AuthorTopic: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art  (Read 40639 times)

Offline falz

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[Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

on: December 19, 2018, 05:43:47 pm
So I've been working on this game. It is in a Fire Emblem style and I'm at the point where I want to generate better art for the units. Here is the first draft of a sword-guy unit


The more specific question I wanted to ask was if I wanted to make another unit, like an enemy, with the same sprite but different colors, what is the most efficient way to do this? Is there a way to swap color palettes on the fly in some software?

Second, I am working in photoshop to make pixel art. If it is best to use another program, I'm open to changing.

Here is a small capture of an image where the game is at.


Also, any feedback on the art would be awesome!
« Last Edit: April 10, 2019, 03:37:32 am by falz »

Offline Curly

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Re: FE style game + technical question

Reply #1 on: December 19, 2018, 07:17:40 pm
In Photoshop you can use the fill tool and uncheck the contiguous option so it replaces the old color with the new one wherever the old color is (in that layer).
You can also use the magic wand with the contiguous option unchecked again to select all skin colors for example and then ctrl+U to change their hues, saturation and brightness (ctrl+H to hide the selection outline). It's a quick way to try new colors but if you have many colors selected it will probably mess up the contrast and hue shifting so you will have to fix that later.

The character looks great in 1x and 2x. The tiles are pretty noisy and the stairs maybe stand out too much in comparison to the gray bricks.

Offline Vinik

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Re: FE style game + technical question

Reply #2 on: December 19, 2018, 07:29:30 pm
Well, that depends on the engine / software / language you are using to program it. I believe this should be on the general section instead of pixel art critique :)

Since it is already here, you could improve the sprite quickly by removing the banding on the sword, front arm and front foot. Try to reduce those gradients, use less shades to define their shapes and try to make the arm, swords and feets be made of big clusters of pixels of the same color. While you are at it, t would be nice if you were to reduce the noise in the floor and stair tiles, it hurts legibility, prefer flat surfaces or, again, textures made of big clusters and of low contrast.

As for your question, you can do that before the assets are loaded on the game, or during runtime.

To do it beforehand, go by Curly's explanation using image editors.

To do it automatically on runtime it depends on the engine. If you use game maker, there are a number of assets to do just that, and I recommend Pixelated Pope's pallette shader on the market, it is cheap and effective. If you are using unity or another engine the solution is likely a corresponding shader that does the same, give google a go. :P
« Last Edit: December 19, 2018, 07:36:25 pm by Vinik »

Offline falz

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Re: FE style game + technical question

Reply #3 on: December 20, 2018, 05:21:41 pm
Responding to the critique, I sort of see what you are saying, but I can't cut down too much on the number of shades before the detail I want is lost. I took what you said into account and also used some sprite work from Breath of Fire 4 as a reference (game has amazing pixel artwork).



I wonder if this looks any better to you guys' eyes? I changed a few things like most of the colors (slightly), the sword is not curved, thus easier to render. I also made it a couple pixels taller because it looked too awkward before

edit: redid animations. I used your comments to redo colors. Very helpful!




I haven't actually programmed different unit types really, so I guess I'll do that than make a spellcaster sprite

edit: did some more modifications, added some details.
« Last Edit: December 20, 2018, 10:38:37 pm by falz »

Offline Vinik

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Re: FE style game + technical question

Reply #4 on: December 21, 2018, 02:36:16 am
That is better already, you got the spirit. It could go further or removing yet some more banding, single pixels, and improving contrast between shades, but you got the gist of reducing the amount of closely packed colors.

As you mentioned losing detail, at this size you are better letting go of some detail an keeping it readable, focusing on key features. Gradients of 1 pixel per shade don't help define shapes, they make things look plane and unatural, you don't want that kind of "detail" if it details nothing :)

I am in hurry but I'll try coming up with an edit that might give you some ideas.
« Last Edit: December 21, 2018, 03:06:47 am by Vinik »

Offline Ryumaru

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Re: FE style game + technical question

Reply #5 on: December 21, 2018, 07:28:28 am
Already some good advice given, here's my take



Very charming sprites! While I don't know if the motion they're doing with the sword backhanded really makes sense, the hair bounce and fist pump have a lot of character.

I think your color choice could use some work, very flat and uninteresting.( and it's more of an issue in your tiles than sprites) A common trend, especially in jrpg sprites is for the shadows to tend towards one color, usually a blue/violet. Not only is this a convenient shorthand to describe some lighting scenarios, it gives the entire sprite a feeling of unity, and allows many characters to all feel like they belong in the same scene, no matter how different the local colors of their designs may be.
 
Also your treatment of the sword does little to describe it's material- in fact the buffering and AA you've applied makes it appear soft. Stronger contrast and a highlight ( that could come in and out of sight in animation) help sells the idea much better.

Hope this helps and good luck on your work ^_^
« Last Edit: December 21, 2018, 08:25:57 am by Ryumaru »

Offline falz

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Re: FE style game + technical question

Reply #6 on: December 21, 2018, 12:22:20 pm
Holy cow! That looks very nice :)

You right on the sword, the animation should be better expressed through the hand (he's just slightly waving the sword). Your sword for sure looks better with better lighting and dimension. Also, your lighting around the whole character demonstrates more depth. Im not sure I want to use that much depth for each frame but there are some techniques here that I'm not using for sure! I'll be returning to this guy and I'll revamp the sword and hand and maybe some more details. For now, I've begun working on a Witch type character which I'll post progress on soon.

Thanks for all the help people really! I love seeing your interpretations. Concerning the background tiles, thanks for the critique, I drew those back in 2010 and am using them as placeholders right now. I'll post my attempts at real stuff soon!

