Character comments & some help maybe

[TheSaint]

hello everyone.
My friend and i have made this guy to be the main character in our future game.



its drawn as 3d character and i wanted to add certain shading but since this guy will have to be animated aswell, i was wondering if someone from here with ur experience can give me few tips how to shade/give him slight 3D looks, but not to overdo it and make a problem with future working on him. We thought even to try to modify him only sligthly in future (body position while walking etc, for example to keep body in same position and move only hands/legs and slightly body ) coz working on animation would be hell-of-a-job for drawing. and if we add too much shadings that game making will last too long. so what im asking is:
1) do u like him? comment him. (he is drawn like this - not really proportional - with intention )
2) paintover shading would be great if u have time or would like to help. so just slight 3D look with shading, but not too much shading to make animating him easier.

Kind regards,
TheSaint

[pixelcat]

I really like the character, the only real problem I see is the hands/arms.  Either the hands are too small or the wrists are too big, can't really tell which.



Here's a quick example of how you might shade... I just draw the shadows on another layer in blacks and whites (and grays...).  It's pretty rushed, but hopefully you'll get some ideas.

[Kyle]

Can you say QFG4 rip-off?

Other than that, it looks alright. I would consider adding in a back flap in addition to the front flap of the vest, as well as fixing the sleeve-ends (they look almost like they're attached to the skin... maybe add some darker shading right under the sleeves or some such.) Also, the hands are still sort of messy.

I also would suggest that you extend the strand of hair at the front-right into a point, but that's just me. Might work better the way you have it.

Pixelcat's edit helps the flatness a lot, although the graininess would make it difficult to animate consistently. Might just be the format change, though.

[TheSaint]

Kyle: mmmm no u cant say QFG rip-off tbh its qfg that we are both fans of and original idea was to make qfg sequel or something but rippin off chars and stuff was too much job so we started our own Hero project. Its not our fault that Sierra picked best outfit (colour) combination and since our current game setup has certain time/age conditions we had to pick one that fits it best. white/gray shirt/lether vest is logical choice.

and thnx to both of u for advices and pixelcat for paintover. hands ... we arent really satisfied with them thats true and this guy is just first painted pen/pencil char so it will get better with some more tryouts.

[Ghost]

the character looks really great, i love this overconfident hero pose (you can just imagine his voice, can't you? something like the boozer in Discworld1, he he...)

this might be a bit far off, but i think this character deserves to be made in a 3d prog, i suggest Cinema4D (cheap ad very good)... If you ask around there's bound to be someone here who would do it for you... I will give it a try and send you the result, but it can take a while (i hate to say it, but i have my right arm broken and in cast SINCE APRIL and that really puts a break into any artistic actions)

[big brother]

I'd say leave him as he is without shading. Just remember the Curse of Monkey Island. Cel-style sprites work really well against complex backgrounds.

[MrColossal]

and, to add to Big Brother's comment, you save colours [if you're making a low res game]

I enjoy the character a lot, drawn really well and has a lot of personality

[Gilbert]

heh eric by low res did you mean "low colour"? ie. 256 colours?

[TheSaint]

thnx for feedback im glad u like it. here is hands improved version since me and artist havent understand each other first time.



ill add some shading to avoid total flatness with this colors and in the meantime i worked on few more chars.

Ghost: we kinda loved sprite/drawn look of older sierra games and think that 3D ruined the feeling of oldies in new Sierra games like qfg5 kq8 etc. but im curious how would it look like and my artist is lazy to do all animation sprites (so i will have to work on them myself) - so it would be nice to c how it could look like as 3D model. thnx for suggestion and all examples are welcome.

cheers,
TheSaint

[DeathWing]

I love your style. Looks very similar to the Shadows of Darkness box art, and  that's not a bad thing.  I would be interested to see that character to have a cloak,  and maybe a sword on his hip.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/covers/gameCoverId,211/gameId,119/

[TheSaint]

hehe thnx for image btw i just remembered that i have same one on my qfg manual/journal so i can look for some shadings there aswell.
dunno about sword coz i will have to draw and animate him while my artist mate is relaxing at seaside and i doubt there will be a cloak. at least at our start. who knows what this can grow into later.

cheers.
TheSaint

p.s.
btw are u guys interested in seing some other chars aswell?

[Chicky]

yes, we are

[TheSaint]

ok here is another one (i still havent shaded hero prolly will do it tomorrow):



what do u think about this one?

[Tiki]

Awesome!  He has a lot of character to 'im.  No real crits here,  though the his outline seems to be a little inconsistant here and there (legs, arms, etc).  But hey, that could just be me.  Once again, good job!

[YOke]

His thighs look a little wuzzy (read: thin) for a guy his size, and his feet a bit large and lumpy. This might be just what you've aimed for, so no real crit from me.

[TheSaint]

thats what we were aiming for
btw yea outline is incosistent  coz of scanning i will make it better later aswell.

regards