An old sprite, revisited, revamped

[Captain Lexington]

I've taken up an old project, and I've decided to the sprites in a less cartoony direction. Hence I've unoutlined this guy.






I'm looking for a simple, clean, but realistic (ha!) style that shouldn't be too much trouble to maintain when animating. The tone of the game is definitely serious. Think Triby's Notes. Thanks in advance!

PS I have a gut feeling that strong anatomy was a key to TN's look, and I'd particularly appreciate any direction there.



EDIT4:



The skin colors are different because I'm currently indecisive about which skin palette I should go for.

Changes:
*Lowered the bottom of the blazer; it looked like he had a corduroy tuxedo on before. Dropped even further.
*Added some shading to certain places
*Removed a good deal of shading
*Removed even more hsading
*He has pockets now
*Lowered pockets
*Separated the lapels
*Sloped up shoulders
*Replaced a lot of edging color with shading color
*Added the buttons.
*Moved lapels a bit too
*Stole colors new suit colors from Damien
*Side-view now too.


EDIT2: Oops I forgot to include the new shadow color in the palette; I'll get that later.

[Eric]

I found out this week that I'm horrible at pixel art, so take these comments with a grain of salt.

First of all, because I'm a novice, it took me forever to figure out that the thing floating about his shoulder is just your palette, and not part of the sprite. Stupid me. But the palette is what stands out to me on this. I like that you're sticking mostly to one neutral color range, with the pop of red from his tie. Tim Gunn would approve.

At the smallest level, I wonder if the color of brown you're using for the detail might need to be slightly darker. I have a harder time reading some of the finer features at that size. I might just need new glasses though.

The best thing is, now that I've seen this guy, just in this one image, I feel like I know some things about him, and I want to know more. That, to me, is a sign of a good sprite.

[Captain Lexington]

@Eric: Thanks! That's exciting to hear! Those expectations have a bit to do with the game actually; can I ask what it is you are inferring?

Also, do you mean the detail color for his face or for his suit?

[Eric]

Well, here's a cold reading of the character. If I get it wrong, don't hate me!

He's secure enough to let himself go grey, combed back from a neat widow's peak. No smile present. Dark glasses. Red tie with a neutral suit? That's the definition of a power tie. And a pocket square to match the shirt. A serious, calculating fellow.

[Ghost]

Very nice sprite, and I like how you make the small palette go a long way. He looks muscular, though; I would add another medium-dark shade to the clothes to refine them- some more wrinkles/shadows on legs and upper chest area- that's about all I'd change, it really is a nice, clear sprite already.

[Captain Lexington]

Thanks to both of you!

@Eric: I'm very interested you noticed those things. They are true character traits of his, but not traits I'd set out to convey. Not that I'd been trying to hide them, though. So it works out!

@Ghost: I'm extremely pleased to hear that! Shading and texture have always been my weak points (after anatomy, perspective, and animation), however, so I'm not sure where to go there. I've included an updated sprite in the original post.

[Eric]

I've included an updated sprite in the original post.

I admit that I did think it was a tuxedo. I still think the blazer could be further lengthened, to look more blazer-ish. I'd also lower the pockets a bit, carry one lapel over the other, and add some buttons. I hope you don't mind that I took a few minutes to poke around at your image:




You could easily do a three-button suit by splitting the difference between pixels, but it doesn't read as well:



Hope you find this helpful and not intrusive!

[Captain Lexington]

@Eric: I the opposite of mind: I'm extremely grateful! I checked it out super-zoomed in examine your magic.  I fiddled around a bit and have made another version.

[Eric]

fiddled around a bit and have made another version.

Looks good! That pocket square is the bee's knees.

[Damien]

A quck paintover:




1) original sprite
2) removed shading, shoulders modified
3) some color corrections, low contrast made details hard to notice
4) shaded the sprite once more

I probably went overboard with this edit but it was fun, nice sprite. :)

[Captain Lexington]

@Eric: Thanks! I'm pretty partial to it myself.

Damien: :o That is an excellent paintover! Unfortunately, I'd say a little TOO good. I think it would be too difficult for me to maintain that level of detail during animations.

I however really like your shoulders, hair, and new palette. I may have to steal some of those things, if that's acceptable; and here I thought I was almost satisfied!

[Captain Lexington]

Original post updated! Thanks again Damien!

[Eric]

Watch out for your skintones staying the same on that last edit. I like the high deep hairline revealed by the profile shot.