One-Armed Contact Juggler Animation, in case you need more challenge :P

[Kilyle]

I am wondering how easy it will be to convey this happening via the sprite-size constraints, and whether I might need to do something like a cut scene instead with better animation.  Or perhaps a double-sized sprite or something (close-up, of sorts).  But maybe someone would be willing to give it a shot?  (There's no rush -- my project is in the early planning stages.)

So the setting is modern urban America (West Coast, likely Washington State), and there's a Greek guy, a veteran who lost his arm (from just above the elbow I'm thinking) in a recent war.  Not too old, probably mid twenties.  He comes home depressed at the loss of all his former dreams about his future, shuts himself in his apartment and develops a game compulsion.  My game in general is about developing relationships with your neighbors (all the apartments around yours) and learning their particular traumas and talking it out with them, offering viewpoint that both helps them come to grips with their own situation and gradually reveals and clarifies the history of the main character (eventually helping her to face up to her past as well).

So eventually, this guy starts to get over his depression, stops obsessing about lost opportunities, and begins to consider the many things he could still do with his life.  The way I've chosen to symbolize this is that he enjoyed juggling before, but since he can't juggle anymore he takes up contact juggling which is still doable even for a one-and-a-half-armed man.  (It's also a lot of fun to get so in tune with the movement of the ball that you can even close your eyes and do it, but that's another story.)

When the main character sees him in a scene that confirms he's started on the road to recovery, he's rolling a ball around, trying to get used to the movement, and looking happy.  Then he sees her watching and shoots her a grin.

The style of art I'm trying for would be like this and this.  The character would look like, um... (quick search) second picture of #15 on this list when he went off to the military, but when we meet him he's been weathered by war and has let himself go (longer hair and beard, most noticeably), more like first picture of #4 but a bit younger.  Only, that's a list of handsome models, and while I figure he's not bad-looking and certainly not out of shape, he's not supposed to be a model either.

So having a walking animation to start with would be great.  Bonus if you also make a "playing with games on phone his" animation (leaning on a wall while doing so would be neat, but standing or sitting would be fine).

As to the juggling itself, a simple Windshield Wiper or half-Butterfly would be fine if you don't want to get too complex; it'd show that he's just starting to get the basic moves down.  Ideally he'd go from that to catching the ball and slipping it into his pocket.

A more complex early-skills routine would involve a couple of those then a Chest Roll or Behind the Neck Roll, transfer from the half-arm back to the full arm, another half-Butterfly then Elbow Stall, pause, look over toward the main character (away from ball), and grin.  And then a quick pop into the air, catch on the fingertips, let fall into palm of hand and slip it into pocket of pants (at which point I can segue to regular sprites).

Colors... um, I think he avoids colors that remind him of the war, so nothing red, and probably nothing that looks like camouflage.  Grays, maybe.  Greens or blues.  The ball needs to be distinct from his outfit so it shows well, but shouldn't be red.

[RockJohnAxe]

[Kilyle]

The very concept of a one-armed Greek veteran contact juggler routine as an RPG Maker sprite, or my long-winded way of describing it?

Also, I'm annoyed that "playing with games on phone his" slipped past me when I posted that.  Must've been tired.

[Prpl_Mage]

Well, it could be done but it sounds like some of your tricks could be kinda tricky to make smooth. Maybe it would be wise to make the balls and their animation a separate object. I suppose that would ease a lot of things.

I'd love to help you with both this and the Sikh but I'm afraid that I just don't have that time at the moment. Try to experiment with the styles you like and maybe if you get the character done I could help you out with the animations.

[Kilyle]

I'm not sure if it would be easier or harder to have the ball animation be separate from the character.  One of the neat things about contact juggling in particular is that the ball seems to follow the hand, when it's really that you toss the ball in a specific way and have your hand follow it smoothly (or weave around the ball in motion, and so forth).  I'm really wondering how easy it'll be to get the animation to work in normal character resolution to begin with... though I do think it's doable.

As I said over on the Sikh request, this project is a long way from needing the graphics, so I'm just kinda putting a couple feelers out, trying to see what can be done.  No rush, not by a long shot.