You have a great character, I like it. Animation a bit harsh - too strong attraction to the land, I'd like more flowing.

First go at the block animation :)

Thanks for the reference! I'll see what I can do to improve it :)

as for the block, I'm mostly just going for something kinda cute, but the unexpected-ness was more the plan. I originally planned on adding her looking surprised right before the block, but I haven't been able to implement it well yet. Ill keep that wing-push in mind though. Might change it later

Also, the back is another set of wings. I should probably add the 2nd one in the block animation. It would likely be visible and would make that clearer.


here's what I've got so far (Before I saw your post) - not much added except something for her to block, which is very WIP itself



edit: First pass at editing the flap



edit 2: new attack frame



She'll be magicing the spear back into existence and shooting it.

Q: So why carry the spear in the first place?
A: Because she would throw it, but I just dont have the canvas size to do that without cutting it off, which would look terrible :|

Edited by Zeratanus - 13 September 2012 at 9:20am

You have an amazing speed of creating this works. So I tried a little bit to smooth your animation angel.

I like the colors and the character, but that halo is a banded, ugly mess!

@Dawnbringer - is the new one in this animation better? (huzzah for having the halo on its own layer, and easily editable for all frames!)

@Yuran - yes, the attack animation was looking very poor. So I've completely changed my mind on what I'm doing!

Now she falls to the ground, because I find it cute, and because she's not flapping to keep her up anymore. Now the attack will take place on the ground instead of trying to find some way to make it take place in a fall, or without the bunch of extra frames to reposition her.



(Attack animation itself is still very WIP. hoping to get on this hardcore tomorrow and finish it up before Sunday...)

edit: just noticed she's clearly not landing as far down as the shadows are. ill be editing the shadows position later I suppose!

edit2: Added a frame into the floating animation (1 more than before, 1 less than Yuran's edit), and changed the halo




Edited by Zeratanus - 14 September 2012 at 11:31pm

Good point, Eclep! I've adjusted my animation file, but wont bother to upload it yet again lol. Thanks!

Okay, getting the attack animation in place... realized I missed the back wings so Ill have to tack those back on! The fly up is still obviously not done.



Not entirely happy with the attack animation, but I think.. the end is in sight... I'm honestly ready for this to be done lol.

I think taking just one (any) concentrating on that one and entering the challenge is a smarter and efficient way to meet a goal.

Try making the spear animation fast, it doesn't really look like she's throwing it at this speed. And this sprite is absolutely adorable.

Progress is real good and you got a vote from me for this week's challenge.

I would nitpick the halo in all versions in that it currently feels a bit thick and heavy. Not that its awful but something lighter, smaller, thinner, floatier would add to the sprite's heavenly nature...me thinks.

That looks like great advice from DawnBringer. I would also comment that the throw animation is the weakest piece. It definitely needs to be faster, maybe not motion blurred but at least shorter time for the frames.

Now you just to give her a name and backstory :)

This character is super adorable, you should take it beyond the realm of a simple challenge entry.

This awesome. My only comment would be preferential, I would rather see the spear taken off of the back instead of disappearing.

Your block animation is amazing. I think she starts getting pushed back too early from the blast. She should get hit and forced back, it looks like she moves before she is hit. However, the way she blocks is super cute and gives her personality.

Edited by coloringsquared - 15 January 2013 at 9:19am

Updated with some more frames for the hand clench. I don't know why, but I just love pixeling little hands. Its just really satisfying for some reason.

edit: Few but, IMO, important frame updates. Her shield no longer bounces back up with her entirely during her bump, and as she stands up she has to correct her posture as she goes a bit (1 pixel) too far. Also edited the throw animation to match what I'll be editing later.

>

Edited by Zeratanus - 16 January 2013 at 1:10pm

Stripped the animation down to just the attack frames so I can focus on them. Added more transition frames to the first part of the attack. still lack them on the second part (end/recoil). Other parts still look odd to me which I'll work on, like the movement of the shield as she prepares to attack.



