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CHALLENGE 4/16/2012: Parallax Window

Printed From: Pixel Joint
Category: Pixel Art
Forum Name: Collaborations/Challenges
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URL: https://pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=14204
Printed Date: 06 September 2025 at 7:02pm


Topic: CHALLENGE 4/16/2012: Parallax Window
Posted By: administrator
Subject: CHALLENGE 4/16/2012: Parallax Window
Date Posted: 16 April 2012 at 12:00am

CHALLENGE: Parallax Window

http://www.pixeljoint.com/p/27498.htm - Gecimen challenges you to create a 100 x 100 animation that clearly depicts a parallax scrolling background.

The image should consist of at least two layers moving at different speeds to be considered as parallax.

Optional bonus challenge: Add a moving unit (vehicle, infantry etc.) in the foreground.

Canvas Size - Exactly 100 x 100.
Colors - Max 24.
Transparency - No.
Animation - Required; max 30 frames.

CHALLENGE RULES

  • Participants have until this upcoming Sunday at midnight (12AM Pacific) to /pixels/submit_icons.asp'>submit their entry (strict). Don't forget to check the 'Submit to weekly challenge' checkbox.
  • Only new pixels allowed.
  • Open to all members.
  • Posting WIPs in this thread or in new threads in the /forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=8'>WIP section is highly encouraged, but ONLY SUBMIT YOUR FINAL ART.

CHALLENGE JUDGING

  • Every Sunday at midnight (12AM Pacific) the previous week's entries are judged.
  • Every week a new voting poll will be posted for previous week's entries.
  • Winner announced the following week.

CHALLENGE PRIZES/GOODIES

  • Top three finishers will receive an award displayed in your PJ gallery profile for all to see and envy.
  • Top finisher gets to call the following week's challenge...sweet.
  • 'Participation' ribbons will be given for all who enter.
  • No matter what happens you get challenged :)

CHALLENGE VOTING

/pixels/poll.asp?id=1289' name='vote' target='_blank'>Vote now for your favorite pixelart in this week's challenge!

CHALLENGE AWARDS

The Parallax Window pixel art challenge is complete and we have three new champions. This week's challenge awards go to the following pieces:

/pixelart/69852.htm' target='_blank' class='winner1'>Ski Free by /p/7226.htm' target='_blank'>Adam
/pixelart/69781.htm' target='_blank' class='winner2'>The incredible Blobzilla! by /p/7846.htm' target='_blank'>Mrmo Tarius
/pixelart/69752.htm' target='_blank' class='winner3'>Grassland Parallax by /p/34250.htm' target='_blank'>bladeking77


Thanks so much to all who took the time to vote and participate in the challenge!

/pixelart/69829.htm' target='_blank' class='winnerx'>Ufo parallax by /p/10691.htm' target='_blank'>.:mK:.
/pixelart/69841.htm' target='_blank' class='winnerx'>Looper by /p/19046.htm' target='_blank'>Batzy
/pixelart/69836.htm' target='_blank' class='winnerx'>Parallax war! by /p/36467.htm' target='_blank'>Nevercreature
/pixelart/69797.htm' target='_blank' class='winnerx'>Parallax Windows Transmilenio By Mierdinsky by /p/28380.htm' target='_blank'>MIERDINSKY
/pixelart/69772.htm' target='_blank' class='winnerx'>Parallax Clash by /p/15128.htm' target='_blank'>ianlennonford
/pixelart/69858.htm' target='_blank' class='winnerx'>Weird Bird Falling by /p/36754.htm' target='_blank'>aeveis
/pixelart/69785.htm' target='_blank' class='winnerx'>Mini-Boss Moon (and the moon shall bind thee eternally) by /p/30996.htm' target='_blank'>||||
/pixelart/69839.htm' target='_blank' class='winnerx'>Meet the .. by /p/5948.htm' target='_blank'>saurion


Replies:
Posted By: Mrmo Tarius
Date Posted: 16 April 2012 at 7:38am
I'll be making a shoggoth :)



Posted By: philippejugnet
Date Posted: 16 April 2012 at 8:32am
He,he,hey bud! =) lets do this =)

here is my pic:


Posted By: Mrmo Tarius
Date Posted: 16 April 2012 at 12:54pm
Well dammit, the 30 frame limit is really screwing with my mind here. Seems I have to do everything based on five, not 4/8 like I started :/

Posted By: Yielmo
Date Posted: 16 April 2012 at 1:16pm
Whats a parallax?