Also, I keep wondering if this is taking me longer than it should :/ I think I worked around 10-15 hours on this guy... Does that seem like im working particularly slowly? I just haven't done an enormous amount of this work and the pace of progress feels painstakingly slow. Im still having fun though
« Last Edit: December 21, 2018, 12:37:04 pm by falz »

Offline Vinik

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Re: FE style game + technical question

Reply #7 on: December 21, 2018, 01:33:41 pm
Pixel art is not quick at all per se, it gets quicker as you get more experience but to do it right it always takes considerable time compared to other media. Rymaru here is a world class super hero so he probably works way faster and yet much better than me :P, and that only comes with experience and time. Don't worry about it unless it makes your pipeline unbearable. If so, develop stuff with place holders like you said (making too beautiful prototypes is often toxic as you might get attached to broken or not fully working protos).

@Ryumaru, man, nice edit, needless to say I am a fan of your work, which is very inspirational :) /Fan mode off

Offline falz

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Re: FE style game + technical question

Reply #8 on: December 21, 2018, 08:54:02 pm
man, ryumaru, I couldn't unsee the way you did the hair/sword/colors. I tried to do a rework but I kinda copied a bit of what you did lol.



edit: Two ideas for the other character working off the same base. I think I'm gonna keep trying. I like these though.


edit: Another. I might stick with this one!
another edit ->

edit: idle animations


edit: slept on it, I changed some things about her design


edit: new color palette, animated


edit: finished animation for selected bandit unit with the new look.

Next is the selected animation for the mage woman. I'm not sure what I'll have her doing yet...
« Last Edit: December 24, 2018, 04:27:59 am by falz »

Offline falz

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Re: FE style game + technical question

Reply #9 on: December 24, 2018, 07:48:50 pm
This is my first pass on what I want the final frame of the "selected" animation. I wanted it look badass, but maybe now it would be better as an attack animation... not sure yet. Also, did it pretty quickly and would love feedback.


« Last Edit: December 24, 2018, 07:51:05 pm by falz »

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #10 on: January 03, 2019, 08:03:13 pm
I've finished the first draft of the mage's animation when she is the current unit.

I'm not sure its where it needs to be quite yet, but I like how it is turning out.
Also, I've taken a shot at making some new tiles. I still have a ways to go, but what do you guys think of this new direction?

(currently working on new art for the gray tiles and stairs)

Offline Curly

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #11 on: January 03, 2019, 09:29:13 pm
The mage looks good!

The tiles are still too noisy overall and they lack volume. It's hard to tell what's floor and what's a wall and it should be clear at first glance.
I'd make the top of the walls lighter or way darker and waaay less noisy or detailed.

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #12 on: January 04, 2019, 12:35:36 am
A bit more work done

Offline Vinik

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #13 on: January 04, 2019, 01:03:43 am
The mage is cool! You really applied what your learned from Ryu's edit :y:. Tiles, what curly said above. Let me try to help a bit:

Before texturing anything you should try to have very distinct shades to represent vertical planes (darker walls), horizontal planes (floors) and inclined planes (ramps/stairs). If light comes generaly from above, walls should be darker, floors should be lighter (because they are facing the light more directly), and ramps should be somewhat in between. Of course, when detailing a scene not everything will be made of the same material, and some materials are inherently darker regardless of shading (dark stone vs bright stone in your case) but first get the basic values straight, then variate latter.

So what I am suggesting is that, at first, you try to draw the scene with mostly flat color tiles, maybe just some outlining, to get a feel of the 3d shape of the scene. If you have trouble defining a scene with very flat shaded tiles, then the texturing will only make it harder. Chances are that you will spot some geometry mistakes that you were not noticing before because of the distractions.

After that you can start to cast the shadows on the floor, and then texture over the values that already give an idea of the basic 3d solids the scene is made of.  As a rule of thumb, the texturing should be less detailed than the characters, so they stand out over the tiles.
« Last Edit: January 04, 2019, 01:07:45 am by Vinik »

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #14 on: January 04, 2019, 07:46:24 pm
I'm certain there are no geometry mistakes in the case of this scene, it is the same room I've used to develop the game up until this point and I've changed it quite a few times.

I see what you guys are saying with defining floors vs walls and getting the volume across to the player. It seems difficult to do in general with the game's perspective and my choice to incorporate multiple heights of tiles.

To draw what the tiles here, it was something I don't have much experience with so I was using the backgrounds from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance as reference (because they are so beautiful!).



They seem to get away with detailed/noisy tiles. I trying to figure out what mine are missing... other than the raw talent!

Offline eishiya

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #15 on: January 04, 2019, 07:52:27 pm
Start with the values: Keep the floors generally lighter than the walls. Allow wall decorations to cast darker and more prominent shadows than floor decorations.

One reason that your examples get away with a lot of detail is that most of the floors are low-detail, the high-detail floor tiles are used very sparingly! And of course, they have a lot of detail on the walls, where the detail is not a problem.

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #16 on: January 04, 2019, 09:56:13 pm
For sure, I will keep working on it. I also made this thread (https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=66584.0) at Tigsource for the project if anyone wanted to know more about the project!

Thanks again for all the feedback people!

Offline Vinik

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #17 on: January 04, 2019, 10:36:46 pm
Also, isometric view gives a much more imediate 3d effect. For jrpg like1:1 axonometric view you need to pump things up. Oh, I didn't mean to criticize your geometry, just that sometimes we might miss something when it is obscured by ambiguous light and too much detail :)

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #18 on: January 05, 2019, 01:06:01 am
I wonder if this edit is a step in the right direction. At this point I've been staring at them too much and I'm afraid I'm losing touch with how they must actually look. I think I will take a break after this.

Offline Curly

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #19 on: January 05, 2019, 01:30:42 am
It's way clearer now :)

I'd like to see it at the original size though.
I think there's still some things I'm not too sure what they're supposed to be, but it has improved a lot.

Offline eishiya

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #20 on: January 05, 2019, 03:12:42 am
Agreed, that's much better!
The thick dark lines between the floor tiles make them read like steps to me though, I'd get rid of them to make the floor look flatter.

