Stencyl: Creating a walking animation from Piskel

Web Craftie
28 Jul 201606:11

TLDRThe video tutorial demonstrates how to create a walking animation in Stencyl using Piskel. It covers duplicating frames for simplicity, adjusting pixel size, and creating a smooth walking motion. The process includes exporting the sprite sheet as a 2x2 layout, importing it into Stencyl, and adjusting the appearance for both walk right and walk left animations. The tutorial also reminds viewers to modify collision settings for the new animations.

Takeaways

  • 😀 Creating a walking animation involves duplicating frames to maintain consistent timing.
  • 🎨 The speaker opts for a 32x32 pixel size for ease of working with the character's details.
  • 🔄 The process includes adjusting the character's leg positions to create the illusion of movement.
  • 👉 The character's leg is moved forward and backward to simulate walking.
  • 🎭 The character's color and shading are adjusted to enhance the visual appeal of the animation.
  • 🚀 To create a bouncing effect, the character's height is slightly varied in the animation frames.
  • 📐 The sprite sheet is organized in a 2x2 layout corresponding to the four frames of the walking cycle.
  • 🔄 Flipping the sprite sheet horizontally allows for creating a 'walk left' animation from a 'walk right'.
  • 💾 Exporting the sprite sheets is a crucial step to prepare them for use in the game engine.
  • 🛠️ Importing and adjusting the sprite sheets in Stencyl involves resizing and setting the correct frame layout.
  • 🔄 It's important to update collision settings when changing animations to ensure proper game mechanics.
  • 🔧 The speaker suggests that the same principles can be applied to create other animations like jumping or running.

Q & A

  • What is the main topic of the transcript?

    -The main topic of the transcript is creating a walking animation for a game character using Piskel and Stencyl.

  • Why does the speaker choose to duplicate the frame instead of redrawing it?

    -The speaker chooses to duplicate the frame to simplify the process and maintain consistent timing for the animation.

  • What is the initial frame count the speaker mentions?

    -The initial frame count mentioned is four.

  • Why does the speaker decide to convert the animation back to 32 pixels?

    -The speaker prefers working with 32 pixels because it was easier and they liked the pixel size.

  • How does the speaker approach creating the walking animation?

    -The speaker approaches it by recreating the steps, adjusting the leg positions, and making the character appear to bounce slightly to simulate walking.

  • What is the sprite sheet layout used for exporting the walking animation?

    -The sprite sheet layout used for exporting is two columns by two rows.

  • How does the speaker create a 'walk left' animation from the 'walk right' animation?

    -The speaker creates the 'walk left' animation by flipping all the frames of the 'walk right' animation.

  • What is the process for importing the animations into Stencyl?

    -The process involves dragging the exported sprite sheet into Stencyl, naming it, choosing the image, setting the layout to match the export, and then adding it.

  • Why does the speaker forget to multiply everything by ten and how do they fix it?

    -The speaker forgets to account for the resize factor initially. They fix it by going back to the resize settings, re-exporting the sprite sheet, and then importing it again.

  • How does the speaker address the issue of collisions for walk left and walk right animations?

    -The speaker mentions that the collisions for walk left and right need to be adjusted but does not show the process, suggesting that it is similar to the adjustments made for previous animations.

  • What does the speaker suggest for changing other graphics like jumping or running?

    -The speaker suggests using the same ideas and concepts shown for the walking animation to change other graphics like jumping or running.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Animation Frame Duplication and Sprite Sheet Creation

The speaker discusses the process of animating a character by duplicating frames to simplify the animation workflow. They mention converting the animation to a 32-pixel scale for ease of use and then proceed to adjust the character's limbs to create the illusion of walking. The character's leg movements are detailed, including making one leg move forward and the other backward to simulate walking. The speaker also touches on the use of color changes and frame adjustments to enhance the animation. They conclude by exporting the animation as a sprite sheet with a 2x2 layout, demonstrating how to implement the walk right and walk left animations in a game engine, including flipping the frames for the walk left animation.

