AuthorTopic: Running Sprite  (Read 18107 times)

Offline Ben2theEdge

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Re: Walking Sprite

Reply #20 on: February 17, 2009, 06:54:21 pm
Ehmm... I don't recommend doing it the way Ignacio said. I started out doing things this way and formed a lot of bad habits that I had to un-learn later. True this is an easy way to do a run cycle but the result is always going to be stiff and flat-looking, and it's hard to add personality if you always start with a template. If the arms and legs on both sides do the exact same motion you'll have no sense of depth since both his left and right leg will hit the ground on the same spot every time. And your torso *does* move quite a bit when you walk or run, so does your head. The way you are doing it, starting with the fundamental tools of animation and improving your skill, is the best way. Keep working on this one!

His body is moving quite a bit horizontally and there are a few frames where he snaps forward or backwards inexplicably. I would make these issues your primary concern. Shrike's advice is all good, I second it. Especially the part about the Animator's Survival Guide!  :y: :y: :y:
I mild from suffer dislexia.

Offline Ignacio

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Re: Walking Sprite

Reply #21 on: February 17, 2009, 08:08:45 pm
Ben is probably right about my tips... I must clarify that atm I am in working in a project that tries to emulate early 90ies adventure games, so, stiff and robotic is ok for what I need...  :) You just gotta browse a bit in this forums to see that here people does something more dynamic and elaborated. Anyway, as said, if you want to do something "basic" (And, honestly, after seeing the problems you had with the stickman and now with the axis of the running sprite, you might want to try something basic) you can give a try to my advices.
I come here humble, trying not to repeat the mistakes of the past, for improving my art and try to help the others improving their own when I can...

Offline platnium

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Re: Walking Sprite

Reply #22 on: February 18, 2009, 03:25:44 pm

I think I stopped him from jumping around now, just need to clean it up a bit now.
Any tips or crits?

Offline Shrike

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Re: Running Sprite

Reply #23 on: February 18, 2009, 09:59:57 pm
Ok, not cool.

Both me, Ben and Ignacio gave you loads of critique and you choose to ignore it, then proceeding to ask for critique.

Don't be like that, please.
At least respond and tell us if you're going to ignore all of the help we're giving you.

Offline Ignacio

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Re: Running Sprite

Reply #24 on: February 18, 2009, 10:52:40 pm
I have been tempted to do a similar reply to the one Shrike did two or three times during the reading of this thread, but I still can think we can end with something good from here...  :)

Plat, really... I want to enter in your head to visualise the problem, so, try to answer... Why don' t you fix the problems with the axis?

a) You don't  understand what we say about the axis?
b) You do understand, but you don't care?

If answer is "A", then, simply, ask.

What we mean when me mention the "axis" is this: (Again, it' s not perfect, it has a problem in frame 8, but is "good as an example")


Look at Indy' s head. It moves... up, and down. It doesn't move left or right. Your does. Also, notice that the "shape" of the head does not change... Nobody' s head shape changes (Except Kennedy). "Your heads" does.

Look at Indy' s torso... It moves. Sometimes you can see his chest, somethimes the back... Sometimes we see the shirt, sometimes the back side of the jackett... That' s because it's rotating over a vertical axis. It' s like if we lean a bit Indy' s body after nailing him with a long stick that enters from the top of his head and gets out through his annus (eeeek).

But it does not move right or left.

Your sprite does all those things... That gives a "shacking" feeling that is not cool...

Now, if answer is "b", if you understand what we say, but you don't care, then I am off...
I come here humble, trying not to repeat the mistakes of the past, for improving my art and try to help the others improving their own when I can...

Offline platnium

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Re: Running Sprite

Reply #25 on: February 18, 2009, 11:14:08 pm
I have been tempted to do a similar reply to the one Shrike did two or three times during the reading of this thread, but I still can think we can end with something good from here...  :)

Plat, really... I want to enter in your head to visualise the problem, so, try to answer... Why don' t you fix the problems with the axis?

a) You don't  understand what we say about the axis?
b) You do understand, but you don't care?

If answer is "A", then, simply, ask.

