On Walking

The opera is taking shape and the end of the first act looks like it is within reach. The amount of work required to get this opera working is surprising.

This post is just a way of showing more the how-to side rather than the finished article.

I decided to cover an important part of the opera. Walking. As I am doing this opera almost frame by frame, it quickly became apparent that I would need a way to make them walk, sit, stand and a whole host of other things. I needed a way of taking a static picture of a character and changing it so that it looked like they was moving and walking. A walking generator was what I needed.

After searching online I found the perfect Walking Generator that is easy to use, malleable and works perfectly for 2D animation.

WCEdit Application

The way the character walks is entirely customisable within XML. After a bit of educated guessing and some trial and error, I was able to get my characters walking from entirely static images.

Sgt. Adams Walking

Jean strutting her stuff

The program is also capable of having characters walking towards the screen. I like that the program can do that but am not sure if it will be implemented in this project. It feels that a character walking towards the viewer could feel unnerving and change the opera from voyeuristic to an almost forced claustrophobic interaction. We shall see at any rate.

Hope to have another update as regular about my progress soon.

Engine Heart: Origin (Part 5)

Last post before the New Year.

I’ve completed the fifth video for Engine Heart. This completes this saga for the time being. There is scope to create more videos for this character, but I think my future interest lies in new projects for next year.

I’ve done quite a few animations this year and hope to continue with this next year. More stories with musical accompaniment using animations that remind me of my childhood.

Let me know what you think.

Engine Heart: Origin (Part 4)

Part 4 done! The continuing story of a man dealing with love and life nears completion.

There is just one more part left in Engine Heart before I would be happy to leave it, at least for a little while. I’ve been thinking about starting a new series. One with music as the primary drive for the animation. Where they are synchronised and complement each other.

I’ve been writing the music on an original Gameboy, which can have a maximum of 4 simultaneous sounds. I think it’s time, for the new project to ‘upgrade’ to the NES. I think the NES can have up to 6 independent sounds so it’s a big leap and can allow for more complex rhythms and a more varied sound palette.

Below is part 4. Let me know what you think.

Engine Heart: Origin (Part 3)

Hi, it’s been a while. Had some job difficulties…but they seem to have resolved themselves quite happily.

Another video complete. Engine Heart part 3. The continuing tale of a man confronting love and the obstacles that get in the way. The music isn’t my best work. I had a ton of rough recorded ideas that just got wiped. Was so annoyed…but what can you do? That’s why you should always backup your data.

So below is the video. Let me know what you think.

New Video – Through The Motions

It’s been a while.

Been working on this latest video and it’s taken quite some time. Inspiration has been taken from the NES game series Ninja Gaiden to include movie style scenes around normal gameplay. It adds more to the video. I think. Closeups and thoughtful commentary.

This video includes changing from daytime to evening, ‘cinematic’ cut scenes and is loosely based on not having any money. It was the little things that took the most amount of time. Making sure the cut scenes were clear and embedding them into the story in a meaningful way.

The audio was originally created on a bass guitar then programmed into a Gameboy then recorded. The audio will be used in the next SoundCloud upload I complete. Getting better at this kind of thing.

Enjoy.

New Vid On the Way!

My last video was made using a software application called RPG Maker 2003. It is a good tool for making 8 bit animations, it allows for a lot of flair, I guess but I’ve decided over the weekend to broaden my skills using another piece of software, Stencyl. I’ve only used Stencyl a bit over this weekend, but I believe it has a more dedicated community, is more updated and is capable of more overall than 2003 is.

Fortunately, I can use some of the old images from 2003 in Stencyl. They aren’t a million miles away from each other. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. Stencyl for example is brilliant at making quick level design and getting the basics hammered out quickly. It gets a bit cumbersome when you want to do something a bit flash, which is where RPG Maker really wipes the floor with it.

I will be using both but I think I’ve got New Toy syndrome with Stencyl, it’s so bright and shiny!

Below are a couple screenshots of what I’m working on next. It’s not an Engine Heart story FYI.

Stencyl!