AuthorTopic: Video game characters*Updatered*  (Read 11402 times)

Offline NaCl

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Re: Video game characters*Updatered*

Reply #10 on: February 16, 2010, 08:02:53 am
Hey Mike, cool characters. I did a little bit of animation on the girl, mainly just for fun. I think she is exaggerated enough to warrant some exaggeration in her animations. I also made her arms bounce up and down a little bit, but I couldn't make it subtle enough to look good.



Keep it up

Offline PypeBros

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Re: Video game characters*Updatered*

Reply #11 on: February 16, 2010, 08:35:53 am
Quote
The guy:
1.One of three from a band of down on their luck thieves
2.Lives inside an old abandoned dilapidated warehouse.
3.Is confident in his skill but isn't completely full of himself.
4.Cares for his 2 companions and would do anything to keep them safe.
5.Even though he seems like he may be a leader he's second to another.
6.Has no formal training in the martial arts, more like a very unrefined street brawler
7.He's pretty much wearing clothes he found/stole and is wearing fancy white shoes he stole from a truck while it was unloading.
8.For as long as he can remember he can create and control fire(original I know)and his fighting style is based on that.
9.His friends think his pants are ridiculous looking but to him they are his cherished one of a kind item he stole off a psychedelic clown from a traveling carnival.  Originally they were too large but he had them tailored to fit him.

That's pretty much of his character defined. At least enough for a good theatre amateur to play him. Probably you might want to try playing him yourself to "feel" how he could move first. His current pose suggests he's in a talky mood rather than in a fighty mood, so I'd not try to animate him in a fighting stance from his current pose.

As for "how should he idle", I'd suggest you focus on the fact that he's a thief. Rather moving silently to sneak you in your back than bouncing like a boxer. A ninja might be a good animation reference, for that purpose.

Offline Tuna Unleashed

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Re: Video game characters*Updatered*

Reply #12 on: February 17, 2010, 03:53:33 am
i can buy the thief thing up to the pants, those can serve no purpose but drawing attention

Offline Mike

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Re: Video game characters*Updatered*

Reply #13 on: February 17, 2010, 09:14:45 pm

That's pretty much of his character defined. At least enough for a good theatre amateur to play him. Probably you might want to try playing him yourself to "feel" how he could move first. His current pose suggests he's in a talky mood rather than in a fighty mood, so I'd not try to animate him in a fighting stance from his current pose.

As for "how should he idle", I'd suggest you focus on the fact that he's a thief. Rather moving silently to sneak you in your back than bouncing like a boxer. A ninja might be a good animation reference, for that purpose.

Even though I may not have the vocabulary to express what I meant by down on their luck thieves what I meant to express was that it's more like Aladdin and they steal what they need because they are basically without a permanent home(ie homeless).  However they recently found a place to crash so for the time being they live there.  So what I'm saying is he is more like a scrapper.

Oh and I'll just use this specific sprite for his non fight stance/talk animation and I'll go ahead and craft a new fight pose based on all we talked about.  But not before I finish this poses animation.


Hey Mike, cool characters. I did a little bit of animation on the girl, mainly just for fun. I think she is exaggerated enough to warrant some exaggeration in her animations. I also made her arms bounce up and down a little bit, but I couldn't make it subtle enough to look good.



Keep it up

Great idea using the wind to help with the animation :D  At first I totally thought you animated her belt but now I see it's just the shadow underneath.  Cool effect!  Also the way the pony tail moves in a sinewave pattern is excellent!

And yeah I think the way she is designed definitely allows for exaggeration and I wouldn't have it any other way.  :)  I kinda want her to be bouncin' around a bit, maybe at the feet or possibly just the knees.  I'll try that approach first.



i can buy the thief thing up to the pants, those can serve no purpose but drawing attention

I suppose all I can say to that is...oh well, hah.  

Also I'll be working on the animations today I think  :y:

« Last Edit: February 17, 2010, 11:21:28 pm by Mike »

Offline Mike

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Re: Video game characters*Updatered*

Reply #14 on: February 19, 2010, 07:12:32 am
I briefly worked on this but before I get too far I want to post it to make sure the movement isn't ridiculous lol oh and the animation doesn't loop properly yet which is why the hair is kinda static, only 4 frames so far.  And before anyone says anything I don't normally animate by moving and rotating pieces but because it's the idle it's kinda ridiculous to redraw the frames.  At least for me it is.  :P



While I was trying to come up with an animation for this pose I did the pose myself and just kinda stood still for awhile and it wasn't long before my ADD got the better of me and I started rocking back and forth by pressing the ball of my foot into the ground so it would push me off balance except it wasn't enough to throw me completely off balance so gravity did it's part and I would lean back in the direction I was in before.  It's kinda like tapping your foot but the whole body is apart of the movement.

