Pixie Pixels

[Baron]

So I've started building this game around a pixie character. So far she's looked like this:

But I've found myself in need of a) a good idea of her final size for room layouts and b) in need of reassurance that the character will look compelling and believable.

So recently I've been trying to design her final form.  A lot rides on this: players will be staring at this character for the whole game, and her look and feel will be the primary factor in whether or not players find the world believable.  She is a secret agent with Pixie Intelligence, an organization usually just referred to as Ï€.  So she's got to look clever, and she's got to look tough.  But she's also a pixie, so she needs some unnatural beauty and a whimsical feel.  This is what I've got so far (I just added the back arm and leg for show, the rest will be her side standing posture):


I'm of course interested in any ideas and improvements, although I'm mostly satisfied with the drawing style and appearance.  What's really bugging me is her outfit -it just doesn't feel "right" yet.  It has to be relatively tight and revealing (it's like a pixie dress-code thing), and it has to be pretty simple for animation purposes, but outside of that I'm keen on some fresh ideas.  Here's a blank template if you find it easier to use for paintovers:



Many thanks in advance for your input!

[Anian]

Does she need to have a profile or can her face be in like 3/4 pose (I mean just the face, not the body), I always find that a a 3/4 view looks better than a side profile, just has more dimension and details.

Also, hmm the agent thing kind of throws a curve ball, but my first thought was "Needs more skin", pixies usually wear little to no clothes, so I'd go for a black bikini or a really tight little black dress. Or maybe add a comment in the game that they usually wear like leaf bikinis and then call the character a perv for thinking that.
In which ever case, add a bit of "dazzle" to the wings, maybe some swirll lines and a few sparkling dots, that'll contrast the simplicity if the dress is just pure black, liek a woman might wear jewels with a simple dress...and I'm over analyzing pixies now. 

As is the face needs a bit more ratio adjustment, her hair goes a bit too far back on the fore head and the whole eyes+nose+lips should move a bit down and the back of her jaw should be a more rounded, just to make her look more feminine: It's up to you though, I know you have your own style (and I like it), but if it's just a suggestion.

I'd draw what I mean, but I'm just on a laptop now, so don't have anything installed atm.

[Andail]

Do you intend for your pixie heroine to be pretty? I'm not saying she has to look good, and this is all rather subjective anyways, but if she is supposed to be aesthetically appealing, there are some rather simple rules to take into account in terms of proportions.

Your character has relatively small eyes, a distinctively protruding chin and virtually no forehead.
Here's a quick sketch-over to suggest how you can make her face more proportionally harmonic:
[imgzoom]http://www.esseb.com/andail/graphics/pixiepaintover.png[/imgzoom]

Of course, this also makes her less idiosyncratic, and maybe more generic.

[selmiak]

She needs a magic wand with a star on top. And also sparkling

[Baron]

Does she need to have a profile or can her face be in like 3/4 pose (I mean just the face, not the body), I always find that a a 3/4 view looks better than a side profile, just has more dimension and details.

Sorry, I should have mentioned that I intend an 8 loop walkcycle.  So there will be quarter turns, but I want to finalize the design before I draw them, so that I can avoid redrawing them if at all possible.

Also, hmm the agent thing kind of throws a curve ball, but my first thought was "Needs more skin", pixies usually wear little to no clothes, so I'd go for a black bikini or a really tight little black dress. Or maybe add a comment in the game that they usually wear like leaf bikinis and then call the character a perv for thinking that.
In which ever case, add a bit of "dazzle" to the wings, maybe some swirll lines and a few sparkling dots, that'll contrast the simplicity if the dress is just pure black, liek a woman might wear jewels with a simple dress...and I'm over analyzing pixies now. 

I'm getting simple garment with a bit of "dazzle"..... I'll give it a shot.

As is the face needs a bit more ratio adjustment, her hair goes a bit too far back on the fore head and the whole eyes+nose+lips should move a bit down and the back of her jaw should be a more rounded, just to make her look more feminine: It's up to you though, I know you have your own style (and I like it), but if it's just a suggestion.

