The VG Resource

Okay well, I am learning how to animate.
This is a whole new chapter for me, I am usually creating character in still poses, I rarely ever animate.


So I want to add a simple walk cycle here, though I keep having a problem with the legs, I always make them look either too thin, or too wide.
This is what I have so far

I know it's not a lot to show here, but like I said I am new to animation.

You're better off drawing each frame, instead of copying/reusing parts. You can always keep the first frame in a separate (and transparent) layer as a reference.
This is a decent tutorial I found.

I agree with Chris, while it's much more work, your animation has the potential to look much more fluid if you do each frame. What you've posted (the still frames), it's hard to tell that anything has actually changed between the frames.

You've got the right idea with the hair bouncing, but I think the animation overall is a tad too fast.

As for a walking animation, what Chris posted I've used before, it really helps. I also actually do the action myself, depending on what I'm animating, so I can understand it better.

For little motions like bobbing, and breathing, its okay to re-use sprites if the end animation looks good.
You always want to work with time on your side, but if your going for dynamic, more larger motor motion, you WILL have to sprite free hand.

One of the biggest tricks I've learned in animation is, finding a reference to what you would like your end animation to look like.
Then sprite free hand on what each frame would look like, and fill in and adjust pixels accordingly. =)

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I did re-use sprites to make this idle. - not my Base Sprite.

Marth

Alright I tried editing the speed issue, though it was a bit tough because at the end it didn't look very smooth. Also, I edited the arms a bit so they can move a bit since the last one the arms were too stiff.

Edit: I am still working on the walking animation, though I have to say that my main problem right now is the anatomy in the legs and waist, since the character has somewhat of thin legs. I will find a way around this though, thank you so much for the nice tips.

Sorry for the double post

Here is some progress of what I have right now, it's all just a rough sketch yeah, but I want to get teh shape of the legs first before adding detail to them.

The legs are way to stiff. They should bend as he walks.

I suggest doing an 8 frame walk cycle, 4 frame cycles only tend to work on lower resolution sprites, such as those of the NES or gameboy.

Something like this if you're not wanting to take the hands out of the pockets. The key to making it a great animation is in the details, there should be a lot of movement on the sprite, even with it being a somewhat static pose.

With a TFR sprite though, it should not be 8 frames. Maybe 5 or 6 if he can't make it smooth with only 4.

It's possible in four frames/poses: contact right, passing right, contact left, passing left. That or contact, recoil, passing and high point on the same side.

I think you ought to take a look at this recent post. I believe it's revelant to your problem here.

I've actually looked into many tutorials on the leg positioning and different walk cycles. My one problem is how to make the animation run smoothly, while keeping my character in a passive/calm emotion. I am editing the sprites I showed off earlier to try and do that, though when I put it all in an animation, it turns out choppy.

All I can say is that you should think of the body by parts, and examine the joints.

The upper leg's movement will be distinct from the lower legs, and the point they have in common is the knee (the joint). You should think of what should be each parts' angle and position for each frame, and once you got it down for each, make sure they complement the others' correctly.