Nitpick: the way the shadows fall across the stars is unnatural, making the stairs look flat. Consider making some alternate shadows for stairs if your engine and level-building tools allow for it, I think it'd really help with the polish level.

Offline Vinik

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #21 on: January 05, 2019, 02:38:48 pm
Yep, I am with eishiya and curly, it is much better. Those tiles directly below the green ones, which look like they have some kind of statue carved in them, I would try to make them as dark as the darkest portions of the stairs. I would keep about that level of value for all walls.

Also agree with eishiya in the shadows on the stairs, they should zig-zag between being 45° on the horizontal-bright portion of the steps and 90° (vertical) on the darker portions that are vertical.

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #22 on: January 05, 2019, 11:23:02 pm
Yeah, I can do that with my engine because I pretty much designed it :)

here is a new version using what you guys suggested. I want the carvings to look like praying monks but I'm having some trouble getting that across.

Offline Vinik

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #23 on: January 06, 2019, 01:34:10 am
Well, they do now ;D contrast is a hell of a thing :y: . The walls are also better, I believe you can see it makes the room more readable.

Edit: ops, you reversed the angles on the upper half of the shadows.

Edit2: suggestion, maybe outline the green tiles with the save darker color on the border of the monk tiles so they look like parts of the same solid pillar. Sharply highlight only the bottom green tiles. It might integrate them with the lower vertical part.
« Last Edit: January 06, 2019, 01:49:01 am by Vinik »

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #24 on: January 06, 2019, 04:01:54 am
Good suggestions! I changed the green tile, the monk now has one sleeve and better shading, and the shadows make more sense now.

Offline MysteryMeat

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #25 on: January 06, 2019, 02:30:58 pm
I reccomend you remove the crease at the right end of stair tiles, only serves to make the tile diviside easier to see. At this camera perspective you won't really need that bit to show it's connecting to the wall.
PSA: use imgur
http://pixelation.org/index.php?topic=19838.0 also go suggest on my quest, cmon
MAJOR BORK TALLY: |

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #26 on: January 07, 2019, 12:49:42 am
I'm not sure what you mean, like the pixel column on the right side of the stairs? Is this how you were thinking of changing it?



edit: I changed the stairs. It fits better with monk tiles and adds depth.
« Last Edit: January 07, 2019, 07:41:57 am by falz »

Offline MysteryMeat

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #27 on: January 07, 2019, 05:32:50 am
yep! though looking at it I didn't realize how much the stair shading tiles it. poo.
PSA: use imgur
http://pixelation.org/index.php?topic=19838.0 also go suggest on my quest, cmon
MAJOR BORK TALLY: |

Offline eishiya

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #28 on: January 07, 2019, 02:48:53 pm
I wonder if the stair shading is even necessary. There's no light source in the scene that would create that sort of rapid light fall-of, it feels at odds with all the other shading.

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #29 on: January 07, 2019, 08:08:56 pm
I agree! Here is another idea

Offline eishiya

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #30 on: January 07, 2019, 11:10:21 pm
I think that's better!

Two related crits:
1. It's ambiguous whether the narrow strip along the edge of the steps is on the vertical or horizontal surface of the step. The highlight makes it look like it should be a vertical surface (with the highlight being the corner of the step), but the colours are the same as on the horizontal surface, so it looks horizontal.
2. The steps are darker than the floor and have comparable colours to the lighter of the walls, so they don't immediately stand out as a walkable surface. Lightening the horizontal surface of the steps should help.

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #31 on: January 07, 2019, 11:37:11 pm
Duly noted! But I'm not sure how much longer I should be working on minute tile changes. Lots of other stuff to work on. I just took the time to update my "To Do" list of things that need to get done before I am confident in a working demo. And man, their's quite a bit. I'll just copy and paste the art part. Not sure how long this is going to take... probably a while lol

Background
DONE: been working on this for a bit. Not much more to do
A larger wall design over several tiles
a second carved figure other than the monk, maybe a third
a second road tile, maybe a third
Units
DONE: Already have the design of 2 of 3 finalized
One more complete unit
All purpose action animations (sword swing, raise glowing staff)
Movement animation
Color options for units, 1 for enemies,1-2 for allies
Character portraits for each color of each unique unit
Menus
DONE: Everything is pretty much placeholder, though I do have solid groundwork for how to make them, as    demonstrated
new menu font
new general purpose field menu
Targeting information display
fullscreen menu (stats, unit list, etc)
various symbols for stats
Title screen
logo
artwork
special effects
continue prompt
credits

All of this will be pixel art of the same resolution I've been working in so far. If anyone has suggestions or feedback on this, I'd love to hear it.
« Last Edit: January 07, 2019, 11:42:14 pm by falz »

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #32 on: January 24, 2019, 05:48:38 pm
I've made some headway on some other aspects of development, but decided to return to the mage art. Here are before and after.


hooray for eyebrows! Waistband made slightly bigger, shading corrections in dress and hair, and face and chest changed

1/29/19 edit: I was gonna work on more systems, but I got sucked into working on this sprite again. Animation is hard! I think I'm becoming more satisfied with it now.

Updates on shading of skirt and animation of hair is much more fluid. Before and after
->

edit: I added a frame of pause in the middle to accentuate the flow, but it might look weird
« Last Edit: January 31, 2019, 05:13:47 pm by falz »

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #33 on: January 31, 2019, 02:14:26 pm
This is a rough first draft of an attack animation. I'm still trying to figure out the movement but was wondering what you guys thought at the moment. I was thinking it might need some more frames in a couple spots, like its too fast. not sure. Hoping to get people's thoughts! :)



edit: eh, I realized this was not good for a generic attack animation. Still working on different concepts. I think this one might be better for some special sword attack.

edit: this is a quicker one for a generic attack. I think less unique sprite frames is probably better

edit: motion blur and a couple more frames, more edits
->->
edit: Started an idea for the mage. Not sure about the effect yet.
, or added effect , but seeing as how I'll be making actual spell effect animations, maybe minimal is better for casting:
edit: more in-between frames, wind-up on punch

Tried to add some flowing hair to mage casting, I wonder if it looks strange?

