Running Sprite Animation

I just started using Construct2, started to create my sprite using MS Paint and paint shop pro. I was wondering if there is a program that doesn't cost $300 that will help me with the extra frames needed for the run cycle. I tried doing it in psp x4, and although the first frame came out good, I am finding it difficult to get the leg moveme to look a little natural. The sprite will be for a side scrolling platform.

Thanks for any help.

gimp.org is free. You will ahve to put some time in to learning it. You will be able to create layers that ill help you comparing the frames .

you can check out spriter, which is designed to be very easy to animate with. There is a construct 2 plugin in the works.

You might also want to check out paint.net which is a simple program like Windows Paint, but you can do a lot more, like easily add layers and make transparent images. There are also a lot of nice, free plugins on the web.

All of the programs they suggested for digital art are great, but to get an idea how to have your character's body positioned, you're going to want to find some reference for your drawings. An excellent source of photo reference is the Muybridge books. Just look up his name on google and you'll see plenty of photo's from his books.

If you are just looking for a simple breakdown of how to draw it, check into the Preston Blair animation books. The image below is from that book and may be all you need:

<img src="http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/p_images/walk_2_legs%28side%29.gif" border="0" />

Also, you might want to try just doing it on paper and then scanning it into the computer. That way you can see through your pages while you draw and keep the proportions right. You can then use the other mentioned programs to either trace your rough sketches or clean them up. Hope that helps.

Cool... Thanks for the replies. I'll check each one out. Thank you sman118 for that image. Weird, I googled cartoon run images and that one didn't come up.

Thanks again.