Preview: The Stormtrooper ???

[nonnob3]

Hi everyone!
I am trying to create a new unit STORMTROOPER with the help of Kryten. I would like to have your opinion. Which is better:
The model of "Marine" unit or the model of "Paratrooper"?
Just trying to get an overall opinion from all the CIVILIZATION players Here are the images: Marine Model

 

[nonnob3]

...and the "Paratrooper" model:

 

[blue72]

You should try the Paratrooper model, because it's animations are really awesome! Specially the drop animation.

 

[Kryten]

Hello mate,

I think that the paratrooper base looks much better (but then I would, wouldn't I!). You did those touch-ups quick! It has a very Wehrmacht look to it now (being field grey helps).

In the Horse Archer thread you asked where people get the time to make some 150 frames. Well.... cutting the plug off your TV helps! In short, there is no easy way. About the only thing you can do is to start a fairly easy project. It may not look it, but that is what you have done.

For example, the paratrooper attack .flc only really needs 2 or 3 slightly different alternating frames, with just the SMG and arm recoiling, much easier than having to draw 15 Legonary sword arms waving about. And once you have the attack .flc done (in all 8 directions), you could use one or two of those frames for all the default directions (after all, the paratrooper default SE animation and fidget SE animation looks almost the same as the East attack animation).

Your best friend is the cut & paste tool. Draw a good first frame in one direction, clone it 15 times, then use cut & paste to reposition the moving bits (usually arms). This where I wish I had more time to learn about Paintshop Pro's layering tool. You could have the body as one layer, the arms as another, and so on. That should make it easier to move things about, but I don't know how to use it yet.

Anyone else got any tips?

 

[Dark Sheer]

Here is how I do it :

First I will look for a particular unit that has the parts that I want. Using the canoe as an example, I took the coracle graphic as posted by Kal-El and edit the coracle by removing the cover for the coracle, shorten the boat and recolor the part where the cover has been removed to get a base for the canoe.

Next I need a person who paddle the canoe along. I need someone that looks like a native Indian, the closes of them being the ancient worker. So I grab the ancient worker graphic and remove the legs, then I add new legs by drawing them in so the new graphic has the worker in semi-kneeling position. I then change the shovel into an oar and added a feather to the head.

Once this is done, I use the magic wand selection tool in PaintShopPro to select the background and then invert my selection. After that, I will just copy the inverted selection (ie. Anything that is not the background color) and paste it over to the base canoe graphic that I created from the coracle. For certain view where part of the canoe is going to cover the Indian, I will first copy that part of canoe and paste them into a separate file. This way I can repaste the selection back to the canoe frame after I paste the Indian in. As to each of the paddling action, I draw them frame by frame for the hand part only.

In fact, its just like Kryten has mentioned, cut and paste is the best tool to use when making an animation. No matter whether you are making them from scratch or copy from an existing one. Just remember that animation is a loop and the easiest way to make a loop is copy and paste. A simple loop will be as follow:


1->2->3->4->5->4->3->2->1->6->7->8->9->8->7->6

In the loop above, its 16 frame but actually only 9 unique frames. So, to reduce your work, after making frame 1, duplicate a copy then only make frame 2 between the two frame 1. After that duplicate frame 2 and make frame 3 in between the two frame 2 again. Hope this helps with all your animation needs.

 

[nonnob3]

To Dark sheers and Kryten,

Thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much
for giving me tips how to create an animation! Thank you Dark for that quick tutorial! I will still be asking the both of you questions about this Stormtrooper animation. I have just completed one.
Let me know how it looks.
Thanks agian for your GREAT Help!

 

[Dark Sheer]

Originally posted by nonnob3
To Dark sheers and Kryten,

Thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much
for giving me tips how to create an animation! Thank you Dark for that quick tutorial! I will still be asking the both of you questions about this Stormtrooper animation. I have just completed one.
Let me know how it looks.
Thanks agian for your GREAT Help!

It looks good! I hope this is not how big the actual frame of the animation is though. You might want to make the animation frame a little larger than the graphic itself. The reason for this is you will need those extra space around the graphic later.

If you make it a standard to keep your frame a little larger, you don't have to worry about space when it comes to view such as SW,SE,NW,NE as these views take more height than the normal E,W view. Also, you will need those extra space for the death animation as well.

 

[dannyevilcat]

I've been hoping someone would get around to working on a stormtrooper unit. I started working on my own some time back, but I'm not very good with animation.
Anyway, I just wanted to post my work here, if it might help you (I think I did a pretty good job on the helmet).

 

[Dark Sheer]

Originally posted by dannyevilcat
I've been hoping someone would get around to working on a stormtrooper unit. I started working on my own some time back, but I'm not very good with animation.
Anyway, I just wanted to post my work here, if it might help you (I think I did a pretty good job on the helmet).

Hey! Thats some high quality work danny!

Even if they are not used for stormtroopers, they should be used for WWII german infantry. You even make those gas mask can that every german soldiers carry!

 

[dannyevilcat]

Originally posted by Dark Sheer


Hey! Thats some high quality work danny!

Even if they are not used for stormtroopers, they should be used for WWII german infantry. You even make those gas mask can that every german soldiers carry!

Thanks, DS! Hey... if you feel like it, when you get the time or if you have any interest in doing so, I'd be happy as a clam if you, or someone else, finished it.
Just putting that out there, so don't feel bad if you don't want to. I just can't see myself ever finishing it, and yet I'd love to use the unit.

*sigh* I just don't have the patience required to be a successful animator.

 

[nonnob3]

Thanks to Danneyevilcat (AWSOME STORMTROOPER DEFAULT IMAGES ) I was able to create a new looking and better animation. And the Helemet did it all

What do you all think?

 

[nonnob3]

...Stormtrooper

 

[nonnog6]

...some how I am having problems getting it attached...
I tried signing in with my other name, It is not playing the animation.

 

[Kryten]

Originally posted by dannyevilcat
I've been hoping someone would get around to working on a stormtrooper unit. I started working on my own some time back, but I'm not very good with animation.
Anyway, I just wanted to post my work here, if it might help you (I think I did a pretty good job on the helmet).

You're better than you think! It's a shame that you can't finish it, but I DO understand the time it takes. Even so, do you have any tips about how you created it for the rest of us?
Oh, and watch out for the G82V's (that's right, the Geriatric 82nd Veterans!)

Hey, nonnob (you have REALLY got to get a better name!),

...have you considered experimenting with the blur tools in Paintshop Pro? They can help to give 'instant shading' if used cautiously. Try bluring your picture, then redrawing around the edges and the shadow under the hat and the SMG to 'sharpen' them (if you find that the 'blur' tool is a bit harsh, try removing the ground shadow, then rotating the image 45 degrees and back again. This is a 'softer' way to blur). Make a backup first though, in case you think it's a bad idea.

Just remembered....change the background from pink to black first, otherwise the edges will have a pink tinge.

 

[Grey Fox]

Could I use this unit in my WW2 MOD when it's done?

You can find the MOD here:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18078

 

[King of Camelot]

Great work!

 

[nonnob3]

Thank you for your compliments. And yes Kryten, it does take a while to create a unit
I have checked out the "blur" stuff on Paint pro 7.0 but it does not work. BTW, ck out this new Default.flc
Later on I will be asking for your tips how to put this unit into the game. I think FLICster is the program. i have downloaded it, I just need some info
Meanwhile I also want to play Civ3 , I need some time for that too!

Have a good day!

 

[nonnob3]

..default

 

[nonnob3]

hope this one attached

 

[nonnob3]

here is another attack