Daim Iterates (ongoing!)

[Daimoth]

The sprites in this thread will likely coagulate into a project at some point, so I'm broadening the scope of this thread.

======================Helms======================





======================Dead Man======================

Various iterations: 1, 2

Springboard iteration:

[Decroded]

instant impression was bobba fett.
seems like the edges are a bit too rounded as well as the curves in the design.
Have u considered sharper triangle pointing down on the brow for example to make it look more badass?

if u wanna make it look used how about a dent?
most obvious place to add that is top left where light meets dark.

if u wanna make it more interesting consider some more design on it and another color used as a trim around the edges (why not everyone else is doing it lol).

is the back of the helmet supposed to be much higher than the front? Doesn't look very protective for back of neck and it doesn't look like perspective.

wish I could edit but I can't get to my computer >.<

[Daimoth]

Colors probably aren't doing me any favors in the Boba Fett department. My palettes are arbitrary as hell. Probably going to use more colors, I think I used 6, including transparency.

But yeah, I'll riffing on it later and see if I can give it some gilded trim or spikes or some shit. Any comments on the rendering or contrast?

Edit:

H.R. Giger presents


Having a hard time making anything look good on the dome top.

[Skaz]

Yeah, the Boba Fett thing was quite obvious...
Other than that, the pixel itself is quite good. Maybe make more contrasted reflections if it's metal? Darker helm interior too. The Boba stuff really comes form the palette I think.

[Daimoth]

Getting close.

That was fun. I kind of want to go back to the Boba Fett version and make a whole new iteration.

[Daimoth]

progress

Second iteration

Edit:



The colors aren't impressing me.



Alright, if no one has any objections I'm calling this one finished. Don't want to get sucked into an interation rabbit hole.

[Decroded]

progress

Second iteration

Edit:



The colors aren't impressing me.



Alright, if no one has any objections I'm calling this one finished. Don't want to get sucked into an interation rabbit hole.

design is interesting now
definitely could use some tweaking especially colors and noise reduction.
some cool options for the material might be worth checking out things like dull dented bronze, or shiny steel gilded in gold designs...

[Daimoth]

I tried to segment the edge of the helmet past which the face would be visible, does that actually read like segmentation or like noise?

[Daimoth]

progress

third iteration, beta

Edit:

Cleaning up

[TheRealAkito]

I like it! The third version shows a great improvement.

[Daimoth]

Alright this one started out bad, and it's only getting stupider the more I mess with it.

Behold:



lol

[Decroded]

Alright this one started out bad, and it's only getting stupider the more I mess with it.

Behold:



lol

Haha thats cute tho.
The gold one is great and not just that its gold but the design is interesting and you've balanced the contrast on the textures fairly well.
Maybe the back of it still seems a tiny bit high or the chin bits need to point down a bit more as it seems more like a regular curve that doesn't line up at the back.

[Daimoth]

Yeah I keep using the Boba Fett one as a base and its flaws soak through. I should nice it up:



The sides are still flat and unshaded. Is it gleaming, or noisy?

[Skaz]

The last one is really good! I don't find it too noisy, it's well balanced, not much lonely pixels.

[Daimoth]

Game's planned to be roughly SNES resolution, so I uploaded it at roughly the size it be in-game relative to your monitor.

[surt]

How do you know what size it will be relative to my monitor? Monitor do come in different dimensions and resolutions you know.

[Daimoth]

Logic, mostly. The game's planned resolution is 320x240. Have you ever even seen, much less used a monitor that small? Even if you have, such a monitor would be vanishingly rare today. There's no point in evaluating the sprite at 100%; It will never be seen at that size ingame.

[Cherno]

^I agree. the latest one looks excellent. Good lighting effects and detailing.

[Daimoth]

I shouldn't be making an exception for myself; it's frowned upon to upload at anything other than 100%, but I rendered it with 200% zoom in mind, and that matters with a sprite that small. It's a hell of a challenge, designing small sprites that read correctly regardless of zoom. In fact, I don't know how. I'm just estimating how big it will be for the end user and rendering it to look "right" when viewed at roughly that size. I suppose a start would be excising all the single-pixel details. But when the sprite's 50-something pixels high... easier said than done.

*deepbreath*

Much appreciated.

Edit: world's dinkiest "mockup"

[Night]

Some thoughts, watch out where you place light and shadow.

[Daimoth]

So I've got conflicting light sources, mainly in the close arm and his left (our left) thigh.

You're dead on about the close arm, Iv'e been going back and forth with that, tryiing to make it both fun to look at and technically correct. Still not finished with it, apparently. The shadow on the left (our left) thigh is being cast by his overhanging arm, not the manpanties. Though I suppose that would be clearer if I had rendered his that arm correctly in the first place.

I'll get right on it, boss.

[Daimoth]

Alright, am I moving forward or backward here?





Old


New

[Night]

A little bit of both.
Where is the light source coming from, exactly? To me it feels, with the latest version (and input you've providing about the shadow on thigh), that it comes from the absolute right; but I originally thought that it is supposed to come from the top front right.

[Decroded]

made an edit for fun.
hope u get something out of it.

now he looks a bit like The Mask at an S&M party but ah well.

[Daimoth]

Aiming for top front right lighting. In the most recent iteration I darkened the arm more to imply he was holding his elbows back a bit, but now it looks like only his chest is receiving light, almost like he's pulling his elbows back behind himself. I'll reshade his right arm, pull his right elbow out a bit, and maybe add more colors. Too much highlight on the left side of his face as well. Additional fiddling required.

Decroded:
Great edit. What I'm getting from it is I can afford to better distribute light and shadow. Your knee placement is superior. Better contrast, too. *sigh* Still a newbie.  I will likely compare my new iterations to yours, if for no other reason than my iteration look like buttered butts against light backgrounds.

[Night]

Try imagining how the light would hit your character from above, not necessarily drawing it (although that would help even more), but just giving yourself a rough idea in your head of how it would look like.

*sigh* Still a newbie.

Skill takes time, be patient.