[Feedback] [C+C] Characters for a NES-style platformer

[pebblesage]

Hello everyone !

I am quite new in pixel art and I am currently making a small NES style platformer. These are the 2 main characters for the game in various versions, seen from both sides. If possible I would like some critique and suggestions on them, and the preferred versions ( if any ) of them.

Guy



Girl



Below is some general info about the setting, influences, artistic direction and key issues I have with my current versions.

Setting

It is a game mainly in a sci-fi setting with a bit of fantasy. In particular exploration of sci-fi ruins.

Influences

The art style started with being similar to Castlevania and Bloodstained ( girl legs are very similar to Miriam's from Bloodstained ) and then took a slight RPG form.

Artistic Direction

The guy goes for a more free spirited and a bit wild but dependable feeling.

The girl goes for a flowery visual form and a sweet but dynamic feeling.

The colors are restricted to NES ones, as are in the NES NTSC Aseprite Palette. I kept a darker background than the recommended 50% gray since the characters will be in settings with dark background and medium lighting foreground. 3 colors per character and sprite size at most 24x40. Dithering is not preferred but I am open to suggestions.

Problems

Guy : I've fiddled with him for a while but a lot of parts have a rougher feeling than I would like. Also I wonder if I should give him more width to match a bit more with the girl's width.

Girl : I am mainly wondering if her stance feels awkward.

Both : Do they feel as a team and partners visually ?



Thank you for your time !

[MysteryMeat]

I'm looking pretty hard and I can't spot the differences between the versions, would you mind going into that a bit?

[pebblesage]

Ah, sorry. I should have said clothing selection.

Guy : The first version has a normal shirt, while the second is open with a necklace for a more wild ( I hope ) feeling.

Girl : The first and second differ on the legs, with the first having black tights and "white" boots, while the second is all "white". The third is the same as the second as far legs are concerned but I wanted less ornaments above. The simplest of the three visually.

[Nives]

Hey. Just want to say those are looking really good.  They could totally fit the NES era.

[loni_art]

cute! the color choices are fine and the shapes are mostly alright, however i feel the outline was working more against it than towards the sprite
i chose the gal cause she cuter and easier to edit


edits i did:
first of all, longer arms, they bothered me because they were oh so slightly short, remember that the hand touches the thigh when on rest
i changed the socks to be a different color, cause them being white and outlined was too noisy
killed all the outlines possible and made most of the shapes "connected" (eg: no diagonal connections on the bands of jacket)
made the arm facing the background darker, because it looked cooler :p
and then some small edits to posture and such

[Vinik]

Excellent edit. The only downside is that it looses the versatility of the outline in case he has the characters against bright backgrounds. But if the game is mostly dark this surely the way to go.

The highlights in the boy's hair also bothers me a bit, it is a creative touch but I feels more like a backlight or a inverse outline than something that gives his hair volume.

Love the characters, specially their jrpg doll faces, wonder how the the genres never crossed over in NES era, it works very well.

[Ambivorous]

I actually like the girl as she is. Especially the first one.
I think your guy could use a more expressive pose though. It also looked like her was wearing a pirate hat.



I changed the pose, gave him a pirate hat, changed the clothes a little and matched the colours to the girl more.

[Ma3vis]

Apologies for the lazy edits



@Ambivorous You try too hard to clearly detail the sprites
Just remove chunks of unnecessary color from the highlighted areas
If you wanna make sprites, what Loni said is right. Start with a shaded simple outline, then just add textures

[pebblesage]

Thank you everyone for your responses !

After a lot of tinkering with the girl I lean towards number 4 (towards the right) below. The guy is WIP and not shown for now. Depending on the testing with tiles I might have to enclose the sprites in outlines again though. The pirate version idea of @Ambivorous clicked well with me and can easily fit into the setting.



The first is my original, the second is by @loni_art, the third is a combo of the two and the fourth has a more "pirate" flavor.

Below are some other versions of the fourth with minor arm differences.



What are your thoughts ?


@loni_art

The posture is such an improvement and seems smooth and easy to animate, while how to make a version without an outline was a very useful study for me ! I practically made a combo of our versions with a bit of a round fluffy top instead of your shade and little shading in general since I want a brighter feeling. It was too keep the original character feeling and flowery form since it plays a role in the story and character design. I have not mentioned it but she has "fairy" wings.

As for the arms I get what you are saying and it was a headache for me. To preserve the overall flow of the form that I want, I kept them at that length. I have posted some other versions with a bit longer arms but any more than that and it doesn't feel "right" for me. It's a half pixel difference issue for me I guess.

@Vinik

The hair bothers me a bit too. Since I am going for a bit of a pirate theme it might be changed into a hat but I want to retain a bit of that wild/anime hair.

@Ambivorous

Nice ! This actually solves the problem I had about them not looking like a team. The two you made actually look like a team. Also the pose you made is what i will probably keep for the male character since mine indeed had a too neutral one, while the pirate hat actually clicked with me. A pirate theme can easily be incorporated into the story of the game and I think I will go towards that direction. The small edit on the girl is something I also kept in the new versions.

[pebblesage]

These are my current versions of the characters.



The guy's legs bother me a little, especially his crouching leg.

They are different from the original designs but I think they are more connected in a stylistic way and with a common theme.