« Last Edit: February 02, 2019, 12:33:52 am by falz »

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #34 on: February 02, 2019, 01:31:59 am
The damage sprite for the Acolyte class. I'm not sure I really need to animate the damage visual. I wonder what you guys think?

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #35 on: February 02, 2019, 02:04:21 am
I think a little animation's good (and maybe even some particles!) to really sell the damage.

If you just want a simple shake like this, think about doing it in-engine rather than as part of the animation itself. That way you could control the amount of shake more easily, and perhaps even have the shake amount depend on gameplay factors such as damage taken or weapon used. In addition, if you do it in-engine, you could add bespoke hit animations later and keep (or remove) the shake easily :D


As for the casting animation, it's probably best to keep the animation simple and effect-free so that it can be reused easily. That little bit of light in the mage's eyes helps sell the glowiness of the spell. If it would not be too complex, consider expanding that to illuminate more of the character for some spells! For example, if the casting poses are generally similar, you could bake the extra highlights into the spell animations themselves.

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #36 on: February 02, 2019, 08:39:16 pm
Yeah, I agree in general its better to utilize the game engine to do as much of the work for me as it can.

The animations for the spell effects I think will be unique for every spell with no reuse of assets, except maybe spells in a series like fire1->fire2->fire3. But for the demo I'm making there will only be like 3 spells. That casting animation will be used for all three. But I like the idea that the highlights and maybe even the hair gets more intense as the spells get more powerful! I might do that when I get there

Here are all the current versions of the Acolyte animations. I did the walking one today. There's work to be done still, but they are getting there! I gotta do the walk and hit for the Bandit too.
« Last Edit: February 03, 2019, 02:21:52 am by falz »

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #37 on: March 03, 2019, 12:22:47 am
I'm trying to figure out how I can easily export a photoshop file's frame animation to a series of pngs automatically, without having to export every single frame, one by one. I'm thinking maybe making a gif out of the animation, then finding a way to split the gif into pngs... but I dunno. I just couldn't find a good way to do it in photoshop. Or maybe, is there a better pixel art animation software that has the functionality I need?

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #38 on: March 03, 2019, 05:38:24 pm
I'm trying to figure out how I can easily export a photoshop file's frame animation to a series of pngs automatically, without having to export every single frame, one by one. I'm thinking maybe making a gif out of the animation, then finding a way to split the gif into pngs... but I dunno. I just couldn't find a good way to do it in photoshop. Or maybe, is there a better pixel art animation software that has the functionality I need?
dunno about photoshop, but I know aseprite has a feature for that. Might be in the free beta? not certain!
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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #39 on: March 04, 2019, 01:04:07 am
in the timeline panel menu in photoshop: "flatten frames to layers" (only if you not already have every frame on a single layer)

file > export > layers to files

should do the trick i think


there are also some spritesheet scripts for photoshop, this one for example https://www.advena.me/photoshop-illustrator-sprite-sheet-creator/

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #40 on: March 05, 2019, 11:40:58 pm
Yes! This worked for my purposes, thank you :) . Although, I did have to do a couple other things to make it work. Since exporting this way trims PNGs' canvas sizes and I need each png to be 40×40 pixels, I made a layer with 1% alpha pixels in each corner to set the frame. Also, flattening the frames puts the layers in reverse order so I have to correct that for every export.  Still, this is far faster than what I was doing before. Thanks!

Now, if only there was a way to do indexed color with frame animations. It doesn't seem like photoshop allows it :(
« Last Edit: March 05, 2019, 11:45:04 pm by falz »

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #41 on: March 06, 2019, 01:27:01 pm
i think theres a checkbox that says "crop layers" when exporting as a png. uncheck and it should prevent the trimming.

you can reverse all frames in the timeline panel menu with a single click btw :P

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #42 on: March 07, 2019, 10:30:53 pm
Oh yeah! The option box is "trim layers". Thx :) And reversing the frames in the timeline seems better too. The files still annoyingly append the layer names in reverse order, but I guess that doesn't matter

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] FE style game sprites and animation

Reply #43 on: March 14, 2019, 12:53:45 pm

This is the base sprite for the animations for the bandit class. I am not completely sure if I'm in love with how the face looks. I was curious if you guys had any suggestions, or if it looked sort of off in a specific place. I can't change it too much at this point since there are several animations that are using this. I also want it to look similarly proportioned to the Acolyte class's sprite on the previous page.

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #44 on: April 14, 2019, 07:26:27 am
I've updated the bandit sprite. Face and hair are fuller, arms are thinner but more defined. I really think I'm satisfied with where its at now!

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #45 on: April 24, 2019, 05:16:10 am
I have tried to develop a third class. They are called a sentinel and excel at guarding your other units.

Also, I've been toying with the Acolyte design. I wanted to try something a little more detailed, out there. Also, I think her proportions were kind of weird, so her body is quite different.
« Last Edit: April 24, 2019, 05:26:14 am by falz »

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #46 on: June 16, 2019, 03:59:54 am
I'm returning to doing more pixel art after having spent a couple months deep into the programming and planning aspect of the project.

The first thing I did was fixed a couple things nagging at me about the Bandit sprite. Like the neck was too thick, the legs too blocky, the arm was too long and didn't have a shoulder? Anyway, Here is my latest revision. At this point it seems inevitable that I'm going to change it some time in the future. Still I think it looks much better now.

old: -> new:
« Last Edit: June 17, 2019, 03:07:18 am by falz »

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #47 on: June 16, 2019, 03:12:45 pm
Yeah I think it looks better now.
I can't avoid focusing my attention on the broken hair outlines but maybe I'm weird.

