Pixelation
Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: ErekT on December 22, 2010, 02:14:53 am
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Hello!
Made myself a barbarian. I tried to go for a stylized look but not sure how well I've pulled it off. There's something that looks a little wonky right now, but I can't say what exactly. Please help :D
(http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/ErekT_Pixel/Gorr_old.gif)
EDIT: added new version.
(http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/ErekT_Pixel/Gorr_new.gif)
EDIT 2:
(http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/ErekT_Pixel/Gorr-1.gif)
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I'm new to pixeling, but one thing that stood out to me was the lack of detail in the legs as compared to the upper body. It looks pretty good to me though! :)
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Yeah, I didn't shade the legs because I'm not sure I'm happy with them yet. Maybe I'll change their angle a bit.
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Sorry I couldn't help more. I'm not great at anatomy so I can't give advice as to that aspect. Good luck! :)
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(http://locustleaves.com/Gor.gif)
More definition, more saturation, contrapost curve with straight line in the musculature. Consider your small pixel clusters and what their perfect shape could be more. Don't be afraid of oily skin when you're drawing barbarians.
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Looks good to me, but are you sure you didn't see that pose somewhere before?
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9267
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Wow, that's an informative edit, and fast! Thanks alot for that, I'll give it a good look :)
Sorry I couldn't help more. I'm not great at anatomy so I can't give advice as to that aspect. Good luck!
Don't be. I appreciate the reply :)
Looks good to me, but are you sure you didn't see that pose somewhere before?
Hehe yep, I had Rastan in mind when I did it. The sword pose is pretty standard barbarian fare tho' :P
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Okay, starker contrasts and a bit more angled shapes. Tried to take Helm's tips to heart without ripping his edit off too much :P I'm quite happy with it now, the older version looks real blobby in comparison ::) Time for some animation I think...
(http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/ErekT_Pixel/Gorr_old.gif) (http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/ErekT_Pixel/Gorr_new.gif)
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Much better, but his right leg looks a bit awkward. You can try to pose that way and you'll see you won't feel yourself very comfortable. And the muscle in his right thigh (I don't know it's name in english) looks a bit too inflated. Cover it with the loincloth. I'd retouch it myself but I'm new at the pixel stuff and I suck yet.
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Small update to fix the thigh muscle. About the leg position, do you think the older pose looked more natural? I kinda wanted him to look a bit exaggerated and outrageous, and the pose fits that I think. Will try a different one tho' when the Xmas-rush is over with :P
(http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/ErekT_Pixel/Gorr.gif)
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Nah forget my comment about the pose. I didn't sleep too well yesterday and probably finished talking about the old one. Still there's something below the knee that doesn't look right. try to play with the perspective on the boot. It looks too frontal.
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This is nice, reminds me of Barbarian for the C64.
Crits:
- the pants need some shading, if it is only some furry highlights.
- the edge highlighting on the top of the boots does not make much sense.
:y:
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Thanks all :) Loincloth shading and general cleanup:
(http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/ErekT_Pixel/Gorr_change.gif)
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I like the muscle separation and definition... this guy probably does 100s of leg extensions :y:
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Update-time! Fixed his right knee and made a shuffle animation. Crits appreciated :y:
Knee fix:
(http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/ErekT_Pixel/Stand.gif)
Shuffle:
(http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/ErekT_Pixel/Shuffle.gif)
(http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/ErekT_Pixel/Shuffle_move.gif)
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hehe cool. Some bobbing in his arms when he plants a foot will decrease the upper body's staticness, but also decrease the character's strong masculine rigidity.
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Exactly! I tried to animate his arms going up and down but it made him look diminished. If he's actually struggling with that huge sword of his he's not the type to show it :D
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I hate to break this to you because I know a lot of work was put in this buuuuut when walking like that it's more practical to have the leg crossing over do so from the back. Otherwise you are walking forward with the leg that is further away from the direction you are going and continuing to do so until you stop. By having the back leg cross behind the front you are making it the leg closest to direction you are going. I've made this mistake before and I was corrected by my martial artist friend and he was kind enough to show me how awkward it is to cross over in the front. I just tried it right now and it really puts me off balance.
Some visual aid courtesy of Richard Williams (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/vashers/Untitled-3.jpg)
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I hate to break this to you because I know a lot of work was put in this buuuuut when walking like that it's more practical to have the leg crossing over do so from the back. Otherwise you are walking forward with the leg that is further away from the direction you are going and continuing to do so until you stop. By having the back leg cross behind the front you are making it the leg closest to direction you are going. I've made this mistake before and I was corrected by my martial artist friend and he was kind enough to show me how awkward it is to cross over in the front. I just tried it right now and it really puts me off balance.
Some visual aid courtesy of Richard Williams (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/vashers/Untitled-3.jpg)
This is true, but do you think it applies to this kind of walk? This is more like a ... shuffle? He's sort of side stepping, almost cautiously. You might be right and regardless you did provide some very important information (that I tested out myself) we should all keep in mind.
Just tried the Barbarian's walk, it feels like a spy's near a wall kind of quiet creeping. Hmmmm...
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Something about the right (his) Quad muscle seems a bit invented. Try getting some references.
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I hate to break this to you because I know a lot of work was put in this..
No. Crit away even if it looks like the thing took half a lifetime to make. In fact, especially then. :P
When I animate I always try out the movement myself first. Even if it's some gravity defying loco-stuff I have no chance to pull off in reality I still try to perform it in my head so to speak. And well yeah.. with the legs positioned like that, knees bent and all, the rear-foot-forward thing just felt more natural to me. Imo it's also easier that way to create a cycling shuffle-walk from this kind of standing position without adding extra, play first-time only frames to it.
Something about the right (his) Quad muscle seems a bit invented. Try getting some references.
Agree on that, I'll look closer at some muscly refs :y:
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(http://contemplativefitness.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/tom_platz_007.jpg)
This is worth at least a thousand words.
Honestly though, I don't think the sprite needs to be 100% anatomically accurate. Get the basic forms right, and I think the rest can be artistic interpretation. If some definition is in the wrong place, it's not really hurting the message the sprite is communicating. The point is, he's a beast, and your sprite conveys that well.
I also echo Mathias' suggestion. If you make the arms move at a different rate than the rest of the torso, it will add depth to the sprite. Otherwise it looks like his arms are stuck to his torso. Some fighting game idle loops illustrate this principle well. You could try making his arms bounce 2 pixels when his torso bounces 1, or delay the arms so when the torso rises, the arms stay low for a frame before they catch up (then when his torso lowers, his arms stay up for a frame). Make sense?