Character - First attempt at a new sprite (WW2 Soldier)

Supersheep · Sun 16/12/2007 23:22:37

Okay i don't know if i'm breaking this Forum rules by posting this but i'm looking for a nice character template ( something i can use to paint over to make different charcters ) the reason behind this is because I'm REALLY poor at drawing to be honest and i really want to make a nice looking game. I'm looking for a monkey island style character template. I know its a lot to ask but if someone could give me a nice template i can use in paint ( only thing i have ) then that would be ace

From a crappy artist, thanks.

Oh and by the way, if anyone has any tips on how to get started that would be just as good. I've just read my post and it sounds like I'm a lazy ass but really its cause i cant draw as well as some of you guys can. Checked the contribution topic too.

Supersheep · Mon 17/12/2007 00:12:08

Okay scrap that. I know i'll probably just get people telling me to do it on my own so! I'm basically looking for some tips on where to get started on creating characters. Much like monkey island characters or maybe some like 5 days a stranger has. Just some nice pixel characters.

FrasierCrane · Mon 17/12/2007 00:28:59

Download "Lucasripper", use it on Monkey Island or another LA Adventure and rip the character graphics. So you can make a paintover and study them.

ildu · Mon 17/12/2007 00:33:48

This isnt really the proper forum to ask that. The Critics Lounge is meant to display your own artwork, be it created from a template or not. If you wanna ask for templates, you should do it in Adventure Talk, I guess. I like your attitude, though. You're not barging in equipped with CAPSLOCK and bad grammar, and you're humble about your skills as well as you're request.

My advice would be to just get a simple template and start with creating only poses without even thinking about animations. Just google an image of Guybrush or Indy, paint over it and post it here. As long as it's considerably reworked and you feel that you're stumped with it, people will generally respond well to it.

Paint can be a horrible little program in so many ways, so you should probably look into some freeware programs. Gimp is basically a poor man's Paint Shop Pro (and PSP is a poor man's Photoshop

), which is apparently good for pixel art as well: http://www.gimp.org/.

Here are some templates you might wanna look over:
Guybrush from MI2
Stan from MI2
Elaine from MI2
LeChuck from MI2
A monster from Doom

Supersheep · Mon 17/12/2007 00:44:13

Thanks for the tips. In the process of downloading Gimp. No doubt you'll see some alt. Guybrushes and Le Chucks from me soon. Hopefully by changing them i'll eventually learn some skill and be able to make my own characters.
Oh and Mods i do apologies for the post in the wrong forum. Move to the right forum if you wish

Cheers.

Supersheep · Mon 17/12/2007 06:11:26

Okay first attempt at changing Guybrush . It took me tens minutes so its not fancy i just took off his jacket,shaved the guy and cut his hair. All in all in happy just cant get the shading and the belt across his chest done properly.

Let me know what you think. (Yes i know i have sinned by cutting his hair, but it had to be done!)
P.S- please remember its my first time and it took me 10 minutes to do

I'll also try to paint over him and do something completely different next time. This does look like Guybrush i just wanted to see what i could do. Turns out its very limited at the moment but i'll keep trying.

ildu · Mon 17/12/2007 10:20:35

Doesn't look bad. He's just a little fat, due to the MI2 version having a jacket on.

markbilly · Mon 17/12/2007 18:21:28

I'm not a fantastic artist either, and I used Guybrush from MI2 as inspiration for a sprite in my game:

This is how he turned out, and a few of the different stages. You can use any of them as a template if you wish, so long as you make significant changes...

Supersheep · Mon 17/12/2007 20:03:21

Hey thanks, your idea of making him look a bit taller is great. I've gone with that. Okay another 10-15 min edit on guybrush here , hope you can tell who it is. Think I'm getting the hang of it i'm just unsure how to draw his legs and shading. For example on his jacket i only have 2 colours. Do you think it needs three? If so where should it be? Anyways. Heres my latest attempt. Any tips on shadowing would be great.

Can you guess who it is?

I know again its a simple change but i'm starting to get the idea of how to make people now. Still no where near creating from scratch but i'm getting better.

Still think something is wrong here i just cant put my finger on it.
EDITED - Jacket made a bit neater around the hands.

GreenBoy · Tue 18/12/2007 08:59:26

Its not George Stobbart is it?

Renal Shutdown · Tue 18/12/2007 11:18:15

Looks like a cross between non-blonded George Stobbart, Quasimodo and Jimmy Hill.

vict0r · Tue 18/12/2007 12:13:53

Looks like a surprised Guybrush with a haircut and new, bad, clothing.

Supersheep · Tue 18/12/2007 17:38:09

Quote from: vict0r on Tue 18/12/2007 12:13:53
Looks like a surprised Guybrush with a haircut and new, bad, clothing.

Yeah it is BAD clothing i know i can't draw but it is indeed George stobbart.

ManicMatt · Tue 18/12/2007 23:46:59

Well.. goodness knows why I try these things when I'm not much cop myself...

*Blonde hair with different hair style
*Less straight legs
*No Jimmy Hill Chin
*Extra detail on Jacket
*Terrible incomplete shading on legs, and a nicer colour for jeans.
*Lighter colours for eyes, mouth and face

He still needs plenty of work and you need to make him slimmer.

Supersheep · Wed 19/12/2007 01:48:24

That looks alot better than my attempts. Thanks a alot

Khris · Wed 19/12/2007 07:49:53

Oh Jesus. Mixed resolutions.

a) use the upscaled character as a raw template and paint over all blocky remnants.
-OR-
b) downscale the character before editing it (or use the original low-res version)

Supersheep, I assume you've only upscaled the sprite to show it bigger here in the forum. Don't do that, use the IMG tag's width param instead.

Just double or triple the sprite's width, then use

Code: ags

[img width=RESULT]

Nacho · Wed 19/12/2007 10:18:18

Why did you chose such a silly frame? Guybrush is in the middle of a talk animation, it makes him look silly if seen out of context.

Anyway, why Guybrush in MI2? MI2 Gb' s sprite was a great success as for "genetic" design, making him look a veteran, probably alcoholic and decadent pirate, as opposite to the young dynamic kid we saw in MI1, but it simply doesn' t work out of context. His pose looks rediculous out of that game. Too advanced head, too big back, too bent... It is a bad sprite for a template, Indy in Crusade, or Atlantis, or MI1 GB's looks better.

Anyway, Kris, there is no problem in redoucing sprites if you do it with the "change pixels size" feature.

And it' s been ManicMatt who did it. Manic is a great artist in many aspects, but working in low res is not his... speciality.

Supersheep · Wed 19/12/2007 12:44:51

I admit looking back it was a stupid frame to alter. I'll probably start working on Indy and try to get some different styles going. Looks like i still have alot to learn. Thanks for the tips guys. Your helping me alot.

ManicMatt · Wed 19/12/2007 18:55:41

Ha, thanks Nacho. Yes, I guess I should have mentioned that doing small pixels in a low resolution picture is a no no, but I was demonstrating some things that can be done to improve on the sprite, rather than take the piss.

Yes I just don't 'get' how to draw in low resolution. It's too technical for me, I can't see what I'm drawing!

Nacho · Wed 19/12/2007 20:29:44

There is a magnifyer icon in your paint program. Left click of the mouse on it, and then, left clicks on the image. The sprite will become bigger and you' ll be able to see better.

No need to thank me.