Posted By: Nevercreature
Date Posted: 16 April 2012 at 2:11pm
My idea:


Maybe 24/8... I'll try it and let's see...

Posted By: JDaddario
Date Posted: 16 April 2012 at 2:38pm
Hey guys! I'm super new to Pixel Joint and Pixel Art, so I have absolutely no idea how to tackle this challenge. I have a great idea, but I don't know how to animate it. 

Any help would be appreciated,
Jacob

Posted By: Mrmo Tarius
Date Posted: 16 April 2012 at 4:32pm
24/12/8/6/4/2 is perfect, but it definitely does not go along with 100px width :P
Oh well, I guess I'll improvise! :D

@JDaddario, animating .gifs has always been something of a problem in terms of finding the right tool. All newer photoshops can do it, but that can be rather expensive. As a cheaper alternative, you could try GraphicsGale. Maybe someone else can suggest another animation tool, plus you can search the forums as I'm quite sure the question has been asked and answered before ;)

Posted By: Frogger5
Date Posted: 16 April 2012 at 4:50pm
Pixen is a free pixel editor, that has a built in gif animator. It's not the greatest, but it does the job.

Posted By: JDaddario
Date Posted: 16 April 2012 at 5:02pm
Originally posted by Mrmo Tarius

24/12/8/6/4/2 is perfect, but it definitely does not go along with 100px width :P
Oh well, I guess I'll improvise! :D

@JDaddario, animating .gifs has always been something of a problem in terms of finding the right tool. All newer photoshops can do it, but that can be rather expensive. As a cheaper alternative, you could try GraphicsGale. Maybe someone else can suggest another animation tool, plus you can search the forums as I'm quite sure the question has been asked and answered before ;)

I actually have the free version of GG, although I'm not sure that I want to buy the full version just yet. As for Pixen... sadly  I do not own a Mac. It's a shame because that program seems perfect for me. At any rate, I'm sure I'll find some bootleg way to make an animated GIF.

Anyhow, I was asking more about animating in general, not just software. I figured it would involve dividing up the parts of a second into different frame intervals to determine how many I need of what, but what is this 4/8 business?

Posted By: Muiriled
Date Posted: 16 April 2012 at 5:03pm
As i've just find out, it seems to be the illusory difference of position between at least two objects located at a different distance of an observer in relation to the position of the observer in itself.
To be more clear, in this case if you are picturing a background and the "camera" is moving to the right, the closest static objects to the camera may look to go to the left faster than the static farest ones.
I hope it is clear.. it's hard to explain and my english kinda sucks.

Posted By: Yielmo
Date Posted: 16 April 2012 at 5:21pm
Darn it. This challenge is pretty hard, with the 30 frame limit.

Hmm. Maybe some math guys?

Okay, so there's 30 frames, and 100 pixels. One pixel has to get 100 pixels in the 30 frame limit. So, maybe common factors will help. The common factors of 30 and 100 are:

1, 2, 5, and 10

So, speeds (how far the pixel will move by the next frame) of those^ will only work, with the limits and restrictions.

But these will only work with certain pixel-lengths of the patterns you're doing.

Meh. So confusing.

Posted By: a3um
Date Posted: 16 April 2012 at 5:41pm
I don't see a problem to make it fewer than 30 frames

Posted By: eclep
Date Posted: 16 April 2012 at 6:16pm
@Yielmo : each pixel doesn't have to go from a border to the other, your animation can be repetitive.
For example in http://www.pixeljoint.com/pixelart/62539.htm - my piece (subliminal advertising) each burger seems to travel a long distance, but there is only 19 frames.

So yeah this challenge isn't impossible to do with the 30 frames limit, but all the parallax will have to be quite repetitive.

Posted By: Nevercreature
Date Posted: 16 April 2012 at 9:50pm
I like the limitations because force you to improve and use other techniques.

Posted By: Adam
Date Posted: 17 April 2012 at 2:44am
First concept. Don't know if I can manage the clouds in 30 frames though - they would be too repetitive if I don't animate them.