Oh and if it's not too much trouble can someone break down how to properly do follow through animation, like on the hair and arms.  Because what I've been doing is moving the hair in the opposite direction as the body on the same frame but maybe I'm not supposed to animate the hair until the frame after I moved the body...meh I'm confused.
« Last Edit: February 19, 2010, 07:17:02 am by Mike »

Offline blumunkee

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Re: Video game characters*Updatered*

Reply #15 on: February 19, 2010, 07:43:02 am
Whoa. The improvements in this thread are downright silly. I feel like the original sprite is trying to punk me.

Animation is 50% intuition and 50% observation. You've definitely got the intuition, and using yourself as a reference is extremely useful for animation and static art. For more reference I can suggest http://fightersgeneration.com/. There's lots of good Capcom and SNK sprites. Ash Crimson has some good examples of flowing hair: http://www.fightersgeneration.com/characters/ash-a.htm.

The animation is looking good. The hair needs to start dropping back down earlier. I'd say the legs need a little bend too. Nothing major, just a little subtle change so they don't seem so stiff.

Good schtuff! I AM WANT GET MORE

Offline BwdYeti

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Re: Video game characters*Updatered*

Reply #16 on: February 19, 2010, 01:57:48 pm
Both feet end up looking weird due to the lower legs, since so far you just slid them back; it sets things at odd angles. It shouldn't be too hard to fix, he just needs to get his knees in motion too.
I really like the movement, he's not moving through much space but there's still a lot of action.

Offline Dr D

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Re: Video game characters*Updatered*

Reply #17 on: February 19, 2010, 06:56:38 pm
My suggestion to fix the stiff legs would be simply to make them rotate rather than slide back. It looks as if the ankles on both his feet are about to break. You'll probably want to rotate them slightly counter-clockwise to keep them properly connected to his hips (which are moving back and forth) and his feet. (Which I don't think should really be moving at all, with the exception of the slow tapping motion.) (The shoes however, should of course conform to the position the legs are in.)

Like everyone else said though, awesome improvement here. Hope what I said makes any sense.

Offline Mike

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Re: Video game characters*Updatered*

Reply #18 on: February 19, 2010, 10:24:13 pm
Oh wow I didn't even realize I was just sliding it oops.  I just checked in the mirror and the leg goes from slightly angled to straighter each time I move backwards(makes sense I know lol) and the leg on the right side of the screen bends at the knee(duh) when it pushes into the ground in order for it to bend though there needs to be forward movement.  I'm just gonna scrap the last two frames and redo the movement so it isn't breaking bones in the wrong way.  Possibly done today provided I have time  ;)

Offline Jad

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Re: Video game characters*Updatered*

Reply #19 on: February 21, 2010, 10:54:58 pm
If he's actively pushing himself backwards then you need another frame where the toes touch the ground but the body travels backwards - this is the frame where he actually does the pushing

to do follow through animation you need to not mirror the animation but delay it. This can be tricky to think about, but just try to imagine it. Make the hair stand still when he starts to move, then move the hair the same amount as he moves, then make it continue moving when he stops, then paint the little rebound. At that point some things will look right and others will look a bit off. Try to localize the off parts and make them make more sense. And then you're done! That's how I do it.

Also yeah, think about that leg breaking and make sure they .. don't

also on the same topic I do think some redrawing is in order. Since his hand remains on his hip it doesn't change, but the arm probaby moves a pixel or two when his back extends and retracts (which isn't actually possible, but since the bend of the spine that accomplishes this is so subtle just extending and retracting is ok by my standards!) Make sure that some distances stay the same - distance between shoulder and elbow, elbow and hand. Then if they change lengths, instead change, for example, the elbow's position to make sure they stay the same. Then repaint.

Stuff like that.

Also your style of pixels, shading and character design right now are scarily close to my own.

Of course I love it * U * <3
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