Character Sprite - How can I improve him?

Stupot · Sat 29/03/2008 10:59:46

How is this looking for a sprite?
I tried shading the face, but I just can't do it

x1

x2

I'm basing my character on this guy:

miguel · Sat 29/03/2008 11:05:10

Hi Stupot, well I guess that you really don't need and should not shade his face. Because, In-Game, the light source(s) will not allways be on that side, so the shading wouldn't be correct.
You could try to choose a lighter color for the shading process as well and I would only aply it in places like the chin or cheeks or even for a contour line.
Ah, and the character looks cool!

I love the pants beeing too short, it gives him the 'mad' look!
hope I helped

ThreeOhFour · Sat 29/03/2008 11:40:44

Hi Stu,

Quick edit here man - I've stuck to your palette for the sake of sticking to your palette, but a few changes you should be able to see. When it comes to lighting, I generally favour top down, by the way - it makes it easier to get the characters fitting in with backgrounds since lights are on most ceilings.

Interesting choice of character... hope this is helpful

.

Afflict · Sat 29/03/2008 15:25:00

I agree that Top down shading is best, if you going to shade.

Stupot · Sat 29/03/2008 20:27:26

Yeh I see the logic in not having a side-shaded face... d'oh!
I've taken some direction from your paint-over, Ben.

x1

x2

Any other tips anyone? How can I make him more realistic?

vertigoaddict · Sat 29/03/2008 21:53:40

He looks too Symetrical, like as if you just drew oneside, copy (flipped it) and pasted it.

Try to make his body look less symetrical (and I don't mean just on the inside) his outlne should also be a bit different in places (few pixels higer, lower, etc)

he just looks too stiff.

Afflict · Sat 29/03/2008 22:18:11

Well he does look like that on the book

In all fairness that is his reference.

Stupot · Sat 29/03/2008 22:44:42

True... and I was also thinking in terms of halving my workload when it comes to making the walk cycle...
... nevertheless I has a go at making him a little less mirrored...

What do you reckon?

x1

x2

I added white shirt cuffs aswell.

TwinMoon · Sun 30/03/2008 02:00:37

Two suggestions:
- his mouth could look better if you added some black pixels on the left and right.
- his hands seem a bit small...

about those two shirt cuffs: when you're wearing a blazer/colbert and you raise your hands your shirt sleeves will stick out.
However, this isn't the case when your arms are lowered, there shouldn't be that much white visible. (unless you're making him wear a blazer that's too small for a comical effect)

I love the fact you're making Ade into a game character. (I'm a big fan of Bottom.)
And I like the outrageously orange hair you've given him.

Stupot · Mon 31/03/2008 18:05:48

I've had a go at shading him...
I think the Jacket turned out Ok, but I'm not so sure about the trousers...

x1

x2

I'm still not happy with his face either... am I using the wrong colours?

ThreeOhFour · Tue 01/04/2008 04:02:59

Hehehehe

skitzo · Tue 01/04/2008 04:26:20

Everything looks better with a bit of textured shading

Ryan Timothy B · Tue 01/04/2008 04:36:11

He isn't just going to walk/stand around with his mouth wide open all the time, is he? I don't know the person at all, but it does seem odd to have his character with his mouth wide open the whole game.

The Awesome · Tue 01/04/2008 05:22:52

well, it might be a good contrast against the legions of characters who never say a word throughout the whole game.

Stupot · Tue 01/04/2008 14:28:14

Hmm... maybe the open mouth is a bit much, but I want him to be quite crazy...

Ben, Good idea, he looks much better with the whites of his eyes showing.

I wanna get him perfect so that I can start work on a walk-cycle.

By the way if anyone is interested I have rigged up an Official Project Blog on my website. http://www.freewebs.com/thetoxicsock/Bastard.htm. Please feel free to have a look. I'm aware some people can't view the images on the page, I'll sort that out later...

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Tue 01/04/2008 19:26:34

Man, you really dropped the ball with this one, Stu. Bad anatomy, bad shading...and it doesn't even LOOK like the guy. I made an edit to fix this.

1. Emphasized his wavy hair with an 80's wave.

2. Shaded him top-down and fixed some colors.

REFERENCE

I'm really disappointed at how far off the mark you were. Try again.

skitzo · Tue 01/04/2008 20:00:22

Perfect likeness of Rick Astley... Lets see you make the entire video now

Edit by ProgZ: Please don't quote images/text directly above your post. It's unnecessary. Thanks!

Stupot · Tue 01/04/2008 23:33:58

Hehe, I would have fallen for it too if I hadn't read the next post...

Is mine really that bad?
I'm not particularly trying to get him to look much like Ade Edmonson, I'm just basing the character on him...
Any practical tip would be welcome, I really want to make this work.

Cheers

Afflict · Wed 02/04/2008 00:27:00

Wow I like that sprite

Well done ProgZ, I think he was April fooling you Stupot.

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Wed 02/04/2008 23:22:52

Since you asked me for an actual version, I took the basic dimensions and colors from the original and started over, including a little animation to show my progress.

1. Altered the skin tones and hair color for more contrast.

2. Redrew the body.

3. Reshaded him by adding a couple of extra colors.

4. Made the face look more like his face (maybe).

I got tired of looking at the reference because the guy is just so ugly and I don't know how close I came. It should give you some ideas, though, and hopefully you can follow the steps I took in the animation even though it's three frames. Keep at it!