[NEED HELP] Character needs a make over.

[Rimrook]

I have a pretty large project and its been years since my days of the pixel (I blame 3D for that) but now I need to be back on the scene.

So here's a pretty important character in the project.



This is the base character set. Its flat, drab, dry, suck, whatever, it is. The theme of the world surrounding him is derelict technology and metal. So yeah he doesn't fit in. I have support of 24 bit png so unlimited colors is ok, also some kind of shadow to ground the character is nice too. I tried to pay a lot of attention to the angle and motion, but my skills are just as rusty as the world in the game. I'd like to keep his design and colors of course.

So, any pointers? Help is greatly appreciated, your name will appear in the credits of the game.

[Seiseki]

Ok, a few pointers from my first impression.

- It's hard see the eyes. especially with the googles attracting all the attention.
- His face is extremely pale.
- In side view it looks like the arm is floating separately from the body.
- Also, the palette needs some work, pants look a bit too bright, shirt looks a bit too dark. Not a big fan of the colors themselves, washed out yellow and a blue that feels too dark.
- lacks basic shading

Remember some details that are easy to see zoomed in can be quite hard to see when zoomed out without enough contrast.

- The goggles should probably be angle upwards a bit, if you place googles horizontally like that above your face they will slide off..

random example:

[Rimrook]

This website is magic.



Its a bit better? I know I'm stuck on the colors.
Was going for something similar to this.


Wish I had a team sometimes, I have over 20 character sets of this guy >:[ Will be working on the side and back poses a bit later after the weekend. I will post accordingly. Other things to do, but for now, thanks for the help, very appreciated!

If anyone wants to take a stab at it, be my guest. :3

[pistachio]

I agree in that it lacks basic shading, but that's not the only thing making it look flat. The clothes lack believable folds in the way the limbs lack definition. Other than those aspects, it looks like an emotionless toy. No personality or character.

The shading looks very flat as well, then just blended to no return. An asymmetrical light-source could also turn out looking a bit strange in some in-game situations.

I'm making an edit now, hopefully it'd help if you described his persona a bit more. That would at least take out some of the guesswork.

[Rimrook]

His persona is middle aged father, is tired and worn. In the setting of the game, he's a bit lost. He's a traveling engineer that knows an advanced level of technologies and machines. If it would help even further, I could pass you some of the music even.

[pistachio]

Well, here ya go:



Yes, it's an edit, not a redo (although most of it was redrawn, and the rest adjusted). Pants are still a bit flat, and overall he looks a bit more like a farmer than planned, what with the suspenders and rugged hair. I'll edit this post to go somewhat in-depth about what I did in a bit, but the last thing I did was stroll it through one of 'em image-processin'-doohickeymajigs to desaturate the piece (mainly the blue colors) and give it a warmer tone.

Large, round eyes and rounded face suggest more of a young age than anything. With the nose and eyebrows though, you were up to something there. You want narrow eyes, perhaps bags under them, more defined cheekbones, thicker eyebrows.

Also broke up the symmetry, aside from accessories that required it, to give the details more variety.

You say this character lives in a world of "derelict technology and metal", so the steampunk genre was one of my inspirations, to start with. Not sure if it shows clearly in the end, hence the "farmer" comment.

[Rimrook]

This is a mix of our two designs. I like the single strap back pack idea. It just seems more explorer-esque.

Kept his goggles but changed them up a bit.

[ABC]

You can't really steal pieces of the edits people make of your work. It's there for you to use as a reference.

Plus, you won't really learn that way.

[Seiseki]

Here's an edit I made of pistachios edit, it's a bit rough..
I'm not sure what style you intend, but I find it easier to make defining characteristics larger.
He's now a bit more cartoonish and less minimalistic.

I also figured a wastelander would be a bit more tanned

And trust me on this, since I'm in the same situation myself.
If you suddenly find yourself needing to do pixel art for a game, study a style you like until you feel comfortable with it.
Start making other characters in the same style and get a feeling for it, don't rush it, go back and look at your characters from time to time and make adjustments.
Keep contrast, shading, colors in mind at all times and use the same techniques for consistency.

[Rimrook]

I agree with the stealing part, and I suck at pixel hair. I do want something similar to the original design, just better and I'll work on that myself. It saddens me that I can't edit at this time, as I want to learn as much as I can. (I'm not at home)

That last edit is really nice but he looks just too furry. Still, mad skills and impressive work.

The hardest part is the various costumes. The guy travels and wears a variety of gear to protect him from the different environments. Things like an arctic snow suit, hazmat suit, scuba gear, and other various protective wear. Each with their own character set. The game is also more science fiction than anything.

I appreciate the help, will be back later with stuff.