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Pixel Art / Re: How can I improve this piece?
« on: May 27, 2020, 02:34:21 pm »
You're right, f3dot. Definitely not intended!
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Pixel Art / Re: How can I improve this piece?
« on: May 26, 2020, 01:24:13 pm »
You're right, eishiya. The tail is dark enough that it still looks good. Thanks! I fixed that and did some more outline work. Unless someone finds any more problems with it, I'll consider it finished (for now).
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Pixel Art / Re: How can I improve this piece?
« on: May 25, 2020, 08:31:24 pm »
A couple more fixes... I think I'm almost there.
I'm a bit worried about the banding in the tail, but I'm not sure how to avoid it while staying true to the "cartoonish lineart" style of the piece. Besides that, it's looking even better than I hoped. Thanks so much for the input, guys.
I'm a bit worried about the banding in the tail, but I'm not sure how to avoid it while staying true to the "cartoonish lineart" style of the piece. Besides that, it's looking even better than I hoped. Thanks so much for the input, guys.
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Pixel Art / Re: How can I improve this piece?
« on: May 25, 2020, 04:35:39 pm »
Thank you, SeDiceBisonte! The unrealistic "stick-like" legs were definitely intentional, but seeing your edit, a more natural position looks honestly better, so I'll do that. Thank you.
Also, your comment on mutton chops made me realise that I had overdone that too: it was meant to be a sideburn, not a beard! So I made it smaller. The flat shapeless torso and fake double perspective are also intentional, for color balancing and readability. But if they look too weird, I'll need to rethink my strategy.
This is what I have now:
Also, your comment on mutton chops made me realise that I had overdone that too: it was meant to be a sideburn, not a beard! So I made it smaller. The flat shapeless torso and fake double perspective are also intentional, for color balancing and readability. But if they look too weird, I'll need to rethink my strategy.
This is what I have now:
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Pixel Art / Re: How can I improve this piece?
« on: May 25, 2020, 10:39:21 am »
Thank you both for your suggestions, they were really helpful.
Chonky Pixel, you're absolutely right, face readability was the biggest issue. I've added a third lighter skin color for better contrast and improved the eye, the tooth and other details. Thanks
Also, Xer0bot, I toned down the cape dramatics and I think it looks better now, not so "weightless". Thanks for your suggestion.
This is the result (I will probably still keep working on it):
Comparison gif:
If anyone has any more suggestions or critiques, I'm open to them!
Chonky Pixel, you're absolutely right, face readability was the biggest issue. I've added a third lighter skin color for better contrast and improved the eye, the tooth and other details. Thanks
Also, Xer0bot, I toned down the cape dramatics and I think it looks better now, not so "weightless". Thanks for your suggestion.
This is the result (I will probably still keep working on it):
Comparison gif:
If anyone has any more suggestions or critiques, I'm open to them!
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Pixel Art / How can I improve this piece?
« on: May 23, 2020, 04:51:47 pm »
Hello, Pixelation! I'm happy to see this awesome forum is still around. I really need your wisdom. What do you think is wrong (and right, but I'm mostly looking for stuff to improve here) about this character portrait?
I'm going for a cartoony style, so realism and proportions aren't really that important as long as it looks good. I haven't done any serious pixels in too long and I need to get better. Any tips, suggestions, criticisms, etc. are welcome.
Thank you!
I'm going for a cartoony style, so realism and proportions aren't really that important as long as it looks good. I haven't done any serious pixels in too long and I need to get better. Any tips, suggestions, criticisms, etc. are welcome.
Thank you!
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Pixel Art / Re: [WIP] Bioshock reimagined as a gameboy game
« on: November 03, 2016, 09:28:29 am »
Hi!
I don't post very often around here, but since the Game Boy has kind of become my specialty lately, I thought I could help a bit.
Now, first of all I'd recommend that you work with a program that lets you see the color palette you're using, because your picture has way more than 4 colors. I opened your pic in Aseprite and the palette viewer tells me you have the following colors in it:
You should probably index the image, so there's no chance that you use a different color by accident.
Also, your picture is the wrong size. The Game Boy screen was 160x144 px in size.
