Pixel Art Class - Attack Effects!

Heya Pals!
I spent all weekend putting together this one for you. It's been a while since I produced a full lecture / tutorial like this, but I know you all enjoy them so much so I wanted to put the effort in. This is one of the longest videos I've produced, over an hour long!
In this one, we've got a deep dive into attack effects, particularly sword effects.
Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
0:32 - What are Attack Effects?
5:02 - Smash Bros Analysis
10:38 - Insignia Frame Breakdown
11:53 - Frames & Animation Curves
16:30 - Indie Game Analysis
27:20 - Before you Start Animating...
28:03 - Animation Setup
29:03 - Hitboxes & Drafting the Motion
33:06 - Double Ellipse Trick
34:32 - The Job of a Sword Smear
36:21 - Air Trails
39:20 - Character Silhouette
43:07 - Refining the Smear
46:45 - Expression through Particle Animation
52:38 - Giving the Smear Volume
55:25 - Adding the Hit Effect
57:40 - Adding Elemental Effects
58:45 - Balancing the Composition
1:02:39 - Outro
Music:
Helynt + Gamechops [Gamechops.com]
----
This video features clips from my stream. Catch it live: Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fri 1-6pm AEST.
Twitch: / adamcyounis
Twitter: / adamcyounis
Discord: / discord
Become a Patron at / adamcyounis
Download assets and games from the stream at uppon-hill.itch.io/
Later, pals!

[@abeersharma9487]

How can someone explain it so well like I really love ur classes, u really are teaching not just showing ur self doing those complex things

[@coreymusicman1]

I am actually a sound designer for games, but I recently started making a game that is a 2d Pixel platformer and while this channel didnt inspire that, it is quickly becoming a high value resource for making that process easier and better. Thanks for the content! (Also, loved the low-fi, chill pokemon music in the background lol)

[@znJakobnz]

I dont even do pixel art and I've been watching you for ages. Love the way it looks and you have a very nice voice. thanks for the great content!

[@Namgyalgamer]

Lol what is the point for watching

[@znJakobnz]

I find him entertaining and it's interesting

[@Namgyalgamer]

Good for you.

[@zigzagblade]

indie-tales ≡ indietails ≡ in - details And everyone liked that.

[@Manas-co8wl]

Hooray

[@Visigoth_]

49:50 That's a great looking animation... I just want to mention though: too many game devs get caught up in "trying to show their best" that they over do it... knowing when to increase complexity and when to simplify is also a really important part of artistic expression. That animation would be great for a "powerful move" (but way too over the top for your basic attack "the one that you might spam"). Eventually "effects artists" get comically carried away and they end up making it almost impossible to tell what's going on "because of stimulus/ visual overload" (when everything is MAXIMUM EFFECTS! Then none of them matter anymore/ no "one" effect can contribute to the "impact").

[@ghriankashtagelenski6577]

A one hour pixel art class by adam, this going to be good. Thank you for posting this!

[@CasualChris247]

i love how you break down the logic behind why things animate the way they do. you always have such insightful videos.

[@cheesymcnuggets]

I did not expect to learn to so much but tbf your videos have been very helpful so i shouldve expected it. Also it amazes me how you managed to put that animation together so quickly and fluently, it looks badass

[@souldatrickster1828]

I had a general idea of how to do a sword swing, but this exponentially improved my thought process and I’m so happy to have seen this! Thanks for making this Adam!

[@fauxshowyo]

i finally start making games and your videos have been like a huge cheat unlock code where i feel i've saved a good couple years of having to struggle through learning the important aspects of game-specific animation and what not.

[@theotutuianu5567]

adam pls do not stop uploading these videos theyre honestly so amazing. ur part of the reason i started making a pixel art game and ive been learning so much from you

[@chodassae]

I love how you explain every step!! THIS IS AMAZING

[@tacobeck19]

Honestly, this is just the coolest. I am so down on myself a lot as I don't think I am very good with my artwork but, you sir, are great at inspiring. Well done!

[@l1nvs-206]

Yesterday I was struggling with attack animations and today you release this video. I love this channel

[@linked3]

I like how analytic your approach to these topics is. I am learning a lot form your studies and your experience.

[@Raexxna]

Thanks mate, your tutorials are great! I've definitely found a bit more style and direction with the art in my game since watching your stuff.

[@paulkanja]

It's been a couple of months, thanks for blessing us with this tutorial 🙏

[@deepennyway3844]

The way you develop the dissipation of particles is super interesting, it always makes me want to grab the tablet I don't have and give it a go

[@DarkuGaming]

This was super well explained, id definatelly will be learning from this channel. awesome stuff.

