Standing and idle animations?

[alluton]

but since I will have already done frames for ribbons' movement and breathing it shouldn't be hard

First to answer your spoilered question : I believe that "will" isn't supposed to be there. Then some actual feedback: Why is the orc moving his head around during standing animation when he changes sword positions?

[Dunno]

You mean on the last/first frame? That's the base image of the grunt. And he's spitting over his shoulder because it seemed logical to me. It's supposed to look a bit like this: http://youtu.be/-MfbYnz8ucc?t=1m10s

[alluton]

Ah I see. Nvm then.

[SFault]

His legs and torso are totally static. Also, the animation with his right sword is quite jaggy. Maybe you could add more frames for that movement.

[Dunno]

Here's another one. I'm clueless as to what to do with his right foot. It seems logical to move it when he moves his right sword, but then, when he spits it just wouldn't look right. This version probably doesn't look right, either. Any ideas?
Also, I've added one more frame to the right sword movement and moved his torso. And I haven't polished it nor shaded it, yet.
edit: oops wrong version. Stay tuned
Lol I've just realized, I'm not animating grunt, only orc warrior. This is what you get for not starting from scratch, I guess

[Amorphous]

Just some general advice, I'm not an expert on animating or anything.

You're approaching animation in a counterproductive way, and the quality of your animation is suffering consequentially. Make a simple sketch of the whole animation, then refine that.

However, before you even do that, think about what the animation is actually going to look like. Get in front of a mirror and pretend you're the sprite. Why do your arms move this way and not that way? Why does your whole body move? Silly as it sounds, doing this is type of thing is crucial for making the animation "real".

Made a really shoddy sketch to illustrate - hopefully you get the idea.

Anyhow, just my thoughts, ignore at will.

[Dunno]

Yeah, I think you're right. I was just so tempted to begin working by improving someone else's animation instead of starting from scratch. I'll see what I can do with this spitting warrior but next time, I'll do it like you said

[Dunno]

This time I tried doing something from scratch. It's grunt standing. Thanks for feedback

[Alternatic]

Well, I'm no artist but I'll tell you my opininion anyways

It looks IMO like if he just ran a marathon and there is a very strong wind. He breathes too heavily plus the cape and the ribbons(?) are waving like crazy. I suggest making him move a little less, maybe add some movement to the legs and consider giving the shadow some motion.

It looks very cool so keep it up!

[Adamant14]

It looks IMO like if he just ran a marathon ...

That's just because the animation here is repeated again and again.
I think in game the animation will look very cool.

[Dunno]

That's just because the animation here is repeated again and again.
I think in game the animation will look very cool.

Actually, in game it would have to be looped like this too, it's because of those stupid ribbons.

the cape and the ribbons(?) are waving like crazy.

I checked it in game, and compared it with the movement of flags in villages, and I think they are more or less similar. I guess adding more frames will fix both problems
Thanks for your comments

[beetlenaut]

I think that the reason it looks like he's running a marathon is that his head and shoulders are moving the most, which only happens when you breathe really hard. Primarily his chest should be moving. His arms should shift slightly only as a consequence of that primary motion. I recommend studying the dwarves in 1.11 for an example.

[Dunno]

Ok so I made his chest move more and I added more frames. Is this better?

[Alternatic]

Ahhh, much better.
The cape however seems to move a little illogical, I suggest making it move a little more like the ribbons(if you want to keep them that way). It is a very big improvement but someone responsible for these must give it his blessing.

[beetlenaut]

The sword should be moving as a consequence of the breathing--he's not swinging it around all the time. Since it's a heavy object with lots of inertia, the tip should move less than the hilt. The rest of the animation should be following the same sort of logic, and for now, half of it doesn't.