Skeletroids stuff

[Ben2theEdge]

Okay, here we go!



Left: Original. Right: New w/ early animation, based on Adam's edit and advice.

Don't worry, I'm not done tinkering yet; the animation is just some clever layering - I can still make changes to the base very easily if I have to.

This is going to sound horrible, but I think you'd be better off going back to the sketch, tracing it again, and flat shading inside the outlines.
What you have at the moment totally loses the charisma of the sketch.

Everyone seems to really love the sketch, haha. If the goal were to replicate the look of the sketch perfectly I would have probably used outlines and flat-shaded it as you suggested. However I need it to match the lighting and coloring of the in-game sprite, which does not use outlines and has relatively detailed shading.

[9_6]

I prefer the semi realistic portrait over the other ones.
The rendered version looks kind of creepy... you overdid the shading on the eyes making them look like glass beads.
Just flat shade them or ditch that stuff completely and go with the first one.

[Evil-Ville]

How about something like this for the eyes?

[9_6]

Here's a crappy little edit:
<->
I've simplified the eyes, raised the distance between the eyes (they were too close together) and changed the mouth to something more like the scribble.

[Froli]

I made some eye variations. hope this helps

[Xion]

Here's a crappy little edit:
<->
I've simplified the eyes, raised the distance between the eyes (they were too close together) and changed the mouth to something more like the scribble.

YESS!!! I've been looking at this for a while and couldn't figure out what was wrong with the eyes. They are way too close together.

And you say the realistic portrait doesn't match the style of the rest of the game, which I believe, but in the main character's sprite, his face has relatively normal proportions. Usually, it's the other way around, where the sprite has huge eyes to allow for emotion whereas the portrait is more realistic. (ie. FFIII or VI...whatever the SNES one was). Well, I really like the style of sprite you've got going on, but it's more realistic than the portrait, which just seems wierd to me. Also, the character's jaw doesn't look as square in the sprite as it does in the portrait.

But anyway, the newest portrait is much improved over the first one, so good onya there, and this looks to be shaping up nicely.
I look forward to playing the game...

[Conzeit]

My crit...is starting to get repetitive.

VOLUME.

uh....you have got GREAT lines. it seems in small sprites since you dont put as much detail you do fine. But the bigger you go, the more overcomplicated it gets, and the more you screw yourself over.

You shaded the new portrait with ridiculously excessive AA, it is so much it starts to be pillow shading...that's a frist!.

it seems you do all the shading to make the AA look good and to emphasize anime trends (the speculars, the shadow on the hair) stick with the basics, and then go for the fancy stuff. your sketch has better volume than your sprite, not because you do the texture wrongs or anything, because the sketch is clear, everything is there to show volume;form. Your shading is more like a bunch of misinformation, it implies a bunch of things that arent there. Not to mention you royally changed your design...I get the impression you use a mouse, if you have scanned something in DONT change the lines with mouse, your pencil lines are always more intuitive and show better form.

(Capcom's Pocket Fighter Portraits)
I think trying a style like this would do wonders for your work, might be a little off track but you could try this and THEN add outlines and AA and all your usual stuff.

BTW, you're not DarkfalzXL are ya?....the way you shade big stuff is starting to remind me.....nah, he wouldnt say he is bad at animation but DAMN

[Jad]

My take on it all. Remade the face just to break your comfort zone in how you think his face should look like. Got inspired by your sketch more than the original.

Nevermind the shading that sucks. :< The facial features are what matters. The eyes are blue because I made it using a screen with way too much brightness O: Whoops.



Also made this in like five seconds. Just widened his face and painted over the gap. To show that his face is way too narrow IMO. :]

Good luck now.

[Ben2theEdge]

Thanks for your edits everyone... those of you who say the eyes are too close together are problably right, the more I look at it. I may try simplifying the eyes even more like in Xion's edit. The delight of making ruby-like lighting effects sort of distracts me from making them look like eyes, so maybe I need to excercise more constraint.

uh....you have got GREAT lines. it seems in small sprites since you dont put as much detail you do fine. But the bigger you go, the more overcomplicated it gets, and the more you screw yourself over.

You shaded the new portrait with ridiculously excessive AA, it is so much it starts to be pillow shading...that's a frist!.

I guess I get excited and carried away when I have all that space to work with... *smacks wrist*

BTW, you're not DarkfalzXL are ya?....the way you shade big stuff is starting to remind me.....nah, he wouldnt say he is bad at animation but DAMN

I don't know who he is... should I be worried that I'm being compared to him?

Thanks for the reference pics... I'll post a new version today hopefully.

[Xion]

I may try simplifying the eyes even more like in Xion's edit.

I didn't make an edit.