AuthorTopic: (C+C) Character Sprite  (Read 7069 times)

Offline jcmeyer5

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(C+C) Character Sprite

on: March 11, 2015, 03:28:30 pm
I have this little lady here that I have been playing with.  I have upped the resolution 4x (it is originally a 32x32, but my eyes suck, so I present it at 4x resolution).



I am an accountant... so creativity has been bred out of me.  My main concerns are color selection, and how to pack in more detail.  Remember it is 4x only for presentation.

TIA!!

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Re: (C+C) Character Sprite

Reply #1 on: March 11, 2015, 06:10:33 pm
http://i.imgur.com/hULSOTT.png

Yo!  First of all, I know how you feel about the creativity being bred out of you.  But I just want to say that I think our inner creativity never ever truly dies.  You just gotta bring back out again.  Don't be afraid to be weird or strange or to do exactly what you want to do.  In this realm anything is possible.

 The sprite is pretty good.  Is this your first sprite?! 

1- colors are pretty cool, but too expected.  Experiment more with color combinations.  You are choosing very plain hues.  Plain green, plain orange, plain purple.  Brown grey shoes.  The effect is blandness.  You don't have to be crazy with colors, but you can be more expressive, especially since in pixel art you want a small palette.  A key way to give harmony to a piece is to try to balance or interweave the colors throughout the image in a way that makes sense and is expressive.  I gave her some green makeup and a little blush.  I shifted the green in the pants to a yellowish green that is just yellow enough to work as a hair highlight as well, thus eliminating the need for extra colors, as well as tying the image together by using the same color in multiple places. 

2- The pose looks really square, which isn't bad.  But I felt the squareness was not emphasized enough.  The pose could have been even more square, and she probably would have looked more stylish.  at first I wanted to say the eyes helped bring the pose out, and it kinda does, but not enough to me.  I can't decide if the eyes and pose are evoking seriousness or humor.  In the end I decided to make scarlet more organic in her pose and eyes.

Following that Idea, she needed to be brought to life with other details.  I gave her breasts, tried to imply more dainty arms, made the hair less boxy. 

Again, I like your style, and there's not a lot I would say is wrong with your sprite :)

Offline jcmeyer5

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Re: (C+C) Character Sprite

Reply #2 on: March 11, 2015, 07:57:09 pm
Thank you for your input!  It is my first full body sprite, yes.  In previous versions of the same project, I tried to build her in separate pieces and assemble her... went horribly wrong.

I think your design changes too much about her.  Remember, it only appears square because I blew it up.  EDIT:  I see what you mean now.

I did take a few and put my attempt on better shading.  I also dispensed with the dark outline unless it is appropriate.  Here it is:

« Last Edit: March 13, 2015, 12:25:56 am by jcmeyer5 »

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Re: (C+C) Character Sprite

Reply #3 on: March 11, 2015, 09:00:18 pm
it appears square because her pose is rigid as are the forms and lines, the eyes.  Everything is either a 90 degree or 45 degree angle, hence square like. 

The outline is necessary if you want to keep the light background, as the lighter colors get lost in it.  And now that you essentially turned the outlines into "shading", there is a problem with the pixel technique. 

You have banding everywhere and is really hurting your sprite  :-X 

Offline jcmeyer5

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Re: (C+C) Character Sprite

Reply #4 on: March 11, 2015, 10:30:10 pm
I'll tell you what I do like about my second attempt. From the belt line down, I like it. I also like her right (left side of sprite) arm. I also like the highlight color on the shirt.

I DONT like how her face turned out after the new shading.  Looks too flat.  Same with the hair.  Shirt is too lifeless.

I think maybe I add the highlights inside the dark outline to see how that looks?  Here it is...

« Last Edit: March 13, 2015, 12:22:37 am by jcmeyer5 »

Offline jcmeyer5

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Re: (C+C) Character Sprite

Reply #5 on: March 13, 2015, 12:19:50 am
So I am have three different shadings done, and I am letting them ferment for a bit.  Let's look at her running! 

6 frames at 0.1 seconds each.  The sequence feels like it is missing something... not sure what.  She bounces up in frames 3 and 6 to give the impression of vertical movement, but she wasn't designed that way.  In fact, she wasn't designed with any frames where her feet are not on the ground (at least one of them).



Tear it up
« Last Edit: March 13, 2015, 12:27:23 am by jcmeyer5 »

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Re: (C+C) Character Sprite

Reply #6 on: March 13, 2015, 12:36:32 am
Don't be trapped into thinking the feet need to move an even distance each frame through the air. If they touch the ground they certainly do but for a 6 frame cycle you can have the foot on the ground on only two or even one of them. Pendulum motion in the hands and feet is is pretty important to the sense of weight in a run so try to bunch the frames up toward the edges of the swings.

Offline xeokk

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Re: (C+C) Character Sprite

Reply #7 on: March 15, 2015, 09:17:06 pm


small edit, will elaborate but later cuz I'm tired ;_;

Offline 8-bit_madness

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Re: (C+C) Character Sprite

Reply #8 on: March 16, 2015, 03:43:24 am
I like her overall design, but the colors are hurting my eyes. I think it's her trousers. Please... anything but green.

Offline jcmeyer5

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Re: (C+C) Character Sprite

Reply #9 on: March 19, 2015, 01:16:02 pm
LOL @ the green.  I just threw it up (no pun intended) there because The Hulk, who is green, often has purple pants.  So purple top = green pants.  I have to agree, I think I need a different color... how about... BROWN! (just kidding)

Here is my remix of her run.    I redesigned all of her legs.  Arms are functional, although probably not optimal.  Ignore the ponytail... it isn't done right.  It is now 8 frames instead of 6 with the same 0.1 seconds per frame, but appears slower (and smoother) as there are more frames in the loop.  I could speed it up to 0.075 per frame for the same cycle time, and retain the smoothness.



Things look more deliberate now.  Her in-the-air frame makes more sense too.
« Last Edit: March 19, 2015, 01:23:53 pm by jcmeyer5 »