Shading and anatomy

[Mantra of Doom]

Hello all, I took a break from my game and now that I'm going back into it, I find that I really could improve the graphics with better shading and coloring. I'd like to get some opinions on my character and a background.. Any shading advice and coloring tips are appreciated. Also, feel free to chime in with anatomical or perspective tips as well. I haven't really been drawing in a while and I'm a bit rusty.

Some of you might remember me posting this character with different clothing. Well, this is the outfit she starts out in. A sweater with a hood (the dark parts on the elbows are patches, the dark bits on the front are pockets) and sort of flair legged jeans. Also, she's a vampire, but she's not a very good one.



This is just outside the vampire king's castle. When our hero above first gets here, there's a large thug standing in the doorway. Once the thug leaves, it becomes the entrance to the castle proper. I know it looks flat in some areas and kind of weird in others. The black parts are where the GUI goes. Any suggestions are welcome.

[Kangourou pas sympa]

Hi,
I'll not help you with shadow, because I don't do pixel art,
But just one or two thing,
I think you should reverse the oblique of the hip compared to those of the shoulders for more dynamism.
Here en example:


For your background, I have no time to explain in details now,
But You have some problem of perspective, and I don't understand why yours verticales are not.
Sorry if what I said was not about shadow, but I'll hope it will be helpful

[twentyfour]

First off, I like the design! She's a cutie. I agree with Kangourou in theory, but I actually like the flow of the front on/back poses. The flipped shoulders in Kangourou's edit makes her look a bit too... I dunno, sassy?

I'm not one to give advice on colour, but I will say she's too stiff in her profiles. Her neck would come out of the upper torso at more of an angle. I did a quick google search and found a lil doodle tutorial http://timflanagan.deviantart.com/art/Basic-Female-Torso-Tutorial-4782959

Her front and back have such a nice flow, it'd be nice to see that continued in the side views.

Good luck!

[Kastchey]

Hello all, I took a break from my game and now that I'm going back into it, I find that I really could improve the graphics with better shading and coloring.

I'm curious, does it mean you don't like it how the previous version of this cute vampiress turned out? The one with her wearing a short black dress? I personally find the previous shading style quite appealing, even if really simple.

[Mantra of Doom]

First off, thanks for the suggestions so far, I'll post up some edits later. I'm not sure if I'll fix the shoulder in this particular view because this is the outfit that she wears in the beginning of the game when she's shy. Later we'll see the return of the cute black and red dress when she gets a bit of sass

I'll be looking at that tutorial in a bit, I know the side poses are... not very good. I'm going to work on the poses and try my hand at shading a little and see how that turns out.

Edit: Fixed the side view and posted up the vampire outfit (slightly modified). Not sure if it's "mistress of the dark enough", but I  used Kangourou's idea to go along with the change in ...confidence level that the character gains after the costume change. Attempted some shading on the hair and boots of the right one... not sure if I will stick to the dithered style.



Also fixed the wacky leaning of the castle walls.

[Mantra of Doom]

I tried to rework a couple of things here, and starting throwing some shadows around. I also fixed the "vampire dress" to be a bit more interesting. I'm still lost on the side view, she looks weird, but I can't really figure out why or where to start.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Hudders]

The wall inside the castle gate that we can see is wrong. I would be tempted to remove the portion of sky and just have it all wall.

[Trent R]

The wall inside the castle gate that we can see is wrong. I would be tempted to remove the portion of sky and just have it all wall.

Agreed, we need to see some depth to it. It could also be darker.

As for the chick, I like her. Very cute and natural in that pose. I remember the one you posted a while back (same girl?) and enjoyed it as well.


~Trent

[Arboris]

Just a quicky, my usual way of shading characters. Using mspaint and only the draw tool I usually freehand either half cresent shapes around the edges and for things like long loose coats and dresses (or also her gloves in this case) I end with vertical  triangles at the bottom.

Most wrinkles occur at places that bend (elbow, shoulder, knee, pelvis and waist) but also at places where clothing ends (especially with the baggy pants she's wearing).

Now, this is 100% accurate of how clothing actually deforms. But it's pretty fast and easy to do. And the end result is usually not too shabby. (or atleast in my opinion it is )