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #48 on: June 21, 2019, 08:53:40 pm
I've begun trying to spruce up the UI. It isn't something I have any experience with, really. I wonder how this is for a start? Any feedback would be immensely helpful.

edit: further mockup in photoshop

Still need to design the command menus. So far I've been borrowing ideas liberally from Tactics Ogre on PSP (screen shot) but I think my commands may need much more attention because of the different characters using different menus.
edit:
hm, maybe something like this? I'm not 100 on these icons yet, I spent the most time on the brawl one.
« Last Edit: June 22, 2019, 08:22:01 pm by falz »

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #49 on: August 04, 2019, 05:23:52 am
I've made some enemy AI and the game is playable! But I guess this means I should try to make some enemies to fight. This is a ghostly figure which guards the tower.

This is the start, I'm hoping the elements are reading clearly. There a re a few things which aren't finished, like I want the cloths to be flowing in the wind, and the sword isn't quite cleaned up.
Edit: For the idle animation, I want it to be a little more subtle, so no bandages waving in wind. I'm wondering if the hand is too much?
« Last Edit: August 05, 2019, 02:11:50 am by falz »

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #50 on: August 05, 2019, 12:59:36 pm
I massively prefer the hand in the second animation. It really looks like it's opening up, rather than being a static unit moving up and down a few pixels, like in the first version.

Maybe make it bounce up and down on its knees a bit?
« Last Edit: August 05, 2019, 01:10:21 pm by daramon »

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #51 on: August 06, 2019, 03:10:24 am
Cool, I kept the hand motion, but made the movement ore subtle. I also altered the head to get closer to the bandage/wrapping look I wanted from beginning. I'm debating about whether to add more detail to the robe, but really not sure.

edit: actually, I should simplify the colors for a standard enemy, Maybe like this
-> (edit)
edit: An attempt at an attack, maybe? I found that I wanted to flip the orientation to make the attack animation work, and I like the way it looks, still
,, animating ->
edit:
I made the bandages consistent between frames and they become more unraveled for the keyframe. Also, I made an inbetween and a lil shake for how it'll be in game
,,

« Last Edit: August 07, 2019, 05:01:55 am by falz »

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #52 on: December 01, 2019, 12:32:04 pm
Currently working on a new floor tile. There's 4 variations and no edge cases done yet and the wall portion is not finished. Wondering what people think.



The outlining is done with a shader I wrote
« Last Edit: December 02, 2019, 05:26:45 pm by falz »

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #53 on: December 03, 2019, 03:18:23 am
Looks a lot clearer now!
I think the floor tiles are a bit too noisy.

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #54 on: December 09, 2019, 04:08:02 pm
Currently working on a new floor tile. There's 4 variations and no edge cases done yet and the wall portion is not finished. Wondering what people think. The outlining is done with a shader I wrote

Its been a while since I checked on this, and it is looking cool! The 2:1 ratio tiles are exactly what I imagined that would work well for your view to accommodate all the different height levels. The textures are lot less noisy, and the colors working together. I agree with Curly that you could reduce contrast just a bit between the two main colors of the flat floor surfaces. Mixing the darker color used in the floor details with the lighter background by 30% or even less might do the trick. Maybe you might want to tint the front facing and the shadowed areas to give it some ambiance? The outlining is pretty readable. Keep up with the improvements :y:

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #55 on: January 27, 2020, 07:16:04 pm
Hello everyone! I'm in a bit of a pickle. I am not sure what direction I should go with the portraits in my game. The game's style is pixel art but I have never really done larger pixel art works. I was attempting to transfer my drawing into a pixel art version but I'm quite unsure how worthwhile this endeavor is. I think it needs a lot more work (I've only redone the head/hair portion of the drawing btw, the body is just drawing scaled down with nearest neighbor in photoshop) and I am not sure my talent level is up to par. Any tips? Should I even be attempting to change the style? See something obvious that I should be doing different? Thanks for the feedback.

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #56 on: January 27, 2020, 09:39:31 pm
Firstly, there are plenty of games that use a mix of pixel art and high res art. Even Celeste, which uses the biggest pixels I've seen this side of a ZX81 in-game, uses high res and even 3D for the character dialogues, menu systems and intro.

So if you want to use your original art, there's no reason why not. Try to keep a consistent feel across the two styles though. You'll have to take off your artist's hat and put on your art director's hat. This is not the easiest thing to do.

If you want to convert to pixel art, you could try to minimise banding. For example, the chest-plate has an even grad across it and this makes for obvious banding in pixel art. You could try bunching up the bands over smaller distances, reducing the colour count and making it more of a glint across the top with shadow nearer the bottom.

Similarly with the hair. I don't think you need the long mid-tone tufts down the left so much when you have the lovely thin bright wiggly sheen nearer the top.

But this is all my personal preference. YMMV. :)

Something to remember. "Pixel art" isn't really a style, it's a medium. There are as many styles of pixel art as there are artists. Moving to another medium doesn't NECESSARILY mean you're shifting style, but it's more likely I guess?
« Last Edit: January 27, 2020, 09:41:24 pm by Chonky Pixel »

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #57 on: January 29, 2020, 12:14:56 am
Thanks for the feedback :) Yes, it isn't necessary to keep the project 100% pixel art. I did some rework on the face and hair with what you said in mind. I think its a lot better but it isn't where I would want it, still

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #58 on: January 29, 2020, 10:22:12 am
Apologies, I wasn't very clear about the hair. When you change shade, it's a chance to reinforce the texture you're trying to convey. So the combination of tufty and smooth transitions are a bit confusing on the same object.

So keep your transitions tufty, but the tufts don't need to extend so far down the head as they did in the original. In fact, the brightest hair colour in the original was doing a great job and didn't extend very far at all.

And it can look better when the transitions are a bit more bunched up at the extremes of the gradient. This means a large area of hair will be represented by one colour and no texture, but you don't need to be afraid of that.

Texture can be conveyed with a small amount of detail in a sea of a single colour. With limited colours, this can look a lot better than trying to spread 4-5 colours evenly across a grad. If you're working in high res, the opposite may be true depending on the style. A grad can look good because you have millions of colours at your disposal. I suspect that in most cases you'll still concentrate areas of light and dark though.

