How can I apply different actions to different parts of a 2D character?

Question

I am developing a 2D platform game in Java. The player has a gun in his hand every time. He needs to walk and shoot with the gun(arrow keys for walk and X key to shoot). The walk cycle takes 6 frames and i am able to import the sprite sheet and animate the sequence when I press arrow key. But i need to add the gun motion. The player holds the gun upwards and when X key is pressed he brings it straight and shoots. How to implement the walk + shoot action?

Answer 1

The player sprite is one piece.

Then either:

1. The sprite needs to not be one piece. Split it into two sprites and render them that way. The top and bottom halves can animate independently sometimes but dependently other times. See Contra.

2. You need special frames of sprite animation for walking and shooting simultaneously.