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[Rat Casket]

So here is one of my characters. Deerhead. I'm currently working on his arms and legs so I can begin to animate him. Looking for suggestions/edits to make them look as good as I can.

This is standing still sprite. I will add a bit of movement as if he is breathing, and a look up and down animation but other than that he is just kind of hanging out. Bored, almost. This is still early in his life and there isn't a lot going on that he is happy with. Doesn't want to be where he is and wants to move on. He wants to get out, so he is.... slightly optimistic.



I've also created this push block. However, it feels awfully "Fez" don't you think?

[JWK5]

I am not sure if you've decided on what his legs and arms are specifically meant to look like or not, but I recommend playing around with a few variations and see how each might effect the way he looks and moves and from there you will have a much better idea of how he should animate. Here are a few quick examples:



I don't think it is necessarily a good idea to just animate characters willy-nilly, the way they move should reflect their personality and express what they are about. It'd be a little easier to make solid suggestions if I knew a little bit more about he character.

[Rat Casket]

For all intents and purposes, he is a teenager. Hence his slouch, and lankyness.

[JWK5]

For all intents and purposes, he is a teenager. Hence his slouch, and lankyness.

Not all teenagers are slouched and lanky, and neither attribute describes his personality well (except that he has bad posture).

[Rat Casket]

For all intents and purposes, he is a teenager. Hence his slouch, and lankyness.

Not all teenagers are slouched and lanky, and neither attribute describes his personality well (except that he has bad posture).

True, but some are, him being one of them.

[JWK5]

Obviously, but that wasn't the point. Like I said, it does not describe his personality (and thus does nothing to really help understand the way he might move). If all you are looking for is just a generic walk cycle to slap on him then look here, but if you are trying to inject some personality into his movements start by actually giving him a personality.

[Rat Casket]

I feel as though we are getting away from the original post which is simply creating the arms and legs. The animation can come later. Can't animate what isn't there, right?

Overall I like the length of his limbs, but I'm not sure how to handle shading in general or his left arm.

I updated the first post to give a little bit of story behind him in his current state.

[ink.inc]

Might I suggest you research anatomy? Specifically human proportions/volumes, the way body parts are put together, and how perspective affects how they are drawn.


Also, don't post the character in a grid like that. Makes it hard to download and make edits.

[Rat Casket]

Might I suggest you research anatomy? Specifically human proportions/volumes, the way body parts are put together, and how perspective affects how they are drawn.


Also, don't post the character in a grid like that. Makes it hard to download and make edits.

Replaced the images without the grids.

[moi]

hey haters, he's just doing the bernie




 old people, sometimes

[Rat Casket]

Actually, he isn't even human. Hes doing the "stand like a fictional monster thing".

[joseph ¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

Would you like advice, or are you just posting and dismissing all input for attention?

[Miko Galvez]

Actually, he isn't even human. Hes doing the "stand like a fictional monster thing".

then why did you compare him to a HUMAN teenager?

[FK in the Coffee]

Saying "Critiques welcome" and then outright rejecting all of the critiques from the experienced folks you've received so far is just blindingly dumb.  Please, look at what's in this thread and spend some time actually learning the stuff before you defend your flawed piece.

[ink.inc]

He hasn't been that defensive imo, but in principle it's a good idea to really pay attention to JWK5 (and in addition, Pen and various others on the forum) because generally speaking, they know what they're talking about!

EVIDENCE:

http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=3993.msg720273#msg720273 (keep reading this one; it's like 5 pages of repaints)
http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=25521.0

Also your original post DOES make mention of animation, so JWKs points ARE indeed on topic.

Ultimately, don't be too unwilling to change things. Always be open to suggestions, and accept the fact that we're all here to learn.

[JWK5]

I think he is referring to the "zombie squat" stance that seems to be all the rage in anime and loot-a-thon Castlevania games these days. Anyways, the main issue is that he's got boobs and his arms are way too short.

[Rat Casket]

Ah, yeah. His arms are way too short. Love the edit, JWK5. I think that, to achieve what I want, I may have to increase his overall size.

When the arms are put into proportion, it makes me take a second look at the legs. Too stumpy.

then why did you compare him to a HUMAN teenager?

I was simply comparing his attitude and posture to that of a teenager. Nobody said "human".

Saying "Critiques welcome" and then outright rejecting all of the critiques from the experienced folks you've received so far is just blindingly dumb.  Please, look at what's in this thread and spend some time actually learning the stuff before you defend your flawed piece.

What have I rejected?

[JWK5]

I actually exaggerated the length of his arms, generally if you put your arms to your side your elbows fall roughly on the same line as your belly button. The tips of your fingers fall just between the crotch line and the knees. You can try shortening the torso a bit and the arms, and if that don't look right then try lengthening the legs (though I suspect they might be appearing that way due to his squat pose).

Really with figures it is a game of constant repositioning to get the general feel you want to convey. Sometimes it is a little helpful to just work with stick figures to lay out the positioning (and limb lengths) and then work in the actual anatomy over the tops of them.



On another note, I don't think you've been too defensive either. I just don't think you've quite put together the rationale between "personality" and posing and animating, so I think there is a misunderstanding there. It's not really about fleshing out a backstory so much as it is being able to describe what the character is about without needing any verbal descriptions at all. We express a lot of things through body language.

Take an emotion like anger, anger is generally expressed through muscle clenching in the body. You can usually see the anger manifesting in many places in the body, for example the head lowers and starts to sink into the shoulders (this is very noticeable in animals such as wolves) and the arms tighten and start to pull inward toward the body with fists clenched (classic "hulk" pose). All this clenching and drawing inward is a physical warning that anger is about to turn into rage and all that energy is about to explode outward aggressively.


A person's job or general activities can also be expressed through their body language. James Bond has a very different posture, walk, and set of mannerisms than Wolverine or Mario, for example. James Bond has movements that are smooth and elegant, and his poses are often model-like. Even when he is just standing still you get a general sense that he is a suave man of action.

Take some time to look at various characters and try to see how their body language reflects their persona. If you can't see why, think about why that is as well. Some of the biggest offenders demonstrating characters with no personalities comes from the mainstream video games so you will definitely see some really bad examples pop up as you look at through characters from some of those games (though if you look towards the indie end of things it doesn't get much better, be prepared to be greeted with a sea of stick figures, Mimiga-clones, and Quote lookalikes).



Anyways, keep at it and feel free to post updates here and I, and others I am sure, will be more than willing to help you out in this learning endeavor.

[Rat Casket]

Went back and played with him a little bit more. Did a lot of sketches, and I'm still having trouble translating them over to pixels.

His head is a bit big here but I think the legs and torso look much better. Still having trouble with his arms. I want him to have a sad sort of look to him. Depressed even, but subtle. Since his face is always behind the mask I have to convey all of this through his actions.



Here is the updated pic.

[Miko Galvez]

Why does it have to be so freaking upscaled man?