Metools!

[Keand64]

So I decided to try and do a couple variations of a metool, using this as a reference:



I made three "concept art" style pics at the same size as the reference:



The first one was just a cleaner version of the reference, the second is the same as the first except with colored outlines, and the third was me experimenting with black shadows.

and one sixteen by sixteen pic:



C&C is welcome for all of the pixel art.

Most Current Metool:



EDIT:  Desaturated the shadows a bit more, did an attempt at AA, and shrunk the image down to 64 by 64.

[FRAWG]

Well, black shadows aren't really a good way to go. they look to plain and bland. Many people experiment with color and saturation when they shade.
Also, the shading could be better and more smooth, the reference wasn't good for that purpose, anyways.
The form looka nice, but some AA could be helpful on the edges.
Banding is very evident in the middle one, for sure.

Basically it could use more shading and refining here and there.

[Keand64]

I played desaturated the shadows a little, when I get a bit more free time I'll try adding AA and possibly making it a more sensible size like 64 by 64.



Also, could clarify on what you mean by making the shadows smoother?

[MicKo]

I tried to make an edit here. I might have overdone it with the AA though.

[Keand64]

Tried to take into account your edit, especially regarding palette choices (something I have a lot of trouble with).  I also got rid of the shadows' outlines, and thickened the outer one.

[MicKo]

Here's another edit.

Again, I might have overdone it with the AA. :p
What disturbs me the most with your most recent one is the fact that you didn't AA every spot that needed some.
Here's the comparison:

[Keand64]

I made a couple new edits:


For this one I just added some more AA, plus an edit of the outline, which feels too jagged in my previous one.


In this I was just trying out a glowish outline.


And  in this I was experimenting with a dark metool thing.

[adcrusher524]

I think throwing in some backlighting might help

also you had some colors just for aa'ing but I think if you used those colors to shade it would look better.

[Keand64]

I added some extra levels of shading and backlighting per adcrusher's edit, and also did a first attempt at dithering.  The cross on his helmet seems a little off, possibly because it's one of the only areas without shading, but I'm at a loss as to how to fix it.  (Every time I try to shade it, it just seems to conflict with the lighting on the rest of the body).

[McClaneGames]

The newest version is a great improvement.  What I would work on is your lines - they seem a bit jagged, especially on the eyes and the 45-degree line at the top left.

[Keand64]

Thanks!  I tried to clean up the lines a bit, I'm having some trouble.  I think this is the best I'll get for right now, perhaps I'll do better after I get some sleep ^^.  I also updated the dark metool image, though I'm not entirely sure how to make it look more like a dark metool and less like a greyscale version of the original...

[SwapBrain]

If you are doing a 'dark metool' as in Evil Ryu or Shin Akuma, then I think they tend to use a dark purple or gunmetal.

It might look something mhrrrrrrrlikethis;



Probably darker.

[Keand64]

Yeah, I was thinking about giving the dark metool a little more saturation to give it a less 'greyscale' feel.  I made three more edits, the first one I just added a pale purple color scheme to the greyscale metool, the second one I just darkened up the first, and the third I removed the highlights, which imo makes it less reflective and a more shadowy type feel (it never ceases to amaze me how doing something as subtle as removing a couple highlights can affect the entire picture).



Tomorrow I'll experiment a little more with this, possibly changing the eyes a bit (they look to big and not 'dark metool' enough, even though they're red, though it might just be me).

[Mathias]

Now you're thinking for yourself. Before, you were just copying the shading from the original, and it was very uninspiring. Keep that up.

When it comes to light, be bold. Don't be afraid to obscure details and things in shadow. Just do it. Less it more anyway. hey hey

[Keand64]

So I made six variations of the dark metool, just playing around with lighting and color.  Right now I'm working on a simple animation, so I'll post that when it's done.




Yeah, one of them's red...

EDIT:  I got down a very (very ^^) basic animation-sketch.  The idea is for the sun to be fading behind the metool until it becomes just a silhouette, and as you can see, it's still a WIP.  Before I do rest of the work, I want to know if there are any changes I should make to the basic outline.  (I don't want to have to go back and re-do everything just because of a small change in this).



The first frame is the most recent edit of the colored metool, which I'm using as a reference.  For the most part, the only colors I used were the ones in the original palette, save for one extra dark red.  Later I'll use the shades of color from the dark metool to transition into the silhouette.

EDIT:  I switched the colors of the shadows to be bluer, more nightish.

[Keand64]

Finally finished the outline for the animation, although there's still a lot to be done (dithering to blend the colors, modification of the shadine of the cross on his head, general cleaning up, etc.), but I wanted to get some critique on this 'sketch' before I go and do all of the detailing.



EDIT: I did some basic dithering, just to see what it would look like, (I managed to circumvent the tedious-ness by just taking one of the frames with five shades of colors and just changing the color scheme for each frame), although somewhere along the line I lost the dark blue shade.  I'm not entirely sure if I want to add intermediate frames between the ones I currently have... but anyways, tell me what you think:



I didn't bother to shade the cross yet since this was just a quick fix to test dithering, I also didn't re-add AA (which I am not looking forward to -_-).