It's a feeling almost like I figured out the answer to a difficult puzzle or solved a daunting equation. Like I mentioned before, both have their disadvantages as well as their advantages, but I get a feeling of great joy when I'm able to naturally move a character in pixels. In 3D animation, slow steady movement over time is pretty easy, but in pixels, it can be very difficult to effectively do slow, subtle movement.

The clarity of a pixel model is always a trick of the eye and clever placement of pixels, but in 3D you have a lot more freedom to sculpt and organically create the forms you are trying to communicate. Since everything with pixels is so limited you don't really have the chance to be bogged down with fine grain details and you can focus on the general feel of the character, the motion of the movement, and the volume of the forms.ĭespite all that, the issues that I typically deal with are ones of clarity in the poses and rigidness in their movements. I tend to agree with his sentiments the reason being, working in pixel animation is all about working with the form of the thing you are animating. This is coming from a guy who has a lot of experience in high-detail line animation, 3D animation, pencil-on-paper animation, and - of course - pixel animation. In 3D, it's simple for your mind to accept the visuals of a 3D head looking up, even if it is far away, but in pixels you have to do all kinds of tricks to make the eye think that the head isn't distorting or that the face isn't melting.Īs for the animation side? A friend of mine once said that pixel animation is the most pure of all animation. Especially if the character is turning their head in any way. Faces have always been hard to communicate well.

For modelling a character in pixels, you often have to make strange decisions when creating the face of the character, for example.

Shovel knight sprite