Hi there. I'm looking for a bit of c&c for these character portraits/talking views. How do they look? What could I do to improve them? Too much shading isn't really going to help as they need to fit in with the backgrounds I've created, which have (intentionally) little to no shading. Also, can anybody give me some tips or point me in the direction of a good example of different skin tones? I tried to make the guy with the bad comb over look Middle Eastern, but he just ended up looking sunburnt :-\
(http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g138/bjkd2002/Face3.png) (http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g138/bjkd2002/Face2.png) (http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g138/bjkd2002/Face1.png)
Cheers all!
Definitely try a different skin tone for each character. The girl can get away with being somewhat pale, like she is now, only you should use a slightly darker color for the outline of her face.
As for the two men, I'd give Fu Manchu there a tan, and the EMH-looking guy a bit darker complexion as well. Like I said with the girl, try giving those guys a slightly darker outline as well, that way they won't appear to glow in the dark.
Nice portraits, though. :) Very simple.
EDIT: You could try the skin tone from this sprite, and see how you like it...
(http://www.pixeljoint.com/files/icons/jonathan.gif)
I'm afraid I've forgotten exactly what the RGB values for those colors are, though.
Just for notes, on Nine Toes's example, RGB values are the following:
Main: R 239 G 165 B 140
Outline: R 214 G 148 B 115
I think another reason they're "glowing in the dark" is because you have them against a dark coloured background. Try them against something with middle saturation and brightness.
All I did here was change the colors to give you some ideas. I hope you have these at the original size since they are horribly blocky magnified like this.
(http://members.cox.net/progzmax/Face1.png)(http://members.cox.net/progzmax/Face2.png)(http://members.cox.net/progzmax/Face3.png)