AuthorTopic: WIP - Metroidvania Player Character  (Read 3224 times)

Offline Sokolov1964

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WIP - Metroidvania Player Character

on: July 11, 2016, 04:18:45 pm
So I'm working on making my first game, based heavily on Super Metroid with a visual style (I'm hoping) reminiscent of Bloodborne.  My character was to be a fantasy analog of the British constabulary.  But I had trouble turning the buttoned overcoat into something that I think would look good in motion, so I went with a more simple design.  I just don't think it looks good enough.  Maybe the colors are too muted, or not enough contrast?  But I'm going for a more subtle atmosphere so I don't want her to pop too much.

Offline MysteryMeat

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Re: WIP - Metroidvania Player Character

Reply #1 on: July 11, 2016, 08:43:17 pm
I'd say the blue isn't bright and desaturated enough. Try for more of a powder/baby blue, I think.
PSA: use imgur
http://pixelation.org/index.php?topic=19838.0 also go suggest on my quest, cmon
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Offline Sokolov1964

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Re: WIP - Metroidvania Player Character

Reply #2 on: July 12, 2016, 12:05:03 am
Hey thanks for the suggestion.  I read what you wrote but for some reason I interpreted it as "bold colors!" and that's what I ended up doing.  Hm...

jun

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Re: WIP - Metroidvania Player Character

Reply #3 on: July 12, 2016, 12:52:50 am
Welcome :)
Cool sprite, very good potential!
I think the biggest issue right now is anatomy, proportions and the shading. Forget about the colors for now imo.

Pay attention to the pose. Observe the legs, hips and the rotation of them. They look quite unnatural.  :(
Also the left hand seems to be hidden, but I think it'll be good to imply it somehow, otherwise the sprite looks quite flat and weird.
I think generally it's not good to draw limbs as fully straight lines, it looks quite unnatural.

I think you should look at some pose references first and keep in mind the proportions. Start with lineart (no colours, just a sketch/outline)

Moving on,

Pillow shading :( You should establish a light source!
Generally, most colors can use some more contrast(Hair, scarf, shirt, clothes), there's banding going on in the arms

Looking forward to hearing from you!
« Last Edit: July 12, 2016, 12:56:01 am by jun »

Offline Sokolov1964

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Re: WIP - Metroidvania Player Character

Reply #4 on: July 12, 2016, 01:09:17 am
Thank you, Jun!  I'm very new at pixel art (and honestly not an amazing pencil artist either) so problems are to be expected; one of the reasons I'm here.

The left hand is clasped in front of the chest, outside view, as is a common one-handed pistol shooting method.  But perhaps showing it somehow would indeed look better.  I can't defend the other points, and I had to Google pillow shading and banding to even know what they were.

The legs are too short, too, aren't they?  It's going to be rough doing the art for every single character and enemy in my game with as little foundation as I have.

jun

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Re: WIP - Metroidvania Player Character

Reply #5 on: July 12, 2016, 01:31:05 am
Hey man, no worries. Everyone starts out somewhere. You'll be fine if you put in the time. 
If you really want a good start, I'd suggest picking up an Andrew Loomis book and practicing and learning while you do pixelart. You'll learn a lot about anatomy, proportions, gesture etc. 
But don't worry, you'll definitely get better if you put in the effort :)
This sprite is 10 times better than what I could do when I started out! Good luck. I'll try to do an edit/paint over later today to show you some things, till then, keep practicing!  :crazy:

Offline Sokolov1964

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Re: WIP - Metroidvania Player Character

Reply #6 on: July 12, 2016, 01:38:26 am
Well I made some alterations.  Squared off her stance, got rid of the scarf and lengthened the hair in stead, added what, I hope, looks like a supporting hand behind the other, and changed shading for a top-right light source.  Hopefully it looks a bit better?

Offline MysteryMeat

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Re: WIP - Metroidvania Player Character

Reply #7 on: July 12, 2016, 04:33:37 am
I made some edits of my own for illustrative purposes.

I tried to remove the pillow shading some, ideally you need to go from light-tone to mid-tone to shadow, not light-mid-light or dark-mid-dark.
I re-adjusted the pose to feel more natural while keeping the aggressive posture as intact as I could.
I tweaked the arms so the backarm shows and the front arm is bent like arms do. I also simplified the coloring on the boots, the extra lighting wasn't helping too much I think.
I also put in those powder blues so you can see how they look!

EDIT: I just realized I forgot to fix the back of her leg, I am very tired atm. Fixed!
« Last Edit: July 12, 2016, 04:37:50 am by MysteryMeat »
PSA: use imgur
http://pixelation.org/index.php?topic=19838.0 also go suggest on my quest, cmon
MAJOR BORK TALLY: |

Offline Curly

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Re: WIP - Metroidvania Player Character

Reply #8 on: July 12, 2016, 05:30:46 pm
Nice improvement :)
I made this... remake? (the only shape I didn't change was the gun I think) last night, but I forgot to post it :crazy:. MysteryMeat already helped with the pose, but I will post this anyways.

Bloodborne isn't a colorful game. To achieve a similar mood I wouldn't use so many "colorful" hues. I mean, I would make the orange hair or the red scarf pop out (something that makes the character unique), and make the rest less colorful. For example, in my sprite I would draw a red feather on the hat or a red cloth around the arm.

Offline Sokolov1964

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Re: WIP - Metroidvania Player Character

Reply #9 on: July 13, 2016, 01:41:22 am
Well inspired by Bloodborne; mostly with the setting, architecture, style, etc.  But man the quality of yours blows the pants off mine.  Seriously impressive what you did, and with so few colors!  I'm going to do an alternate version of mine with some of the elements of yours and see how it looks.