[NEWBIE] [WIP] [CC] Video game character

[BeckaMan]

Supposed to be a skeleton boy in a onesie, with a buster weapon (how does it read?).
Trying to keep it simple with NES palette and not too much shading. How can I make him look more like a cute skeleton. Any other advice on the sprite/animation? It goes from idle to shoot



Edit: Sorry, that wasn't the latest version. Here's one where I made him thinner in idle:

[MysteryMeat]

Some minor edits! That extra shade on the front of the hood wasn't quite working, and the face didn't really scream "skeleton" out so I gave him a more skeletal head.
I also changed up the form a bit, giving him more of a poofy look, and made it so his ankles turn to match his crouch!
In addition to that, I fixed his arm so it moves up instead of extending outwards like a stretch armstrong toy!

I also added those dark divider lines you put on his leftmost art on the rest of his limbs and around his neck!
There's more you can probably do here but hopefully this sets you in the right direction!

[BeckaMan]

Thanks! I'm really new to pixel art and art in general so this helps me a lot!

I was having trouble with making him look like a skeleton without making him look too scary as he's supposed to be a cute and cartoony kind of guy. But what you did works very well. The shooting face is a bit scary but some intensity when killing things might be appropriate when you think about it...
Bending the ankles works well, that's something I need to keep in mind for future sprites.

Can I ask why you put the purple part on the front leg when shooting? It looks a bit off to me.
I was trying to avoid "jaggies", but it seems you've added some to the back leg in idle and to the arm pit of the front arm in shoot . I guess they can be ok in a small sprite like this?

[MysteryMeat]

That was an attempt to keep the puffiness of his onesie intact. Skeletons can be hard to make cute but the blue onesie is probably the biggest factor selling the kiddishness of the design!

[BeckaMan]

Tried my hand at an animation. This is really difficult! : o

Idle:



I was going for a feeling where he is excited and just raring to go at it. I tried doing something with the boots too, but everything looked stupid.

Advice and edits are very welcome as this isn't looking very good : p
Should I maybe add a third, lighter, blue to act as a highlight?

[MysteryMeat]

This actually looks fine, just mess with your frame duration more! Give it some more speed!

[BeckaMan]

Thanks! Made it faster and it looks better. All frames are at 200ms


Edit: What do you think about an outline? (Tried lifting the heel up on the up frame)
Or a highlight?

Edit: And another one. I really should be working but I just keep picking away at this thing

[MysteryMeat]

Ooh, I like the shoe change! Looks like footie pajamas now! Outlines are also good, nice work!

[BeckaMan]

Ooh, I like the shoe change! Looks like footie pajamas now! Outlines are also good, nice work!

Thanks! With the footsie pajamas I'm thinking in terms of the story of my game he basically wakes up from bed during a surprise attack on his town so that's what he's going out on! And it looks cute and cartoony.

Should I move on to a run cycle with this basic setup or anything I should look into first?

Thanks for all the help and support @MysteryMeat!

-tangent-
...
I'm just starting in pixel and any sort of art really (at 31 for the first time!) so I need all the help/criticism and encouragement I can get. I honestly haven't put pen to paper to draw anything since high school (and I sucked at it back then), but I just got the art bug now later in life. I was one of those people who honestly can't draw a stick figure. But I figured if I can put the effort into getting my Master's degree on stuff I'm not nearly as passionate about as video games, I should be able to pull this off in 5-10 years too, right!?

I always loved video games but now I wanna make em! (starting simple of course, my goal is to get a small platformer with some metroidvania elements demo done in next 12 months from start to finish. Character with some abilities, 5 enemies and a boss fight or two. The code for collectibles, cutscenes, basic enemy AI, FX, HUD, Menus, Minimap, Player engine, projectiles, Room system, saving/loading and the subscreen are mostly done...)

[BeckaMan]

Ooh, I like the shoe change! Looks like footie pajamas now! Outlines are also good, nice work!

What do you think of the highlights frame to frame? It feels like they could be done better to show the movement of the character and how the light touches different parts? Do i need to add/subtract the highlight in some parts of the frames to better give off the illusion of movement?