What we mean when me mention the "axis" is this: (Again, it' s not perfect, it has a problem in frame 8, but is "good as an example")


Look at Indy' s head. It moves... up, and down. It doesn't move left or right. Your does. Also, notice that the "shape" of the head does not change... Nobody' s head shape changes (Except Kennedy). "Your heads" does.

Look at Indy' s torso... It moves. Sometimes you can see his chest, somethimes the back... Sometimes we see the shirt, sometimes the back side of the jackett... That' s because it's rotating over a vertical axis. It' s like if we lean a bit Indy' s body after nailing him with a long stick that enters from the top of his head and gets out through his annus (eeeek).

But it does not move right or left.

Your sprite does all those things... That gives a "shacking" feeling that is not cool...

Now, if answer is "b", if you understand what we say, but you don't care, then I am off...

I saw all the crits, but all I did in my last post was just stopped it from moving from left to right a bit, now fully, since I need to do it again, tomorrow I will be having another read through this thread to then edit the sprite to what is needed, I am sorry if it seemed if I was just ignoring everyone.

Offline Shrike

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Re: Running Sprite

Reply #26 on: February 18, 2009, 11:18:38 pm
Thank you for apologizing, and next time if you haven't read everything or something like that then just say so and don't just keep silent.
I'll get an edit out for you if I can; but school is being a bitch atm.  Also, thank you Ignacio for that well-explained reply.   :angel:
Later
Shrike

Offline Ignacio

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Re: Running Sprite

Reply #27 on: February 19, 2009, 08:08:33 am
No probs, Plat.

Also, you might want to see this thread: http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=7876.0

It has a lot of usefull discussions about running cycles.
I come here humble, trying not to repeat the mistakes of the past, for improving my art and try to help the others improving their own when I can...

Offline platnium

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Re: Running Sprite

Reply #28 on: February 19, 2009, 06:45:48 pm
Old:


New:
edit:
I realized that you can't really see the light blue on a white background so I made it darker, and cleaned a few pixels on the arms.

Edit 2 :D :
Newest!

Better head, more synced and cleaned up XD

Just gave him a more cartoony head (He is sort of a cartoony style sprite...) and (I think :S) I fixed the axis point, edited frame 5 and 11 so he now has both feet in the air. Question,  when he lands on frame 1,7 and 8 does he need to bend down more, also I think the head seems to be moving a bit stupid up down, I will try and fix it.
« Last Edit: February 19, 2009, 07:00:17 pm by platnium »

Offline Shrike

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Re: Running Sprite

Reply #29 on: February 19, 2009, 07:15:43 pm
Yay for epic-slow-motion running?

I think speeding this up more would help loads, but ff might be screwing up the playing speed.

It's better, but I'm not feeling his weight yet.
Did you even look at anything we've given you?

Anyway

Make sure he doesn't go down and bend his leg immidiately, that's the down; there's a contact frame before that.
So:
Contact (both feet are touching the ground) Down (Arms at their widest point, one foot on the ground and that same leg is bent, compensating for the newly acquired weight, also the lowest part in the animation) Passing Position (i.e. arms and legs are passing each other)  Up (Highest point) Contact (With opposite leg)

That's the formula for a walk.  I think you should start with walks, easier to do, it's more in control.
Richard Williams put runs nicely;  it went something like "Runs are even more out of control than walks, in a walk we are continually falling and catching ourselves.  The faster we go the more out of balance we are."  This isn't really a quote, I'm mashing up the idea of several chapters into there but you get the idea.

So, my advice:
Work on walks instead, do lots and lots of research

But, that's kind of a shitty thing to say as you've put a lot of work into this already.  So, my critique for what you have here would be:
Make it faster, less perfectly controlled, more crazy, and have the feet in the air even more visibly.
Really, really look at the links you've been given, especially:
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=7876.0

TONS of good information there.
This isn't a place to dump work.  It's a place to listen for critique, apply it as best as you can and screw things up majorly so you'll learn.  Make mistakes.  Go out of your comfort zone.  Listen to critique.  Screw up, learn and end up like us.  I still suck, and I'm still absorbing all of the things I've learned.

Anyone, let me know if what I've said is either assy or incorrect.  I've have to look up runs in The Animators Survival Kit for you, I know more about walks currently but I'll find some stuff for you.

Later
Shrike