5 (6 with clouds) moving layers. Maybe bouncing up and down too.

Posted By: MyO
Date Posted: 17 April 2012 at 4:10am
An example of parallax scrolling:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Parallax_scrolling_example_scene.gif


A good example of a game with parallax scrolling is Shadow of the Beast for Amiga.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiAUZe_kL_Y&feature=player_detailpage#t=27s - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiAUZe_kL_Y&feature=player_detailpage#t=27s
Check out how the different levels move at different speeds.

There is also a nice pixelpiece here that features something like that!

( http://www.pixeljoint.com/pixelart/22521.htm - SketchGirl and DoodleDog by Stickman )
I myself think this also counts as parallax scrolling, but I am not sure.

Posted By: tuaarita
Date Posted: 17 April 2012 at 7:54am
Originally posted by MyO

There is also a nice pixelpiece here that features something like that!( http://www.pixeljoint.com/pixelart/22521.htm - SketchGirl and DoodleDog by Stickman )I myself think this also counts as parallax scrolling, but I am not sure.



I thought what defines parallax scrolling is different layers (like foreground and background) scrolling at different speeds which is what is happening here.

-------------
I'm running in the desert,
running in to the sun,
running out of blood
and I'm going numb.

Posted By: Nevercreature
Date Posted: 17 April 2012 at 8:44am
W.I.P.

Posted By: Adam
Date Posted: 17 April 2012 at 2:38pm
... and this is how it looks in motion:

Posted By: LuckyF
Date Posted: 17 April 2012 at 2:49pm
Cool idea. But the last layer moves to fast I think.  It even might not move at all.

Posted By: Gecimen
Date Posted: 17 April 2012 at 3:02pm
I like the frame limit but wouldn't 24 or 36 be a better number? Just sayin.

Edit: I'm sorry Mrmo said why it's better 30.

Posted By: JDaddario
Date Posted: 17 April 2012 at 3:45pm

Hey everyone, so I've managed to get this far with my entry, and I need help as to where to go next. I have a free version of GG, and I have tried to figure out how it works by playing with the frames and animation, but to no avail. So if anyone knows how to aid me, and can give me some advice, send me a message or reply to me in this thread.

Thanks for all of the help,
Jacob

(PLEASE NOTE: I need basic animation help, I know what parallax scrolling is, and how to achieve it. )

Edit: Imageshack botched up the picture quality. I am sorry about that!

Posted By: Adam
Date Posted: 17 April 2012 at 11:58pm
You may be right there, but I really wanted to add a layer that does not move diagonally (though the first layer does also not move exactly diagonally).
I am thinking about going down to 1 pixel/frame, although I am really proud of the 1.5 pixel/frame, and the layer is very repetitive is even now.

Posted By: failureboy
Date Posted: 18 April 2012 at 1:05am
Yours looks great, Adam. Rooting for you.

Posted By: bladeking77
Date Posted: 18 April 2012 at 2:44am
Here is my attempt:



Though it's finished, I would appreciate any comment on it.

Posted By: darchangel
Date Posted: 18 April 2012 at 4:05am
@ Adam - Looks really good but the background mountains make it look weird, I agree with Lucky, they should not move.

@ Blade - If you slow down your clouds it would be even better, they are moving too fast.

@ Jdaddario - Sent you a pm.

Posted By: JDaddario
Date Posted: 18 April 2012 at 1:52pm
Thanks!

Posted By: Nevercreature
Date Posted: 18 April 2012 at 1:57pm
I'm going to add infantry... 

Posted By: Adam
Date Posted: 18 April 2012 at 2:49pm
This is damn exhausting.

Posted By: Mr.Fahrenheit
Date Posted: 18 April 2012 at 2:52pm
Does the animation have to be smoothly looped?

Posted By: Gecimen
Date Posted: 18 April 2012 at 2:55pm
Originally posted by Mr.Fahrenheit

Does the animation have to be smoothly looped?


you can make deliberate breaks etc. in between.

Posted By: philippejugnet
Date Posted: 18 April 2012 at 3:54pm
Won't be entering this one unless I get a better idea...

Posted By: Delicious
Date Posted: 18 April 2012 at 9:15pm
Originally posted by Adam

This is damn exhausting.


