Spriting (Scotsmen in SPAAAAACE)
Aug 11, 2017 8:05:47 GMT -5
Post by dn on Aug 11, 2017 8:05:47 GMT -5
In the mood to do some spriting / animation. Figured I'd do a blow by blow as I go along, maybe you can learn something about the mystical art of 4 frame run cycles.
First, then, the basic design dolly. I decided to make a dude in a kilt-spacesuit.
Helmet is ripped from an earlier design; I like the idea of a glass fishbowl filled with orange goop being 100% what you need when you go into space. Paldrons (with SPIKES for added danger) have those little leather roman things hanging from them... adds a bit of colour, and having fabric next to soild metal is always a good idea when you are animating.
Basic theory goes like this; the metal stays the same static shape from frame to frame. The tassels deform, imparting a sense of movement. They are coloured brightly to ensure the eye can follow the movement at low, doom-friendly resolution; things can and will turn to mud, having a few bright pixels in there will help maintain definition.
Same goes with the sporran. Hence, tassels. The sporran moves with the legs, the tassels stay one frame behind, because they are lighter and deform. In such ways so we give the illusion of motion. The kilt will deform in a similar fashion, but less-so; having never animated a skirt before, all bets are off.
Hob-nailed tacketty boots have no place in outer space, but they look fucking hilarious, so I am keeping them.
ANTICIPATED PROBLEMS WITH THE DESIGN:
Sharp edges do NOT work well at low resolutions. I expect the spikes will be a catastrophe.
Orange is a cunt to work with in vanilla Doom. Colour matches need to be exact or everything turns to fucking shit. (it's the same story with blue, for some reason. Greens and browns work as mostly as anticipated). I suspect the banding on the kilt will be a bugger to render at low rez.
Boots and paldrons might be too detailed They don't look it from the dolly, but trust me, scaling down can be fucking murderous. I'll experiment with reducing the thickness of the black lines in certain strategic areas to alleviate the problem, but I am expecting headaches.
Next in this amazing series of posts; 360 degree rotation dolly.
First, then, the basic design dolly. I decided to make a dude in a kilt-spacesuit.
Helmet is ripped from an earlier design; I like the idea of a glass fishbowl filled with orange goop being 100% what you need when you go into space. Paldrons (with SPIKES for added danger) have those little leather roman things hanging from them... adds a bit of colour, and having fabric next to soild metal is always a good idea when you are animating.
Basic theory goes like this; the metal stays the same static shape from frame to frame. The tassels deform, imparting a sense of movement. They are coloured brightly to ensure the eye can follow the movement at low, doom-friendly resolution; things can and will turn to mud, having a few bright pixels in there will help maintain definition.
Same goes with the sporran. Hence, tassels. The sporran moves with the legs, the tassels stay one frame behind, because they are lighter and deform. In such ways so we give the illusion of motion. The kilt will deform in a similar fashion, but less-so; having never animated a skirt before, all bets are off.
Hob-nailed tacketty boots have no place in outer space, but they look fucking hilarious, so I am keeping them.
ANTICIPATED PROBLEMS WITH THE DESIGN:
Sharp edges do NOT work well at low resolutions. I expect the spikes will be a catastrophe.
Orange is a cunt to work with in vanilla Doom. Colour matches need to be exact or everything turns to fucking shit. (it's the same story with blue, for some reason. Greens and browns work as mostly as anticipated). I suspect the banding on the kilt will be a bugger to render at low rez.
Boots and paldrons might be too detailed They don't look it from the dolly, but trust me, scaling down can be fucking murderous. I'll experiment with reducing the thickness of the black lines in certain strategic areas to alleviate the problem, but I am expecting headaches.
Next in this amazing series of posts; 360 degree rotation dolly.
