Explosion feedback

[salesman]

This is my first attempt at something like this, so I'd like some feedback. I'm more interested in what you think about the behavior/motion rather than the pixels. I'm open to criticism for either, though!

There's 10 frames, but I'm thinking about adding more at the end with some smoke or something.

normal speed (.05 second frames)

a bit slower so you can see the motion better (.15 seconds i think)


Please note: I've never really been much of an artist, and I've only recently started getting srs about pixeling because I'm working on a server and it's impossible to find any help.

[TSAdmin]

I like it, it's very nice.

[coreys]

I think it should end going outward rather than upward, like this:


(sorry it's not looped)

[Luda]

I dislike the dithering

[xAndrewx]

I love it :}

[smirt362]

I think the colors need a change, kinda like...

Basically you use yellows for the lighter bits and then orange for the mid range colors and red for the darker colors.

And I'm not really a big fan of the last half of the animation, but it's still nice.

[Dnegel]

I like the graphic style, but it come like this : o O II T and looks like a mix between a big bomb and a nuke explosion.

But I like it.

[salesman]

Originally Posted by coreys

I think it should end going outward rather than upward, like this:


(sorry it's not looped)

I originally had it like that, but ended up changing it after studying some youtube videos and other explosion animations. It still does expand outward in the beginning (perhaps I could make that part a bit bigger), but after the initial blast the hot gases rise up.

Originally Posted by smirt362

I think the colors need a change, kinda like...

Basically you use yellows for the lighter bits and then orange for the mid range colors and red for the darker colors.

And I'm not really a big fan of the last half of the animation, but it's still nice.

O.o I am using yellow, orange and red...and thanks. e: i think I see what you're saying...my red is kind of orange-ish I guess

[Liberated]

yeah a bit brown-ish, i also think the 2nd half of your animation should go a bit slower.

[Soala]

Use more red or strong orange, and make the explosion going everywhere, unless it is added to some kind of item exploding on the ground like a barrel.

[DustyPorViva]

I'm not very good at animation, but let's see...

First, explosion animations rely very strongly on timing. The initial blast should be very fast, with it slowing down as it progresses, to eventually the smoke wisping away.

Secondly, you're not mirroring this but to be honest I could hardly tell the difference. That makes it seem like a lot of effort is being wasted. Try to make the shape of it all look less mirrored by giving more unique design to the explosion, or just go ahead and mirror it.

And lastly, it's hard to really see how this is ACTUALLY going to work without the smoke. Smoke is just as much part of the explosion as the fire itself, and ties it all together. Remember though, that the fire will somewhat burn into smoke. You can also improve this heavily with some effects. Most explosion animations rely on a very quick flash of white before the explosion, adding a sense of intense power to it. You can also try adding a 'shockwave' of smoke under it like I did in mines, I feel it really adds a lot to the explosion.

References are going to help you a long way here:
http://pixeljoint.com/pixelart/36235.htm - not so great timing here, and a different perspective perhaps, but I think everything else is spot on.

http://pixeljoint.com/pixelart/47800.htm - minus the towering flames, this portrays a lot of what I had pointed out(still somewhat bad timing, so maybe I'm wrong about that!)

http://pixeljoint.com/pixelart/30769.htm

Also, there are great pixel art game references out there... I think Metal Slug is one of them. I dunno, I never played them types of games much. Make sure you take into consideration transparent smoke(not dithered, but alpha)!

edit: I also noticed you have a bit of pillowshading going on in there. Shade your shapes based on form and volumes, not by outlines! And I promise, last thing... the color of explosions will vary. Like the references above should show, they will mostly start off strong red/orange and intense and fade darker as they burn off into smoke.

[Dnegel]

Originally Posted by DustyPorViva

Also, there are great pixel art game references out there... I think Metal Slug is one of them. I dunno, I never played them types of games much. Make sure you take into consideration transparent smoke(not dithered, but alpha)

I've been completing Metal Slug 1 2 3 many times, and I can say that game is something that consists of just boom boom boom.

The game does got some great explosions indeed.

[salesman]

Originally Posted by DustyPorViva

post

Wow, very very helpful, thanks...I'm definitely going to work on this. I'll try to add some smoke like you said, and revisit the shading/colors as well.

This was my first animation...about 2 hours of work, and 1 hour trying to figure out how to make an animated gif, lol.

[DustyPorViva]

For your first attempt at animation, an explosion is way the **** out of the realm of what I'd consider a, "Hello world."

[salesman]

Originally Posted by DustyPorViva

For your first attempt at animation, an explosion is way the **** out of the realm of what I'd consider a, "Hello world."

Haha yeah...but I needed one. It'll work as intended for now (small M203 explosion) until I can improve it.

Actually, I lied, this was my first animation a few years back: