AuthorTopic: any advice on this creature?  (Read 2411 times)

Offline Melodee

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any advice on this creature?

on: January 01, 2018, 03:59:03 pm
hey there! i was wondering what you guys thought of this creature i made. i think it looks good but i don't know if it's good since i can only see it from my perspective.

« Last Edit: January 01, 2018, 04:18:40 pm by Melodee »

Offline Zanorin

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Re: any advice on this creature?

Reply #1 on: January 03, 2018, 11:30:59 pm
Hey,
From my experience what you're doing with the shading (it's called pillow-shading) should be avoided. There is no clear light source, so it looks as if the character is lit from below or from the inside (creepy !), and that makes it look kinda flat.
You should define a light source (usually top-right or top-left) before you start shading your sprite.

I see you've made an effort of "shading" the outline, it's a good way to subtly give your sprite volume. But as with the rest, the shading of your outline should also follow a clear lightsource instead of randomly alternating between darker and lighter.

I made a (very) quick and (very) dirty edit I made just so you can see what I mean.
-->
It's by no means perfect, but you can see the sprite is lit from the top-right corner and that gives it volume, look at the legs for example, now their shape is clear, I immediately see that they are puffy paws. Remember it's a 3D object you're drawing in 2D.
Your color count is pretty low (8 colors), which isn't a bad thing, but since we can afford it I took the liberty of adding a darker shade of pink to give the pink parts some more volume.
Also, using completely black (#000000) pixels and white (#FFFFFF) pixels usually makes the sprites look strange and "harsh" (except when having a particular style in mind - there are always exceptions). On my edit I darkened the white parts just a tiny bit, I find it's an easy trick that softens the global appearance of the sprite.

As for your character's positioning, you could try and make it look more natural, like it's standing:

If the arms were meant to be that way, sorry  :)

I hope this helps a little, and sorry if I made any mistakes.  :)
« Last Edit: January 03, 2018, 11:50:20 pm by Zanorin »
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Offline Melodee

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Re: any advice on this creature?

Reply #2 on: January 04, 2018, 05:56:44 pm
hey ye i know about pillow shading but i thought it was just shading the edges in several colors. i didn't know that the light source couldnt be in the middle, like top center or something instead of top right or left. or bottom center. i usually do top or bottom center, but not exactly in the middle. anyway, i made a few edits on it. idk if it's finished :/ i feel like it can be a lot better but i'll work on it a bit every day and see what i can change. your comment did help tho!! at first i didn't know where to start editting but for some reason i could start on it after reading!!




edit:  does it look better already? ._. or did i mess up.
« Last Edit: January 04, 2018, 07:05:07 pm by Melodee »

Offline Zanorin

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Re: any advice on this creature?

Reply #3 on: January 04, 2018, 07:10:20 pm
This image shows what pillowshading is, and why it doesn't look that good, better than I could explain:


It's not that having a lightsource in the middle is forbidden, it's just that usually it can make the sprite look weird and/or flat and/or unrealistic, whereas a lightsource from one of the top corners will give it more volume and life.
From what I've seen all your sprites are fully symmetrical, if I were you I would try to start also making sprites that aren't as much symmetrical, it's a good way to improve and evolve.

I think your new edit is definitely better than before, it looks like it's more roundish, plus the colors look "dreamy" hehe. If you edit it again please post the evolution here :)

One last thing, when you've spent hours on a sprite and don't know what to do anymore, don't look at it for a few hours or even a day, and come back to it later with a fresh set of eyes.
Half a noob figuring out stuff.