JP & Cosmo II - some characters

Darth Mandarb · Thu 16/12/2004 06:56:56

As some of you already know, I have been working on the sequel JP & Cosmo.Ã,Â I haven't announced it in the GiP yet, because I don't feel I'm far enough along.

I am, however, at the point where I want to start getting some feedback on the art work.

Here are some of the characters you'll meet in the game:

From left to right they are: JP, Cosmo McGillicuddy, Endipity, Admiral Hoenes, Lt. Oscar, and a soldier.

I'm pretty pleased with them, but the CL has always been a great help to me and if I can improve on these I'd really like to!

The only thing I won't change is their slightly over-sized heads.Ã,Â I like the style and want to stick with it.Ã,Â It's kind of my thing

Any feedback is appreciated!

sergiocornaga · Thu 16/12/2004 07:29:52

They're absoloutley perfect in every way. Don't listen to anyone's feedback! They will only destroy them!!!!

[Cameron] · Thu 16/12/2004 07:39:32

Quote from: SURGEThey're absoloutley perfect in every way. Don't listen to anyone's feedback! They will only destroy them!!!!

Hmmm.....

I concur!

jetxl · Thu 16/12/2004 11:54:28

I might be your style, but the characters all have this suprised look on their faces. You could give them different facial expressions that fit with the character.
Cosmo is familier in space, so he should look a bit bored.

Bombadil · Thu 16/12/2004 12:30:35

Man, you're a genius!

poc301 · Thu 16/12/2004 12:44:48

Wow, those are really awesome. I wouldn't change them either.

Squinky · Thu 16/12/2004 15:18:42

Like most of your stuff Darth, they look great. Theres really no advice to give.....

* Squinky hopes to get another secret pm with more cool stuff from Darth....

loominous · Thu 16/12/2004 15:26:22

Some quick modifications to the main char:

x4 zoom

While I like the style of all of them, the lack of depth bothered me, so I added some lighting.

I also did some alterations in his face which unfortunately made him look younger, and I wasn t able to correct this without altering his facial features too much.

Solid style, looking forward to the game.

Darth Mandarb · Thu 16/12/2004 16:46:02

loominous - excellent, thanks!Ã,Â While I am not going to use that many colors you've shown me what I was having trouble achieving!Ã,Â I originally had more high light colors, but just couldn't make it look right.

Squinky - keep an eye on your PM's

Thanks to the rest for the positive feedback!Ã,Â It keeps me inspired!

Here is an updated JP character:

I basically did what loom did, only I did it with less colors.Ã,Â

I love this Critics Lounge.Ã,Â I was pretty happy with the characters as they were, but now, when comparing the new JP to the old ... It's night and day!Ã,Â Thanks loominous!

As I update the other characters I'll post them as well!

Nacho · Thu 16/12/2004 17:31:19

Why I am staring at a sprite, finding nothing bad, and then comes Loominous and nails a knife into my little heart of my critic spirit in a two frames gif?

Fuck you!

Darth Mandarb · Thu 16/12/2004 17:51:59

Argh ... it was supposed to match the background color ... oh well.

I have applied hi-lighting to each of the characters now.Ã,Â And there's a new character being shown.Ã,Â He is the antagonist of the story ... the military leader of the 'bad guys' who is planning to over throw his government and wage war against the Alliance of Galactic Societies.

Chicky · Thu 16/12/2004 18:03:31

Great sprites! But the guns really get to me. They're perfectly horizontal in both pictures, make them tilted a bit and add a little more shading on the grey area.

Looking forward to JP!

strazer · Thu 16/12/2004 18:12:38

Great stuff!
It may be my monitor or the light background in these forums, but I can hardly make out Admiral Hoenes' facial features. I would make his skin a tad bit lighter.

Indie Boy · Thu 16/12/2004 19:21:12

Very niceÃ,Â

Just for an a idea, like what chicky had said, it would be nice if the end of the gun was tucked under the soldier's arm a bit instead of it resting on the front of his arms

btw your refelctions look great

big brother · Thu 16/12/2004 19:47:18

I like the character designs, but as loominous stated earlier, they look kind of flat. Also, a few of the characters have very poor contrast. For instance, the character on the far right's skin and cloak have nearly the same color saturation. From a distance, he looks a bit muddled.

As for your shading, the value changes between each shade is very gradual. This is generally ok for backgrounds, but you want your sprites to stand out, not blend in.

As a third crit, their stances are very symmetrical, in fact, some of them almost look like the left and right side are mirror images. When people stand naturally, the lines of their hips and shoulders will never be parallel. One shoulder will dip slightly, and the hipÃ,Â on the same side will be higher than the other one. If this isn't clear, you can look up the term contrapposto for further reference.
It would be great if you could draw your characters in more dynamic poses so they won't look like stiff tin soldiers.

I'm not trying to be overly harsh, I only want to help you improve.

Darth Mandarb · Thu 16/12/2004 20:46:32

strazer - it looks the same on my monitor ... but in-game it appears much lighter for some reason.Ã,Â I'm not sure why this is happening and I've had to make it dark here so it'll show up like I want it in-game.Ã,Â Wierd ...

chicky, potter, & big brother - these poses will never be in the game.Ã,Â The characters do look like this but I use these poses more as 'models' for the characters.Ã,Â But in game they're almost always in motion and animated.Ã,Â So guns, shoulders, hips, etc won't be this 'posed'.

big brother - be as harsh as you want!Ã,Â I'm used to critism and it makes me work harder!Ã,Â It's exactly the reason I posted in here!Ã,Â I'll get to playing with the contrast and color values to make the characters 'pop'!Ã,Â Thanks for the tip!Ã,Â Do you feel that my edits still look too flat?Ã,Â

Here are two backgrounds (still in progress) from the game to give you a little taste of the graphical style:

Anarcho · Thu 16/12/2004 20:57:44

These look great Darth! I'm trying to think of some C&C besides praise, but I can't think of anything! Keep it up, please.

Nacho · Thu 16/12/2004 21:19:42

You've saved the fishes!!! Yay!!!

Moox · Thu 16/12/2004 21:24:26

Brilliant darth, are you going to use the same wall collapse when you enter for the bgs?

Darth Mandarb · Thu 16/12/2004 21:36:22

Quote from: LostTraveler on Thu 16/12/2004 21:24:26Brilliant darth, are you going to use the same wall collapse when you enter for the bgs?

Yes indeed!Ã,Â The technique is coded differently, but it looks the same.Ã,Â Just a little more efficient.

Farlander - Yes, those are the same fish from the first game!

Anarcho - thanks!Ã,Â It's always nice to hear!