Metal Gear Solid 4 Sprite Help

[skeme_IN5]

are you just going to squash your existing sprites to 50%? or start pixelling anew with a more practical sizing?

Well both really, heres what I have so far(and yes I know its really bad atm but its just the line art with colour)
Is this wrong to do Terley? If it is what would you suggest?

If you you're going to resize it, use a nearest-neighbour filter and do it asap. You'll have to redo a lot of the work you've already done, so the sooner you work on the final size the better. Ideally you should work on the final size from the start.

Im not quite sure what you mean by 'nearest-neighbour filter' could you explain to me please?
Thanks again

[Sherman Gill]

Nearest neighbor is an interpolation filter that doesn't smooth (and thus add about twenty thousand colors random colors in order to blur) what you're trying to resize. It's pretty crappy for retaining likeness, but it's the best for resizing pixel art.

[skeme_IN5]

Nearest neighbor is an interpolation filter that doesn't smooth (and thus add about twenty thousand colors random colors in order to blur) what you're trying to resize. It's pretty crappy for retaining likeness, but it's the best for resizing pixel art.

Ah ha I see, I must not have used that then because I had the twenty thousand colour thing going on lol. What program does nearest neighbor filtering?

[skeme_IN5]

Hello again, ive now decided to shrink my original sprite down 30% instead of 50%. I think this size will be just right for my game and allows me more room for detail(im a noob!lol)while being easier for me to draw, although I realize it may be time consuming and difficult to animate/shade ect due to it still being quite big. I have have quickly shaded it and as you can tell, shading is not my strongest point. If any one could find the time to do a quick edit I would be really grateful. As I said before, I want the shadows to be coming straight down so the light source would need to be in the direction Snake is facing and above him.
Here it is:




EDIT: I will post the resized level items and a new screen shot of what it looks like in game tomorrow 
Please give C+C
Thanks
 

[Sherman Gill]

Oof! You're pillowshading! Pick a lightsource! Up is the standard for videogames as it allows you to horizontally flip things without having to remake them, and because most lightsources are upward.
Also, it's etc. not ect. because it's a shortening of Etcetera, which means "and the rest" in Latin.

[skeme_IN5]

Oof! You're pillowshading! Pick a lightsource! Up is the standard for videogames as it allows you to horizontally flip things without having to remake them, and because most lightsources are upward.

OK I will try that and post tomorrow 

Also, it's etc. not ect. because it's a shortening of Etcetera, which means "and the rest" in Latin.

...omg! dont I feel stupid?! lol!

[ndchristie]

et cetera actually .

there's little enough reason to do pixel art at this size, especially when the work here is not really paying attention to pixel details.  I wouldn't work at 50%, i would work at 20%.  And even that's on the big end of things.

[Sherman Gill]

I think it's actually a good size. It's not good productivity wise, yes, but it's got enough clarity that any mistakes in anatomy or forms he makes will be largely visible.

[skeme_IN5]

OK here is another one of my attempts at shading and as you can see I need a lot of practice so I probably wont be posting any more updates for a couple of days until i get a little better and understand more of what I am doing. I must say that I find it a lot easier shading when my light source isnt where I need it for this game(above and in front)
Here it is:


Is it REALLY important for the shadows to match where the light source is coming from?
Example:(Cant remember who's sprite this is, sorry)


Or could I get away with this?


Keep in mind that the light source/sun wont be visible in my game.
Please give C+C but please dont just say "Its too big", I know you guys know your stuff and I respect what you guys say because your a million times better than me at pixel-art but Im pretty set on this size and like it for a couple of reasons, the main one being that I think any smaller would look too small on the screen, another being that I like working in a bigger space(yep, im a noob!) Anyway, im off to practice.
Thanks

[Rydin]

I think the size is pretty good now

This is coming along very nicely.

While it is a mild step up from pillow-shading, the lighting is still pretty "meh".  I'd go with a corner-based light source like in your example.  And remember: light doesn't care if it's hitting a calf or a leg or a chest or an arm--it just hits everything as a whole.  You seem to be shading only within the "lines", does that make sense?

I really like where this is heading.  Plan on using a dynamic engine for his headband?