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Hi,

We are starting a new project that is pixel-art based. We would like to use our beloved spine with it if possible but we are a bit afraid of mesh rotations.

After looking for information in the forums I have found almost no information about games using spine and pixel art with satisfactory results.

Could anybody that have used spine with pixel-art explain a bit what workflow to follow to get good results? I would really appreciate any information. Or at least see some shiped games in pixel art created with spine.

Thanks in advance.

Hey there,

We use Spine for all our pixel animations in Boss 101. (you can check the game out in the links in my signature). Most all the pixel art animation is done with it. If I had to sum up using Spine (or any other bone based animation system) I think I would say play to the strengths of the program and downplay the weaknesses. This will probably mean drawing a little more than you might expect but the end result is worth it. Our general rules (that get broken from time to time) are:

1. Use spine for creating skeletons that move or rotate. Pixel rotation for us has never been an issue and looks more than acceptable for our goals. In fact we have had a lot of people ask about how we make the rotation look good. I don't know if that's GameMaker's rendering of the Spine info or what but there you go. Moving = good. Rotation = good
2. Avoid bending or warping single images. Yes, you can get away with it for foliage but bending arms from a single image and the like doesn't always work so well. Your mileage may vary and maybe you have an ultimate solution. I have not explored it or seen one.
3. Avoid non-linear scaling except perhaps in VFX or over the top moments. Again - most of the time this looks terrible but perhaps you know a method that works.
4. Draw more frames and cycle the animations in the image slot. I know you probably don't want to hear that but we do it all the time. Doors opening, blinking, tiny movements, damage states - we do all of this by drawing more frames and using Spine to cycle/animate images. We have things like smoke stacks and just draw X frames of cool smoke, load it into Spine and then play that animation. Works and looks good. If you are doing pixel art you probably already realize that drawing things is the general 'go to' thing anyway.

There's more but hopefully that answers some questions. Mostly, if you can't do it easily in Spine then draw it and import the frames. That will always work. Personally, I don't look at pixel art as a shortcut as much as a different dev process than say, 3D. This is coming from a 26 year vet of 2d, 3d art and animation in games.

-Tim

Great advice Tim!

People often move from spritesheets to Spine and then try to do everything without any image swaps

from one extreme to the other. I agree that you shouldn't be shy about drawing new images. You'll still only draw a fraction of what you would have without Spine.

Nate wrote

Great advice Tim!

People often move from spritesheets to Spine and then try to do everything without any image swaps

from one extreme to the other. I agree that you shouldn't be shy about drawing new images. You'll still only draw a fraction of what you would have without Spine.

Yep Nate, this exactly.

I think the #1 fallacy of pixel art and skeletal animation is you don't need to swap images. It simply isn't true. You should not fear drawing multiple images but, exactly as you mention, Spine will save you a huge amount of work regardless. Play to the strengths and you will go a long way.

-Tim