My Sprite Thread - Zombies! 4-way views and walkcycle.

[Nine Toes]

Hey, that's pretty cool.  Good job.

Now that you mention it... he does shit when he walks, doesn't he?  I guess I'll have to find the frame that is off and correct it.

Yeah, I've been working on the back leg and the back arm, I'll post it when I finish.

[Nine Toes]

I finally got around to making a female counterpart for the above sprites.  I'm not too happy with it... I mean, it looks okay from the front, but the side view doesn't looks so good.  It's close... but it just needs a little something... can anyone help me out?

Here is the sprite, and the male sprite from above for comparison...

Drawing the female sprite was quite a pain in the butt... I was constantly forgetting that females have more "petite" frames as opposed to males.  The first couple female sprites ended up looking kinda like Chyna.  

NOTE:  If you think her head looks football shaped, look closer, and you'll see that it's just her ears that make her head so funny shaped.

I guess while I'm at it, I'll show off some other sprites I cooked up...

[TheYak]

I think the females you've done are rather in keeping with the rest of your character sprites.  You're right about that side-view, though.  I think it's because 1) the posture's almost as rigid as can be, nearly a military-style stand at attention - maybe if you let her relax her arms a bit and have the knees bent or feet spread apart from one another . . . 2) From the waist down, she's nearly rectangular.  You've given the male character more curvature for his side view.  If you can give her hips and maybe a little curvature to the legs, it would do wonders.  

Nice job, by the way.  It's a very good, clean style and it shouldn't be too difficult to animate now that you've gotten some of the animation with the dude out of the way.

[big brother]

Ok, here's some tips on drawing chicks. (Hey, that kinda rhymes!)



1. JEWELRY
The first and most important improvement. You'll notice that I added two gold bracelets. Women love jewelry. If you have a chance, visit the local Kay's (or whatever your proud mall boasts) and take special note of the female customers and their frightened looking male counterparts. I gave her two bracelets so you could flip her really easily, preventing nitpicking scalawags from saying "ah-HA! What a lazy artist..." (If I had a nickel for every time someone said this, my brother would be one poor dude.)
I also changed her locket to a gold color. The color contrast works better, and besides, women love gold because it impoverishes their partner (somehow proving undying love. Don't ask me how).

2. FIGURE
This is the second most important feature. Without out it, few women get married (unless they already own lots of number 1). The female figure includes several sub-sections, which I will talk about in greater detail. In this picture specifically, FIGURE meant shortening her and giving her a more natural pose (contraposto, although pudika would be more traditional). Elbows (and frequently knees) tend to bow in.
   
A. BOOBULAR REGION
Commonly called "man's best friend," the BOOBULAR REGION can be quite difficult to draw. I'm sure I don't exaggerate when I say most of your audience is quite an expert on this female region. Just one or two misplaced pixels could end your fans' respect for your artistic abilities.
   
B. COLOR
I thought her former skin color looked a bit pasty, so I provided her with a bit of a tan. (Free of charge!) For some reason, this kind of melanin arrangement is frequently found to be more attractive than a porcelin complexion. I also changed her hair color, giving it dark brown highlights instead of gray ones.
   
C. HIPS
This region is generally found to be shoulder width (about) in most females. The reason for this can be found under "Babies, Making." Female HIPS also tend to turn forwards, lending shape to another region commonly called "man's best friend": the beehive. Information on this topic is so extensive many books and magazines dedicate their content to it. And I always thought they were books for farmers about donkeys. Oh well.

I'm not sure I remember what else I was gonna write, but that last section was definitely my favorite.
   
Anyways, if you still have problems or need reference, I suggest using the internet. It will astound you with the sheer bulk of research people have gathered on the female form.

I apologize in advance to any females who might've been offended at this post. Tomorrow I will post an in-depth analysis of the MAN. (The world will not be ready)
(Editor's note. Tomorrow there will be no posting on the masculine anatomy. If you've seen one, you've seen them all.)

[BerserkerTails]

Big Brother: BRILLIANT!

[Chicky]

Absoluttley Brilliant Big Bro,

you have some real talent there. I really dont know what t say apart form i really like the doctors new sprites espicially the robot one  

can i just say that even though your character obviously has a very strong manly feel about him i think he should still slightly more slacked arms, just sayin

newayz keep it up

-a chicken

[Rincewind]

Yeah, I agree, the original was a bit too butch and overall un-feminine, so I think Big Brother got a few points with his edit - Especially the way she holds the arms, I'd say. You don't see girls going around holding their arms like that in real life, unless they are holding their breath, ready to enter a battle or something...

Dig the other characters, though - Looking forwards to more shots from the game...  
(And another thing: Who is that headbanging like a rabid James Hetfield on speed in your signature? I'm curious...)