A way to think about hair might be to imagine it as a solid lump of shiny, smooth material. Shade appropriately, and add a line of glint/highlight. Maybe another larger area of lesser highlight around it. And when I say 'shade appropriately' I mean finding a line to draw your shadow, effectively using two shades for 'lit' and 'shadow'.

Now you can rough up your highlights in the direction of the strands of hair. Like I say, your original highlight does this well. Do the same to the transition to shadow.

At this point you may want to think about the texture of the hair you want to convey. If it's dreads or a spikey Manga style you'll want to add shadows and/or lesser highlights to identify individual tufts. If it's curls you might want to pick out individual curls around your transitions and add highlights and shadows. If it's straight you may want to add shadows around the tips where the smooth hair breaks up into tufts. Unless it's recently cut and heavily styled hair, where you can get away with straight lines and minimal texture.

Here's something I found randomly that shows a few hair types.

https://www.hiclipart.com/free-transparent-background-png-clipart-tsshr

For the characters with long hair, there are few colours, and the highlights and shadows are kept relatively close to the tops and tips respectively. In most cases there are long areas with no texture or shading, and that's OK because the shading at the transitions carries it. The different transitions don't often come near to overlapping.

This is a good example because it also shows a character with hair that requires tuft-by-tuft shading as well. It looks like a similar way you might shade a palm tree or a pineapple for example. Looking at your character you may want to do that around the tuft at the right-hand side.

Looking at the above example, one thing I notice for long hair is that hair on the top of the head is lit, while on the side it's in shade. This feels natural if the light source is coming from above. In your case, the light hair carries on half way down the side of the head, and I'm struggling to think of a light source that would do that.

This is a lot of words. If I get a moment today I'll try an edit.

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #59 on: January 29, 2020, 01:33:22 pm


This is a really quick, rough edit. I'm sure you can refine it so it looks a lot better, if indeed you like the edits.

I'm pulling the texture of the hair down from the highlight at the top using the transitions between shades and a few clusters of light and shade. The colour bands don't extend too far away from the top or bottom of the hair and I'm trying to make sure each colour transition reinforces the hair shapes. I added some tufts, one on the side and a few at the bottom. With work they could look a lot more 3D but the idea of shading is there as a start.

I took the "reduction of unnecessary bands" idea across to the chest-plate. By making the transition harsh between light and shade, and reducing the size of the highlight, it looks shinier. A general rule is that the bigger the highlight, the less shiny. Also, hard lines defining shadow in the right context can come across as reflections on a shiny surface, as you get those hard changes in value on objects with a mirror-like surface, as with a reflection of land, horizon and sky.

I hope you find this useful. 
« Last Edit: January 29, 2020, 01:58:21 pm by Chonky Pixel »

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #60 on: January 29, 2020, 02:29:27 pm

Thank you for all the feedback, Chonk! Here is another revision. I think I see a little more what you mean. I used some more reference too. I'm having a hard time getting the armor to look good how it was so I changed the design a little

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #61 on: January 29, 2020, 05:09:23 pm
Yeah, that's really coming on! You've got some great hair shapes there and it definitely has body and shape, nicely done.

Be careful about introducing noise to the image. Single pixels or short line segments are more likely to be producing noise rather than providing information. I would get rid of the solo pixels and the line segment a bit above them and replace them all with clusters more like the one above the line segment (top left of the hair) or even clusters that are bigger than that. These glints are an opportunity to reinforce your hair shapes and can suggest texture in areas that would otherwise be blank.

With a single pixel you can't suggest any kind of texture. With a cluster you can shape it to lead the eye in a direction or reinforce the detail of your material surface. With hair, they should obviously be longer than they are wide and point in the direction the hair is going. Getting good cluster shapes is one of those important keys to getting pixel art right, as I am starting to discover.

You can place them a bit further down to help break up the big shadow a bit.

Talking of clusters, you could tidy up the shapes in the hair highlights too. This is a bit of a "final sweep" thing, but you can just go over each cluster of pixels of the same shade and make sure it's a "nice" shape. Reduce jaggies where it doesn't damage the overall impression of the image, remove orphan pixels where you can (although attached by a corner still counts as attached), round corners where rounded shapes are required, make things pointy where they need to be pointy, and so on.

With the new breast-plate, I would just get rid of that dark outline between the top (bright) section and the leftmost section. Let the two colours butt up against each other, then introduce a thin line of a brighter shade to act as the glint that suggests metal. It probably doesn't need to go the whole way across and it can maybe thicken towards the point.

Those block colours suggest a matte surface, so have a look at some tutorials on drawing chrome or reflective metal to see if you can pick up some ideas for making it shine. Unless you *want* a matte look of course.

I kinda preferred the overall shape of the original breast-plate tbh, and the curve meant there was a bit more scope to do metal effects. With careful placement of highlights you could make that shape sing... the new one looks a bit small and out-of-place at the moment.
« Last Edit: January 29, 2020, 05:17:54 pm by Chonky Pixel »

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #62 on: January 30, 2020, 02:26:45 pm
 :D

you convinced me to try the original armor again. It looks better. Plus some final touch ups
(edit) another. One more!
« Last Edit: January 31, 2020, 05:45:19 pm by falz »

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #63 on: January 30, 2020, 03:46:03 pm
honestly, I think that armor plate looks significantly worse. Doesn't have a solid form to it, why does it spike up on the right? why is the shape so indistinct?

The whole sprite I think suffers a lack of construction, however. Case in point, why does his sleeve have such a rubbery texture to it? what exactly is going on with his shoulder? his neck looks awfully thick for how slim the shoulders are!

Etc etc etc.

You might be best served redrawing this with construction in mind.
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Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #64 on: January 30, 2020, 04:43:06 pm
What exactly do you mean with 'construction'?