[@Cridder]

Thanks for the detailed tutorial. I teach Computers class and have a large number of students interested in Pixel Art. When I don't have time to help them animate, or they need another perspective, I often send them to your tutorials because they are so great and detailed. Keep it up.

[@ToniJabroni42]

Loved this entire analysis. I just started practicing pixel art recently. Very helpful in understanding how and why artists do what they do. Subscribed for more.

[@ThatBoiLoFi]

I can't put in words how much ia ppreciate this guy always teaching us such valueable knowledge on pixel art, thank you so much this man is the GOAT of pxiel teachers. P.S. That chill voice be bussin too

[@arcuny.8680]

Love your content! You are helping me so much, thank you!

[@cool.guy.]

U are a saint for making these in depth videos

[@alexandre2bi554]

Awesome

[@bananapeelonhead]

wait wait wait... Indie Tales... IN DETAILS? That makes so much sense, your videos being so in-depth

[@Gouda2]

You are so cute! I am from Brazil, and I rarely come across videos with your unique style in my region. Thank you for providing such amazing content on your channel!

[@zarrakai]

Thanks so much for this tutorial ! I love the way you explain things, your words are really well chosen and precise ! You really helped me step up in my pixel art / animation skills for a long time and I wanted to thank you a lot ! 😊 I would be interested to see how you would draw a hit effect like this one but with a bow and arrow. I think the principles are the same but i'm sure there are a lot of things that can make it more realistic. Have a nice day !

[@apoxfox]

An hour long video 😯 what a treat!

[@Weeros]

Hey Adam, thank you so much for this, this was so useful for what I'm trying to learn myself right now! You have such a strong command and intuition of where to put what in the animation to emphasize what you want to emphasize, it's just fascinating to watch and listen you explain your thought process. As these effects are so cool and there's also so much input here to designing these effects whether by drawing them with pixel art, but also creating them with particles, I wouldn't honestly mind watching you another hour just to see you design a different kind of effect. Maybe on the streams at least? :) Further, something I'd be very interested in seeing a video on: Once you've made great hit effects, how to actually implement a sprite based hit effect in Unity at the moment of the hit? Do you feed it to a particle system? Do you instantiate a gameobject with the effect? Something to do with shaders? I haven't really seen a great implementation of this so would be really fascinating to see!

[@AdamCYounis]

Hey! Thanks for your comment. Regarding your question, it's a really complicated one that doesn't have an easy answer, as it's dependent on your intended design. In the Katana Zero sample I showed, there were examples of all of your guesses. Shaders, particle systems, instanced hand-drawn sprites. They're all working together in that design. Personally I still sometimes question which techniques / tools are most appropriate for a given effect, and there have been times where I've tried one and switched to another, even recently.

[@lance5299]

Incredible video, thanks Adam. Maybe a video on a day night cycle? There is a lot of nuance in the hue/value shifting or the effects you might add to the sprites to blend them in.

[@fernmiranda]

I was skeptical. I’m now inspired.

[@Bigbrain1069]

LOVE your videos!

[@CalvinAl3x]

thanks for all your help, starting my first prototype thanks to your videos

[@plantmantheplant843]

Hi Adam Thankyou for the incredible content, it's greatly appreciated as always! as someone getting into games design, I would love to see a more descriptive video of your career choices, paths and interesting moments throughout life earlier down the line. I'm 17 at the moment and I aspire to be more like you when I'm a little older. I know you have released a couple videos on the journey of Insignia but a more detailed video discussing topics such as how old you were when you started programming or animation and pixel art and your experience with it. It would be interesting for sure! and would certainly be useful to me and others alike.

[@1Hiro]

I like pixel games and your all videos are so amazing.

[@windproxy4362]

Great stuff. Thanks!

[@veikksandy6865]

This is awesome💖Thank you so much

[@therceman]

Awesome 🤩 a bit long tutorial but definitely worth all the time 👍 thanks

[@Kuroten01]

For the smash bros animation with marth at 5:48, the star communicates that the player is fast falling (a manuever in the game to fall faster), normally it doesn't appear with the animation.

[@mr_clean575]

Great video and analysis. Not sure if this would cause copyright issues but I really would have loved to see what the full animations look like in real time for each example, along with the discussion on the individual frames. I think that would have provided some extremely helpful context to the design styles made for each animation, as well as showing how those different styles actually look in application. Just my two cents.

[@jaytee2992]

Bro you are the GOAT

[@jamranny2802]

so good!

[@manuelamaya9131]

Thanks you for this video!

