[WIP] [C+C] Radiated - video game art thread Updated DEC 27th

[Salvakiya]

Hello everyone!

I am a self proclaimed indie video game developer who ran into a problem... I can code quite well but I am very bad at pixel art. So I went on a quest online to find a forum that may be able to help me better my pixel art abilities. That is how I ended up here.

My games aesthetic is inspired by games such as Grain War(unreleased)http://www.indiedb.com/games/grain-war and Hyper Light Drifter(unreleased?) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1661802484/hyper-light-drifter

I adore the way the pixels are placed so perfectly that it looks crisp. It just looks good to me.

My game is a shooter/beat em up game. Something I came across by accident is instead of using an 8 directional sprite I can make a 4 directional sprite which moves diagonally and it(IMO) looks more natural when moving in 8 directions. I think Nuclear throne used this approach.

Here is what I have so far. I have not really decided on what the head will look like for the character however I can tell you it wont be solid sky blue.



Tree sprite. I have no idea how to approach the leaves =\


character. I want to get rid of the cape but when I do I always end up with a strange looking character... I will make an attempt later and post it so you can see. for now this is what the character looks like.


This is my first real attempt at pixel art. Please hit me with what you got! I wont be offended I just want to get better so I can finish my game!

ps. forgot the gun shadow ^ haha!

[Final Ninja]

You need to choose your colors more carefully on your character. The grey blends in with the light green slightly so it is hard to make out the outline of the grey piece. The dark green cape blends with the dark grey legs so much that you can't see the design of the feet at all without looking very closely into it. The light grey on the gun is too similar to the grey of the (armor? I can't really tell what that light grey part is). Make sure that it's easy to tell what each part is from the distance they are going to be playing the game at, especially when you're making the character they're going to be playing for the whole game.

Hope your game turns out well.

[Decroded]

Hi and welcome 
Perhaps u can tell us (briefly!) a bit more about the theme of the game.
Do u have particular ideas about the setting, character and  overarching plot?
For example I never get sick of cheesy rustic medieval dungeons.

Or r u in need of artistic direction?

Starting tips:
 - Bring ur main light source above in front of objects so the shadow goes behind. There are a list of technical and artistic reasons for this but basically it's just going to be much easier to work with.
 - Ur hero is too dark using a cool colour (google colour temperature) as the highlight. For an action game ur hero should be at the top of the visual hierarchy (google that too) pretty much at all times. There are several simple ways we can help u control ur visual hierarchy but wwe'll get to that later.

[Salvakiya]

so I have been practicing my pixel art and tried another style... Can I get some feedback on this sprite? I made this after watching a video by solar lune. I was trying to have a go at his style.


EDIT: VERSION 2


Its off by alot. The dress was supposed to be this style dress
http://www.micdresses.com/images/v/201207/hor-sexy-and-high-side-slit-chiffon-beaded-cross-strape-with-backlee-long-evening-dress-formal-prom-dress-e20000613426632560.jpg

And I have further refined where I am going with the game. You will customize an airship and go into battle. during battle you can drop to the earth, fight in the airship, or possibly use a fighter and dogfight other pilots. It will be in either 2.5d or 3d with 2d sprites which will allow for a more interactive universe. I cant decide for sure until I get my sprite making skills down a bit.

NONE of the sprites are mine in the following image but it is the engine I am working on. I want to mesh that style with that of the last two mentioned in my original post.



EDIT: did further spriting on the female.
here is what she looks like now. thanks to Jan125(https://twitter.com/jan125) for helping with the pose!


also here are some body sections in 8 directions... Please give me feedback!



maybe the north west and north east directions should not have shading on the breast?

EDIT: a render of her in the engine! though I don't have 8 directions of her arms yet. this uses an edited head from above.. it looked dumb and while trying to fix it I accidentally gave her a nose!

[Decroded]

2 main issues:
 - The sprite doesn't suit the camera perspective. The camera is overhead a bit but the sprite is drawn front on as if its a 2D platformer.
 - Its better to render your sprites in "billboard" mode which bascially means it gets rotated to face exactly at the camera at all times. When you angle sprites the way you're doing it now it looks "paper-thin" which ruins the illusion.

If you're going to mix 2D sprites in 3D environments consider a fixed perspective so your sprites don't look all weird.
An example of all this being done properly is in Pokemon Platinum (I think thats it).
I haven't actually played the games but I did find it interesting how they did it.
Can only find crappy screenshots:
http://www.hookedgamers.com/images/418/pokemon_platinum/screenshot_nds_pokemon_platinum005.jpg
http://joveeno.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/floaroma.png
http://i11a.3djuegos.com/juegos/3204/pokemon_platinum/fotos/analisis/pokemon_platinum-775548.jpg

[Salvakiya]

2 main issues:
 - The sprite doesn't suit the camera perspective. The camera is overhead a bit but the sprite is drawn front on as if its a 2D platformer.
 - Its better to render your sprites in "billboard" mode which bascially means it gets rotated to face exactly at the camera at all times. When you angle sprites the way you're doing it now it looks "paper-thin" which ruins the illusion.

If you're going to mix 2D sprites in 3D environments consider a fixed perspective so your sprites don't look all weird.
An example of all this being done properly is in Pokemon Platinum (I think thats it).
I haven't actually played the games but I did find it interesting how they did it.
Can only find crappy screenshots:
http://www.hookedgamers.com/images/418/pokemon_platinum/screenshot_nds_pokemon_platinum005.jpg
http://joveeno.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/floaroma.png
http://i11a.3djuegos.com/juegos/3204/pokemon_platinum/fotos/analisis/pokemon_platinum-775548.jpg

interestingly enough the sprites are on a billboard which is exactly straight up and down... they just are not rotated to face the camera. I get that same response from everyone though.. Perhaps its an illusion? An issue nonetheless. I was hoping for feedback on the actual sprite itself but am glad for this feedback as well!... I do feel the skin tone is off... also the bottom portion of the dress I cant get quite right in all 8 directions.

Thanks for the response! I will try and update this topic when I am off of work with a fixed perspective!

[Decroded]

Perspective is the biggest issue.
I'd also consider doubling your sprite size as you'll find it much easier to imply the correct perspective when u have more pixels to work with.

[Salvakiya]

Perspective is the biggest issue.
I'd also consider doubling your sprite size as you'll find it much easier to imply the correct perspective when u have more pixels to work with.

Right now she is 16x32 I think... do you mean scaling her 2x? or actually doubling the canvas and adding more detail?

[Decroded]

Perspective is the biggest issue.
I'd also consider doubling your sprite size as you'll find it much easier to imply the correct perspective when u have more pixels to work with.

Right now she is 16x32 I think... do you mean scaling her 2x? or actually doubling the canvas and adding more detail?

Oh so she is sorry my bad.
32x32 should be a enough to add perspective.