Vespa...*Things...*

[Gnarf]

Current (mine <----> helm's)


Been getting ideas of a game flowing through my head, and so I decided to go with it.  this is the main sprite, a female, who rides a vespa scooter (which i'll work on afterwards.)  Inspired by, you guessed it, FLCL.



EDIT -

I really wanted a hip color scheme, for the character's personality.  I'm a bit disappointed the legs turned out so symmetrical, because i'm no good with dynamic poses.  Some things that bother me: don't want to use a darker version of the base for any of the shades (I'm content with the hair), want to avoid outlines in the final product while still keeping the piece noticeable in a bright backdrop...

i've attemtped moving the base hues into blue for shades, but mspaint really makes it troublesome since i can't mix or adjust colors.

Any suggestions?  I'm going to animate this after i get the base finished.

Thanks!

[MrNormS]

Sorry that I can't give you too much depth in my feedback but so far that looks awesome.  The line art is great.  As far as the colours go, I like the hair, but I think the other colours could... well, if I have time tomorrow morning I'll do an edit. Her left arm looks a tad long/fat to me.  I'm not sure what I'd do but as mentioned above, if I have time I'll do an edit. 

A point of curiosity, why do you use MSPaint?  Why not switch to something easier, at least for the colour choosing?

Anyway, looks rad so far, I'm looking forward to seeing the end result.

[Gnarf]

MSPaint is the only free program I have.  If you have any other suggestions, i'd be glad to hear them.

And thanks!  Looking forward to the edit.

[TeenIce]

Look on this one (Ar's going too kill me xD):
http://img489.imageshack.us/img489/2799/ninja5sd1.gif

MSPaint is the only free program I have.

GraphicsGale is good and free (free edition):
http://www.humanbalance.net/gale/us/download.html
Or Pro Motion, but its only 30 day trial.

[Akira]

that's hot.  there's alot of different way's you could go with this. part of me wants to see it shaded while the other part is happy with the flat style. i'll trust your instincts
 i definitley wanna see it animated though the whatever she's holding could extend back a bit.
i like the long fat arms cause that's how i roll.

i'm tryna work up enough cash to buy pro-mo. i know what its like to be stuck with paint >_< and to hate graphics gale >_<

[Gnarf]

@teenice, sorry, what are you suggesting with the first image?  thanks for the link, but i'm not too fond of GG.

@akira, i'm sort of arguing between the two as well, but that's mainly because i'm afraid to shade it.  she's holding a crowbar.  And for the animation (for the idle, at least) i'm considering making the left fist clench and open while she breathes.  and yeah, i want pro motion as well, as graphics gale's free edition doesn't even allow .gifs. :[

thanks!

[Sherman Gill]

It seems to me that if you didn't like the transfer from Paint to GraphicsGale, ProMotion would be even worse.


Also, I prefer the first color scheme. The tight pants and the star patterns really aren't working for me.

[TeenIce]

@teenice, sorry, what are you suggesting with the first image?  thanks for the link, but i'm not too fond of GG.

You could use that color palette.

It seems to me that if you didn't like the transfer from Paint to GraphicsGale, ProMotion would be even worse.

GraphicsGale or ProMotion have only color palette, preview and tools in keyboard keys. Paint dont have it - and i think that makes him uncomfortable (at least for me).

[Gnarf]

okay, the shirt wasn't working for me either, but i'm still left with the pink, only buttons this time:



I don't know, in terms of the style of it all, I feel as though it's done, but on a bright background it's painful on the eyes, mainly the shirt.

@teenice, ah, okay, i'd rather pick my own colors based on suggestion, but i'm liking the red scarf.  and graphics gale's interface doesn't bother me much - in fact, i'd buy it if I had a way to.  It's really just the free version doesn't seem worth using when i could do just as much in mspaint.

[Helm]

you should add physiological traits of a woman, even if stylized so this doesn't read like it's a guy. It does now. Give her hips-to-thinner-legs and whatnot

[vellan]

agreed with helm re: female traits.

love the style.

[Terley]

I think the detailing makes the femininity, I wouldn't go too far with reshaping this character but a little shape always helps.. It reminds me of Noodles from Gorillaz.

[Feron]

i thought the original pallette was more feminine.  heres an edit (i was messing around with the hair lol, just look at the body!)

[Gnarf]

@helm/vellan - i don't know, there's not much room for thinner legs, and the poncho-like shirt makes it hard to show much curves.


The best I came up with is this.  Though, the breasts look very unnatural, almost like it's just a shirt design.

@terley, not bad, but the hips (in my opinion) don't change the appearance at all.  in fact, i didn't notice them at first.  what does everyone else think?

@feron, should have mentioned that the shirt doesn't seperate for each arm; it's more of a towel over the upper body (like a poncho.)  she does look more feminine though.

thanks for the edits/crits so far.  i'm beginning work on the vespa, while still working on this.

[Xion]

Yeah, I didn't realize it was a chick till I scrolled down and saw one of your posts. (Yeah, that's right, I didn't read the first post.)
I like the poncho and all, but a more femenine pose would help break up the symmetry that you said you didn't like. Like...what was that thing mentioned in another post...? Contra Pasta? (j/k, contraposto). Yeah, that would, IMO, give her a much more femenine and charactual character.
Also, where are the breastseses?
Also, the crowbar bugs me. I think it should curve back right before it snaps forward in it's classic shape. More like the hair does here.
Like a crow's foot.
Thus the name.
Also, I didn't realize it was her hair at first; I thought it was a scarf.
I like the style so far.

That's alot of "Also"s.


Oh, woo, you posted.

Well, the brestseses don't really have to cast shadows like that. There could just be the implication that they are beneath the cloth by way of either hilight or like, those stretchy horizontal lines you see in busty womens' shirts. (Not that I would know.  ))

[Feron]

go back to the original shirt color - looks more feminine.

[Sherman Gill]

With a poncho, the shape wouldn't really conform to the breasts of the woman. The cloth would be pushed out, but it wouldn't turn concave. So there would be highlights, but not shadows (Atleast not like in your picture.)

[Opacus]

 
(Completely ripped from Scuba Steve, yes)

[Stwelin]

Hot.

[Helm]

Girl?

[Sherman Gill]

Girl?

Yes. Perfect edit, in my opinion.

[Gnarf]

EDIT*

Wow, very awesome and helpful Helm, thanks.  I'll get to work on something similar.  I love how you kept the cel shade and no AA with this.[/edit]

hmmm, how's this?



@Xion - I sort of want the right hand to rest on the hip (as shown in contraposto) but i'm not sure how to depict it without screwing up the whole thing.  also not sure what you mean about the crowbar...

I see what you and Sherman mean about the breasts, but i wasn't planning to include any in the first place (she could be nearly flat chested, and breasts are hardly noticeable at a small size under a poncho; that's according to the google image searches)

@Feron, i'll try the edits on the original colors after i get somethings done with this one.

[SCiDT]

MSPaint is the only free program I have.  If you have any other suggestions, i'd be glad to hear them.

The Gimp http://www.gimp.org/

[Ryumaru]

heres an edit, it was done before helms was and probably isnt as usefull, but i thought id show anyway:
tried to show it was a female more with pose than with anatomy.

[Akira]

TBH i prefer this one.

We have lots of androgynous male game characters so whats wrong with an androgynous female? i don't think it particularly matters if the character is female or male or genderless unless its important to the game play. like if she uses her giant breasts to smother opponents then you may want to do a redesign
Ryumaru's edit is quite nice too.

[Xion]

also not sure what you mean about the crowbar...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Piedbiche.jpg
See how it curves at the end?


Well, the problem with your update is that unless the cloth is stuck to her arm, it shouldn't follow the contours past her elbow.
Here I made an edit;

Pardon me for stealing a few things from helms edit.
Also pardons moi if'n I screw'd up.

[Gnarf]

Mine <---->  Helm's


@ryu - neat idea, but it sort of implies that she's in a tired state.  i used your idea on the crowbar hand, though.

@akira - yeah, but after seeing helm's edit, the original really seems too flat.

@xion - i see what you mean.  i edited the crowbar accordingly, and I gotta say, I love the highlight you used on the jacket.

thanks for everything guys.  if there're any more suggestions, please keep 'em coming.

Edit - just realized my character's stance is very careless looking, while Helm's is more heroic.  i may go back and edit the shoulders a bit.

[Souly]

You were probably going for something a lot less detailed.
And probably a lot less random, but I thought I'd post this edit anyways.


I more or less did this out of boredom.

But I haven't slept in the past two days so I'm pretty tired.

[Joseph]

sory souly but personally I think you ruined it.
I like helms the best so far but I believe another highlight needs to be added and bit more emphasis on the breasts as well/

I really like it so far otherwise, good luck.

[Souly]

sory souly but personally I think you ruined it.
I like helms the best so far but I believe another highlight needs to be added and bit more emphasis on the breasts as well/

I really like it so far otherwise, good luck.

That's what I thought.
I thought I might as well just post it since it could given him an idea.

[Gnarf]

yeah, doesn't really fit what i'm going for.  THanks for the suggestion, though.

[Joseph]

here's an edit showing what I meant by my above reply:
      edit 1---------------------edit 2
-----------
Oh...added one more shade to the legs, the highlight.

[Akzidenz]

A female character with a Vespa inspired by Furikuri? How delightfully.. well, I guess ironic isn't the right word. Appropriate, maybe?

I'm a huge fan of the style of the piece. Joseph's edit looks great. I think that, unless you're REALLY under palette restrictions here, you should consider adding a second color for the hair (like Helm and Joseph and others have done with their edits). When you reuse the red for the shadow, it makes her look like she's wearing a ninja mask.

[The B.O.B.]

I saw every body else jumping off the bridge, so I thought I would too. Since it was a poncho-type shirt, I tried to incorporate some folds in there, but they may be over the top. I also felt the same as the others in that she needed a more feminine pose for readability, and that boobs don't always need to be present for a girl to noticed. I didn't really change any palette of yours. I kept the originals to stay with the original style. May or may not be to your liking, but you know...what ev'...

[Gnarf]

@Joseph - Yeah, I understand what you mean now.  Sorry, I completely skipped over your suggestion.  The shirt is looking awesome, so I may consider changing what was meant to be more of a poncho, into a leather jacket.  Something about it, though, changes the overall style, so the head no longer seems to fit with the rest of the piece.  Anyway, I'll definitely have a revision up tomorrow morning, as it's getting really later right now.

@Akzidenz - I just noticed the ninja mask you mentioned.  To me, it initially looked like the hair (and that's obviously because I wanted it to be a part of the hair) but from a different perspective...

Also, there are no palette restrictions; this is just a personal piece i'm thinking of creating a sprite sheet for.  in fact, I'm thinking of scrapping the vespa idea, and go for something completely different.  I couldn't think of many ways to use a vespa throughout the whole game.

@BOB - Damn, that's exactly what I've been wanting to do.  Not too fond of the hair, but it doesn't look bad either.  There are so many ways to go with this piece now.

as i said, I'll get on some edits done tomorrow.  Thanks for the suggestions guys.