05:02

🔄 Implementing and Adjusting Animation in Game Development

In this paragraph, the focus shifts to implementing the newly created walk animations into a game development environment. The speaker explains how to add the walk right animation to the game's frame selection and ensure it aligns with the 2x2 sprite sheet layout. They also mention the need to adjust collision settings for the walk left and right animations, which were overlooked initially. The speaker assumes that the audience can apply the same principles used for the idle and walking animations to adjust jumping or running animations. The paragraph ends with a reminder that the audience should be able to adapt the concepts learned to modify other graphics in the game.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Piskel

Piskel is a free online pixel art editor used for creating animations and sprites for video games. In the video, Piskel is used to create a walking animation by duplicating and modifying frames to form a sequence that represents a character's movement. The script mentions converting the animation back to 32 pixels, indicating a preference for working with a specific resolution that is easier for pixel art.

💡Sprite Sheet

A sprite sheet, also known as a texture atlas, is a larger image containing a collection of smaller images, known as sprites. In the context of the video, the sprite sheet is used to organize the walking animation frames into a 2x2 layout, which is then exported for use in a game development environment like Stencyl.

💡Animation Frames

Animation frames refer to the individual images that make up an animated sequence. The script discusses duplicating frames and altering them to create the illusion of movement. For example, the character's leg is moved forward in one frame and backward in another to simulate walking.

💡Pixel Art

Pixel art is a form of digital art where images are created on the pixel level. The video script mentions working with 32 pixels, which is a reference to the resolution or size of the individual images used in the animation. Pixel art is often used in video games for its nostalgic appeal and simplicity.

💡Duplicate Frame

In the context of animation, duplicating a frame means creating an exact copy of an existing frame to use in the animation sequence. The script mentions duplicating frames to simplify the animation process and maintain consistent timing between frames.

💡Walking Animation

A walking animation is a sequence of images that, when played in order, give the illusion that a character is walking. The video script describes the process of creating such an animation, including adjusting the character's legs and body to simulate the motion of walking.

💡Export

In digital art and animation, exporting refers to the process of saving or converting a project into a specific file format that can be used elsewhere. The script describes exporting the sprite sheet with the walking animation in a 2x2 layout for use in game development.

💡Stencyl

Stencyl is a game development platform that allows users to create games without writing code. In the video, Stencyl is used to import the exported sprite sheet and set up the walking animation for a game character. The script mentions adding the animation to the game's appearance and behavior.

💡Flip

Flipping an image or animation frame is the process of creating a mirror image of it. In the script, the creator flips all the frames of the walking animation to create a 'walk left' version from the original 'walk right' animation.

💡Collisions

In game development, collisions refer to the detection of when two objects in a game intersect or touch. The script mentions changing the collision settings for the walk left and walk right animations to ensure the game character interacts correctly with the game environment.

💡Behaviors

In Stencyl, behaviors are components that define how game actors (like characters) will act and interact within the game world. The script discusses replacing the default behaviors with new ones that incorporate the custom walking animations created in Piskel.

Highlights

Creating a walking animation by duplicating frames for simplicity and timing consistency.

Deciding on the number of frames for the walking animation, opting for four frames for ease.

Converting the animation to a 32-pixel size for easier pixel work.

Grabbing and adjusting shades to create a step in the walking animation.

Moving the leg forward to depict the walking motion in the animation.

Creating a leg going backward to simulate the walking cycle.

Adjusting the animation to make the character appear as if bouncing slightly while walking.

Exporting the sprite sheet in a 2x2 layout to match the four frames of the walking animation.

Downloading and importing the sprite sheet into Stencyl for further use.

Creating walk left animation by flipping the walk right frames.

Importing and setting up the walk left and walk right animations in Stencyl.

Forgetting to multiply the size by ten and correcting it by resizing and re-exporting.

Adding the walk right animation to the Stencyl project.

Adjusting the walk left animation to match the original setup.

Importing the corrected walk left image into Stencyl and setting it up.

Adding the walk animations to the behaviors in Stencyl and testing them.

Ensuring the idle animations are working correctly with the new walk animations.

Addressing the need to adjust collision settings for the walk left and right animations.

Encouraging users to apply the same concepts to change other graphics in the project.