adventure/puzzle game mock-up, character jumping, portrait and inventory

[cactusanctuary]

Hi! So I'm making a mock-up of an adventure/puzzle game, and I'm trying my hand at making artwork for it. I like pixel art so I'm trying that, and so far have been following Derek Yu's tutorial for making pixel art. Outline by hand, then scanned, reduced, and gone over with pencil in Photoshop, colored, shaded, etc. Here are the two things I've done so far:


Here Ophelia is supposed to be jumping horizontally towards a wall with vines on it.


The portrait and inventory are part of the HUD. So far, I've only done volume blocking behind the lines on this one.

I welcome comments and criticism on them, thanks!

[Tourist]

I like the shading on the body.  I think the shadow green could be a little darker to push the contrast, but the basic distribution of light and shadow looks nice.

The eyes are too close together (in the full size pic), and the hair doesn't quite sit right (front corner and crown of head).

There are a couple of jaggies in the coat arm on our left.

Probably could use an additional color/ramp beyond yellow andf green.  But my color fu is weak.

The inventory looks ok,

On the portrait, consider changing the eye shape?  It's hard to tell since this is not very far along.  The basic face lacks and real construction or form, but I can't tell if this is the unfinished state or anatomy issues.  Hopefully you can post an update.

Tourist

[StarRaven]

Hello! It's looking really nice so far. Some suggestions I have: First, the coat should be billowing out away from her if she's jumping. The other suggestion is to try to use colors that move toward blue/purple as they get darker and toward yellow as they get brighter.

Good luck!

[cactusanctuary]

Thanks for the responses!


I changed some stuff around from the version I put up before: changed the legs a bit, made the coat billow out a bit (or tried rather), fixed the left coat arm. The left version is with the colors I originally had, and the right one has colors that move towards purple and yellow, as StarRaven suggested. I like the left one because the colors are more subdued, maybe a bit more like pastels. Thoughts?


I've only worked on the portrait so far, will keep working on it in the mean time.

Thanks again for the c&c, looking forward to more

[zez]

I think your nose is on backwards
Otherwise a definite improvement, I really like the AA on the face. I think the second set of colors will pop more in a game/give you less trouble when you start on backgrounds, but I do see the appeal of the pastel look as well, I just think it will make for some real problems with visual priority when you start working on more things.

[cactusanctuary]

Yeah, I wasn't sure how to do the nose. Let me know what you think of this one. Also did a first pass of the inventory items! c&c welcome!

[WizKid]

I did a couple fixes the mouth looked mighty awkward. He seems like he is the type of guy to smile. So i gave him a cheesy smile, and fixed his nose a bit
His orange eyes either need darkened or they need changed.



Also did some shading fixes on the boots and fixed its shape a little.

[cactusanctuary]

The character is supposed to be a girl... I'm so embarrassed! Na, I have difficulty drawing girls, but I decided to just go ahead and do it anyway :p I guess her face isn't particularly feminine, any ideas on how to achieve that? I want to stay away from stereotypical depictions of women though.  Suggestions, and as always c&c are super welcome!


I changed her nose and mouth and eyes. Also used your changes to the boots, thanks WizKid!

[Tourist]

To make the face more feminine, the jaw needs to be smoother and the brows less emphasized.  Fuller lips help, but are not necessary.

I think the face needs better structure overall.  There's no real anatomy here, just an egg shape with parts in roughly the right spot.  Eyes should sit in sockets, nose protrudes, and so forth.  I see that you've added shading to emphasize form to the other sprites, you just need to do that with the face too.

The hair looks plastic and doesn't sit right.  Unless she sings for a Flock of Seagulls
--->

The face needs a highlight color.  Noses usually catch a highlight and the cheeks sometimes too.  Stronger contrast between your existing shades would help too.

Quick edit using your colors.  You've got about 40 pixels here, use them!


1)  Same face with a generic smooth jawline.  Changed the eye shape and added eye sockets.  Tweaked the nose, gave her some lips. 
The eyes are already a strong contrast with the bright orange color.  They will show up even when reduced in size.
Instead of combining the eyebrow and upper eyelid, I separated them since there is plenty of room on the face.
Gave her a quick haircut.  The hair still needs a lot more work, but at least you can see her face.

2) Same as above, turned the jaw slightly to one side and made it stronger.  A stronger jaw is good for athletic or amazon characters, but it can be masculine if you make it too strong. 

3) Same as above, but with a narrow jaw.  I think I overdid the hollow cheeks, but this one looks thinner in case the character is supposed to be a model or something similar.  A difference of only a few pixels. (img 2 vs img 3). 

The edits are a bit generic, but I hope they point you in a better direction.  She still needs highlights on the nose, and light and shadow to define the shape of the cheek.  Your choices there help make the face distinct.

Hope this helps,
Tourist

[Batzy]

I guess her face isn't particularly feminine, any ideas on how to achieve that?

Not the best edit but anyway here i did you an edit study that!