template character walk animations for mmorpg

[Akira]

Doing some work for an mmorpg (yeah yeah I know but as long as I'm getting paid I don't care).

My bosses (yes thats right, multiple) are having some issues with the animation but since they're programmers they are also having some issues explaining 

C&C would be most apreciated

[jimqode]

a little robotic, don't you think?

The front leg doesn't bend at the feet, on the backside animation his ass very shaky which is not nice for a male character. if it's a female character the body needs to bend with the buttocks. on the frontal animation torso also needs to sway a bit.

[Akira]

hahahah i didn't really have a look at these after i posted them. You're right that is a very shakey ass.
uhh i'm not sure i get what you mean by 'The front leg doesn't bend at the feet'...

Does anyone know of good 32x64 walk sprite examples i could have a look at?

[jimqode]

oh sorry. that should be "the front leg does not bend at the knee"

[Akira]

Yeah i was wondering about that. Oh well. I'll change the keyframes. Thanks for your help.

EDIT: Limitations of the engine mean that all keyframes must have character feet on the ground so now i'm confused as to what my keyframes should be...?

[Gil]

This is all 32x64 examples... I don't think your cycles look like animation at all, they're just wiggling their feet around. Try walking without bending your knees, it's impossible...


I made this for an mmo once, idle sprite was by Z Gravity.

http://fto.faktor-g.com/animaster/
This is a javascript program I wrote for it, might be interesting to look at.

http://art.faktor-g.com/3d_template_02.png
This is a nice template to base stuff on. Lighting is exagerated, but that's a plus when you need to figure out shapes

[TKSkater]

Very robotic. Make it more like Gils I say, with not such choppy movements and more human mobility. Like joints and that.

Gil did that MMO every get off the ground?

[Akira]

Heres an edit.


What really seems to be limiting me is the 3 frame cycle and having to have the feet on the ground each frame (in the engine the character stops each frame).

I couldn't see that .png gil. Nice walk though.

[Gil]

You really want those knees and elbows to bend, it looks more like a spasm than a walk to me...

[Blick]

You're going to have to make the lines change along with the color. Cheaping out by just making shadows to make an illusion of bending won't cut it most likely. You'll have to make him lift his feet too. No ice skating allowed.

[Akira]

*sigh*

The coders don't want his feet off the ground in any of the frames. They seem to like this new animation though so as long as i get paid i suppose its good enough.

[Darien]

Well, considering your limitations, I think you did a good job.  Maybe make his hand lift when he brings it forward, instead of just having all the movement come from the shoulders.

Or, you could tell your coders to get a basic understanding of animation before they make whack decisions like that.

[Dusty]

I think the major problem are the feet aren't moving, along with the fact they're pointing outwards from the body.

[Andy Tran]

 Looks great, but the walkinganimation is a little wierd.

[FaeryShivers]

*sigh*

The coders don't want his feet off the ground in any of the frames. They seem to like this new animation though so as long as i get paid i suppose its good enough.

""Or, you could tell your coders to get a basic understanding of animation before they make whack decisions like that.""


My thoughts exactly, why are PROGRAMMERS telling you how an animation should be ? Usually an artist is designated as the lead artist and they are responsible for continuity and making sure everything looks right from the other artists. Are the programmers the owners of this project or what? If they have a basic vision for the game, fine I can understand that but I mean come on, feet have to lift atleast a little off the ground in a walk cycle.

[Akira]

heh. It's not a big project and the coders are the ones signing my paychecks so therefore what they say is law

the other artist i'm working with got stuck with animation so i don't actually have to worry about it anymore.

Thanks for the crits everyone and i'll use them in further projects.

[Kazuya Mochu]

did the coders say "both feet?" cause you can prettu much make a walking animation keeping at least one foot in the ground.

now it the coders want BOTH feet in the ground, they are eighter crazy, or totally unaware of what a walk cyclie is.
in any of the cases, it's better if you drop the human idea, and just make a some sort of robot or something, with tracks. never take the feet of the ground? thats just plain stupid.

it's imposible to walk. unless this is the Michael Jackson RPG.

oh well...

you do what you got to do to get you paycheck, but you should really have stated that before.

btw have they seen the animation?

Kaz

[Akira]

Yep. both feet. They also like pillow shading

The actually liked that last animation I posted so I don't know. Not my problem now anyway.

Let this topic die now please

[Neoriceisgood]

Do you not have self respect? I'd refuse to make things ugly on purpose (Unless the actual purpose was it being ugly; But that's a whole different point) 

[Kazuya Mochu]

I think they are bad programers and are forcing you into behing a bad artist! :\

the artist vs programmer fight must never end. and generaly it spawns good resaults!

take care,

Kaz

[PixelPusher]

I think they are bad programers and are forcing you into behing a bad artist! :\

the artist vs programmer fight must never end. and generaly it spawns good resaults!

take care,

Kaz

You know those Hobo Fight DVDs? We should release Nerd Fight DVDs. We'd make millions!

[AdamTierney]

The feet are pointed out to his sides. He doesn't bend his knees. His legs need to hit extremes both forward and back. Don't copy & paste feet or legs in a 3-4 frame cycle. Arms must swing out much further. Bend arms at the elbows. Make feet actually lift for 1 frame and step down (if 4 frames) or a very believable slide (if 3 frames). For the side view, his back leg is too short. You need to hit different points between the two legs. Bring the legs back further. Land the feet instead of just being 90 degree from the leg. Move the arms a lot more. Pull ears back further on head.

- Adam

[Andy Tran]

 Yeah, that's why the legs look kinda wierd.