My first ever animation

[ndchristie]

an improvement, yup , one more step on the road ^^

shut your eyes, take a deep breath, count to 10, and then take another crack at it when you're fresh

[Gil]

The next thing I suggest you fix is the legs, the knees don't bend. Try to imagine what the light catching on the bended leg would look like.

Next the arms, they're pretty goo, but not really in perspective when swinging back. If you'd like an edit, just ask...

[Snippa]

If it's not too much trouble Gil, I would like to see an edit to see how you would change the legs.
I'm not sure how I would go about changing them right now. 

Starting to get tired of working on this thing, he still needs clothes damnit. 
Not to mention, I have to make him face in 7 other directions and walk those ways too.
Thanks for all the help so far guys.

Edit: Curious, how much do you guys think it would help, if at all, if I added 2 more frames, one more for each leg movement? Or do you guys see my current problem as having nothing to do with the animation being only 4 frames?
I *think* that adding another frame for each leg movement may allow for more movement in the leg, but again, I'm a complete noob at animating, so I may be wrong.

[ndchristie]

if you add frames, use them to make the animation a complete cycle instead of a ping-pong effect.  that's the first step, since you can't have a very lively animation if he has to reverse each time

[Ben2theEdge]

Edit: Curious, how much do you guys think it would help, if at all, if I added 2 more frames, one more for each leg movement? Or do you guys see my current problem as having nothing to do with the animation being only 4 frames?
I *think* that adding another frame for each leg movement may allow for more movement in the leg, but again, I'm a complete noob at animating, so I may be wrong.

If your plan is to make 8-directional movement, I would strongly advise that you stick with 4 frames. I think the problem is not so much the frame count. You have a problem that is common among beginning animators, which is that every south-facing walk cycle you have ever seen probably was in an RPG or an older game. That crappy, horrible, wretched Squaresoft RPG walk cycle is ingrained in your brain and when you sit down to animate, that's what keeps popping into your mind as opposed to the walking cycle of a real human being. You're on the right track, but you need to avoid the Squaresoft walk like the plague, and concentrate on what a real person looks like when they're walking instead.

[Snippa]

if you add frames, use them to make the animation a complete cycle instead of a ping-pong effect.  that's the first step, since you can't have a very lively animation if he has to reverse each time

yeah, that's why I was thinking about that.

If your plan is to make 8-directional movement, I would strongly advise that you stick with 4 frames. I think the problem is not so much the frame count. You have a problem that is common among beginning animators, which is that every south-facing walk cycle you have ever seen probably was in an RPG or an older game. That crappy, horrible, wretched Squaresoft RPG walk cycle is ingrained in your brain and when you sit down to animate, that's what keeps popping into your mind as opposed to the walking cycle of a real human being. You're on the right track, but you need to avoid the Squaresoft walk like the plague, and concentrate on what a real person looks like when they're walking instead.

That's the plan, to make him move in 8 directions. Good point on the Squaresoft walkcycle, I probably have it burned into my memory and am not aware of it.

Here's my latest update:

I extended the legs moving forward to make the distance forward from the idle stance equal to the distance of the leg moving backward from the idle stance... if that makes any sense, and I'm not sure if this was a "step forward" (as far as completing the animation...heh), or what. I reshaded the leg that moves forward, and modified the backward arm movement slightly (reshaded & move it in closer to the body a bit).

Thoughts? Am I still just not getting it? 

[Gil]

I'll give you an edit when I come home

[eck]

his arms need to bend inward infront of his chest when he steps forward.

[Dusty]

I think he just wants a walking animation, not a running, so I think that would be a little be too drastic.

[Snippa]

I think he just wants a walking animation, not a running, so I think that would be a little be too drastic.

Yeah, that's why I toned it down so much... I'm not trying to make him run, jog, or power walk. o.O lol
I'm wondering if moving the forward moving leg inward more would help, concerned that it may appear to be more of a female walk though if I do that. Guess I wont know unless I try though...