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #65 on: January 31, 2020, 03:32:19 pm
I can only guess, but it sounds like MysteryMeat doesn't like the way your character works in the 3D space you're drawing.

With lower-res imagery, it can be easy to correct. It's just nudging a few pixels. However, with this many pixels around the place, fixing anatomy or 3D issues can be a task.

The idea of "construction" makes me think of "construction lines", so in this case, I guess it would mean working out the anatomy of the character, drawing it in as an outline, and getting all that right before starting on the shapes of things like the cloth (still as an outline), the breastplate, hair and so on. *Then* shading.

That sounds like a lot of work, and I know my anatomy skills are non-existent. There's this which might help a little:

https://justsketch.me/

Or "magic poser" for mobile, but I haven't tested that.

That won't help with the cloth or the breastplate though.

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #66 on: February 01, 2020, 06:55:01 pm
Hi,

Great progress and great criticism so far!

Here's my edit of your portrait:

- straightened the eyes
- gave more volume to nose by adding shadows (side, bottom)
- spread out the shoulders to make his chest feel less squashed
- made the arms spread out more, to make them less rigid
- gave more definition to the hair with a darker green

Hope it helps! :) Let me know if you have any questions.
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Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #67 on: February 03, 2020, 04:00:37 pm
Wow! That is fantastic. I've used a couple of the things you suggested for another edit. I want to get accross a perspective with the positioning of the arms, so maybe it is ,more obvious now. The head is also tilted slightly down, hence the right eye being a pixel lower but maybe that detail is too subtle with this many pixels.
« Last Edit: February 03, 2020, 04:06:20 pm by falz »

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #68 on: February 05, 2020, 09:43:13 pm
sorry for the slow response, chris pretty much addressed a lot of my concerns with the design and Chonky was pretty spot-on with what I meant by construction. You gotta avoid that freehand art jank with a style this detailed is alla.
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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #69 on: March 15, 2020, 01:38:07 am
First time making walk cycles for this perspective. Wondering what people think.

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #70 on: March 27, 2020, 08:40:15 pm
I've taken some time to update that model, actually make a reusable model, and I'll get started animating on them. Here are the male and female ones. I took my character designs and tried them out on them.



edit:
« Last Edit: March 27, 2020, 10:07:10 pm by falz »

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #71 on: March 28, 2020, 02:18:43 am
damn, cloud strife is rockin some BANGER tiddies there

japery aside this is phenomenal work, I love how detailed these are. Almost givesa off a painterly vibe with how the details soften the form.
PSA: use imgur
http://pixelation.org/index.php?topic=19838.0 also go suggest on my quest, cmon
MAJOR BORK TALLY: |

Offline Chonky Pixel

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #72 on: March 28, 2020, 02:13:21 pm
Very smooth walk cycle!

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #73 on: March 29, 2020, 08:12:39 am
Thanks for the kind words! I've tried to animate the side view and I think I got it to a point where I'm okay with it. THis perspective sure is awkward, though.

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #74 on: March 29, 2020, 12:58:11 pm
Again, very smooth. Perspective looks great! The leg doesn't seem to bend to me though. This is more visible on the left version (model).

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #75 on: March 29, 2020, 06:24:47 pm
The perspective looks alright to me. My problem with the animation is that the legs appear to be swinging back and forth rather than moving as if the character is walking, because the feet never lift off the ground.

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #76 on: March 30, 2020, 04:19:58 am
All Sides done. I'll try using model for the guardian next.



In regards to the weird walking, it's intentional. It would be disingenuous to even call it a walk cycle. It's straight up an imitation of the idle/movement animation from Final Fantasy Tactics. I've also been using their spritesheets for reference. They've been helpful but I am far from copying them because it is an isometric perspective, unlike mine. Does anyone know what you would call my game's perspective?
« Last Edit: March 30, 2020, 06:08:23 am by falz »

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #77 on: April 02, 2020, 02:09:42 am

Finally have an animation for units getting hurt.

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #78 on: April 02, 2020, 04:27:13 am
To me it reads more like squats than pain, because there's no sense of knockback or losing balance. Don't be afraid to put the character temporarily off-balance for the hurt animation!

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #79 on: April 02, 2020, 05:14:05 am

I wonder if something like this would be more effective? (I've already started drawing the fighter over the model)

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #80 on: April 02, 2020, 05:49:56 pm
Yes, I think that reads much more like the character being hit!

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #81 on: April 03, 2020, 06:13:09 am
Also consider:


I agree with eishiya that they look too much like squats, and your most recent one with the feet not planted looks much better. But even with a little animation change the squats can look like pain. All I did was remove the middle frame and add a single pixel shake backwards. Hope that helps a little!

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #82 on: April 07, 2020, 05:49:03 pm
Something I've been messing with, just beginning death animation with the hurt one.

« Last Edit: April 07, 2020, 05:56:33 pm by falz »

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #83 on: June 11, 2020, 05:19:05 pm
This project is my first time making sprite art, so I am still trying to find a style I like and fits the project. I'm really not confident about the quality of my work yet :/ So, I took some time this morning to return to this portrait and try to change it up some, make it less flat and cartoony. In the end, I'm not even sure I like it more? I wonder if I'm even successful in what I'm trying to do.
(another lil edit) ->

« Last Edit: June 20, 2020, 02:29:06 am by falz »

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #84 on: June 20, 2020, 02:25:24 am


New animations for the three kinds of physical attacks (Strike, Slash, and Pierce) plus an improved jump. I feel like the over-the-head motion of the strike might need some smear effect because it isn't so smooth here. There's a lot of reused frames between each one and like 12 different variations of the sword sprite. Not sure if this amount of detail is tenable to transfer to every character and weapon, but it is currently the goal (in the demo, there are 4 characters and 3~4 weapons).

Offline Limes

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #85 on: June 23, 2020, 07:11:18 pm
I think the sprite would look better without that random hair strand defying physics.

