Pixelation
Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: LoTekK on June 30, 2007, 12:20:22 pm
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This is somewhat of a continuation of my previous thread (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=4196.0), but with a bit of a different focus, hence the new thread. Happy as I am with the ridiculously low-poly character models, I've realised that, as low as they are, they're still too heavy for my needs, and would rather devote those polies to the environment. So! 8-way isometric sprites for the characters. I'm still planning on keeping the paperdoll aspect, so I'm keeping that in mind when creating the sprites.
After what must have been about 50 variants, I've finally settled on proportions I'm pretty happy with (I tried chibi, and I simply couldn't take it seriously). Did up a South-facing one first, with a quick and as-yet-unfinished idle animation:
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i196/LoTekK/male_idle1c.gif)
Colors are temp (I just threw them on to get some color separation), as is the rifle (needed a temp one to check the pose). For clarification, the reason his body isn't square to the south is because your body is typically angled to your dominant side when wielding a weapon, and especially so with a long arm.
Any crits or suggestions would be much appreciated, as I've never really attempted iso characters before, and I'm finding the mindset shift quite a shock.
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Keep in mind you're banding on the shadow below the sprite. When you take a color and pixel-by-pixel band the contour of a shape you're not easing the jaggies, you're accentuating them!
(http://www.locustleaves.com/banding.png)
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Oooh, hadn't even thought about that. The intention was actually to fade out the shadow at the edges with alpha, but the aliasing hadn't crossed my mind. I'll fix that up, thanks.
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Procrastination ftw.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i196/LoTekK/male_idle1f.gif)(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i196/LoTekK/male_idle2.gif)
Fixed up the shadow, I think, and did an alt pose with a pistol. I'll futz with a breathing animation or something appropriate later.
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I don't think a breathing anim is necessary at this size.
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I think the Shadow should be a bit lighter, other than that I'm loving it.
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Thanks Xion, you're probably right, considering the size of the sprite and, hence, the amount of movement represented by one pixel.
Bengoshia, thanks, I'll play with the shadow darkness later, since it'll be an alpha'd sprite, so I can tweak easily.
Spent some time fleshing out the game mechanics a bit, and figuring out interface/interaction concerns, but also put a bit of time into two more facings, west and southwest (sorry about the blindingly red rifle):
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i196/LoTekK/male_SW.gif)(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i196/LoTekK/male_W.gif)
And an anigif showing the three so far:
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i196/LoTekK/male_StoW.gif)
edit: got rid of the blindingly red rifle
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I think it looks pretty good, shapes read well at 2x zoom, it most definitely belongs on an RTS. At 1x though, the greens blurr together. You'd need more contrast for it to read well at 1x, straying somewhat from a more realistic look. Not so much at 2x... but why not add it anyway? That way, you'll read good at whatever size! It's good practice ;)
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I think the jump from NW<>W is a bit large compared to W<>SW, probably because in the west-facing sprite, his body is turned a bit towards the south. This probably won't be noticeable though, as I'm sure you'll only be able to turn while running.
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Actually, I think (judging from the head position) it's supposed to be south, west, north (back to you). The feet might suggest that the north-facing pose is really northwest, and definitely that's where the torso must be turned. The head seems to be north, however. I'd agree that the sprite orientation is a bit hard to read, unless the only positions a sprite can be facing are the four cardinals.