First Post, First Sprite, Hello!

[Iced Cola]

Hello everyone,

Long time listener, first time caller.  I've been wandering around for a little while and decided to register and post my first low-res image.

It was drawn on paper, scanned, and then digitally drawn and coloured.  I will probably be getting rid of the cigar at some stage, as I will try to do a walkcycle and think it will be hard enough without it.





Thought I'd start of with a character and then move slowly into a game if all goes well.

So, what do you like, what could be fixed?

Also, is this a good size for a character?  I wasn't sure what size to use, and chose this from looking at other art on here and from other games (such as MI).  I plan on using 320 x 200 resolution if I continue (although also not sure if this size is good, but it seems to be used by the games I have been playing).

Thanks everyone,
Matt

[Khris]

Welcome to the forums!

Very nice sprite, just some minor things:

-his right leg needs some shading beneath the coat
-the coat itself looks a bit like plastic and the lapel needs to be shaded less, it looks too thick
-in spite of the visible nose, sometimes the head seems to be straight which makes the hat look very off.
-his right foot is off, I'd flip it

[Ali]

Hello!

The character's stance and clothing seem to be of the noir detective variety, however his colour scheme has the sunny hues of a Warner Brothers' short. The contradiction  isn't bad, but it's something you should bear in mind when it comes to developing other characters and locations. I think it could be really interesting.

The character's size looks about right for 320x200, and perhaps you can save the cigar for an idle animation. 320x200 is very popular around here for several reasons, but mainly because of its nostalgic quality and because fewer pixels means less work.

Nice character, I look forward to seeing more!

[Iced Cola]

Thank you both for your replies.

KhrisMUC:
Good suggestions, you never see it until someone points it out.  I will go through your list and work on those areas.  I think I will definately need some more shadow/highlight work to change that plasic-like look.  Will change some pixels around the lapel and leg, and see what can be done with the foot and head.

Ali:
Yes, I was trying for more of a noir look.  I agree about the colours, but I am not sure  how to change them.  It could be an interesting look as it is, but it's not what I was planning as far as the rest of the characters / BG / game.  Any ideas on more appropriate colouring?  I found colouring hard from the start.

[Iced Cola]

Added shading to leg, changed lapel shading, blended and lessened highlight on coat.  Didn't do that much but I think it made quite a difference.

Edit: Changed colour to hopefully match the noir style more closely.  How does this look now?  I will be starting on the walk cycles, but I wanted to get the style and colouring right first (so I don't have to change all the walk frames).



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