[C+C] [WIP] Exodus (Espiritus iudicium/ Espiritus botanica)

[lolzolaura]

Hey guys.

I kind of need some help with this one.


It's a tree, which is sentient, and is puppeteering a suit of armour on one of its roots. That includes the sword and the soon-to-be-added scales in the other hand.
Also, it's helmet is fully closed, as if its wearing a bucket, a really fancy bucket at that one, as this boss is supposed to reference the sign Libra, and is a jugde. (and the jury, and the executionner, for that matter)
As for the leaves, I know those are pretty bad and that they need fixing (which is what I will tackle afther the suit of armour)

I have the feeling that the armour looks more like it is made of plastic, instead of metal. On the left, you can see the original palette, if you're curious.

So, let's hear your critiques,, show your edits or just give some tips.


EDIT 29-01-2015: Officially renamed to Exodus. His pseudo-Latin faux scientific names are how he will be (falsely) be classified in the bestiary. (the iudicium is the correct one!)
He is kind of a mash-up between Exodus, the Judge-Sal from Final Fantasy XII and Exdeath from Final Fantasy V, and largely my take on the whole judgemental tree idea.

[Decroded]

dont get caught up in any details or texturing yet as u have lots of form work to fix first.

does this tree move around or is it stationary?
if it doesn't move, perhaps it is wiser to have the tree planted into the ground (draw the ground) and then some roots weave in and out of the dirt, then one of them is rising up from the dirt into the armor.
this should help with the whole weird balance issue.
u could even have the skeleton of the fallen warrior nearby from which the armor was originally claimed.

[lolzolaura]

It is a moving tree, how does it otherwise impersonate a guy wearing armour. All in all, it is sentient, and moves. Might draw a face on the tree as well, treant style.

[jams0988]

I would stick to pencil and paper for now. The basic construction on the tree and armour are completely off, so it'd be a waste to spend ten hours doing pixel level detail on this. You should just practice drawing normally.

[computertrash]

the trunk looks more like a root than an actual tree trunk. try looking up references and use a specific tree type. it looks very strange overall.

[lolzolaura]

What if the armor is supposed to look "off"? I know you guys think in basic armor placement (and TBH, I am a lot better on paper) and then you have Blizzard-style pauldrons, and of course trees that not quite manage to wear a suit of armor without it looking like it is a tree using a suit of armor like a hand puppet.

I do have a front-view, slightly older drawing on paper though. I toned down the details on it for the pixel piece, because my intention was to animate it when done.


(this one is from 2012, mind you, back when I failed even more at drawing trees.)
I will look at some references, though. I have quite some nice trees in the area, even ones that are completely bent.

I was looking at help with the armor mostly, because I KNOW that trees doesn't work like that.


and in case you want to see it, an even worse sketch:

[Fizzick]

Thanks for letting the Pixelation community know that we think about armor basically and make big pauldrons. There are actually a lot of people here who appreciate realistic armor, http://www.pixeljoint.com/pixelart/87916.htm this being an excellent example. Indeed the tree is not an ordinary one, but you would still benefit from better construction. For one, it is the same thickness all the way up and has thorns instead of branches. If you wanted the branches to look like that, it should be made more clear. The cluster of leaves at the top indicates that the tree branches out into a large group of very thin branches, which again, could be better done if that was your intention. Also, why not have branches/roots growing out of the armor at the cracks, maybe have some parts of the armor loose? You could have one root sticking out of the wrist holding onto the sword. These are ways to make your intentions more clear.

All in all, it seems that whatever critique the kind people of this forum have offered, you counter with "I meant it to look like that".

[lolzolaura]

My apologies. Something about a language barrier and such.


I meant that yes, you guys think about more realistic armors. That does not mean that you guys like big pauldrons. The armor should feel impressive, while staying a bit realistic as well.
I have planned to change the tree a bit, as I just needed a basic idea. I already felt like that the leaves made no sense. It is the next step in fixing the sprite.

I do understand that the feedback is meant to improve the picture, I know that. However, I don't like it when people start commenting on "failed anatomy" when there is no human figure underneath. Also, it feels like people are being Captain Obvious, when they state again and again that the "tree does not work like that!". I already acknowledged that, and I asked about the armor, not about the tree.

(if I sound rude, my sincere apologies. I do not mean to sound rude, AT ALL.  )

[Fizzick]

No worries. I understand now that English may not be your first language. 
Even though there is no human form underneath, it still helps to construct it more carefully. An accurate human figure would be a better starting point because it is more pleasing to the eye. Later on I will try to give you an edit, but I have to go party hard because it's pumpkin night.

[lolzolaura]

So, I should still put the human figure underneath for construction purposes, but make it clear later that there is none. Okay *noted on the bucket list of stuff to fix*
Have fun at the party