artisticdude's Art

[artisticdude]

Maybe a tweening frame for the sword, with a slope of 1/2 in geometric terms. That is to say, 2 pixels to the right per pixel up.

Brother, geometry even in the wesnoth forums? What's the world coming to? I get the message, will try a version with the geometric stuff. Thanks for your critique.

I think he could lean back when he moves his leg like that? Might be just me, though.

I studied the swordsman's defense animation, and you're right. He does lean back. Thanks for telling me, I'll rectify that.

Any suggestions for the attack animation, such as how he should move his arm/sword, etc.?

[melinath]

Take a look at the swordsman again - his right leg and his body slide back a pixel when he defends. And I like Zero's suggestion about the angle. Otherwise, looks good!

[xbriannova]

I wonder if you're available for other assignments?

I'm only really working on two projects right now, this sprite and a campaign, so I'm definitely available for other assignments. I'd love to help out in any way possible.

Alright, that's cool but I won't be asking for any help anytime soon as there's nothing much to do in terms of art yet on my side. Besides, my project is always on the sidelines and unimportant, so I wouldn't want to waste your time.

That swordsman art looks great. I might use it and even edit it once you've completed it. Good luck for your current and future projects!

EDIT: By the way, for the swordsman you're working on, I'd suggest that you animate his defense such that he took a step forward instead of tip-toeing his left foot. So, he'd be like leaning forward slightly, left leg to the front, shield up and sword at the ready. Its a practical means of parrying as you'd be putting more strength to the shields.

EDIT2: On second thought, it might be too much so maybe you could take only a portion of my suggestion.

[artisticdude]

I modified the defense frame so that he slides back a pixel, but haven't gotten to the sword yet. Any suggestions as to how I should do the attack animation.

xbriannova: Thanks for your kind words. By the way, I want to tell how how much I love the Guardian Order campaign! It's so cool, and such a unique campaign. Any time you think you can use my help, go ahead and ask me.

[melinath]

That looks good to me - once you have something you're satisfied with, post a .png of it!
For the attack: I'd be happy with a stab, an overhead swing, a slash through... any of those.
An additional animation of a shield bash would be great, since this unit will have that as an attack.

[artisticdude]

Here's my first version of the sword attack for the master swordsman. I'm not sure how many frames I need yet, so this could be a bit jerky. I'm gonna need lots of feedback for this part, so please sock it to me. I can also post a slower version if anyone wants me to.

[thespaceinvader]

I've already shown this to someone today

http://wiki.wesnoth.org/Basic_Animation_Tutorial

This looks pretty good, but ideally there should be a lot more rotation - ts does mean you will have to redraw the parts of the sprite which were not previously showing, however. Select-and-slide animation only gets you so far Also, I'd advise a BIGGER motion - exaggeration is immensely helpful at this scale.

http://wiki.wesnoth.org/How_to_create_motion_blurs may also be of use =)

[Zerovirus]

The sword's highlight motion blur appears behind the shield yet the sword appears in front of the shield. I'm sure you can understand what's wrong with that.

[artisticdude]

Also, I'd advise a BIGGER motion - exaggeration is immensely helpful at this scale.

How about I try imitating the thug's animation, where the weapon actually goes over his shoulder before he swings it? Any thoughts on that idea?

The sword's highlight motion blur appears behind the shield yet the sword appears in front of the shield. I'm sure you can understand what's wrong with that.

Oh boy, can I ever! I completely forgot about that. Thanks, Zirovirus! I'll fix that right now.

[thespaceinvader]

Yes, however the thug's weapon is in the opposite hand

There are probably some units in mainline whose attacks you could emulate (though offhand, I can't think which ones), but you're probably better off trying to innovate.

The most useful advice I could give you on that score is to practice thigns yourself - try out the motions, see what looks good and works well. if you act things out yourself, you'll gain a much better idea of how they're supposed to work than if you just try to make them up.

[artisticdude]

I've attempted to add a frame in the part of the attack where he's actually moving towards the unit. The sword still has to be changed, but right now I'm working on the legs. Unfortunately my latest frame has no shadow, but I'm looking for critique on the position of the legs. Any comments?

[Zerovirus]

...It's still layered wrong with the motionblur, the sword, and the shield. Didya forget?

[artisticdude]

Whoops! Sorry, I did forget that. Here's the correction.

[melinath]

Try it with 4 frames.
1. Prep for attack (bring sword over shoulder, lift right foot. Shield will turn in front of the body.)
2. Attack (Motion blur, step forward w/ right. This will turn the body slightly away from the camera and bring the shield around to the left (our left))
3. End attack (Motion blur ends. Come to rest)
4. Return (take a step back)

[artisticdude]

Okay, this one's my best effort so far. There are still a few missing details (one of the frames doesn't have a shadow, a few stray pixels here and there, one of the frames needs more shading), but overall I think it gives the general idea. Critique?

EDIT: Dang, why does that GIF blink like that? I hope the TC works, because I haven't tried it out yet. TC is neat, but it's such a pain in the neck.