That said, if you want to achieve a true "Game Boy effect", you should probably take into account the following things:
- Game Boy sprites could only have 3 colors, since the fourth was used for transparency (there were ways to work around this, but they're more relevant to the Game Boy Color).
- The Game Boy screen was made out of 8x8 px tiles. All graphics were aligned to that grid. Generaly speaking, only sprites could get off the grid, so everything else (map tiles, windows, huds, etc.) should stick to it.
- There was a limited number of sprites that could be displayed on the screen at the same time.
Considering all of this, I recommend that you look at your picture with a 8x8 px grid layered on top of it. You'll realise that many things, such as the huds and the fountain tiles, are misaligned.
Also, the huds you've designed (transparent and layered on top of the map) would've been near impossible to make in a Game Boy. They would've had to be made with sprites, which would've taken up a lot of the game memory and would've left almost no space to process all the other sprites in the screen.
Instead, I'd recommend that you treat the huds as if they were tiles: that is, that you make them non-transparent and stick them to the top or the bottom of the screen. That's how games like Legend of Zelda or Kirby's Dream Land did it, because it was the most efficient and easily readable solution.
I could tell you more things, but I think this is the most important stuff you could change to make it look more realistic. I hope it helps.
Good luck and keep on pixeling!
I don't post very often around here, but since the Game Boy has kind of become my specialty lately, I thought I could help a bit.
Now, first of all I'd recommend that you work with a program that lets you see the color palette you're using, because your picture has way more than 4 colors. I opened your pic in Aseprite and the palette viewer tells me you have the following colors in it:
You should probably index the image, so there's no chance that you use a different color by accident.
Also, your picture is the wrong size. The Game Boy screen was 160x144 px in size.
That said, if you want to achieve a true "Game Boy effect", you should probably take into account the following things:
- Game Boy sprites could only have 3 colors, since the fourth was used for transparency (there were ways to work around this, but they're more relevant to the Game Boy Color).
- The Game Boy screen was made out of 8x8 px tiles. All graphics were aligned to that grid. Generaly speaking, only sprites could get off the grid, so everything else (map tiles, windows, huds, etc.) should stick to it.
- There was a limited number of sprites that could be displayed on the screen at the same time.
Considering all of this, I recommend that you look at your picture with a 8x8 px grid layered on top of it. You'll realise that many things, such as the huds and the fountain tiles, are misaligned.
Also, the huds you've designed (transparent and layered on top of the map) would've been near impossible to make in a Game Boy. They would've had to be made with sprites, which would've taken up a lot of the game memory and would've left almost no space to process all the other sprites in the screen.
Instead, I'd recommend that you treat the huds as if they were tiles: that is, that you make them non-transparent and stick them to the top or the bottom of the screen. That's how games like Legend of Zelda or Kirby's Dream Land did it, because it was the most efficient and easily readable solution.
I could tell you more things, but I think this is the most important stuff you could change to make it look more realistic. I hope it helps.
Good luck and keep on pixeling!
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Pixel Art / Re: [WIP] Choosing a palette for a set of monster sprites
« on: October 09, 2015, 11:55:06 am »
Thank you both for your answers! You've given me a lot to think about. I actually do often use colors from different ramps; the method @yrizoud suggested is pretty useful, both to optimize the palette and to make the color picking faster during the drawing process. I've tried to do something along the lines of it, keeping the ramps but fusing them with each other in a logical pattern, and the palette is now smaller (54 colors) but more varied and neater. Thanks!
Concerning the saturation, I am aware of it, but as @Gil mentioned, Pokémon-esque designs are very cartoonish in nature, so the colors are usually bright and clearly defined. My sprites are aiming to be a bit more detailed than Pokémon sprites, but with a similar concept.
Also, thanks for pointing out the problem of definition in the first monster, I hadn't noticed. The bit yrizoud mentions about the inner outlines is gold, I always forget about that. I'll keep working on it.
Concerning the saturation, I am aware of it, but as @Gil mentioned, Pokémon-esque designs are very cartoonish in nature, so the colors are usually bright and clearly defined. My sprites are aiming to be a bit more detailed than Pokémon sprites, but with a similar concept.
