Pixel Joint Forum: [Feedback] Run Cycle Question

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   Hello pixel people!

I am working on a run cycle for a game jam character sprite and am having a hard time understanding how to handle overlapping body parts.

My sprite is relatively small, he has no outline, and the color palette is 4/5 colors for this sprite. How should I handle the frames where his arm overlaps with his body and they are the same color? It's quite difficult for me to do more detailed shading and still have the animation read at this size, so I'm stumped.

As of right now, I have tried giving the front arm a darker value or giving it a one-pixel thick line to help it read better, but I'm not sure I like that. Any advice?

Sorry if I posted the images incorrectly!

Thanks in advance!

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True-Kida Midshipman Joined: 11 November 2017 Online Status: Offline Posts: 11	Topic: [Feedback] Run Cycle Question Posted: 30 August 2022 at 12:01am
	Hello pixel people! I am working on a run cycle for a game jam character sprite and am having a hard time understanding how to handle overlapping body parts. My sprite is relatively small, he has no outline, and the color palette is 4/5 colors for this sprite. How should I handle the frames where his arm overlaps with his body and they are the same color? It's quite difficult for me to do more detailed shading and still have the animation read at this size, so I'm stumped. As of right now, I have tried giving the front arm a darker value or giving it a one-pixel thick line to help it read better, but I'm not sure I like that. Any advice? Sorry if I posted the images incorrectly! Thanks in advance!
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eishiya Commander Joined: 04 August 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1109	Posted: 01 September 2022 at 4:36am
	If you rotate the torso as the arms move back and forth (something that should naturally happen anyway!), then you shouldn't need more than one frame where the arm overlaps the torso without protruding. You might even be able to design the animation such that the arm is always at least partially protruding, though that may require changing the framerate.
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True-Kida Midshipman Joined: 11 November 2017 Online Status: Offline Posts: 11	Posted: 04 September 2022 at 7:44pm
	Thank you eishiya! I'll give that a shot and take a look at some reference. Appreciate it!
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