The VG Resource

To be honest, working with pixels without an outline is easier said than done. The task is a lot bearable if you're working with a a character that is not one solid color. When you're aiming to make the movement of a sprite readable when the limbs are the same color as the main body, there's always the danger of those limbs "merging" with the body in ways you never intended.

Heres a walking animation.Based off NSMB. Thoughts to improve?

That has to be the oddest walk cycle I've ever seen. You're better off trying to emulate the movement found in references, like this one.



Also, don't forget to twist the torso a bit.

I couldn't find a gif, but I was trying to emulate the NSMB walk cycle. He keeps his arms about shoulder level, and I believe he does the same for a run in Mario 64. And one reason I'm trying to do this walk cycle is because those type of walk cycles, have always been the death of me.

I think your major problem here is the angle. It's hard to mimic that animation from that perspective. Also, his feet never come off the ground; they need to be lifted when moving forward.

[EDIT]
A friend of mine, who's a far better spriter than I am, took a look at it and says the torso is far too long. I quote: " It's like two children standing on each other's shoulders pretending to be Mario." Gotta be honest, I'm getting that impression, too.

So I'm getting the impression to move the legs up? if so how many pixels?

Sorry, no GIF, but is the walk cycle any better? The 2&3 top frames are just a WIP idle.

It looks better, but it looks like he walking at a 3/4 angle.

Yeah, it'd probably be better to redo the whole thing at a complete side view. It'll be easier to animate from this angle, too, and you'll be able to update the leg length, which seems to change in the standing pose but not the running anim.

Well I just tried a new sprite all together. Is this sprite better?

I think that if he was facing more to the right and had a wider stance it would be a stronger pose and a better sprite.

Here's a comparison. I was planning on a NSMB like animation idle. I hope you ment a profile view. But if so I always prefer 3/4 when in comes to Mario.

I like them both, but 3/4 is better

The 3/4 view is better for standing, but the side view is better for running. As for the new style, it's loads better than what you had before, and Mario's proportions look better, too. He could probably use shorter arms by a pixel or so, but that's just nitpicking. Also, I think Virt meant to put the background leg further forward to make him look more stable.

Is this better?