Mostly in reference to the last guy:
- Are the black outlines leftover from your lineart? Drop them, it's sucking the life out of your stuff! You no longer need the black outlines when you have color to define form.
Well, I usually leave alot of the black outlines, I like a much more defined cartoon look.
- Try using less shade colors. Smooth shadow transitions bring on a negative gradient look. Shadows are rarely smooth transitions--rather they change intensity quickly from dark to light.
I've noticed this in real life, but again tis something I prefer for cartoonish look. I started with pillow shading ages ago, and though I moved on from that, I still like the smooth gradiant shading.
I've been searching up a few websites recently, and have found some really good stuff at
www.spriteart.com tutorial wise, that should help me alot. It is something to remember though, that realism in shading has never been a real definate issue with me, I'd rather go with a more cartoon/light look. I will at least try some of this though, see how it looks.
The Cerberus ones main problem is that it's too stiff. I showed that to my art teacher at school, and thats what she told me anyways. It's too straight up, like a board. I've since been trying real hard to correct the problem.
Edit: I've had a little more time to think, and I'm begining to see how I can incorporate that, and keep the cartoon look I like.