Pixel Joint Forum: [WIP]Protagonist animation, Crit!

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Elm
Seaman
Seaman

Joined: 05 April 2014
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Posts: 4

Topic: [WIP]Protagonist animation, Crit!
Posted: 12 July 2014 at 1:12am

So, animation is not my forte. Or pixel art for that matter. However, I am having some issues with animating the female and male protagonists for a project.

For some reason, in order to learn better, I decided to work from the bones up. Skeletal animation, then blocking it out, then details etc. But I'm still stuck on the blocking stage. ^^' Things are jumpy and I can't work out where. (no idea on how the arms should be animated).

These characters are meant to be schoolkids, the female being somewhat more athletic and older.

This is where I've gotten up to, with the Default, Walking and Running animations.
Female

The male is considerably shorter than the female.
Male

Crit and feedback, very much appreciated! I don't have much experiencing with sidescrolling animation... or any experiece for that matter.

Edited by Elm - 12 July 2014 at 1:14am

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OlegKlishinArt
Midshipman

Joined: 01 October 2025
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Posts: 27

Posted: 12 July 2014 at 2:17am

You have too fast or abrupt (don't know the right english word, sorry) animation step between frames 5 & 6 in your walking animation Your right leg is moving faster with each step, while left leg is moving smoothly in it's step. So you have animation jaggy.

Overral it looks good I like it. Also arms and a little torso animation should help, but you are probably going to do it anyway. Try too add more up-and-down body and head bobbing while walking, espessially to female.

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dyluck
Commander

Joined: 24 July 2015
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Posts: 231

Posted: 12 July 2014 at 4:16am

Just an anatomic precision, depending on how realistic you want your character, you may want to make te femur longer or the shinbone shorter, since femur is the longest bone in the human body, much longer than the tibia.
Realistic or not, your animation, and specially the walking/running should look more human if you edit it.

Edited by dyluck - 12 July 2014 at 4:18am

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SuperTurnip
Commander

Joined: 29 March 2014
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Posts: 301

Posted: 12 July 2014 at 1:26pm

Good start! I'd agree with Phoenix here, your walking animation has a jagged step and a fantastically smooth step, and they are at odds with one another.
Your running animation, as it stands, looks great. I like it a lot! Something that's very good about it is the way the torso and head are leaning into the run. Personally, I think that should occur in the walking animation as well. We walk by falling forwards and catching ourselves with our legs, and a walk without that weight and momentum looks odd.
I hope that helps! Good luck with your characters.

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Elm
Seaman
Seaman

Joined: 05 April 2014
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 4

Posted: 13 July 2014 at 12:44am

Originally posted by SuperTurnip

Good start! I'd agree with Phoenix here, your walking animation has a jagged step and a fantastically smooth step, and they are at odds with one another.
Your running animation, as it stands, looks great. I like it a lot! Something that's very good about it is the way the torso and head are leaning into the run. Personally, I think that should occur in the walking animation as well. We walk by falling forwards and catching ourselves with our legs, and a walk without that weight and momentum looks odd.
I hope that helps! Good luck with your characters.

By leaning forward, do you mean showing shift in weight from shoulder movement etc? Since the lean is more pronounced in the running for speed.

Originally posted by Pheonix849

You have too fast or abrupt (don't know the right english word, sorry) animation step between frames 5 & 6 in your walking animation Your right leg is moving faster with each step, while left leg is moving smoothly in it's step. So you have animation jaggy.
Overral it looks good I like it. Also arms and a little torso animation should help, but you are probably going to do it anyway. Try too add more up-and-down body and head bobbing while walking, espessially to female.

Tried to smooth it out with no avail, would it be better to just completely redo the legs? I looked into some animation references and found this.

Which is like an exaggerated version, which I guess helps. My issue is still trying to find a walk that shows personality aswell. .__.

Since I was already using 8 frames, I wouldn't have thought that the speed of the legs was my issue. So, i'll try a less exaggerated version of it.

Originally posted by dyluck

Just an anatomic precision, depending on how realistic you want your character, you may want to make te femur longer or the shinbone shorter, since femur is the longest bone in the human body, much longer than the tibia.
Realistic or not, your animation, and specially the walking/running should look more human if you edit it.

I'll probably make the shinbone slightly shorter, to keep their heights the same. But the femur wasn't even something I considered, so thanks a lot!

Thanks everyone for replying! Pointed out things that I was clearly missing. >.<

On another note, am I allowed to keep updating this with other animations, since I have quite a few after this which will probably be more complicate... and I'll most likely have more trouble with them.

