Megan Bannister conducted two experiments for a game design project. Experiment 1 involved creating pixel art characters of different sizes to populate the game world. She found that more detailed 64x64 pixel characters were better than the simpler 32x32 pixel ones. Experiment 2 was creating a running animation cycle to practice character animation. Megan animated both stick figure and full character versions and reflected that including basic walk cycles in the final game could add atmosphere versus more energetic running. Both experiments provided lessons on character and environment design that Megan plans to apply to the final project.

1. Experiments
Megan Bannister

2. Experiment 1
• For this experiment I practiced some pixel art
ideas for the game in different sizes. The
group of characters I made are 32x32 pixel.
• I also decided to create some 64x64
characters.
• The house was designed to live alongside the
32x32 people and is around 60 pixels tall.

3. Process
• I used the black pencil tool to create a silhouette for
each character on top of a 32x32 box. Then on a
separate layer I added the colours and details of each
design – I found that the detail was the most important
part of adding life to the character. For the blacksmith I
added wear to his apron and dirt on his face which
subtly adds a lot more to his character. After creating
the first silhouette of the old lady, I used her silhouette
to help shape the other designs so I wasn’t starting
from scratch every single time.
• For the house I used the line tool to create the outline
and the fill tool for the main colours. It might have
been more beneficial to work with a colour palette, so
the designs look more cohesive.

4. Reflection
• What elements of your experiments will you
include in your final product?
– I am going to include the size of the second lot of
characters but I’m going to add a lot of dynamic to
their design as they are very closed off figures. I
learnt from a video whilst I was creating these
experiments that a silhouette of the character should
explain a lot of what the character is. The silhouette
of the blacksmith is evidently a person but there is
not a lot else to say apart from the fact he has broad
shoulders.
– I realised through my experiment that even though
the 32x32 people have a lot of charm to them, it is
extremely hard to achieve intricate details. I noticed
this when trying to add meat and vegetable pictures
to the aprons to distinguish the butcher and grocer.

5. Experiment 2
For my second experiment I decided to do a run cycle. I planned to created a stick figure
version then a character version – I didn’t do this in any particular style, and certainly
not in the style I will be using, as I just wanted to get the hang of animating a run cycle.
I am doing this because in my video game project previously in the year I didn’t do any
complex animations, so I wanted to try something more difficult for the FMP.
I animated this on Photoshop then exported to Premier Pro to form it into a video
before exporting to YouTube.

6. Process
• I used a run cycle reference (shown below) to help with my animation. I started by drawing out a stick figure
version. I decided against using a head as I spent too long originally trying to figure out the positioning. Then I
copied and pasted the stick figure layers so I had the bones of the character version and added skin, clothes
and a head.
• I found that when it got to the character animation, I had to move some of the positions around or change how
they looked as they become a lot more noticeable when put onto a ‘proper’ person. The most challenging part
was making sure the legs looked correct as in the stick figure I had made them too short.
• Originally, I exported the animation with a transparent background. Then – upon uploading it – I realised the
transparent background turns black which meant the stick figure animation completely disappeared. I decided
to create a fun background with different sized brushes. When I exported it again to Premier Pro after adding a
background, I added a title that appears letter by letter. I did this by creating multiple text boxes and in each
one adding a letter.

7. Reflection
• What elements of your experiments will you include in
your final product?
• I am definitely going to add a walk cycle into my final
product. I don’t think I want to use a run cycle as the
game is a calm game - being able to run about may
take away from this effect. I also think it’s a good idea
to create the basics of an animation like a walk cycle
before adding the design on top to save time.
• Obviously, I will also be using a title screen for my
trailer but I think it will most likely go at the end of the
video as is conventional for a trailer.