Running critique

[coyotecraft]

I started making this sprite last night; I'm not using a template of any kind. I'm working on its running animation right now but I've been staring at it for too long I can't tell if it looks good or I'm just fooling myself that it looks good. So I need new eyes to tell my how it looks. I already know that the chest doesn't move with the arms. I'm more concerned with the movement of the legs.
first:

second:

third:

Fourth:

Spoiler: concept art by Coyotecraft

I originally wanted this sprite to be about 3 "heads" tall, but it ended up around 4.
The running sprite is 8 frames, I'm using it with The Sleeping Leonhart's Hero and Event Frame Script 1.1

 

[Sonata]

Right when he begins to move his left leg back, It seems like It skips a frame. Also the head's movement Isn't very smooth. There also Isn't any movement In the hair, but that is probably intentional as his hair Isn't too long.

Nice sprite though!

 

[Grathea]

My main critique so far is that the head only seems to turn to his right, and never to his left, except to return to the original position. The elbow on his right arm becomes kind of strange in the frame where it is the furthest to the back. The right knee doesn't seem to bend enough.
Here's a reference you could use. (Warning - contains nudity)

 

[Shifter]

Wow that's pretty nifty.  The only thing I noticed was his arms are swinging a large amount but his torso is sorta staying straight..seems it would sway a bit..but thats just be nitpickin.

Edit:

Woops you mentioned that, I missed it, so then ignore me Sorry ;p

 

[coyotecraft]

Right when he begins to move his left leg back, It seems like It skips a frame.

I thought there was a strange "kick" in there. Thanks for pointing it out. I'll try animating the hair, but you're right its really short which means It probably won't look good if I do.

the head only seems to turn to his right, and never to his left, except to return to the original position. The elbow on his right arm becomes kind of strange in the frame where it is the furthest to the back. The right knee doesn't seem to bend enough.

I see what you mean with the arm, I'll have to fix that. The head does turn to the left (at least I tried too), but I need to change the shape of the head to make it more apparent other wise it'll just look like the eyes are moving while the head stays still.

Thanks for the help guys!
I'd appreciate any additional comments on the sprites and artwork.
I'll update when I make changes.

 

[Venetia]

That arm animation is smooth as butter!

The only thing I can add to those comments is the torso--it doesn't move at all, and that would rotate along with the arm swing

 

[Samboy]

Well, his legs seem to be thicker than his torso. Realism, anyone? Mind you, the belt/chain thing near his pocket is animated well, and it looks quite nice.

 

[coyotecraft]

Made the changes and cleaned it up a bit. http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r134 ... nning2.gif[/img]
I changed the feet in a couple frames because they were bent wrong making the animation look choppy.
I think it runs smoother now. I added a twist in the torso.
Does the head movement still look weird? When he turns his head to the left the side of his face flattens for a moment. Is that distracting to anyone?

Edit: I forgot to mention that I changed his left leg so it doesn't kick out so much when it goes back.

 

[Samboy]

The head movement does look a little weird. I mean, with the legs pumping as fast as they can, you would expect his head to move up and down a lot more than it is.The turning of the head would be fine if his head bobbed more.

 

[coyotecraft]

I changed the position of the head in a few frames so its not so stationary.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r134 ... nning3.gif[/img] better? maybe the whole upper body should move with the head? 

nvm, I did a little reading on animation. Saved me the trail and error method.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r134 ... nning4.gif[/img] the body recoils when the feet touch the ground .

 

[arctrooper48]

Your new one is pretty good. It looks more natural because the whole body bobs alittle bit.

 

[Sonata]

The third one is near-perfect. Do you plan on having the hair move?

 

[Samboy]

Yes, yes. A LOT better. No.3 is great.

 

[CeruSkye]

It looks like there's a frame where the neck extends a bit weirdly. Maybe it's just me.

BTW, excellent sprite so far!

 

[Venetia]

It looks like there's a frame where the neck extends a bit weirdly. Maybe it's just me.

Yes. In one part it looks like his head "pops" forward a pixel. The up/down movement is fluid, though. There's something I don't like about his face going flat. His little nose pokes forward 2 pixels (counting the outline), so I think just reducing the nose a pixel when he turns, or making a single-wide inbetween the flat and 2-wide, will look better.

> ] |
pokey > flatish > flat

Hard to illustrate using text ...

The concept art is adorable <3

 

[coyotecraft]

Thank you all for the comments. I've cleaned up the black outlines I had on the legs. I agree that there is more tweaking to be done with the head.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r134 ... nning5.gif[/img]
@Money: I've animated the hair slightly so the tips move. But I don't think it is very noticeable.

 

[Samboy]

Oh my god. Even better. Still, I think his ass and legs are a bit large/thick. But good... now it's time to shade! Just as a side note, what program do you use to make the .gif files? I've been looking everywhere for a decent one, and still haven't found one that doesn't leave a little box saying "MagicGIF" or whatever in the bottom right hand corner. :P

 

[coyotecraft]

I made it using Gimp, each frame is a layer. When you save layers as a gif you can either flatten them or save as an animation. Thats how I drew each frame, one on top of another. And I can toggle between each frame. There is also a playback option that runs the animation to see how it looks. 

I think its the Strap that makes his butt look bigger. I'll see what I can do about it.

 

[Samboy]

Oh, cool! *downloads GIMP*

 

[Shizu]

Seeing how it evolved from 1st to 4th - wow! The first one looked as if it was a toy robot held up in mid-air. Your latest has that natural feeling that he's getting a slight bump when you run over a terrain. Great work! :]