[@uthmanjimmy1377]

Some solid knowledge here! Btw the flash in smash is a visual indicator that the player is fast falling and is not related to his attacks

[@aarononeale7727]

Awesome video

[@Anim8ionManiac]

Thanks for the video, it's great, I think that the effect on the impact frame looks to be behind the character, i think it should originate in the point of contact

[@chrisbranski]

Loved the video, always wanted to achieve this level of pixel art, still working on it. I would love to do some sound effects or music for you if you want! for free of course. Keep the great work!

[@SeySvK]

this is gold

[@omidiartgaming4102]

thank you!

[@user-hs3bm4hf2s]

hey you've got me into pixel art, I'm starting to make a game

[@weregoat529]

I learned something!

[@SomebodythatIusetoknow123]

COOL TUTO

[@monkii_man]

Oooooh this could be quite helpful👀

[@noahstalcup155]

While not really a tutorial, I’d love to see your take on some famous game characters like Mario, sonic, Seamus, etc.

[@bobobobob2]

Mann this would've helped me so much if this was out like a year ago

[@RyanShappa]

Can you do another video like this for 3D games? Love your videos!

[@MegaJotie]

oo baby

[@englishshadrick5296]

would you do a video on good ways to get a job as a pixel artist? ps love your vids

[@JohnDoe-bo5yk]

I'm struggling a bit at the moment,i am mainly a programmer but my "still" pixel art has improved immensely over the last few months, but im currently trying to animate a sword hit effect on an enemy, but the character attacking doesnt make contact, think like older FF games where the actor moves towards the enemy, stops and then the attack animation plays on the enemy. Ive made some really nice pieces for a game me and my mate have been working on for about 6 months now and were at the point where the game works and we need to focus our attention on art/animation/sound which neither of us are well versed in, and man, im trying to make a tripple slash effect and i just cant get the timing/shape right to give each slash or even a single slash any real impact 😢

[@itsbabbz]

What do you use for your research document? I just loved the whiteboard style of it.

[@AdamCYounis]

That would be Leonardo (for windows)

[@adamk1325]

I learn anatomy in digital art to learn how to draw characters in pixel art where my goals at the start is actually landscape pixel art (characters too but landscape first). My goals really are not in order ^^;

[@corely_io]

hey Teach! could u plz make a video on making a portfolio for pixel art and animation to get started on the career journey...

[@teo2805]

Gotta be honest, the full +1h videos/livestream montage(are they?) are very overwhelming. I wish they were a bit more bite-sized. They're very good, I just wish this was broken down into smaller videos like one for the smear, one for the character and swing... Idk Love the content, its just really hard to sit through a whole ass lesson at times ha

[@SnowPeaGames]

As excited as I got at the hour plus video, 20-35 minute parts really is the sweetspot

[@AdamCYounis]

I record these kinds of videos offline. There's no script but I'll usually do multiple takes to see if I can say something clearer, which I wouldn't do while streaming. I'll be honest I usually aim for something around that 25-35min mark... I don't know what it is about this topic that seemed to go so deep down the rabbit hole but it seemed to flow reasonably enough. I can understand it's a lot though, of course. The upside is the "theory" and "practice" parts are split about 30 minutes each, so there should be a natural point to end the first session if you want to watch it in two parts.

[@DeadByDeath]

I just started pixel art to start making a game, and at the start of this video you said you shouldn't line up in aseprite, you should do it in engine. Is there a video of you doing this in engine?

[@Pippocallipo96]

What command do you use to see the "Shadow" of the swoosh in every frame, beacuase when i change frame it desapeers and i can't draw the exact swoosh in every single frame?

[@tgty5519]

F3, that's the "show onion" command. I hope you found the answer before me telling you 3 months later x)....

[@Manas-co8wl]

Adam I really love your videos but I think your voice/sound is often just a little too small in many clips, especially this one. I think it might be a recording environment issue. So apparently this is only when I use earpods, so take it with a grain of salt. It's still low volume compared to other vids though

[@abdoulraoufgambo]

Adam❤️

[@user-iw8xn6li1k]

What program do you use to animate

[@barbarosking3694]

@AdamCyounis can you give me link of your Asprite dark mode

[@Ethanshmeethan00]

What program are you using to animate?

[@dnajlwosqkdasjczdbkahdwcs]

He uses Aseprite. It's really good.

[@antoine__3925]

What is the software please ?

[@zeldinus]

Algo comment.

[@Manas-co8wl]

Algo reply.

[@edgargarcia8282]

En español por favor

[@TomasTlm]

Печально что нет субтитров.

[@roockiebatleboa7704]

I am dedicating more time through day in pixelart thank to you, and i would like to know if there is a discord where we could share work, i am asking it because i think i need some critics on what i am doing to improve and have an extern view of it