Demon Armor Samus WIP

[MtŪ]

My first impression when I saw this thread was like " holy shit, is that really Bit-Blade?". Haven't really talked to you in like 5 years or so, since TEK. So I entered this thread and instantly recognized your style from back in the days.
I'm usually just lurking around these forums for inspiration, but when I saw your name I just thought I had to say: Hi!

By the way recognize this?

Yes, it's me, DxEdge.

Anyway I thought I'd help you with some critisism while I'm here so I made an edit to illustrate my crits:

It's a rough edit. But I thought it wasnt that important to finish it since it's just to show you what I mean.
So what I did was lower the color count to around 20 ( I could only count to 17 but graphicsgale kept telling me it was 20) and fixed the leg placement, now Im no expert on foreshortening, but I felt she was more stable this way. I also changed some of the colors like that pure black you had as outline to just a tad more purpleish color. I "fixed" the waist area aswell. What I mean is it wasnt looking very natural anatomy wise like baccaman mentioned. I also moved the torso a bit towards the viewer and did some edits on that armgun. Though now when I look at it, mine seem to have lost that illumination yours had.

With that said, I hope you finish it! its comming out great so far, but there are some flaws that could be worked on as said

[Bit-Blade]

I wasn't aware my style could be pinned down so easily.

Thank you both for the friendly advice. I'll try to edit the legs/hips and torso to agree with each other. Hopefully this doesn't have to be more than some minor negotiation but if that isn't to be then *shrugs* guess I'll be needing to work hard again.

[MtŪ]

Well I guess it was wrong to use the word "instantly". I was just refering to some of your old works which I compared to this one and saw some likeness in style.
Anyway I await your update.

[Bit-Blade]

That might be a little while... I'm having a hard time redrawing so much but I'll get it done in due time.

[Bit-Blade]

Edit: Still suffering from the same anatomical issues as before, but it's not a bad try I guess...

I tried to cheat a little since I wasn't looking forward to doing the legs again. I also touched up the helmet design, made the glow of the legs more pronounced. I touched up the hand to look clearner. I think I need to work on the glow a bit on the body and shoulder. Is the light sourcing improved? Also, the hips look a bit crappy right now. I can't figure out what shape the piece of armor should be. At this stage, I'm not worried about my palette. If this has any application, I won't be constrained by any color limitations. I don't know, though, maybe it's just me and my way of doing things.

Also, does the cross pattern dithering I've been using work for this piece? I don't think I'm very good at it yet.

For comparison is a sprite I did a while back. This is the general size I'm aiming for to make a set of (initially) rough animations. The palettes for both of these are somewhat similiar, although the small one is more akin to Symphony of the Night.

[Bit-Blade]

Modified the glow, added an outline but I'm not sure if it should be thicker or completely gone.

Is my posture here more plausible?

[Helm]

The rendering and texturing are competent. You're masking anatomical deficiency through glitz and detail, but you're not conveying human information needed for such a piece to succeed: Body language, good balance, interesting articulation of form. You need to not worry so much about 'sprites' and 'pixel art' as you should about 'volumes', 'lights' and the 'human form'. Break out the drawing pad and draw humans. Just fast economical sketches that show you how a body operates under its own weight and with the other various forces that pull it here and there. Buy an art book that explains human form from the beginning. Don't learn the human form from videogames.

[Bit-Blade]

I'd just like to state that I've got nothing to hide. I've been up front about my deficiencies and I've presented no illusions to how skilled I am (or am not). I'm not trying to 'mask' anything.

As I've said, I suffer from a lack of discipline. I've never bothered to cultivate my ability. I've tried to learn what I could from this experience (or at least I hope so).

At the very least, this image does very well to convey something of the idea I have in mind. If it were up to me I'd develop this into full fledged Metroid project but I don't have the resources, skill, or the patience to do it all myself.

[Helm]

You don't have to explain yourself and I'm not trying to 'out' you. I am trying to help you. Instead of telling me you suffer from lack of discipline, do something about it. Art camp. Strict regiment. 2 hours of drawing a day. Make something of your talents

[Bit-Blade]

Touched up the left shoulder to match the (viewers) right one. I touched up the left leg and changed its colors to accommodate the glow. There are other small touches here and there to make the glow more evident. I changed the design of the arm to look a little more sci-fi and a little less arbitrary. I keep trying to adjust the torso so it looks more or less right. I don't know if I would have gotten it like this without being criticized.

I appreciate the advice, and I'm not trying to disdain it, but... I guess I enjoy working on this still. Pixel art is a bit like painting when you get right down to it.