AuthorTopic: [Feedback] [CC] Bolero: Fantasy Tactics, pixel art  (Read 40657 times)

Offline SeDiceBisonte

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

Reply #90 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 #91 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 #92 on: July 02, 2020, 10:26:34 pm
finished version with another color treatment. Not quite sure which I prefer.

Offline falz

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

Reply #93 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 »

Offline Ryumaru

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

Reply #94 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 #95 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 #96 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 #97 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.

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