| name | game-animation-frames |
| description | Deep guide for game ANIMATION assets: motion cycles, action keyframes, effect sequences, and animation sprite sheets — built around a video-first pipeline (animate the base with image_to_video, then harvest the frames). Use whenever generating anything that moves: walk/run cycles, attacks, idles, FX, flags, fire, animation sheets. Complements game-asset-core.
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| metadata | {"short-description":"Video-first animation frames that actually cycle"} |
Animation Frames — video-first
The image generator draws poses; the VIDEO generator understands motion —
leg alternation, arc continuity, cloth and fire dynamics come free because
video must animate them. So don't ask the image model to imagine
mid-motion poses: animate the base and harvest real frames.
Default pipeline
- Base frame. Generate the subject in its neutral/starting pose with
full style words, flat keyable background, side/game-appropriate view
(game-asset-core defaults apply).
- Animate.
image_to_video from the base: one clear motion, in place,
static camera ("the knight walks in place, side view, camera locked",
6s). Keep the shot simple — one subject, one motion.
- Harvest. Extract densely:
ffmpeg -i clip.mp4 -vf fps=12 f%03d.png
(~72 frames from 6s). View them as a set (contact sheet or batches).
- Select. Pick the frames that (a) capture the motion's distinct
phases and (b) LOOP — the sequence's end must flow back into its start.
Don't force a count: if the motion reads best with 8, 10, or 12 frames,
deliver that many (more frames = smoother in-engine; they're already
generated). For a cycle, select one full period, using motion landmarks
(foot contacts, wing extremes, flame peaks) to find period boundaries.
- Clean. Video frames may drift from the base's palette/crispness or
background. If needed, run selected frames through
image_edit to
restore the flat background/style ("same pose exactly, restore the flat
#hex background and cel-shaded style"), or key/clean with PIL. Verify
cleaned frames didn't change pose.
- Package. Deliver frames in play order (zero-padded names) and/or
composite a sheet per game-asset-core sheet rules (uniform cells, no
dividers). State the intended fps.
Fall back to keyframe-by-keyframe image_edit generation only when video
fails the motion (rare: very stylized poses, single dramatic keyframes) —
and then plan phases yourself and obey the laws below.
Motion laws (verify against these, whatever the pipeline)
- Cycles loop; alternating gaits spend half the period mirrored.
- Continuity: limbs, props, anatomy, effects move on continuous paths —
nothing teleports, vanishes, or duplicates between adjacent frames.
- Physics reads in stills: airborne shows air, anticipation compresses,
follow-through overshoots; effects stay anchored to their origin unless
the request moves them.
- Energy matches the ask: idle/subtle means barely-different frames.
Verify — the flip test
View the final frames strictly in order and narrate the motion; check
loop closure explicitly (last→first). A hedge in your narration is a
failed frame. The video pipeline usually passes this on the first try —
that's why it's the default.
