Crit My Sprite?

Arclight · Sun 10/05/2009 03:55:18

Hello, folks. I wonder if you'd be kind enough to take a look at this sprite - I'm still fairly new to drawing them. Specifically, I'm wondering if I've got the proportions and shading right on him.

100%:

200%:

I'm a little worried about his... well... crotch; it seems wrong somehow, but I can't put my finger on why. Heck, I'm not sure there's anything wrong with it. I'm still a newb, y'see.

gonzo29 · Sun 10/05/2009 05:33:18

It looks like the shading in the head doesn't match rest of the body. Like the head has a light source to the left and the rest of the body has a light source in front of him. Proportions look good to me, the head might be a little too small though. overall, a very nice sprite.

Hudders · Sun 10/05/2009 12:46:41

You should always light your sprites from the top, otherwise you're not going to be able to use the sprite in a game without it always looking odd.

Arclight · Sun 10/05/2009 21:34:37

Thanks, gonzo. I've fixed the face shading. The head size should be right, though, I think:

100%

200%

Hudders:

Since this sprite is lit from the front, apparently, are you saying that I'll need to change the shading so it is lit from above for it to be usable? Being fairly new to this, I really don't know. If I do need to change the way it is lit, how would that look? I'm already about at the limit of my artistic talent as is.

Hudders · Sun 10/05/2009 22:05:50

No, from the front is fine.

I said "from the top" because I mean that if he turns around and we see his back, it shouldn't be all in shadow, (same with, if he turned to the side, he shouldn't be half in light and half in shadow).

Arclight · Mon 11/05/2009 01:04:49

Oh, I think I see what you mean - the light should remain static, shining from a hypothetical position at the front of the screen onto the sprite no matter which way it turns. I only say that the character is lighted from the front since he is facing forward.

Thanks for the clarification, by the way.

guv · Mon 25/05/2009 18:37:22

i was wondering what you used to create this sprite???
was it ms paint because it looks really good

Arclight · Mon 25/05/2009 21:02:19

Well, thank you! I used The GIMP, though any pixel graphic editing software should work. Paint would be a little difficult, I think, since I make extensive use of layers. The GIMP is freeware, and can be downloaded here.

My usual method is to trace the outline of a human form (I use this as a pattern - it shows front, back, side, and 3/4 profile) to get the proportions right, since I'm not the most artistically inclined. I then paint everything on one pixel at a time (though the fill tool comes in handy) on a new layer. Once I've finished that, I do the shading on yet another layer.

paolo · Tue 26/05/2009 14:10:23

His head looks tiny in comparison to the rest of his body. By a rough count, it fits 9 times into his full length, whereas the convention in art is for the head to fit into the full height 7 or 8 times (I don't remember which - no doubt someone more artistically informed can tell us which it is).

Arclight · Tue 26/05/2009 17:51:42

I don't know why it would look like that - I just cut and pasted his head a few times to check, and he's 7 1/2 heads tall.

Abisso · Tue 26/05/2009 21:11:12

I think I know why you do think he's looking weird, somehow. The legs are too short, in my opinion: the fact that he's got a very large belt tricks the eye, but the legs are definitely short (or the torso is too long). And the foot are quite tiny too. Apart from that it looks very nice and clean, and surely useable as a character.

Arclight · Tue 26/05/2009 21:36:12

I think I see what you're saying - that might be why I had concerns about the fellow's crotch when I first posted him. When I get a chance I'll raise it a smidge then repost.

Anian · Tue 26/05/2009 22:32:54

Maybe some indication of the location of the knees would help. Just some shadowed line or something, it would help set it right, cause, a least that how it looks to me, the knees are somewhere above the boots and the boots themselves are then too short, so just a line or two to define where the knees are would make the eye imediatley recognize the anatomy and determine how the characters is wearing his clothes.
Either that or make the outside lines of the pants more defining so they tell where the knees are.

I like the jacket, although the buttons seem to be following a curve of some sort insted of being straight. I like it all the same.