WIP skeleton sprite

[UncleSporky]

Trying to do a nice little skeleton enemy, no project in particular, just practice.  I've got a couple of problems: first, I think the ribcage gets too busy with the back half of it darkened in, but I'm not sure of another way of doing it at this angle.  Second, his arm gets lost in the mass of greys.  I think it'd be easier to read when animated but I'd really like to be able to look at a standing sprite and tell what is what.  With such a small sprite I can't just outline it in black...should I add more colors and make his arms really white and his middle dark?  How would you guys do a skeleton sprite like this?

I looked at some references from different games but the typical skeleton is usually either straight-on symmetrical or a couple jumbled white pixels.

[Helm]

Hello.

Concern yourself with single pixels less and volumes more. Single pixels are not detail at this size, they are noise, especially when there's a lot of them. Symbolise more, assemble less. You're not making a vector skeleton, you're making a tiny sprite, make the wole of it on one layer, one surface. Why does a skeleton have to be dull gray all over? Use the darker shade to portray the other two limbs in darkness, further signifying the depth of the sprite and also keeping things clean.

[chris-mcc]

I think Helm's edit puts you on the right track but he still seems too squat and out of proportion (to me). I tend to agree with Helm about the colour palette though. Making things darker and adding some dark brown/greenish shading makes it look like a decomposed skeleton rather than a model from a doctor's office.



I made him slightly taller and cut down the size of his skull and shoulder.

[vellan]

helms reads much better

[Stwelin]

helms reads much better

i'd say they read about the same, but it's really a stylistic thing. Helm's could use perhaps correct lower body proportions? It depends on the size restrictions. Chris's does well of making a more realistic feel in respects to the original sprite's size, while Helm's would look adequate with a slightly more apt leg... region.

[Helm]

I personally kept the deformed style of the original, I think. This looks to me more g n' g territory than castlevania.

[UncleSporky]

Yeah, that's what I was going for, stylized.  Personally I don't like trying to do realistic proportions on a small scale, I prefer to show more character (though whether I'm good at it is another matter).  My biggest problem is lighting, probably because of the modular way I put him together.  My excuse for that is to make for easier animation: bob the skull and the ribcage seperately from each other as he moves, and animate the arms and legs seperately.  Perhaps that's a bad habit.  Additionally I could collapse him or blow him apart into his component pieces.

I love the edit, Helm, I can already see a lot that will help me fix him.  A couple things, though - I know that individual pixel differences are noise at the typical viewing size of a monitor, but in a game I'd expect him to be blown up 2x or higher.  That's why I wanted to have some details like the teeth, which could even be animated.  Was that particular edit in the interest of removing noise?  I'll have to experiment with more contrast in that area.

Another thing I noticed in your edit was the ribcage.  His midsection looks tilted away from the viewer a bit, when what I intended was more of a barrel shape in line with the head...although maybe I'm working too small for details like that.  Showing each rib does make him pop more as a skeleton.

Oh, and I know my first palette was dull, I didn't intend for it to be the final color scheme anyway - I should've mentioned that.  I just started going and ran into the arm issue and wondered how it could be fixed while maintaining the style as much as possible.  I do like your palette, though.


EDIT: Update with a few different tries.



Feel free to ignore the cleaver thing, just messing around.

[bengo]

I like the colors, they have a "NES" feel to them.

[Arne]

Yeah, volumes, shapes etc. Maybe this concept is hard to illustrate in a pixel format.



One idea is to use 2 dark line colors:

Nearby shapes often reflect their colored light against each other, making saturation go up.  It can also help to bind a big shape with child components together if you use a line color which is associated with the color of stuff.

The outlines pointing away from the whole object can use color components of the background. Maybe it's also psychological; we are being told using color coding  that the object ends there.

The omitted arm would of course come in front and cast shadows on the leg and stuff. It'll need to appear in front of the torso/hip too, so those might need to be kicked back a bit in contrast/value.

I liked the teeth, they are important to show that the skeleton is dangerous, just like a wolf showing its teeth.

I'm not a huge fan of colored skeletons a'la Diablo or Castlevania style though.

[Helm]

Perhaps that's a bad habit.  Additionally I could collapse him or blow him apart into his component pieces.

You can still break him into spawned pieces when he dies, they don't have to be there as the thing moves about.

I know that individual pixel differences are noise at the typical viewing size of a monitor, but in a game I'd expect him to be blown up 2x or higher.

Yes, bigger resolutions mean minute detail is easier to follow, but still, there should be some pattern to it besides 'random specular' from which your initial sprite I feel, suffered from.

That's why I wanted to have some details like the teeth, which could even be animated.  Was that particular edit in the interest of removing noise?  I'll have to experiment with more contrast in that area.

The way I saw it, you either had space for eyes and nose and an implied mouth, or you have space for eyes and teeth. I went with eyes and nose because I figured those are more important to convey a skull. But if you want the teeth pretty bad to make it appear more dangerous and stuff, then you'd have to put in teeth and take the nose out I think. I simply don't believe there's enough space for everything there - and have it read well, in motion, at 1x or 2x zoom- but if someone or you thinks they can do it, go right ahead.

Another thing I noticed in your edit was the ribcage.  His midsection looks tilted away from the viewer a bit, when what I intended was more of a barrel shape in line with the head...although maybe I'm working too small for details like that.  Showing each rib does make him pop more as a skeleton.

Right. I wasn't even considering the tilt of the midsection anymore, I was just trying to convey stylized ribs against darkness in very finite space, while also trying to not upset the whole. Small pixel sprites are tricky business! I'll let it be said that having seen the original, the edits, and the new versions, I don't consider the tilt of the ribcage important in any degree.

Oh, and I know my first palette was dull, I didn't intend for it to be the final color scheme anyway - I should've mentioned that.

Holy shit you didn't have to go and make it GOLD SKELETON, though! Unless... you want it gold, I guess.

I just started going and ran into the arm issue and wondered how it could be fixed while maintaining the style as much as possible.  I do like your palette, though.

lightness and darkness separate. darkest line under the hand, whites specular along the top bone. The highlight should not touch any rib highlight of equal intensity, just so they don't merge. That's what I did in my original edit. For more look at what Arne is telling you.