Need C+C on simple sprite

[Theforeshadower]

Zoomed for easier glance.

I am going for an older Commodore 64-esc feel with my project.  This is the protagonist.  I am drawing some inspiration from Project Firestart, but looking to create my own "style" instead of copy/pasting from other games.  I like what I have done so far for my level of skill.

The left arm feels off to me.  I can't put my finger on it.  
I really want this idle stance to be near 100% before I work on the few animations my project requires.  I don't plan on changing my palette.  It's not C64, but it is the C16's, which has 120 colors which is plenty for my project.

Anyway, really looking for any suggestions on improving the right arm and such.

[Rederik_Wood]

I think it looks pretty good, though four colors on the sprite may be just outside the C64/C16's ability? I'm not certain on that one. His right arm looks fine, though his left could use being a pixel longer perhaps, and maybe a little definition of the hand. It's a bit offsetting to see his right arm contrasted by a shorter rectangular nub.

[Theforeshadower]

I think it looks pretty good, though four colors on the sprite may be just outside the C64/C16's ability? I'm not certain on that one. His right arm looks fine, though his left could use being a pixel longer perhaps, and maybe a little definition of the hand. It's a bit offsetting to see his right arm contrasted by a shorter rectangular nub.

Well, I don't want to be limited to the actual color restrictions and such of old Commodore games.  Just trying to get that "feeling".

Yeah, the nub thing is what is throwing me off.  I've been tinkering with a pixel here and there for the last 15 minutes and nothing seems to feel right.



This seems closer to being correct, but still not quite right.


Attempt 3 seems really close to being finished.

[Theforeshadower]

This is what happens when you allow a programmer with no real skills to sprite a run cycle.



I can see the inconsistencies in the arm and leg lengths from frame to frame.  I tried to fix it and spent about 2 hours on this sheet.  The head is also awkward but given the simple style, I could not figure out what to do with it.

I used my pixel editing software for each frame then imported into Game Maker to align the frames and make a nice animated GIF


Now, here is my inspiration material.  I had to record my gameplay footage then break it down frame by frame since I could find no sprite sheets on the net.  There will be some color issues due to the recording software then screen capping frames in VLC.  I also imported each frame into Game Maker so I could align the frames better then exported so I could make a gif later.



It's the protagonist from Project Firestart.  It's a commodore 64 title.  I know nothing about ripping C64 graphics straight from the disks, so this is the best I can present.  

Now, I will show both my work and the inspiration side by side animated and also at 2x sizes.





Due to different browsers and such, they will probably be out of sync.  Each was saved at 15/100 time so feel free to save images if you need better timing.

Anyway, I am still looking for criticism.  The only other frames needed for now are holding a firearm of sorts(idle), crouching, walking up into a door, walking down from a door,firing a firearm,  and a death sequence.  Trying to keep it simple with colors yet still have that retro rotoscoped feel.

Most NPCs will be derived from the protagonist's animations with exceptions for children and elderly people.  Few deviations are planned such as hulking men(guards), skinnier men, and women.  I am trying to get the people animations finished so I can move onto the shadow beings that are the "monsters" for my project.  After that, my time will be dumped into backgrounds/tilesets that give a feeling of a "prerendered" environment circa 1980s as alot of the older side-scrollers for C64 and PC did back then.

Well, alot was in this post.  Hope to hear some suggestions/critiques.

[Cyberguy64]

"No real skills", he says.

You've got his whole body moving, but his head is completely static on top, barring the bounce. I don't think it'd be amiss for there to be one or two frames of his hair coming more into focus as his head tilts slightly with the body.

Another thing is that he doesn't have a sense of force to his arm pumping. Right now it looks kinda girly. Look how dramatic the other guy pumps his arms while he's moving. Try and emulate the dramatic curves of the arms and how far they go in front of him.

The legs look like you copied and pasted them, then re-shaded them for depth. That's not an inherently, bad thing, the other sprite looks like that too, but you might get a better feel if you staggered their positions and tweaked one to look like it's pumping at a different angle. There's something about the knees, or lack thereof on the extended forward legs that feels off too. Maybe give it a bit more of a bend.

It could use a little work, here and there, but that's still pretty darn good for someone with "No real skills."

[Theforeshadower]

What's funny to me is that after I animated the cycle, I thought it seemed like a girl's run cycle instead of a man's.
I thought about turning his head toward his left side more on the animation similar to the inspiration material. Right now, he has that half-view where his face is exposed to the player. it might feel much better if he had more of a direct look toward the east as he runs in that direction.

I will definitely work on the arms.

As far as the legs go, it wasn't a "copy/paste". I had the inspiration next to where I was spriting so I could "follow along" so to speak as I drew my own sprite.

I do feel that if I pump the arms a bit, then add pumps to the legs, it would make the animation better.

I'll post an update tonight with the changes. Thanks for your input.

[SmithyGCN]

Adding to what CyberBuy64 said: in animation, the heel of the foot contacts the ground first and then the rest of the foot hits the ground. Just watch yourself walk and you'll see what I mean! Also, only when you run are both feet off the ground at any time. Here, it's just a fast walk so no off-ground frames should be there.

[Theforeshadower]

Sorry, Smith.  I didn't see your comment until after I uploaded the new edit.  

I will work on the legs next if the arms are looking better.  I added some brown pixels in the head for a few frames to give the feeling of the head turning side to side as the character runs.



It already feels alot better than the first version.  Some issue with the left arm again.  It seems to grow in length instead of just being more visible to the camera as that side of the body is turned.  Will work more on that.

How do you feel about the new arms?

Here is a comparison:
version1version 2

EDIT: As I look at it, I think I understand the issue with the left arm. The location of it never goes up when it extends to the right. it needs to be changed to appear higher, much closer to the height of the shoulder. I guess I need to step back and work on something else to notice it.

[kidicarus29]

Sorry, Smith.  I didn't see your comment until after I uploaded the new edit.  

I will work on the legs next if the arms are looking better.  I added some brown pixels in the head for a few frames to give the feeling of the head turning side to side as the character runs.



It already feels alot better than the first version.  Some issue with the left arm again.  It seems to grow in length instead of just being more visible to the camera as that side of the body is turned.  Will work more on that.

How do you feel about the new arms?

Here is a comparison:
version1version 2

EDIT:  As I look at it, I think I understand the issue with the left arm.  The location of it never goes up when it extends to the right.  it needs to be changed to appear higher, much closer to the height of the shoulder.  I guess I need to step back and work on something else to notice it.

His legs should be going further in version 2. Faster is nice, but the legs should go at least as far as the arms do.

[Theforeshadower]

Sorry for late reply.  Taking everyone's suggestions in, I made some slight changes.  I am still not happy with the head.  I tried to shrink it but then he looks like a dinosaur or spooderman.
Anyway, I am not aiming for perfection.  As said before, trying to capture that old style of rotoscoped animation which is supposed to look funky. 

Here is the new strip and animations.  2x zoom has some discoloration.



Looking better?

[Theforeshadower]

New art to critique.

Have a basic design for door sequences.  Doors will open similar to the Resident Evil series.


I actually hand drew the caution lines in that damn door.  Took quite a while.  Just wondering and looking for suggestions on how to add texture to it.  Keep in mind, I am limited to the palette in the top left corner.

The second door was for making more normal area doors but I think I am going to change those into one piece sliding doors instead of middle break away.  I started some weird half-ass shading on it before I said the hell with it.

Also, these doors are not to size.  I ended up choosing the PSP(yes, not the Vita) resolution of 480 x 272.  Works well with what I have an is easy to resize.  So the doors will end up being scaled down in the near future.