Looks good otherwise  ;D :y:
GraphicsGale

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #86 on: June 23, 2020, 09:07:42 pm
one more edit, still trying to get shading right

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #87 on: June 23, 2020, 09:37:18 pm
I've done a little edit (sadly of the previous version of the portrait because you posted a revision right before I hit reply).



I know you're going for a cartoon style, but I thought the eyes still seemed unnaturally high on the face. Generally they're at the halfway up the head, so I lowered them a bit. Since your light source is above the character, I also added in shadows for cheekbones. MysteryMeat mentioned construction a few pages ago and I think this is the sort of thing that helps to suggest that the character exists in three-dimensional space. I've also tried to make the chin more three dimensional with a highlight since they usually protrude slightly. The line I added between his eyebrows isn't really essential but I thought the brows you'd drawn suggested a frown, and I thought I'd double down on the suggestion of personality.

There are lots of different face shapes so this is far from definitive (particularly the cheekbones), but I think it's also worth thinking about what sort of character they are as much as the underlying bone structure and musculature. In my opinion, having more prominent cheekbones looks quite dynamic, which I think suits an action-oriented character. Your mileage may vary, but that thought process might help.

You could probably go more extreme with the shading that I did. I agree with Limes about the bit of hair that sticks out. I wouldn't necessarily say that you have to abandon the idea, but I don't think it's particularly explained in the image. If all of his hair was more extreme  or if there was something causing that bit of hair to stick out then I'd probably accept it.

I hope that's of some use  :)

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #88 on: June 29, 2020, 03:01:58 am
Thank you very much for feedback! I totally agree that emphasizing the expression of the face is the correct choice. As for the hair thingy, I chalk it up to being just exaggerated anime spiky hair, but as I've made the design more and more realistically rendered, it does seem to look a bit odd lol.

On another subject, my game is getting closer and closer to a stage where I want to put a playable demo out there for people to experience, so I thought I'd need to make a somewhat pretty title screen! I've never produced a piece of pixel art at this scale, so I have just been trying to apply things I've learned along the way from more traditional drawing media. I have done most of the left side, the right area is still just sketched out. I would love to hear anyone's feedback, what might look off, poorly rendered, techniques I am not using that would aid the picture, techniques I'm over-using, suggestions to improve composition. Thank you



Did some more work on it today. Should be done tomorrow, hopefully.
« Last Edit: June 30, 2020, 04:58:17 am by falz »

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #89 on: July 02, 2020, 10:26:34 pm
finished version with another color treatment. Not quite sure which I prefer.

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #90 on: March 12, 2021, 02:53:11 am
More work on Kenneth and Ryan's portraits. I think some of the edges are still a little messy on Ryan's but I'm liking the new direction
« Last Edit: March 12, 2021, 02:57:00 am by falz »

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #91 on: March 12, 2021, 05:18:30 am
Hey there,
Your dedication to this project is admirable! I realized I first made an edit on your sprite of this character over 2 years ago. Well since you're still at it, I'll give you a second round!

It looks like you've gone through quite a bit of iteration on these portraits, I can't tell you which direction to take it, but I can see that there is a bit of mismatched combination of techniques ( selective outlining in some areas, not in others etc). This latest one also includes some heavy pillow shading in the shoulder- some of your earlier versions handled this better I think.

Going back through the thread I see you've messed with this portrait quite a bit, and honestly many of the directions were plausible. I would try to find a specific style as inspiration that you really like, and don't mind if you're wearing it on your sleeve. I was looking at some Breath of Fire while doing this edit, but it could be anything. It does make sense to get your style nailed down before doing more- but keep in mind that growth and evolution is inevitable if you do a number of them.

I noticed that there is a shift into violet in the shadow of the skin tones, so I echoed that throughout the rest of the palette. I also likewise shifted the highlights to yellow as it's a nice and simple complimentary scheme. I think the biggest room for improvement in these portraits is anatomy and how you design the shapes in the larger sense ( Breath of Fire's classic chunky capcom feel is a good representation of this) as well as your pixel clusters in the smaller sense, just cleaning up your technique a little bit.

Also I really enjoy your title screen image; both palettes are pleasing, the first is more nostalgiac with it's more monochrome palette, and the second feels more " present" in contrast.

Good luck as you continue on with this beast!  :)



Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #92 on: March 14, 2021, 03:45:10 pm
Ryumaru!!! Thanks for your help once again :) I feel like I gotta put your name in the credits, your last post helped me so much in developing my pixel art technique. I'm actually on the verge of completing a demo I plan to send out to publishers, find some funding. Took me quite a bit of time to get here!

I know what you mean when you say you see multiple different styles happening in the portraits over the months. I sort of return to them when I feel like I've improved in some respect. It is also just a chill exercise to see what improvements I can make sometimes. The style keeps changing because my eye for what looks good is changing haha.

Your edits on the portraits are really amazing to see! There's so much I'm looking at and trying to notice how you managed to improve subtly and not-so-subtly on mine. I agree that their mushy arms and general body structure needs work, I haven't done much anatomy or even figure studies but it's something I am working on.

For Ryan's portrait (purple hair) I think your shading on the arm improves it a lot, in the final I think I want the lighting to be more dynamic, like with a stronger light source from the left. But for now I think its at an alright place. Here is another edit on Kenneth using some stuff you did. The hair I didn't change too much because I wanna stick with that segmented-90s anime look. You did give me some ideas on how to define the shape better, though! Plus, the arm was really irksome so I redid it.


« Last Edit: March 14, 2021, 07:00:43 pm by falz »

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #93 on: March 15, 2021, 06:22:43 pm
Here is a boat vignette I made for the intro to the game. I have a still, a gif and a link to how it really appears in the game.
png:

gif:

Game:
https://twitter.com/BoleroTactics/status/1368694638031298560

Offline falz

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Re: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art

Reply #94 on: June 07, 2021, 06:25:17 pm
Like clockwork, here is another revision. I was looking at ome reference I liked for the armor, but it still needs a bit of cleanup to look really good.

->