person himself, this isn't his standing stance right? It's unusual, but too unusual, for someone to cross there arms on that kinda frame. Think about him running then stopping then running again, it just doesn't fit in.

Hope I helped.

[ndchristie]

My major beef is the shading style isn't consistent. The scarf sticks right out to me with its simple outlines and lack of AA/shading. Go to the helmet and scarf ends and there is shading but no outlines. The rest appears to be a blend of the shading you used in the scarf and helmet. The first thing you can do is decide how you're going to colour/shade this and apply consistently.

I both agree and disagree.  because its lightweight cloth, i dont think it should be shaded heavily, and i think this style will lend itself to a blowing animation

[shaheen]

As for the person himself, this isn't his standing stance right? It's unusual, but too unusual, for someone to cross there arms on that kinda frame. Think about him running then stopping then running again, it just doesn't fit in.

I hate to sound like I'm making an excuse, but the pose is definitely that way for a reason. Since the character is a parody of other characters (such as Viewtiful Joe, definitely inspired me somewhat), I made sure to go ahead and base the pose on the idle stance of Hotsuma from the PS2 Shinobi:

I think it'd look hilarious to have a guy cross their arms all serious-like, and then jump out into a Freakazoid sort of dash. If you haven't seen Freakazoid, by the way, he runs with his arms straight out and makes airplane noises, as if he's flying.

This sprite, you could add extra fold and stuff on the clothing, but don't do that if its supposed to be superhero tights. Maybe a shine on his goggles would look neat. That's just to solve issues you might have with the animation.

Hm, not sure that I understand what you mean. This is supposed to be a robot based on sentai action heroes (Power Rangers, Viewtiful Joe), so he doesn't actually have clothes. The way I have it, I was hoping it would come off as shiny, plastic-looking casing. I guess I didn't manage that. Any suggestions on how I could make it come off looking more the way I want it?

I both agree and disagree.  because its lightweight cloth, i dont think it should be shaded heavily, and i think this style will lend itself to a blowing animation

That's exactly the way I thought of it, but I guess it'll be easier to tell once I have the animation fully colored.

Genius, I can totally see that taking shape.
Looks fantastic so far, I love the pose and the colour scheme. The animation seems good, I think that the end of the scarf could 'flap' maybe a bit.

Hey, thanks! I think I'll go ahead and use crab's great example and add more of that motion to the scarf to get a flap at the end.

Thanks for all the comments so far, guys.

[Xion]

The left calf should go behind the knee a bit. As it is, it looks like his knee is just tied up really tight with some shiny kind of knot. I agree with the style clashes and whatnot. Especially with the way the shadows on the legs are so contrastingly dark. The dark blue and midtone blue are too close. Where's the lightsource? On his head and left shoulder it's coming from the top-left, but on his arms it's coming from the bottom and his legs from the right. . Methinks the limbs need more specular hilights to match the head & joints. You say he's a robot, but I just stood like that and it hurt my outstretched leg's inner thigh. Very uncomfortable.
I love the idea of this character, though.
And thanks for reminding me of Freakazoid.

[shaheen]

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Alright, I tried addressing some of the shading issues. I guess I shouldn't try shading when I'm up late at night. However, I have no idea what I could do to make the shading styles match, I don't really think they should match. They're two different materials, and I think that the different styles help show that. A problem I'm having though, is getting some of the spots to look right. For example, the speedo-type part, and the shoulder on (our) right.

As far as pose goes, I guess I'm alright with an unrealistic pose. Most of the time you'd be running and beating shit up in the game, so I doubt it'll be too big of a deal, but I guess I'll find out when I'm at that stage.

[Souly]

I don't think the inner knee should squeeze in like that.

[shaheen]

Sorry, I'm not sure I get you. Could you point it out in an edit, or somethin'?