: Sprites and Backgrounds : Sci-fi, normal, fantasy within

[Mr Flibble]

I've accumulated a collection of sprites and backgrounds.. I feel like getting some feedback. Some of this stuff I feel to be finished but I'd like to show some of the veterans who remember my earlier works (nb: they were dire) that I have improved!

First off, it's a... it's a unicorn I drew for my girlfriend.
Don't laugh, she loved it.
Anyway, I'm more interested in showing the nice shading. The outline is very strong here, and thats because I make shameless  use of a photo reference. First or second on google image for "horse" I think.



Of course, once you start telling people you can do art they all want portraits...


This would be a chibi version of my friend Declan.


And my friend Betty, who likes Amercian McGee's Alice in Wonderland.


These images I don't really need any feedback on as much. But now... the important stuff.
The stuff from games.

I'll soon be making a game called Stellar Drift, a sci-fi adventure with a strong basis on character-focused story.






This second one looks a bit off. I have a side view too, but that'll be on my other computer. I'll upload it later. I'm actually damned pleased with the 3/4 view sprite, even though I say so myself here.

And finally, an unfinished background for the same game. To be used in a cutscene, so the fact that there's no room for actual adventuring is fine with me.


I like what I have so far with this one, but I've run out of fresh ideas for the rest of the spaces. Right, thanks to anyone who bothered to sit through all this. All comments are welcome

[gypsysnail]

All your sprites and backgrounds look excellent! I would give some feedback on the background in some areas. I feel where the light green hill in the distance has a lot of space, you could add a darkish grass up that hill all over, and maybe some trees..... also in the distance what could be in the horizon? A building? or maybe just some trees. And the brown hill in the distance... is this an even more distant mountain? An idea maybe would be to make it look bluish green, or maybe a darker brown. What were you intending that one mountain to be? maybe some very tiny trails on those hills might work? very tiny among trees..... or would they be sort of like sand dunes... just some ideas to toss around. Hope I could help . Again you have drawn some great stuff and I love the unicorn!! Brillant piece of work.

[Babar]

I really can't complain about the sprites, they look excellent (perhaps the 3/4ths view of the man's right leg is a little crooked?), but about the BG, while it's difficult to say anything before it's complete, the depth looks a little off to me. It took me a second to realise that it's a cliff above a huge tract of forest. I was wondering at first why the trees are so tiny right upto the main player area. While I'm no expert at emphasising parts of a picture, I'd assume it's got something to do with  adding contrast and light. I'll let someone more knowledgeable than me explain that . Perhaps the trees should reduce in size a bit as you go further back? If this is a mountainous area (as it seems from the fir trees), you could give stuff a bluish tinge as it moves back? Maybe even a mountain range in the far background?

Here are some references. I'm assuming that you're making a mountainous area, otherwise these are pretty irrelevant:

http://free.7host03.com/nomixp/nomi/group/kaghan/2.jpg

http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/16507/naran.jpg

[Mr Flibble]

Yeah I should probably make it clearer that the trees are further away, I'll make an adjustment and post it tonight. I was thinking moreso rolling hills and valleys than your actual factual mountains, I'm just not sure what I can put in. More trees seem too boring but things are gonna be drawn so small that I can't do much else. Different kinds of tree, maybe.

And thanks for your kind words on the sprites, too. I did often feel I did sprites better. You may notice, in places, that I colour my backgrounds as if they were just large sprites.. I don't know if that's efficient or not, really.

Looking again, the perspective in the background may be a tad skewed. Does it need further hills to be visible above the horizon? Also that distant hill needn't necessarily be brown, I was just blocking colours.

Edit.

Well once Hannah heard about the charicatures, she wanted one. May as well post it, complete the set. Yeah, okay, I'm just showing off now. 



I knew I had better versions.





Side view needs more work than the others. You see, the others have been re-made and re-made a hundred times, this is newer.



Also, an alternate version of the 3/4 one. He's got a different face here, any opinions?



And here, an unfinished background. I want to depict squallor and decay ..and a lot of mess. However, anything else I add just looks like sloppy drawing. Pixel art is precise, it's hard to draw random crap¬¬.

[Ubel]

Wow, Mr Flibble, those are some really good backgrounds! I especially love the shading in the latest one! Although it looks a bit empty in the middle. You could add a carpet or something on the floor. Or perhaps some more carbage, like empty cans of coke or some clothes.

And that horse sprite looks amazing! You've done a good job with all this!

[Mr Flibble]

I'll jam out some continuations of the backgrounds over the coming week.

Anyone have any preferences about the sprites, though? I can't decide if I like the original 3/4 view or the alternative one, with the simpler face. I think I prefer the first one, even though the second is more recognisably a face.