AuthorTopic: [WIP] Shmup Sprites  (Read 5162 times)

Offline unclechristmas

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[WIP] Shmup Sprites

on: December 31, 2012, 02:16:29 pm
Hi everyone, I've got a couple of sprites I've been working on but I could do with someone else having a look.

The ship colours seem to be off somehow, and the shading in the middle particularly is confusing but I can't find a way to fix it.


This one just seems flat, but I'm having difficulty creating depth?

Offline unclechristmas

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Re: [WIP] Shmup Sprites

Reply #1 on: January 03, 2013, 08:42:16 pm
Fixed the ship a little bit.

Offline unclechristmas

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Re: [WIP] Shmup Sprites

Reply #2 on: January 04, 2013, 01:49:47 pm
Attempted fix on the alien-type-thing.

Offline pistachio

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Re: [WIP] Shmup Sprites

Reply #3 on: January 04, 2013, 02:14:58 pm
Right away I see some problems with banding and pillow-shading through all of these sprites--problems which would show real badly against a black background. And when the ship rotates, the light even rotates with it as if it's "baked in".
These ship colors are pretty saturated as well, unusual for a space situation, where I would expect pretty much no hue shift, or a bit of a shift to blue. (You could pull off sprites with these colors though, but pillow-shading still needs to be addressed.) The latest sprites are a step up from the first versions though, but mostly detail-wise, while those other problems still persist.

EDIT:


Two quick edits actually, in two different styles just to show you some possible directions you could take. Or I might have just gotten carried away with it...
The first edit focuses more on simple shapes and the aforementioned blue shift in a duller palette, design wise it's basically a sci-fi bottle rocket, with wings.
The second focuses more on your chosen saturated palette, angles and detail, borrowing a bit from DodonPachi and other shooters in that vein--which are definitely worth looking at for reference.
Also, note how both demonstrate a clear light source, but simplified down to cylindrical bodies, with a slight cast shadow to the right. Maybe it's worth it to experiment with asymmetrical lighting?
« Last Edit: January 04, 2013, 09:04:38 pm by pistachio »

Offline unclechristmas

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Re: [WIP] Shmup Sprites

Reply #4 on: January 04, 2013, 10:10:17 pm
First of all, thanks for the help pistachio. :)

Now that I look at mine again I can see the pillow-shading and banding. Especially the pillow shading on top of the ships, although that's not what I was intending it to look like, I just have problems picking highly contrasting colours together sometimes for some reason.

I prefer the angular appearance on the top of your first ship, I might try to achieve something like that in the next version.

I shied away from using an obvious light source as I'm doing rotation on the fly if I need it for the game I'm making these for, and would rather not have to draw each facing.

I'm generally aiming for a cartoony look, ideally something like these screens below from Tatsujin Ou/Truxton 2:



or another Toaplan game I like called Dogyuun:



Although I realise I won't reach this standard, at least in the time I plan to finish these sprites  ;D