Also, thanks for pointing out the problem of definition in the first monster, I hadn't noticed. The bit yrizoud mentions about the inner outlines is gold, I always forget about that. I'll keep working on it.
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Pixel Art / Re: [WIP] Choosing a palette for a set of monster sprites
« on: October 09, 2015, 10:04:31 am »
Hi! Thanks for answering. Yes, they're the same character, but at the same time they aren't - just like in Pokémon, the big one is an "older" or "more developed" version that the little one and the design changes a bit.
Of course! Instead of starting from monster number 1 and going on from there, like I was doing, I should try to make a few designs with totally different colors first, to test and perfect the palette. Thanks for the idea! I hadn't thought of that, but it's the most logical choice. That way I can make the tweaks I need before the designs pile up.
I've started working on a brown monster and it's already made me change the palette. I removed a color (so now it's 56 colors in total) and edited a couple other ones.
After this one I'll do a mainly blue monster, then red, yellow, etc. Thanks for making me think of that, it's the best way.
Anyhow, if any of the palette experts around here can have a look at my palette, I'd appreciate it I'm not used to working with such complete palettes, I usually just either 1) take a pre-made one, or 2) only work with a limited palette for a particular sprite, so I must admit I'm a little wary of making a mess of things later on.
Of course! Instead of starting from monster number 1 and going on from there, like I was doing, I should try to make a few designs with totally different colors first, to test and perfect the palette. Thanks for the idea! I hadn't thought of that, but it's the most logical choice. That way I can make the tweaks I need before the designs pile up.
I've started working on a brown monster and it's already made me change the palette. I removed a color (so now it's 56 colors in total) and edited a couple other ones.
After this one I'll do a mainly blue monster, then red, yellow, etc. Thanks for making me think of that, it's the best way.
Anyhow, if any of the palette experts around here can have a look at my palette, I'd appreciate it
I'm not used to working with such complete palettes, I usually just either 1) take a pre-made one, or 2) only work with a limited palette for a particular sprite, so I must admit I'm a little wary of making a mess of things later on.
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Pixel Art / [WIP] Choosing a palette for a set of monster sprites
« on: October 09, 2015, 07:34:01 am »
Hello, people,
It's been a while! Thanks a lot again for the help you guys gave me back in February.
Right now I'm working on a set of monster sprites, Pokémon-inspired, and I've decided to use a common palette for all of them. I want a unified feel for the whole spriteset, but at the same time the palette should be varied enough to be able to sprite 151 monsters without the tones getting repetitive or boring. I've already designed all monsters and they encompass as wide a set of tones as you can get.
I think that a palette with no more than 60 colors is reasonable, so I've been working with that idea in mind. Right now I've got a 57 color palette prototype and I've tested it out on a couple of monsters. Here you are:
This is the palette:
What do you think? Should I change anything in the palette? Are there too many browns? Brown is important in my monsters, but perhaps I've overdone it. Should I add more greens? Am I lacking something essential? I will probably change and improve it as I advance and make more monsters, but the more monsters I make, the more messy it will be to rebalance the palette each time that I modify something, so I'm trying to make it as good as possible beforehand.
Thanks a lot in advance and good luck to you all!
It's been a while! Thanks a lot again for the help you guys gave me back in February.
Right now I'm working on a set of monster sprites, Pokémon-inspired, and I've decided to use a common palette for all of them. I want a unified feel for the whole spriteset, but at the same time the palette should be varied enough to be able to sprite 151 monsters without the tones getting repetitive or boring. I've already designed all monsters and they encompass as wide a set of tones as you can get.
I think that a palette with no more than 60 colors is reasonable, so I've been working with that idea in mind. Right now I've got a 57 color palette prototype and I've tested it out on a couple of monsters. Here you are:
This is the palette:
What do you think? Should I change anything in the palette? Are there too many browns? Brown is important in my monsters, but perhaps I've overdone it. Should I add more greens? Am I lacking something essential? I will probably change and improve it as I advance and make more monsters, but the more monsters I make, the more messy it will be to rebalance the palette each time that I modify something, so I'm trying to make it as good as possible beforehand.
Thanks a lot in advance and good luck to you all!
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