Seriously though, if anyone wants to leave any feedback feel free ;P. I've got no problem finishing this on my own, but I know I'm not seeing everything that could be improved! :P

edit: glad I stripped it down. Now i see that she weirdly blips to the left when I didn't mean for her to. Wee more editing!

Edited by Zeratanus - 22 January 2013 at 8:27am

Thanks Shampoop! :D

I'll definitely keep the halo thing in mind. I've toned it down a bit, but I think it'll be less distracting when I've finished the other effects I'm planning on putting in, like her hair whipping forward and such (assuming that actually ends up looking good lol). I'll also probably draw a few new frames for it too, as having it stationary while her body's turning so far is weird looking.

As for any animations beyond this one, I guess it depends on how much steam I have left after this is over lol. I've been focusing on this little loop for so long, I really want to make it as good as I can get it before I start something else with this character.


And for my update: More frames! Smoother frames! (Fast frames! slooow frames! Even frames from around the world!) *has seen the "Lots and Lots of Trains/Planes commercial way too many times*.

Hair still isn't doing any whipping, and the little wing blip i added during the fist clench looks WAY too spazzy right now, but I'm not entirely sure what I want to do with it right now. Just that having it sit still looks boring. Edit: oh yeah, and now she gets pushed back by the attack, and not just because I'm doofus who didn't realize it!

old -> new
->

Edited by Zeratanus - 22 January 2013 at 1:04pm

You are doing such a great job on this!
I still find the halo too 'heavy' and has from the start. I find it distracting:/

I mean heavy in that its too thick a ring and if you visually weigh it against the shield they seem equal, ya noes. Seems to me a halo should read as light and airy.

The next attack should be using the halo as a weapon 

No worries Jal, nitpicking is what this is all about at this point! But I'm afraid I'm not totally sure what you mean then, could you clarify, or show me an example?

And attacking with the halo would be interesting, but it'd either need an entirely new set of animations or a complete revamping of the second half of the attack (Probably could maker her throw it with the first half of the animation intact), but at this point I think I want to get this improved loop done, then I'll see about spending more time on going further with it!

(or, hell, maybe another loop altogether. That'd probably be way less of a hassle...)

I'd like to say, I love this work and you've done a great job with your animation!
There is one thing which bothers me as I watch your beautiful angel - the transition between the 4th and 5th frames of her floating is slightly jarring compared to the smoothness of the rest of the animation. Perhaps it is because her wings are too pulled down or because the wing distance between frames 4 and 5 are too great? Either way, I hope you can find some time to continue perfecting your marvelous work!

Beautiful! Looking forward to her next update!

Got the block animation redone. Major changes from the last post is a redone spear head and halo, which I like a bit more now. Dozens of other minor edits, but nothing worth noting individually.

Next step is the work in the new attack animation (and redo the hair and shield on all those frames too~)

If you see any problems with the frames so far let me know!



Edited by Zeratanus - 25 September 2013 at 8:36am

I would bend the wings a bit more when they move down, theyre too straight in the mid-way, its too fast, should be straight on the bottom.
---
Got inspired to make my own sprite in similar theme and test wings myself so maybe that would help to show what i mean but previous pic with bird was also very good help.



Edited by 2blackbar - 26 September 2013 at 8:02am

Wings down movement should lift character up kinda like they really do in real life.Now your character lifts up when wings lift up which is opposite to real life.
In my example wings are bent a bit like this even if it isnt that visible and they go down under angle like this /  not like this -- ,    its better visible on right wing than on bigger left one , that frame in red circle is important  so wings are bent up a little bit, in your animation they look too straight for too long during middle of the down movement for my taste and theyre all the time bent upwards tiny bit  in area near the head ,  i would bend them down near the head when they go down , anyway you did fantastic work and thanks to you i was inspired to make my own animation :) Maybe its best to split shield, head and body into layers and move them a bit differently to get most motion but its up to you.I know its very nitpicky but thats what im looking for when im animating also now you fixed them and bent them down when moving up but i think you should bend them closer to head or at least exactly in the middle... anyway there are different types of wings but i think the ones that are longer from the middle to sides look best, like here http://www2.ups.edu/biology/museum/BLOYwingUWBM36365.jpg.