Japanese girl (first real try at pixeling, shading etc.)

[Totoro]

Okay, I want to get more serious about pixeling characters. I used a reference cg as a reference for the basic outlines, but I made colouring, shading etc. all by myself. I know the shading is still very basic, but I would like to keep it simple so that the character could possibly be animated. I am also not happy with the face yet... it looks a bit scary to me  So I am happy about any advise to improve it a little

[Kinoko]

Great sprite!

Do you want her to be actually Japanese or just anime-style "Japanese"?

If the former, make her eyes black, and her hair black (otherwise the school would probably dye it and she's get in trouble... unless she's at a foreign school but then she'd probably not be wearing a sailor uniform). Also, she should be carrying her mobile in one hand (with at least 50 straps on it, Mickey Mouse and Pooh) and a colourful face towel in the other, which she uses to cover her mouth with 50% of the time. (You got the bowed legs just right!)

Otherwise, it's great ^_^ I actually like the simply shading you've used.

If you want to soften the face a bit, darken her eyes a tad and give her more "black" area... not a one-pixel sized pupil. I would also make her face shape less angular and bring the "cheeks" down a little lower. The lips are nice... does she need eyebrows?

If you want to make her a little cuter, replace the seperate nostrils with just a little line indicating where the tip of the nose is. Also, give her a bit of black around the top of her eyes to give the appearance of eyelashes.

[Khris]

Hey, that's a cute one, but it isn't your first, is it?

I've edited the face, mostly according to Kinoko's suggestions, widened her neck and thighs and hinted at the chest
Edited the shoes a bit, too.

x2

[scotch]

As Kinoko pointed out, it's hard for her to look Japanese with so few Japanese traits, the bright green eyes, red brown hair and pointed nose make her seem to me more like a member of staff aboard an American cruise ship, rather than a Japanese schoolgirl, so if you do want people to realise she's Asian without spelling it out I'd edit it further, something like

If it's your first try, it's excellent, by the way.

[Totoro]

Wow,  :o the face really looks much better now. Thank you, Kinoko for your advise, and thank you to Khrismuc and Scotch for the paint overs. It does not look that much complicated, but really much better. I will copy it in my paint programme and look exactly at how you did that.  I really love what you two did with the eyes and the lips!
It is my first real sprite indeed, but, as I said at the top, I pixeld over a CG, as recommended in Eric's famours tutorial
Kinoko: I am not definetely going for a "Anime" or "Manga" style, but does not 100% have to go for a realistic style either... so some blond Japanese are acceptable

[Corey]

shall i get you some pictures of typecal japanese school girls??

[scotch]

You know where to find pictures of Japanese schoolgirls? on the Internet??

[Paper Carnival]

The feet are still not right, especially in the paint over

They shouldn't close like this:
\   /

They have to open at least a little bit like this:
/    \

I hope that makes sense.

You know where to find pictures of Japanese schoolgirls? on the Internet??

*giggles*

[Corey]

You know where to find pictures of Japanese schoolgirls? on the Internet??

yeah but i'll get them from a movie. Atleast I won't get porn then.

[Totoro]

They have to open at least a little bit like this:
/    \
I hope that makes sense.

I know what you mean and I want to thank you for pointing it out, but many Japanese girls actually have their feet like that \  /   
(I think that's what Kinoko meant about the bowed legs)

[lo_res_man]

I believe the proper term is "pigeon-toed"

[Paper Carnival]

Oh. I didn't know that... You learn something new every day

So, now I say that it's just perfect and it doesn't need anything more to it

[Tuomas]

That's the cowboy position, right? Like, cowboys walk like they were still on a horse... Even though you keep the feet turned in, I'd still like to see the knees brought a bit more together, or maybe it's just my kinky mind, but try it, won't hurt

[SpacePirateCaine]

Yeah, Japanese girls tend to become a bit bow-legged and pigeon-toed because of the necessity in Japan to sit in 'Seiza' (Sitting on your calves, essentially, with knees in the front) as often as they do in school (During school assemblies, many formal sports and the like). This leads to the bow-legged look.

Kinoko - your assession of Japanese schoolgirls amuse me to no end, mostly 'cause it's so true. Also, just for reference if you're going to be making a game that has a good number of students in school uniform, that's a summer outfit; so the boys will be wearing white polo shirts and navy slacks, and you may also consider having a few of the girls wearing their gym pants underneath their skirts; the 'bad' girls, ironically, seem to be the only ones who exercise this particular form of modesty.

As far as hair is concerned, even that slight brown is still too much for the Japanese school system. As Kinoko said, in Japan students are required to have black hair unless they're foreign or in a foreign school. So I'd bring it down to a very dark gray, and give it light gray, or bluish highlights. That is, of course, if you're going for some form of realism. As you can see in most Japanese cartoons, this doesn't stop them from coloring their characters' hairs any way they feel like.

[Totoro]

Kinoko, SpacePirateCaine... it's a bit off topic at this point, but I am "back to Japan" in April 

[Las Naranjas]

It's easy to be misled by the portion of the Japanese inferiority complex that gives rise to a standard of beauty dominated by anything that's not Japanese looking. Stupid anti-nihonjinron.

[Kinoko]

Sorry to bring this topic up again but... Las Naranjas, what? o_O Translation please.

[Las Naranjas]

Fun history lesson. In the Heinan period, in the wake of Korean domination, the artwork reflected aesthetics that looked like Koreans rather than the mongrel Malay-Korean of the average Japanese.

Rocket forward to the past 60 years. Work it out.

[Kinoko]

I still don't understand what you're trying to say

[Totoro]

What he wants to say that Japanese people have a complex and always think that foreign stuff is better than Japanese stuff. But I just do love my Japanese sprite