Beautiful! Can't wait to see the final result.

Posted By: Mrmo Tarius
Date Posted: 19 April 2012 at 5:02am
@Adam, that's completely awesome.

I've given up on animating the Shoggoth, and decided to make something simpler.



Also http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/chase+me/ - subliminal inspiration for it :P

Posted By: Nevercreature
Date Posted: 19 April 2012 at 5:17am
inanimate preview.
 
Foreground is in progress, maybe is too busy...
 

Posted By: Calv
Date Posted: 19 April 2012 at 8:17am
Originally posted by Mrmo Tarius



I swear I can hear each THUD!!!

leave this as it is, it's perfect

Posted By: LuckyF
Date Posted: 19 April 2012 at 2:52pm
I think it would be better to place the walking thing between second and third layer and not after third layer.

Posted By: Mrmo Tarius
Date Posted: 19 April 2012 at 3:29pm
Hmm, but this way it seems more distant and WAY more colossal :P

Posted By: Adam
Date Posted: 19 April 2012 at 4:25pm
Not to mention that the white color of the thing works also better if it is way back. Great animation. You can really feel the weight, although the thing itself could be improved in this sense. I recommend really animating him, not just shifting parts.

Made some small progression too:


I'm not sure I will have the time to do the guy rollin' down, but the parallax part is roughly ready.

Posted By: wuhu
Date Posted: 19 April 2012 at 7:04pm
Awesome challenge! wish i had time to join..

@Adam, is that someone poking his head out and giving a wave from behind the rocks ?

Posted By: Gavralcraw
Date Posted: 19 April 2012 at 8:36pm
@ Adam - boarder or skier..

Posted By: Adam
Date Posted: 19 April 2012 at 11:35pm
@ member_profile.asp?PF=31725&FID=1 - wuhu : It's not just someone. He is the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkiFree#Abominable_Snow_Monster - Abominable Snow Monster .

@ member_profile.asp?PF=34201&FID=1 - Gavralcraw : I might do a skier if I don't have time to follow the original concept. If I do, then the classy skier from Ski Free.

Posted By: AirStyle
Date Posted: 19 April 2012 at 11:44pm
Originally posted by Mrmo Tarius

Hmm, but this way it seems more distant and WAY more colossal :P


I think I get what LuckyF means. Right now, it doesn't look like he's walking/plodding on anything...a shore line maybe? If you don't want to move him closer, then you might want to consider making a third layer of cityscape, so it can better look like he's walking within the city, instead of on the outskirts it.

Posted By: Mrmo Tarius
Date Posted: 20 April 2012 at 2:16am
Adding a third layer seems like a good idea! :D
Will do that now.

Posted By: Nevercreature
Date Posted: 21 April 2012 at 2:22am
I don't know if add another soldier on the foreground or not... 

Posted By: jeremy
Date Posted: 21 April 2012 at 3:44am
You need some kind of vertical variation in the water. Looks like it's going at the same speed as the bridge.

Posted By: Nevercreature
Date Posted: 21 April 2012 at 5:06am
What kind of variation?

Posted By: crozier
Date Posted: 21 April 2012 at 6:35am
I think waves/texture, or at least not horizontal lines. The horizontile lines are casting an illusion that the water is moving along with the bridge.
And wow, what an improovement for your original wip, creature.
 
http://www.pixeljoint.com/pixelart/69798.htm - http://www.pixeljoint.com/pixelart/69798.htm
Heres my entry. cc would be cool.

Posted By: Nevercreature
Date Posted: 21 April 2012 at 7:13am
Yes, I know. But I mean what technique I should use to do it. Dithering? Water texture?

Whatever I think I have little area to do it...

Posted By: saurion
Date Posted: 22 April 2012 at 6:35am
Its as rough as my skills, having rusted for a while. When I saw the challenge I was struck by nostalgia.


Posted By: .:mK:.
Date Posted: 22 April 2012 at 9:00am
My attempt:



From this piece > http://www.pixeljoint.com/pixelart/69117.htm - http://www.pixeljoint.com/pixelart/69117.htm

Posted By: crozier
Date Posted: 22 April 2012 at 8:57pm
Theres 4 entries in the public que. I hope a mod accepts them into the gallery within the next few hours ;o


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