[Nine Toes]

Here's my edit.  I took your advice on the skin tone, and I tweaked a few pixels.  I tried to define the hips more, added some more jewelry, I fixed the mouth to make it look more narrow, and I fixed the side view of the face and added more curvature to the body.  I also made the breasts smaller, I kinda thought they were too big to begin with.  I tried to edit the shoulders to make them look more slack, but it just wasn't working for me.

I liked BigBro's edit, but I'm going to stay close to my original design because it will make it easier for me to animate it.

Over all, I'm happy with how it looks.  The only thing I really want to change is the hands.  I'd like them to be more open/casual instead of balled up fists.  Anyone have any suggestions?

Rincewind: The guy in my sig is Mick from Slipknot.  It's a clip from the Disasterpieces DVD.  I just thought it looked cool, so I put it in my sig.  

[Ben]

Nice.. I think you might want to make the hips wider in the front view, though. Also, I think the face looks a bit too masculine.. I think making the mouth narrower in the front and elevating the back of her head in the side view would help.

As for the hands.. I think Big Brother's edit explains better than I could. Make the arm more vertically straight above the elbow, and have it turn out and forward slightly below the elbow.. That would give the arms a more relaxed pose. After that, you should be able to draw the hands in a more comfortable position.

[Hueij]

I don't know what kind of character she is but for a more feminine look you could also (next to Ben's and Big Brother's suggestions) move her feet together. The way she stands in the front view looks abit agressive. That way you could also accent the curve of the hips a little.

[Layabout]

Dude, the boobs look wrong, she has no arse, her arms are slightly chubby when the rest of her is thin, and her legs and feet are way too big. Her face is very 'manish' as well.

go to http://polykarbon.com (i think, but i know the link is in the art tut sticky thread), there are some fantastic female drawing tutorials (even though they are manga/superheroish), they are still very good and would probably help you out. Your best bet is to get some dirty mags and try to draw on paper the naked chicks in various poses as it will help you get to grips with the female body.

Ta-Da!

[big brother]

Dirty mags? Wow, you put it so bluntly.

I think the preferable term is "anatomical research periodicals."

[Ben]

I prefer to call them my "medical journals".


Here's an edit I did:



I tired to keep it in the same style, just changing the anatomy. In the front view, I brought the hips up a little higher, changed the shape of her torso to make it meet the hips at a gentler angle, and brought the arms closer to her body. I also took a pixel of either side of the mouth. In the side view, I tried to make her face look a little more feminine. I took the shading off the bottom of her nose, and raised the back of her head to make her hair look thicker. Also made her hair a little more "wavy". I amde her arms a little thinner, and made the hands more relaxed. I also tried to make the "arse" a little more pronounced, and tried to make her breasts more realistic by making them less "perky" at the top.

I always feel like an asshole when I draw women  

[earlwood]

Great progress, I't starting to look alot less like a crossdresser (mean that in the best way possible).

But 3 things:

The eyebrows,the dark under the eyes, and the oddly square nose  makes her look apelike.

[Nine Toes]

Porn?  All I can say is I don't have a shortage of that!  ...I just never thought they'd be useful for anything other than... uh... nevermind...

Actually, I've been consulting my anatomy book (even though it's How To Draw Anime) when I can't figure out how something should look.

Here is a new sprite I whipped together.

It's a zombie.  As you can see, his hands are open, I fixed that on all my sprites, and he's a lot thinner than my male sprite.  This zombie is, of course only the first of a couple, so the other's will look more like actual zombies (blood and guts and missing limbs etc...).

This is the walkcycle... I tried to make it seem like he drags his right foot, and kind of lurches forward when he walks (kind of like he sees something good to eat)
Here's the animation: (pardon the funny color scheme due to .gif compression)


I don't know, what do you all think?  (Snake, Fizz, Colossal, and any other zombie fans here?)

BTW, I want to let you all know I appreciate all of the help you've given me thus far.    It really helps me, whether I use your advice or not.

[Ben]

Heh.. Love the zombie walk. One thing I'd seggest is to make his arms move. You could have his right arm swing like a dead weight, and maybe have his left arm bob up and down a little. That would make him look more alive.. er.. undead.

Also, maybe make his skin slightly greenish or purple, and take the pupils out of his eyes. That would make him look more zombie-ish.

[Fizz]

first of all, nice to see someone FINALLY doing some zombies!

BUT: i think the smashed leg makes it look a little static... maybe if you added some movement to the leg?

you should check out an animation Helm did for a sprite jam ages ago. theres a zombie walking sorta like yours (it gets killed by a flying bunny in the end of the animation?!) it should be possible to find it somewhere.

i love zombies... *sigh*

let me know if you need any help id be more than willing to help out




theyre coming to geeeht you Barbaraaaaah.....  !!!

[Nine Toes]

Hmm... I really don't need help with anything at the moment... hold on, I'll PM you.