Edited by Elm - 13 July 2014 at 12:45am

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WIP (Work In Progress)
Pixel Joint Forum : Pixel Art : WIP (Work In Progress)

Author	Message
Elm Seaman Joined: 05 April 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Topic: [WIP]Protagonist animation, Crit! Posted: 12 July 2014 at 1:12am
	So, animation is not my forte. Or pixel art for that matter. However, I am having some issues with animating the female and male protagonists for a project. For some reason, in order to learn better, I decided to work from the bones up. Skeletal animation, then blocking it out, then details etc. But I'm still stuck on the blocking stage. ^^' Things are jumpy and I can't work out where. (no idea on how the arms should be animated). These characters are meant to be schoolkids, the female being somewhat more athletic and older. This is where I've gotten up to, with the Default, Walking and Running animations. Female The male is considerably shorter than the female. Male Crit and feedback, very much appreciated! I don't have much experiencing with sidescrolling animation... or any experiece for that matter. Edited by Elm - 12 July 2014 at 1:14am
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OlegKlishinArt Midshipman Joined: 01 October 2025 Online Status: Offline Posts: 27	Posted: 12 July 2014 at 2:17am
	You have too fast or abrupt (don't know the right english word, sorry) animation step between frames 5 & 6 in your walking animation Your right leg is moving faster with each step, while left leg is moving smoothly in it's step. So you have animation jaggy. Overral it looks good I like it. Also arms and a little torso animation should help, but you are probably going to do it anyway. Try too add more up-and-down body and head bobbing while walking, espessially to female.
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dyluck Commander Joined: 24 July 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 231	Posted: 12 July 2014 at 4:16am
	Just an anatomic precision, depending on how realistic you want your character, you may want to make te femur longer or the shinbone shorter, since femur is the longest bone in the human body, much longer than the tibia. Realistic or not, your animation, and specially the walking/running should look more human if you edit it. Edited by dyluck - 12 July 2014 at 4:18am
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SuperTurnip Commander Joined: 29 March 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 301	Posted: 12 July 2014 at 1:26pm
	Good start! I'd agree with Phoenix here, your walking animation has a jagged step and a fantastically smooth step, and they are at odds with one another. Your running animation, as it stands, looks great. I like it a lot! Something that's very good about it is the way the torso and head are leaning into the run. Personally, I think that should occur in the walking animation as well. We walk by falling forwards and catching ourselves with our legs, and a walk without that weight and momentum looks odd. I hope that helps! Good luck with your characters.
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Elm Seaman Joined: 05 April 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Posted: 13 July 2014 at 12:44am
	*Originally posted by SuperTurnip* Good start! I'd agree with Phoenix here, your walking animation has a jagged step and a fantastically smooth step, and they are at odds with one another. Your running animation, as it stands, looks great. I like it a lot! Something that's very good about it is the way the torso and head are leaning into the run. Personally, I think that should occur in the walking animation as well. We walk by falling forwards and catching ourselves with our legs, and a walk without that weight and momentum looks odd. I hope that helps! Good luck with your characters. By leaning forward, do you mean showing shift in weight from shoulder movement etc? Since the lean is more pronounced in the running for speed. *Originally posted by Pheonix849* You have too fast or abrupt (don't know the right english word, sorry) animation step between frames 5 & 6 in your walking animation Your right leg is moving faster with each step, while left leg is moving smoothly in it's step. So you have animation jaggy. Overral it looks good I like it. Also arms and a little torso animation should help, but you are probably going to do it anyway. Try too add more up-and-down body and head bobbing while walking, espessially to female. Tried to smooth it out with no avail, would it be better to just completely redo the legs? I looked into some animation references and found this. Which is like an exaggerated version, which I guess helps. My issue is still trying to find a walk that shows personality aswell. .__. Since I was already using 8 frames, I wouldn't have thought that the speed of the legs was my issue. So, i'll try a less exaggerated version of it. *Originally posted by dyluck* Just an anatomic precision, depending on how realistic you want your character, you may want to make te femur longer or the shinbone shorter, since femur is the longest bone in the human body, much longer than the tibia. Realistic or not, your animation, and specially the walking/running should look more human if you edit it. I'll probably make the shinbone slightly shorter, to keep their heights the same. But the femur wasn't even something I considered, so thanks a lot! Thanks everyone for replying! Pointed out things that I was clearly missing. >.< On another note, am I allowed to keep updating this with other animations, since I have quite a few after this which will probably be more complicate... and I'll most likely have more trouble with them. Edited by Elm - 13 July 2014 at 12:45am
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