I have spriting ambitions

[Dooey Jo]

Well, not really, but I have a small... ah... project that needs 2D sprites to work well. And rather hi-def ones at that. So I planned to sit down and draw them on paper, but then I realised: I would have to colour all of them one by one, and that would have taken ages. So I cheated and used a 3D model instead, but I really like the results:








This is all from the same sprite. I really like palettised images because of the cool recolourisations you can make, just by changing a few values

Alright, the "project" is actually a 2D game. I was trying out a new palettisation engine for 32-bit environments that I wrote (you know, like they have in the early GTA games). It was just going to stay at that, but the engine became too cool, so I had to make some sprites to try it out. It's based on my UFO-game I posted in G&C a while back, BTW.

I hate low-def sprites that uses eight (acceptable) or 4 (ugh) frames for running animation. I want nothing to do with those, so that's why I had to use a 3D model. Drawing 16 frames and make it look good and consistent would have taken a week at least, but now I cracked in less than two hours! The hair is actually hand-drawn though (with a mouse) in all frames in which the hair moves.

So whatcha think? Kinda neat, eh? What colour scheme is your favourite?

[Oberleutnant]

Very nice!

What colour scheme is your favourite?

Probably the one with the red coat because it suits best for most background colours.

[Eleas]

So whatcha think? Kinda neat, eh? What colour scheme is your favourite?

It is neat. However, I think there's one thing you could do to make it seem more lifelike. Exaggerate the motions a bit more. If halting the character at the edge, make him look like he's swaying for a second. Make him lean, or shift his center of balance a bit. Above all, don't be afraid to make the motions of his hair or other stuff last an instant longer than you absolutely have to.

As for walking animations, I found a nice little primer on the subject. Check it out. Also some other interesting tutorials on that site.

Shame about Pixelation being offline, though.

[Dooey Jo]

It is neat. However, I think there's one thing you could do to make it seem more lifelike. Exaggerate the motions a bit more. If halting the character at the edge, make him look like he's swaying for a second. Make him lean, or shift his center of balance a bit. Above all, don't be afraid to make the motions of his hair or other stuff last an instant longer than you absolutely have to.

Ah, advice! I appreciate it
A special edge-standing animation is indeed a very good idea. The one I have in those small clips up there is actually going to be used for both edges and non-horizontal surfaces, so I tried making it as "general" as possible. But adding a little piece where it looks as if he's almost falling would probably look very cool.

As for walking animations, I found a nice little primer on the subject. Check it out. Also some other interesting tutorials on that site.

Thanks! That's great! I was actually looking for a site like that to help me draw good looping animations but I had no luck...

Shame about Pixelation being offline, though.

What's that?

Probably the one with the red coat because it suits best for most background colours.

Yes, I guess that's true (I haven't actually checked it with anything but black background, but it would probably be a good idea to do that).

Hmm. Maybe I should do a semi-transparent one... Cloaking-device, anyone It would only work in-game though... But maybe I could fake it in After Effects...