[WIP][CC] Beaver Knight

[JellyStarCat]

Hello, can I have some critiques on this beaver knight?
(200% is preferred resolution)
Reference image:
Spoiler

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/wZQKL

Information:
Spoiler

-I haven't worked on the body yet.
-It is supposed to be viewed at 200% so I'd avoid using too much dithering.
-Light source is top left.

[CFKaligula]

This might just be my preference, but I found that a lighter colour for the outline made it a lot more pleasant to look at. This does mean that I also had to make the highlight in the eye a lighter colour. Those are all the changes I made here.

[JellyStarCat]

Thanks for the critique  .
I made that shade brighter a bit.

I added more detail for the red thing (I don't know what it is called ) in accordance with the reference provided above.
How's the shading?

[rocifier]

Not bad, you could possibly improve the chin shading to be a bit flatter (less round and chubby) after looking at your reference.

[JellyStarCat]

Thanks, I changed the shading a bit, I wonder if it's better ?
On the other hand, I've added body.
Though I'm not sure if the body is anatomically correct with the Beaver Knight being a cartoon-ish character  .
The head seems a little too large, which makes the character unbalanced?

[eishiya]

Try drawing the body without clothing first, so you can work out the proportions.
The head only looks too large because the body's proportions don't seem to be very cartoony, so it doesn't look like it's intentional. Big heads work only if everything else is equally cartoony. In particular, the arm looks very long.

[JellyStarCat]

Much thanks! Would this work?

I'm kinda confused about making cartoony body that is balance.

[eishiya]

It's hard to gauge a body with missing limbs xP

I'm not so great with cartoon animal bodies myself. I agree that it's currently looking unbalanced, but fortunately it's unbalanced due to another problem: That's not a beaver body. Beavers are quite bottom-heavy, and they have those big flat tails. You did a good job with the head, but for the body you just drew a generic fat cartoon animal.

Here's a reference photo that I think will be particularly useful. This is a young beaver (young = cute = probably closer to what you want in a cartoon version), standing upright. Look at how wide the hips are relative to the rest of the body, and how there is no distinct neck. Look at how large the feet are, and now they're webbed.
There are plenty more references out there. Look at them. Figure out what makes beavers look like beavers, and exaggerate that.

[rocifier]

[pistachio]

No line of action.



Edits based off of the ref:





Note also that the original is a 3D model, not a 2D sprite so its design is optimized to work from multiple angles, not really well from one angle only and badly from the rest. You're working in 2D so you can and should "cheat" visually, make the silhouette clear, push the line of action. If this means stretching limbs or doing impossible lighting or perspective distortion, do that. Don't make a 1-1 copy, make it readable and make it interesting.

[JellyStarCat]

Whoa, thanks for the criticism, everyone. They were very useful and detailed .
Sorry, I haven't posted any progress lately.
Anyway, I decided to do it again from stratch, here's what I have currently .


Concept drawing:
Spoiler

[JellyStarCat]

Progress.

Not sure how I should do the shading of the golden part of the helmet?

[JellyStarCat]

Added detail for the red thing and also highlight on the helmet.

Is the shape of the red thing read-able?

[JellyStarCat]

Little progress this time, added some detail for the face.

[heyguy]

The new art is looking good. I like the new face details. Will this character be animated in the future?

Here's some good reference and advice for how to create metallic shading.
http://pixelation.org/index.php?topic=18793.0

Anyway, keep it up!

[Petrichor]

I think the visor could be projecting out and away from the head some more.  At the moment it looks like quite a tight fit - almost as if it has been wrapped around the head.  Note the shading beneath the visor in pistachio's rendition and how it creates a gap between the visor and the head.

Also I really like the palette!

[JellyStarCat]

Hey guys, sorry for the late update again , I had a busy week.
@heyguy: Thanks for the advice! And no, it won't be animated, it's just a gift for my friend.
@Petrichor: I tried to add more shadow under the visor, I'm not sure if I need to change the shape of the visor?

Added another highlight shade on the helmet, does it look more metallic now?

[Petrichor]

What I meant was that the visor itself is very close to the head.  What you have right now is a headband when you want a baseball cap, if you know what I mean?

I've quickly whipped up an example where I moved the visor 1 pixel up and to the right to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about:

[JellyStarCat]

Hey, I'm back.

I moved the visor up a bit in according to Petrichor's suggestion, it is widened too (if you can't see it clearly, the top of visor now has 4 pixels instead of 3  )
Added shadow on the bottom left of the beaver's face (your left), I think it has more depth now, not too sure though  .
The visor ring grip is also added.
Arms idea changed.

My main question is: Should I make the robe appear as it is being blown by the wind? If yes, how strong should it be?

[pistachio]

Cool progress I only just checked it out but the sketch this is based off of has good construction although it could be fleshed out more.
The helmet shading is flat and not consistent. Moving the highlight there towards us is the easiest (but cheapest) way to correct it.

Should I make the robe appear as it is being blown by the wind? If yes, how strong should it be?

Again, it's whatever makes the most interesting shape. See the difference between the last edit I did and the original.
Sketch a few different robes on top of your current sprite, try to find a good composition. Don't forget the torso underneath it.

BONUS: also do 50 studies of capes and drapery
Seriously though, if you recognize your weak points now you'll be struggling with them a lot less even after 10 studies.

[JellyStarCat]

Hello, I'm back.
I hadn't spent much time on this work since then. I have only returned to it recently.
I tried studying cape but I'm not sure how to do that effectively, I'm still confused about it .
Here's what I have so far.

New cloth and added details to helmet.
Face is also given a different light source.
Added bagbelt.

How had I done the cloth?

[JellyStarCat]

Refined cloth shadow a little bit.
Added arms.
Added bag.
Changed the shadow under the helmet a bit.

How does the arm look? Could I get some advice on making the hand look more like "hand" (not too realistic though)?

[CFKaligula]

the thin arms look pretty weird, id say either make them shorter, or make them much bigger and maybe stubby like the feet.

[JellyStarCat]

Made arms thicker.
Changed face shading to look less hairy-monkey-like .
Changed eyes to match reference (in main post).

Still confused on making the shading on the face better .

[T1Supplies]

No line of action.



Edits based off of the ref:





Note also that the original is a 3D model, not a 2D sprite so its design is optimized to work from multiple angles, not really well from one angle only and badly from the rest. You're working in 2D so you can and should "cheat" visually, make the silhouette clear, push the line of action. If this means stretching limbs or doing impossible lighting or perspective distortion, do that. Don't make a 1-1 copy, make it readable and make it interesting.

Sick!

[JellyStarCat]

Added shading on face.
Added the cross on the cape.

How do I shade the cross better? I tried highlighting on the left part of it, does it work?

[JellyStarCat]

Changed the cross' border and shading a bit.
Added sword and shield.

How does the hand holding the sword look? Is it easy to read?