AuthorTopic: stuff I don't even know!  (Read 9105 times)

Offline Carl Winslow

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stuff I don't even know!

on: February 12, 2010, 01:07:20 am
-new-

first was made for something I forgot, the squid was an experiment.

-old-

Some Valentine gift I made for a friend. maybe like 10-15 minutes tallying it all up.
There's a sketch to go with it, but I honestly don't feel like pulling my scanner out until it's actually Valentine's day.


updated with changes etc




Any thoughts so i might make this better before I have to give it to them?
« Last Edit: June 29, 2010, 02:12:52 am by Carl Winslow »

Offline Carl Winslow

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Re: some robot thing

Reply #1 on: February 12, 2010, 03:17:15 am

ended up making some adjustments to the arms and eyes. eyes still don't really look right though. any suggestions?
« Last Edit: February 13, 2010, 01:44:05 am by Carl Winslow »

Offline Carl Winslow

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Re: some robot thing

Reply #2 on: February 13, 2010, 12:57:59 am


even more changes. this time taking note that the arms were totally messed up other than not being aligned vertically. also adjusted shading in several areas, along with a few color issues.

nobody has anything to say? there has to be something I'm doing wrong with this. :<
« Last Edit: February 13, 2010, 01:44:23 am by Carl Winslow »

Offline blumunkee

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Re: some robot thing

Reply #3 on: February 13, 2010, 01:13:48 am
I'm having a hard time reading what this is. I've settled on mecha bear, but that conclusion is admittedly tenuous.

There is a lot of stuff going on here. Consider simplifying some of the inner forms to make them clearer.

Offline Carl Winslow

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Re: some robot thing

Reply #4 on: February 13, 2010, 01:59:26 am
yeah, I see what you mean. it's really difficult to get a good balance of detail going when i can see what everything is in my head. shouldn't be TOO difficult to simplify it to the basics though.
As to what it is, it's a really drastic re-design of this:

this thing is soooo ugly. the only thing I've ended up keeping between this and the new sketch (and the new sprite for that matter) is the head and the basic concepts of the torso.
hopefully I'm getting this in better shape since i'm trying to put it all down in a few days rather than dragging the design out a few weeks.

Offline rustEdge

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Re: some robot thing

Reply #5 on: February 13, 2010, 02:46:54 am
One issue might be the level of contrast between elements, and contrast between the colors in your palette. The brightness value of the colors in your palette are pretty similar, so things blur into each other even if they have different hue values. With a sprite that small, adding differently colored pixels against each other would result in unintentional dithering, so some of the detail gets lost. You just need to practice simplifying your character into its key features.

The teeny sprite also looks pretty masculine. I wouldn't have guessed that it was female until you posted the larger version. The upper part of the body is much larger than the legs, giving that inverted triangle silhouette that more males have. I know Samus from Metroid was shaped similarly, but it was done so you wouldn't expect a girl to be inside the suit until the big reveal at the end.

Here's an edit on your super-deformed sprites.


I've pumped up the palette contrast, removed two colors, removed some of the dithering, and added some definition by adding some black between the chest plate and the (character's) right shoulder armor.
I've added a more feminine version too. Reduced the shoulder armor's size, brought emphasis to the chest, slimmed down the torso, widened the hips, and thinned the legs and feet.

Your character has so much potential. Don't give up on it just yet.  ;D

Offline Tourist

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Re: some robot thing

Reply #6 on: February 13, 2010, 03:11:05 am
Thanks for posting the larger sketch, it helps convey what you're trying to do.

The generic set of recommendations are:
  • Don't pixel on a white background, it can throw off your values.
  • The heavy outlines are eating a lot of your pixel space, and in this case, adding a lot of noise too.  Use outlines sparingly.
  • Stay away from pure black and white unless there is a good reason for them

I think the palette could be better.  I'm really not that skilled with colors yet, so take the following with a grain of salt. 

The amber colors are almost all the same hue.  If the dark brown was shifted halfway to red you'd get a color that works as both darkest amber and darkest red. 

I think the lightest blue in the larger picture is a better choice than the off-white in the smaller pictures.  The mid-tone blues are rather lifeless compared to the saturated amber and red, or even the bright and dark blues.  Maybe adjust the saturation some? 

The blue side of head/jaw piece looks totally separate from the front jaw piece.  I assume they are supposed to be together like the larger piece?  The lighting makes the side bit look like it sticks out and the amber stripe on the corner of the chin with heavy outlines is too strong of a separator. 

I agree with what blumunkee wrote, the elbows, hands, and chest have too much noise.  Too many contrasting colors in such a small space.   

There's about 8 pixels at the top of the image that aren't being used.  If you weren't reserving this space for text then consider moving the head up and giving yourself more space for the rest of the figure.

Tourist

Offline Carl Winslow

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Re: some robot thing

Reply #7 on: February 23, 2010, 03:03:06 pm

I'm pretty sure my changes aren't drastic enough, but it does look loads better now. plus, now I have a properly defined sketch of the thing to get an idea of what this in particular looks like. anymore I could do for this?

and while I'm at it, here's a lawyer too

this is actually from way back in december, but i never got any real idea of whether or not I did things right on it. (even though I consider it one of the best things I've ever done.)

Offline Helm

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Re: Things that make no sense.

Reply #8 on: February 23, 2010, 03:28:19 pm


It's really difficult for me to explain the process of what I do in something like this but the general critique of it is easy to title: simplifying. Getting shapes to read easier. It's a cost/reward battle between informative detail you want to pack into the sprite and how well it'll read at that size to players. At this percieved res, one single pixel is a *lot* of real-estate. If you pack details close to each other the end result might be impressive-looking but it'll also be confusing. Imagine a real human being where his chest and legs had as much detail on them as their face. The smaller the sprite you're working on is, the more detail you have to sacrifice for readability, basically. Just don't ask me *which* details you should sacrifice, even in my edit I went with experience not with a conscious guideline.

Offline Tuna Unleashed

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Re: Things that make no sense.

Reply #9 on: February 23, 2010, 10:24:44 pm
fuck i love your robots so much. i feel like i should really see a lot wrong with them but i just can't see much. definitely take some of hemlm's advice. also, the blue dude needs some smoothing out and has quite a bit of banding