fire-emblem syle portraits

[adcrusher524]

I've been playing fire emblem lately, and the portraits are just awesome in that game. So,  i decided to make my own.  I borrowed the skin palette from the game.
here's the main character


and his attack animation



Also made a baddy portrait

i still need the sprite.

please C&C   thanks

[happymonster]

The portrait shapes seem a little rough somehow? Maybe you need to work on the curves and angles a little more.

With the baddy, his hand and arm are tiny! His upper arm is shorter than his head.

[adcrusher524]

 thanks happy monster!!!



is this any better?

[CharlesGabriel]

thanks happy monster!!!



is this any better?

I think the main issue here is proportion, in the left arm (our left so it's <------ that one arm)  The hand for example is too small, and the left side of the fist looks akward... I sometimes do look at my hands when I'm trying to sprite them in a certain position... but of course you can always get a good reference from google. The shading on the right arm (our right ----> that one arm / elbow) could use the shading backwards, as in, the light source is coming from the upper right, so the light hits the back side of the elbow if I'm not wrong.

[balls01]

on the enemy, the arms are dispropertional from the body. (the right more than the left)


EDIT- argh... too late.

[adcrusher524]

Thanks for the feedback!



Is that any better? I tried fix what you guys said and I found a reference for my fist off google.

[LoTekK]

I think you might want to work on the line quality first and foremost (and by line, I'm also including boundaries between colors). Right now the lines are quite haphazard, and look quite rushed. They really need more love. Don't rush things, take your time. That is, after all, what pixelling is about. Forethought, and careful pixel placement. Your lines are uneven, with slopes and curves having differing steps. The anatomy still has issues, not just with proportions, but also with the shapes (his right elbow, for example, is this oddly-long curve, and the forearm is overly rounded).

Did a quick paintover showing some changes to the lines, to show you what I meant about line quality and evenness.

[adcrusher524]

ok update!



i tried to smooth out some lines and tried to fix anatomy of the arm. Thanks!!

C&C 

[adcrusher524]

Okay, I have been working on this for a while, and I got an update.

i got the color count down to 16, the max colors for portraits in the actually game, and i re-did his face.



I added a glove to him and tried to make his hand larger.
Also, a wip sprite of the baddy:


please C+C thanks!!

[circuscommando]

his head seems too large in the WIP of the baddy, also too far to the left

[Sherman Gill]

Hi,
Those are the skintones from fire emblem? They're so yellow
Your lineart is much better with the newest version of this guy.

Here's my edit of the face. I changed a few colors, making them more orange I think the biggest issue you have now is that you're overcomplicating the shading, especially for a fire-emblem inspired portrait. You're trying to fit a whole gradient of colors onto one side of his face! his head shouldn't be that lumpy, and the portrait benefits if you simplify the that stuff, reduce the amount of blotches of color, y'know. Also, Fire Emblem portraits, they got biiiig flood fills (see: -link-), they don't have any smooth transitions in color! It's divided into midtone and shadow, and that's pretty much it. The other colors are just used to smooth out the borders between those two.
Your lighting itself is also kinda wonky. You got it good in that the viewer can tell the lightsource is to the left somewhere, but bits of it are confusing. the middle of that hair for example, everything around it is lit up, and it doesn't look like it'd be any form of dent. The shoulderpad is also lit up as if the lightsource in the direction of the viewer. It'd read a lot better if you just move the highlight so it's pointing more up and left.

[adcrusher524]

thanks for the crit!

ok so here's an update on the main character:


do you think i should have the bright highlight on the hair? I wasn't sure.

update:

i think the hair was too complex in the other one.

Also, I tried to make the baddy head smaller.


C+C  

p.s. Sherman Gill: I think different characters have different skin tones. http://sdb.drshnaps.com/sheets/Nintendo/FireEmblem/FE7/Portraits.png I used the bandit guy's skin 5th from the right.

