Adventure Game Studio

Hello everyone, just registered to this forum...If there is an "Introduce yourself" thread somewhere then I apologize for not posting there first, I tried looking for one but I couldn't find it.

Anyway, I've started working on a new sprite recently but there is one small problem...I can't seem to sprite his legs and I'm finding it hard to start on them. Here is my unfinished sprite, tell me what you think.

(http://i37.tinypic.com/1ymw5x.jpg)

I was just wondering if anyone could edit this and give him some legs in the same style, that would be great. Thanks guy's!

(http://www.kweepa.com/step/ags/critics/newlegs.png)

Hi Samjwm!

Maybe you could post your attempts on the legs so we can tell you how to improve them? You will learn more if you do it yourself then just asking other people to do it for you.

Isn't that just a rip from The Dig?

Yes, you're right. It is a rip from The Dig but I have just edited it alot, if you notice the waist is alot more thinner than on the original and I've just messed around with the colours, etc. I love the look of the sprites in that game.

Right, I'm now going to start drawing his legs, I'm going to draw my own pair of legs so that it will look alot more original. I'll post another image when it's finished.  Also, does anyone have any ideas about what colour the trousers should be?

Okay, I have just drawn the legs. I'm not so sure about them though, tell us what I can do to improve them!

(http://i35.tinypic.com/a4snkl.png)

Well, the shading doesn't give a good sense of where the light source is. The arms look lit from the top, but the pants look lit from the front. The dark color of the pant outline is too dark or green. White shirt stands out too much. Grey or a tan from the pant would work better.

Thanks for the criticism Evil  :) I've edited it around a bit and finally made it to look like this, any better?

*Added more colours for shading.
*Changed pant outline.
*White shirt shade changed.


(http://i34.tinypic.com/sy6o8m.png)

Shirt looks better. Shading is nice. The sweater has too many colors though. I'm kind of regretting telling you to lower the contrast of the pants. I guess I meant that the middle tone was too light compared to the dark outline.

The grey of the boots should be darker or maybe a white so the boots look glossy. Changing the black to a dark grey would make the boots stand out less too.

What looks good up close looks odd when the pixel is at it's natural size. Always work with a thumbnail.

I didn't bother with limiting color but you could easily simplify it. I felt like his pants were too bulky for any khaki pants I've ever seen, so I decided to give him some flat-front docker styles. I kept the "tucked-in" thing you had going on, where his pants go into his boots, because I thought it looked pretty regal. Like someone willing to get dirty... just not wanting to get their pants dirty.

Once I thinned up his legs, it was obvious that his torso didn't have enough shape to it. I left out a flare where his shirt meets his pants because, well, that's just what happens when you tuck in your Kenneth Cole V-Neck sweater. =P

Over-all I think it gives him a much more interesting silhouette, and it makes sense visually on a small scale.

The last thing I did was make the boots more black than blue and put a little shine on them. It would be more visible on a dark floor than on a pastel pistachio BG, but I prefer pastels because it's easier to judge contrast and I prefer greens or gray-browns as BG colors because they're not colors I tend to use and they don't make me dizzy. Back on topic, I took the boots in one pixel to make it look like his feet are slanting  outward and forward instead of... sideways.

Hope I gave you some ideas! Looking forward to the next installment.




P.S.

Steve-
I think I crapped my ass.

Here's a few tips.

- Smaller sprites are easier to draw and restriction is a good thing.
- Less colours! The characters in The Dig only had like 15-16 colours, so try to stick with that or less.
- The posture needs to be more natural. Try replicating games you like, drawing characters on paper first and filling out the basic shape of your sprite with a single colour, before filling in the detail.

I'm not very good at drawing sprites, so I pretty much tried to replicate the style of Indy in the Fate of Atlantis, just to give you an idea.

(http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/1695/spritemk0.gif) (http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/1695/spritemk0.gif)
1x        4x

Have fun,
- Ravey

Wow, nice work with the sprites guys. Some brilliant ideas here. I'm going to re-draw the original sprite all over again now that I have some good advice under my belt. I'll post again once it's done.  :)
Also, is there any ready made palette's anywhere on the net I can download for coloring sprites at all, or will I have to make my own?
Thanks

I would also like to point out the thing that Ravey said about colors. I mean compare the detail on Raveys edit with four colors on the jacket and four colors on the trousers comparing to the edit by Questionable (sorry mate, don't mean to diss you, I know your edit is not focused on the colors and there is some automatic blurring going on there) with who knows how many colors. Also compare the posture, your character has kind of a basic posture, which does not much character in it. I mean with just one standing frame and posture you can tell much about the characters personality, if he's laid back or official. Okay, if you choosed so, your character kind of reflects some officialness and stiffness, if that is your purpose.

Quote from: zabnat on Sun 31/08/2008 02:02:30
I would also like to point out the thing that Ravey said about colors. I mean compare the detail on Raveys edit with four colors on the jacket and four colors on the trousers comparing to the edit by Questionable (sorry mate, don't mean to diss you, I know your edit is not focused on the colors and there is some automatic blurring going on there) with who knows how many colors. Also compare the posture, your character has kind of a basic posture, which does not much character in it. I mean with just one standing frame and posture you can tell much about the characters personality, if he's laid back or official. Okay, if you choosed so, your character kind of reflects some officialness and stiffness, if that is your purpose.

No by all means, man; I agree. It's probably the most given piece of sprite advice: Less Color.

People usually wind up muddling their image because they think they need to blend stuff in... well, you don't. Were dealing with very small visuals here! The human eye tricks itself into seeing more colors than there actually are. So, if we're going to see 16 colors if there are 16 colrs or 3, wouldn;t it be better to use 3? Smaller file size, easier to animate, easier to manipulate and if you really need another color to add some pop, you have 13 more chances.