GR#109 - Female Fighter Sprite - Sprite Process

[hsn2555]

Hello guys,

I am working on this sprite for a friend's game. It is supposed to show the status of the character. so I am gonna animate it later in different states, but I have a feeling that its figure isn't proper, especially her arm 
i am almost done with the upper part


update:

Any hints ?

[Tourist]

The title says female, but you've drawn a man.  Even a lean athletic woman will have hips.  The pose is off balance, but since one leg is longer than the other that might be ok.  She probably needs a hunch to go with the different leg lengths though.

Probably too many colors in the palette, but the set of values (light to dark) is good.

The costume is a bit... well.  Trying to cover up poor anatomy with clothing or armor doesn't work.

• She has a shoulder protector, but an exposed belly and cleavage.  The shoulder protector doesn't really protect much. 
• A championship wrestling belt? A blue cloth armband?
• Several more belts which look like they will fall down and trip her up.  Nor do they seem to support anything.

Holding the knife by the blade instead of the handle is not practical.  Nor is hair that covers the eyes - I imagine an assassin wants to see, but not be seen.

Suggestion: Draw out the anatomy first, more completely than you have done on the left.  then add clothing.  Rework the clothing design for a mix of both practicality and style.  Assassin is a bit general, so develop the idea a bit more.  A poisoner and a sniper might both be assassins, but they will dress and look differently from one another.

Hope this helps,
Tourist

[Ryumaru]

May I ask why an assassin would wear such colorful clothing?

[jams0988]

May I ask why an assassin would wear such colorful clothing?

Sure. Just go have a talk with the creators of Assassin's Creed, Naruto, and 007 while you're at it. =P
Style trumps realism constantly in fiction; this is in response to Tourist's "the armor doesn't protect much" comment, too. Steel bikinis have been a staple of fantasy games since they came out; I'm not sure "her belly is showing" is really valid criticism when best sellers have been pulling it for years.
Another answer for the outfit might simply be that everyone in the characters universe dresses in bright clothing, and she's simply fitting in. A jet-black ninja costume wouldn't be especially inconspicuous if everyone around her was wearing rainbow colors, hahah! ^ ^

I do agree about the belt buckles, though. They really do look like they're falling off, and the giant wrestling belt isn't very cool looking. It really does feel like half the stuff was thrown on to cover up the bad anatomy, as Tourist pointed out. I agree with the advice to start all over again, making sure you have a sound base to work on before adding the clothes. The outfit should be a stylistic choice, not one made to cover up a bad drawing underneath.

I do think the outfit is interesting looking overall, though. I love how flamboyant it is with the colored layered cloths and such. I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out with a better model to wear it. =)

[API-Beast]

In the case of Assassins Creed it actually makes sense, the assassinations are politically motivated and everyone should know that the person was killed by the assassins. That's also the reason why the important people are usually killed in the middle of some kind of public ceremony and not at night while sleeping.  About Naruto and 007: Neither are assassins.

A good design is something that combines purpose and style.

[Tourist]

I kind of like the colorful skirt.  It breaks up the drab dark and brown of the rest of the clothing.  Not every assassin needs to be ninja McBatman.  It depends on the context, and we have no context for this character.  I might not use the same style of skirt, but I think the colors are ok.

But I agree Mr. Beast on the need for both style and purpose in the design.

Tourist

[jams0988]

In the case of Assassins Creed it actually makes sense, the assassinations are politically motivated and everyone should know that the person was killed by the assassins. That's also the reason why the important people are usually killed in the middle of some kind of public ceremony and not at night while sleeping.  About Naruto and 007: Neither are assassins.

No, the outfit in Assassin's Creed makes *absolutely no sense,* because nobody recognizes you as an assassin until you kill your target, so your argument holds no water. Naruto is a ninja who completes stealth missions wearing a bright orange jumpsuit. 007 is a spy whose face every criminal on the planet knows. I don't see how you couldn't draw the connections there. = \
And the reason targets are killed in broad daylight surrounded by guards in Assassin's Creed is because it's fun, not because it makes any sense. Once again, reality is boring, fiction is illogical to be entertaining.

But I agree Mr. Beast on the need for both style and purpose in the design.

To be honest, I actually enjoy outfits most when they're as realistic as possible, but mainly for the reason that they're so rare in fiction. Most stories I can think of feature characters whose costumes barely serve any function other than looking cool, hahah. My main point was that players/audiences are very forgiving about what you show them, as long as it looks interesting. It's even a trope! XD
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RuleOfCool

[hsn2555]

Tourist, Ryumaru, jams0988, Mr. Beast,  jams0988 : Ok guys, I should have cleared things out from the beginning, I was kind of not specific, so you served me right  .
I am using a ref. pic to draw this sprite, so this character isn't designed by me , I really do not know what her exact function is, but at least she looks like an assassin to me.( she has something to do with fighting and killing).
This sprite is not playable, it just shows the condition of the 3D playable model. (idle, damaged, searching)
In fact I cannot remove anything from the outfit or change anything in the design, even the wrestling belt as mentioned by tourist.
I am not arguing about the definition of assassin. :S

Tourist, jams0988 : thanks a lot, that helped a lot. I did some changes based on your crits.
Starting over and redrawing the whole thing again would be a hard choice for me. It would take a lot of time. Especially since this is my first time drawing a big sprite like this one.

[PixelPiledriver]

Cool.
I like girls.

Some messy edit:

This sprite is not playable, it just shows the condition of the 3D playable model. (idle, damaged, searching)

Multiple poses?
Or all from this one pose?
Shown on screen at all times?
Just curious.

I am using a ref. pic to draw this sprite, so this character isn't designed by me

Whats the ref look like?

[API-Beast]

No, the outfit in Assassin's Creed makes *absolutely no sense,* because nobody recognizes you as an assassin until you kill your target,

That's for the sake of the gameplay, it's not part of the story.

Naruto is a ninja who completes stealth missions wearing a bright orange jumpsuit.

Naruto is called a "ninja" for the sake of cool, it has nothing to do with the historical ninjas and he is rarely doing any "stealth" missions,