[C+C] Another Animation Help Thread

[Olothontor]

Hey there! I've been on-and-off doing pixel art for years now (with no great success, just as a hobby). Starting to mess around with Gamemaker thanks to the recent Humble Bundle, and I'm interested in setting up a really simple platformer to get the hang of the mechanics.

I have the very basic core mechanics set up--jumping, collisions, etc, so now I want to implement some animations and start bringing the game to life a little bit (and learn how to deal with images in the code at the same time).


So here's one of the characters I have planned. Big, proud, generally angry fighter-type named Avalanche. I've got his chest rising and falling dramatically (sword excluded for now just to get the motion of the body down), but I can't figure out what his legs should be doing. It obviously looks strange with them just staying perfectly still like that. Any recommendations?

Original:


Current:

[Vertigo]

I think his knees can bend a little, it'll make him a bit more heavy-breathing. Also his left hand is a bit too curved in the most top frame. It almost makes a mirrored 'C' shape, and arms usually don't bend like this.

[Olothontor]

So more like this?



EDIT: added the sword in on a separate layer for ease of editing later. Also separated out the breaths so he's not hyperventilating.



EDIT EDIT: I actually think I like the hyperventilating version better. Thoughts?

[MysteryMeat]

I'd say the breathing is too exaggerated, it makes it look more like a surprised gasp. To allieviate this I just removed the top frame, lowered the left-most arm to not jump up as much, and did some mild tweaks to the left leg to give it less shrinky-shins and a foot.

[Olothontor]

Thanks, MysteryMeat. You were definitely right about it being exaggerated. I kinda liked it, it felt characterful, but it didn't feel right at the original pace (see: hyperventilation) and trying to space it out made it feel really dead and lacking. I think this is a good compromise.

I also fixed his foot, thought not the same way you did.

[MysteryMeat]

Aye. I'd keep that original draft around and work it a little for a good emote animation, those are always fun to have around.
Over-animation is always a fun path, and while it can usually look good sometimes it just doesn't get the right emotion across and you have to scrap it.
And yeah, I was going for more of an aloof pose with the foot positioning, the new foot position makes him look more focused.

[Olothontor]

Yeah! I'm thinking the sword will help make a great emote. Maybe he can plant it in the ground and use some of those big jumping frames from the first draft to have a hearty chuckle. I might try my hand at that.

Right now I'm digging into a run animation (which seems to be the point of contention with everyone's first animation attempts). So you'll be seeing that tomorrow.

EDIT: Here we go. His left hand is in position to hold the sword, though it's not there currently, and I tried to portray the other arm swinging more to compensate for the shifting weight. Right now it doesn't feel very... heavy? And I think maybe it should, considering the size of the blade he's lugging around. There are also some scale issues compared to the original sprite, he needs to be a little rounder and wider in the chest to match what I had before. Still, it's progress!


EDIT EDIT: Starting in on some designs and colors.

[Rosier]

The outer arm that isn't holding the sword might look a bit weightier if there weren't as many transition frames.  Maybe trying having it go straight from left to right with only one frame of it crossing the torso area.  It kind of looks like he's skipping a bit with how it is now. 

Otherwise, I'd recommend a little squash and stretch when he lands.  The torso is a bit static, and adding a little bounce never hurt.



As for the designs, I'd brighten up the colors and differentiate them a bit more.  The skin tones especially kind of blend together, and the left guy's armor looks like one color from far away. 

[Olothontor]

Thanks for the input, Rosier. I added a little more contrast to things here and there, and darkened/hue shifted the shadows on the skin tones and the left fellow's armor a bit. I suppose it's worth mentioning that the final product will probably be 3x resolution, so keep that in mind when viewing.

Also trying out some different things for the designs, other stances and such. Let me know your thoughts!

I'll be back to animating tomorrow, though I worry that having the arm only spend 1 frame crossing the chest will make it seem... I dunno. Something about that doesn't look right when I see it in my mind's eye. I'll give it a shot, though!