[WIP] Emo Kid: an attempt at high-res pixel art

[DeadSuperHero]

So I've recently decided to take a stab at making sprites again, and thought it would be fun to try doing things in a higher resolution. After looking through a few tutorials, I decided to sketch out a character, scan it, and turn it into a sprite in GIMP.

A long time ago, I was working on an AGS game called No One Likes You (NOLY). The data all got lost in a hard drive crash, so I ended up giving up for a very long time. Every now and then, I'll take another stab at developing the main character and visual style. In the past, the main character has looked like this:



Now, the main character looks like this, in a much higher resolution. I feel that the style is a lot more unique. I ended up experimenting with dithering, shading techniques, and venturing into a visual style that I haven't tried before. The character is being made with a 640x400 resolution in mind; normally I'm used to doing something in 320x200, which is more in line with the visual styles of King's Quest or Quest for Glory.

1x


Zoomed in:


A few things I'm thinking about adjusting, but not totally sure about:

• The arm on the left side of the sprite seems a little strange
• His eyeliner could probably use some evening out.
• Maybe his eye shapes could be adjusted to match a little more?
• Adjust some of the darker dithering on the right side of the face?

[lachrymose]

I honestly think your smallest version is the best. I'd stick with that resolution if you really want to continue with your game.

[TheMonsterAtlas]

I honestly think your smallest version is the best. I'd stick with that resolution if you really want to continue with your game.

Agreed. If you're making a game the fact that the first style is so much more simpler allows you to create animations a lot easier.

[DeadSuperHero]

Hey, thanks for the feedback. The main reason I provided a bigger version was just to show some of the details with dithering and shading, which is something I'm still experimenting with in my pixel work.

In regards to animation: while I agree that having a sprite with a higher resolution / more detail lends itself to more difficulty with animating frames, I don't think this sprite would be too hard to animate for a 640x400 resolution game. I think if I were to cut certain body parts into layers in Gimp, I could at least put together a walk cycle, as well as talking animations and various other actions.

[lachrymose]

Well if you are going for a South Park look than yes.

If you aren't going for a South Park look than no.

[Niskinator]

That's a very good looking art!

I did some work on the hair and made it look better with some better lightning. I also fixed the nose and mouth to make them stand out more and be easier to spot. I also did some work on the skull on his shirt, as well as fixing his belt and giving him some nice facial hair.



You are free to use this in your game, however i want you to send me all - if any - money my way if you're using this art in the game as it took me several hours to complete this for you. Have a nice day!

[AlcopopStar]

@DeadSuperHero

I like the design, but your shapes are very wobbly and do not really read as what you are trying to depict.

I think you need to focus on making the character more readable before adding on any colour or shading. Cartooning relies on understanding then simplifying and stylizing shapes and objects, if the core understanding of the subject isn't there, often the cartoon will not look like what it is supposed to.

There are some exceptions like southpark and other more abstracted styles, but these still often rely on big bold shapes and blocks of colour. Essentially, your character is sitting in the middle of too wobbly and busy to fit into that simpler camp but not accurate enough to fit into a slightly realer style.

Honestly I think, unless you want to go smaller and a bit more pixel traditional, you need to work on your drawing fundamentals for a while before anyone can give you any more specific crits. The problems simply run a little too deep to pick out one by one. And the pixel tech at this scale is the least of the images concern.

I hope that didn't come across as too harsh, keep on practicing and you can achieve some amazing art!