[adcrusher524]

Sorry to double-post, but  I would like to receive some more critique. I have been posting on PixelJoint to get double critique! (Thats allowed right? )




I changed the skin tone a bit, and tried to fix the armor. Also I attempted to fix his face.

Thanks!

C+C Please   

[EvilEye]

I am the least qualified to give advice on how to do anime style art, but here goes...

First I don't think that anime artist who did fire emblem is all that great.

take a look at these portraits from langrisser 2 which are much better:



Notice the shape of the face. It's a lot wider. The nose is farther down and the mouth is represented ( more or less ) by a shadow in each corner.

Here is my edit.

( Note* This is not my usual style and anime pisses me off )



I monkeyed around with this for a while until I got something that looked anime. I can't tell if it looks to feminine because there isn't much to distinguish a male from a female face in anime and I haven't developed the subtle touch necessary to differentiate the two.

Your never too young to start learning basic anatomy if you want to become a serious artist. It will help a lot, even with anime style characters.

[rikfuzz]

Haha, that's awesome, EvilEye - I think you should invest more time drawing this anime stuff which you so despise - you're pretty good at it! The wacky outline around the hair could use a little bit of attention, but I really love to see artists doing stuff they would normally avoid every once in a while. I hope Secret Santa has mixed artists with recipients who like stuff they don't!

[WM]

Sorry to double-post, but  I would like to receive some more critique. I have been posting on PixelJoint to get double critique! (Thats allowed right? )




I changed the skin tone a bit, and tried to fix the armor. Also I attempted to fix his face.

Thanks!

C+C Please   

I don't like how the hair crosses the face -- from what I was taught, a general rule of thumb about eyes is either you completely cover the eye with hair, or dont cover it with hair at all. Letting the hair only partially cover the eye is very distracting and looks as though the hair is out of place.

Maybe try dopping the nose down a little, and the eyes an even smaller amount. I liked the previous face more than this one; the jaw bone has too much vertical area.

[adcrusher524]

Yeah I liked the previous post better too so i just cut off the jaw of the older version and stuck it on the new one and then fixed some things up. I don't like anime either but I like the Fire Emblem portraits. Anyways, that's an awesome edit EvilEye.  I couldn't figure out how you made it look like he's looking at us.


C+C please!

[EvilEye]

To make him look like he's looking at you move the pupils to the left. Just zoom in on my edit and you'll see. There is a white space between the left pupil and the nose, and the right pupil ( the pupil ON the right I should say ) should be up against the nose.

You're doing a lot of pillow shading, which is tough to explain so instead just see this link where someone else explains it.

http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=7923.msg90302#msg90302

[adcrusher524]

Thanks for the tip evileye!
Update!


Alright I changed his face a bit and I wasn't really sure where the pillow shading was.(his neck?)

Thanks!!

C+C please! 

[WM]

Wow, big improvement! 


I am personally not a big fan of that nose, though -- it drastically points upward. Maybe try leveling out the bottom side of it so that it's a little more horizontal? Or even vertically flipping the nose altogether. (crazy thought, I know)

If you were really set on that shape for the nose, you just might be able to pull it off by shifting the whole nose south-southeast.

[Helm]

Hi. Let's look at a neck:



Here's a series of edits on your latest, ask if you want clarification on anyone step.

[adcrusher524]

Wow that's awesome Helm! I appreciate you putting up the steps that you did, I find it easier to learn from. So, my attempt:



C+C please!

[Vampire Elf]

TBH, that sin't really in the style of fire-emblem portraits. SO all of my critique will be pertaining to how you can improve the sprite in the 'fire emblem' style.
The hair lacks the suggestion of strands in its' shading, something common in Fire Emblem mugs, the hair highlights don't match the light source, nor does the neck.
The shoulderpad trim is pixely and messy, try smoothing it out.
The chin needs a more defined line.
The cloth shading looks chunky and the colours are extremely saturated.