[C+C] [WIP] Menu Design/Beat-Em-Up Mockup

[Jakten]

The line doesn't necessarily need to go through the blade, it just shows the general movement throughout his body. if he were holding his sword above his head about to bring it down chances are the line would run in a C shape up his spine and out through the sword. Its more just what seems natural. The line of action usually is either an S or a C shape and runs through the spine because the spine usually holds a lot of movement. I don't think I've ever seen otherwise i could be wrong though.

The first image has secondary action in the cape but I just thought it looked a bit weird. The cape would probably flick at the tips from the movement.

As for the other image, I think it would look nicer if you add some texture to the ground (not too much though it might get cluttered) But i was more talking about the characters when I said foreground. Especially the tall blue guy to me it feels like hes melting into the background. I think when the building was brown it made the characters show up a lot better.

[Endpiece]

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It's a valid concern, but I already have a thread. And making more than one just seems overkill, especially to get a question out of the way. That question being:



What's the style of animation called wherein the pixels may change colour, but the silhouette of the sprite stays the same? If I remember right its to simulate a more subtle form of movement (like breathing) with smaller resolutions, but (a) I can't remember the right term for it, and (b) I can't remember the particular 'rules' of it either, like when best not to do it, etc.



New HUD, also. I revised the engine. It's more like Monkey Island crossed with Phoenix Wright, now.

[Jad]

You're talking about subpixel animation aaaaAND it's probably not what you want to do with these small sprites - work on animation that utilizes ease-in and ease-out of recognizable poses rather than millions of tweens and subtle animation.

Also the warning is for people who are on the verge of necroing dead threads - you're reviving your own, that's another thing entirely, I even encourage that.

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You're talking about subpixel animation aaaaAND it's probably not what you want to do with these small sprites - work on animation that utilizes ease-in and ease-out of recognizable poses rather than millions of tweens and subtle animation.

Ease-in/out is where the animation goes like, 1-2-3---4---5---6---7-8-9, right? The last time I tried animating sprites for one of my games, I ended up doing it all Chuck Jone style - smearing from one pose to another!

I need to do animation for walking, talking, gesturing etc, and for that I'll have to make the animation smooth (as suggested) and the silhouettes clear. I think it'll be alright to keep subpixelling for the idle breathing animation though, right? Or I could do it like the old videogames where the player idles and the characters start pulling 'bored' poses. I think if the player comes across important NPCs, they'll be doing more than standing around, obviously.

I think I'll leave the issue until I get a bigger sheet of animated sprites, then we can discuss the matter better. You guys are awesome for critiques on animation in other threads, so I'm looking forward to that.

[Jad]

Know what I think? Ditch idle poses completely. Or make them into easily recognizable actions that trigger here and there. I hate idle animations. And you don't have the palette to pull if off with subpixel animation either.

Ease-in and ease-out is basically that, yup. I'm thinking of GBC restrictions and that doesn't allow for a shitload of frames so I'd be all for going, instead of

1-2-3---4---5---6---7-8-9 which is impossible due to frame count (assuming that you're working with GBC restrictions of course)

1---2---3---4---5 which is .. sucky and boring western children's cartoons with dreams of high framecount but sucky budget and animation skills kind of boring animation

I'm thinking more along the lines of

1-2----------3-4 , snappy cheap animation that's awesome for games and looks more smooth than you'd think! Especially for violent and speedy action, just easing in and out from pose to pose creates something very dynamic. Combining that with smooth cycles of looped frames that move very little (creating smoothness) you can make both exciting and cheap animation.

I think konjak (http://www.konjak.org/) works a lot like this, at least it's the kind of critique he often gives - do check his stuff out.

EDIT: Oh also, dudeman, did I mention that I love the shit out of what you're doing? You've got hot girl with rocket pompadour, man, I love you forever, just wanted to say.

[Tobe]

Wao, I didn't like what I saw on the first post, but the latest update was great. Maybe because it was enlarge, or the UI, I'm not sure. But it does looks much more stylish. And I always respect those that manage to create beautiful artwork on GBC restriction. That's crazy.

A question I wanna ask though is : Is it necessary to give an idle animation to such small characters? I mean, I'm not suspecting the decision, I'm actually asking because I have no idea myself, lol

I think konjak (http://www.konjak.org/) works a lot like this, at least it's the kind of critique he often gives - do check his stuff out.

 ...and for some reason, I always thought Konjak is a lady...damn...

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I think konjak (http://www.konjak.org/) works a lot like this, at least it's the kind of critique he often gives - do check his stuff out.

Yeah, I've seen a lot of his work beforehand, like Noitu Love 2 and Ivory Springs. I'll have another look at the animations, though. From the sound of it I won't have much room for filler animation, so I'll have to really emphasise the actual animation, before, during and after (anticipation-action-reaction?).

A question I wanna ask though is : Is it necessary to give an idle animation to such small characters? I mean, I'm not suspecting the decision, I'm actually asking because I have no idea myself, lol

It doesn't seem like it, but for some reason that's the animation I started out with. Mostly because I was confused as to what subpixelling actually was, but we've sorted that out. So now I'm going to try animating other movements for the characters (walking, fighting, taking damage, victory, etc) and see how I get on. An important thing for me to remember is that the personalities and mannerisms subtly (or not-so-subtly) affect the movements of the characters too.

Speaking of pompadours, I took another look at the sprites and decided to draw them out in 8 directions. It's a fair bit harder than I thought - I'm simplifying and adding to the designs as I work through them. And now I've hit a snag.



Eeek. Help?

Edit: I should probably add that I seem to go through various 'phases' of pixelart referencing. Some days I look at NGPC screenshots, for others it'll be Paul Robertson or Derek Yu, and right now I'm in the middle of a Metroid/Mother 3 fix. It's very possible it'll be something totally different tomorrow.