Help in my first low low res character

[Alarconte]

LAST EDIT IMAGE:

Scale x3







Good day/evening/night.

I normally draw in med-high res (as anyone could see in the Galactic Battlefare game thread), but I was thinking this months from time to time in making some little games, (MAGS, short games, etc) as paralel project to my GBF.

I normally love low res graphics, more minimalistic the better, but I haven't ever draw in low res. I make this character in a couple of minutes, and I need some help, cause I have problems wondering if this is the better way to draw the eyes, and another size-measure things.


(new images in posterior posts)



x3


I haven't using any classic character scale, the character is from scratch...

PD: The resize is blured, I don't know If I can do nothing to solve it.

[Tuomas]

Hi, I'm sorry I can't make a paintover to make it clearer, but I'll try to explain some tips:

the expression on him looks blurry because there are too many colours and not enough contrast between them. With such a low resolution you might not need more than 2 colours to point out the highlights, mostly facial outlines, nose and chinshadow etc. Also, the eyes are white, which is a bad choise. He looks glassy-eyed. Usually looking at people youi see pupils and the colours around them. A somewhat soft blue or brown might do better to make them stand out.

Also, he's a bit stiff. The shoulders don't need to be that up, AND the arms of a human usually extend halfway down their thigh, I'd day about 6-5 pixels lower in your picture.

the suit looks nice, though the chest looks odd. The collar looks way too exaggerated, and I'm not sure what you're looking for with it, as the tie is a lot smaller.

[Alarconte]

I remake a little the sprite... But I make a lot of changes in the face and maybe I still prefer the first one.... Anycase, say what you guys think about the old and the new head

OLD


NEW

[Alarconte]

I'm still hoping for some help, about the past change.

I suposse is better to work from a nude pattern (I ever make nude patters first, and put diferents clothes and faces for diferents characters later)

How are this patterns?




x3

[LRH]

I'm certainly no expert on graphics, but If I could make a suggestion, it would be that the hands don't come in front of the legs as much as they do. At x3 Zoom, you can tell what is going on, but at the smaller size it almost looks as if the waist is very small on your character.  But otherwise, terrific, I like it Plus you may want to take this suggestion with a grain of salt, as I said, I am no expert.

[Evil]

This isn't a great paintover.

When you're working this small, the head kind of needs to be out of proportion in order to look comfortable. I don't care for working with nudes first, but I did them anyway. The smaller one keeps the same head size and the larger one has a larger body and headsize for the height. I tried to give them a slight contrapposto, but it looks bad on the smaller one.

Then I did a basic sprite over the nude. I didn't do the suit because it's a hard design to work with and never looks quite right. Colors aren't great, but this was really quick. For some reason I kept the pink background.




Hands still don't look perfect, but meh.

I think I hear Progz coming...

[Alarconte]

I'm still looking for feedback.

x3 Scaled.


Althougth I listen carefully Evil's thougths, this work is continuing with the original samples, and resized directly x3 for better seeing in firefox 3.

The reason cause I haven't yet changed the sample body by other patterns (like bigger head) is that I want to (still now) continue with the "more """realistic""" proportions)

(And the hands aren't made it well in this sample bodys)

Keeping this style (but I can accept doing the heads a little more bigs) there any more feedback about the "betterment" (I love this word from a Terry Prattchett book) of the sprites?

the problem with the Evils' edit is that is changin a lot the style, and I'm not comfortable with the exact change he did.

Thanks

[GarageGothic]

They all look kinda cross-eyed. I really think the eyes would benefit from being tree pixels rather than just two.

[Alarconte]

mmm, I will try if I can make enougth bigger the head to make the eyes with 3 pixels instead of 2, without making a too much big head, thanks for it!

I haven't succes in make greater eyes (3 pixels don't work, results worst than two pixels).

Another option is make moooore bigger eyes, or use a technique that I don't know. 

Anyway, I don't think they seem exactly cross-eyed. More people think that?

thanks!

[rbaleksandar]

They look cross-eyed. Well, if 3 pixel don't look good on these guys perhaps you can make them with 2 pixel bigger - one for each side. Eyes with size 2 pixels can look good if they look in some direction - left or right:

o>o> [looking to the left of your screen]
<o<o [looking to the right of your screen]

The two possible positions for 2-pixeled-eyes looking straight forward are:
o><o
<oo>
The first one will always look cross-eyed. The second will not look cross-eyed only if they are some eyes in cartoon style like Snoopy, Calvin etc. Even then it's good to avoid this. Look at the last zoomed view of Evil's edit.

[markbilly]

I've 'fixed' the eyes. You don't need white for the eyes of such small sprites, nor eye colour, really. But I've left the colour to retain the style...

I also did a tiny bit of editing on the torso of the one woman (the stuff in the dashed box). I wanted to do a bit more, but I didn't want to change the style of your sprites too much, and the legs need a lot of adjusting.

[Alarconte]

Mmmm, is muy same original idea, but instead of white, the eye color.

Yes, the characters maybe still be realistics... but.. they look Absolutely like ZOMBIES!! xD

damm.

rbaleksandar, thanks for your advices. But... The characters have always to look rigth or left? :\ They can't talk to the player, as example?... is a problem.

There is no another experienced pxiel artist in this problem?

Thanks again for all the feedback!

[Hudders]

Probably not at all what you were going for, but I gave it a shot:



I think the main thing is that you need to widen the characters up by a pixel to give yourself enough face to design something more normal. You're also outlining everying in a darker colour which I think is a mistake at this resolution; at a higher res the pixel width isn't significant enough for an outline to dramatically alter the appearance of the character but down in low-res it becomes pretty obvious.

Anyway, there's my 2 cents, take it or leave it.

[Sephiroth]

I'm not an expert but i think Hudders is right, maybe widenning the character by a few pixels might help using facial expressions, will let you add a pixel here and there for eyesbrow and such, and will definatly give them a unique personality.

This is also the lack of width that gives them the "zombie"  dryed up look, at least to me. The side views look fine, but i'd try something to remove the dark line between the legs on the females front view, it doesnt seem to belong to the body yet it's here, widening the legs or just leaving a space between may help, but this is just my opinion.

I really hope you'll find some time to release a game with those sprites cause they really look nice despite their simplicity, especially girls and the 'lincoln' one

[Alarconte]

Well sephiroth, about the "dark line", is only on the body samples, in any final characters the colors will be fine.

Hudders, you are totally rigth.  Your character is one ligth year in the future; I'm always imcapable of making a character in this "freehand" you make; They haven't any sense never... I have problems to animate sprite art... More to make characters with personality as you did.

In last term, I'm gonna make one background or two for two generic short games, and xperiment a bit with the characters in the backgrounds, to realise what is my better and good way to do the characters.

Sephiroth, I really hope to do some short games, I have been working too much years in my primal project xD thanks