Your character has relatively small eyes, a distinctively protruding chin and virtually no forehead.
Here's a quick sketch-over to suggest how you can make her face more proportionally harmonic:
[imgzoom]http://www.esseb.com/andail/graphics/pixiepaintover.png[/imgzoom]

I've got a neanderthal-foreheaded, beady-eyed lady-friend who will have a whole lot less self-esteem if she ever reads this thread.....   

She needs a magic wand with a star on top. And also sparkling

Wands are like weapons, so they're only drawn as a last resort 

Any more suggestions on the clothing?

[EchosofNezhyt]

Any more suggestions on the clothing?

None.

[Armageddon]

Any more suggestions on the clothing?

None.

Ehehe. I see what you did there.

[Tabata]

A bit more skin is okay for a small  fairy ...

like this, but made better of course
[imgzoom]http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/884/characterblankclothesta.png[/imgzoom]

... and changing the colours of clothes and hairband to white
it looks more fresh and innocent. Well, I'd like it.

(made the white version, too, but lost it in a crash, sorry)

[Baron]

Well, here's some ideas implemented:



Sorry, I wasn't able to implement Frito Master's idea: too many prying eyes.  Also I'm not really sold on the face re-do, but thanks for the suggestion.

As for garments, the original one had both the earth tones one would expect of a being close to nature and the military feel of some banana republic, but it lacks a degree of exotic sophistication one would expect of a spy.  I think the white makes her look a little too pale, and she'd stand out too much in white to be a secret agent (even in the context of the exotically garbed magical creatures she is blending in with).  I like the texture the sparkles give, but man I don't think I could animate that level of detail with any degree of realism.  The bikinis are a little too sporty for a secret agent.  So I've experimented with going dark, but the first reads as a little drab and the last one looks like a little black dress for a dance bar.  So.... basically I'm not satisfied yet.  Anyone else have any good ideas?

[Tabata]

I still prefer the “less clothes”-look

To get  the color near the secret agents-style and nature:
How about two kinds of green? Real camouflage-style would be great, but terrible to animate. But with two different greens it would be similar and also more near to nature without making her looking pale (btw. - you could also darken the skin a bit and use a not so strong white).

I'd like to see a bit  “life” on the wings. Like adders on a leave â€" at least some, or will the wings become a slightly transparent color? In that case, just some (about three?) little dots would do.


Edit:
played around with it a bit and hope you don't mind:
comic coloured    more camouflage-like            and the innocent, fresh white

[Anian]

I've got a neanderthal-foreheaded, beady-eyed lady-friend who will have a whole lot less self-esteem if she ever reads this thread.....   

The hair band thing doesn't help with the forehead looking long (in the sprite I mean). You're drawing simplified human beings, almost caricatures, so when you do that, features get omitted that change the perception of a face.

onT: still think there might be some room fr wing decor.

[Daniel Thomas]

To be honest I think the only problem is the back of the jaw, it would probably be a good idea to connect it in front of the ear. Right now it looks like the jaw is very broad as it goes behind the ear.


Or you could of course move the ear back if you want to keep the triangle shape of the face.

If you tweak that I think the forehead looks OK as you don't get a triangle shape of the face. You could probably round it a little, as little as two pixels could probably do it.
At least that's what I would suggest

[Baron]

Your character has... virtually no forehead.

The hair band thing doesn't help with the forehead looking long

See, I'm getting mixed messages here.  For some the forehead is non-existent, for others it is too long....  What would Lincoln do?  I am aware that a great variety of feminine foreheads exist IRL, most of which are perfectly functional and at least moderately attractive (in so far as a feature noted for its space more than its substance can be assessed in terms of beauty).  I admit that the hairband look does push the hair back unnaturally, but I was going for a retro 1960s look that was still business like enough to be taken seriously.  Finally, my model has [roughly] these facial proportions and seems to get by in everyday life....  The practical (not to mention the politic) thing to do would be to keep her on, just in case I need to draw the head from different angles or with different expressions, etc.

To be honest I think the only problem is the back of the yaw....

What's a yaw?  Nevermind, I like what you did there.  Good eye!

As for the wings, you are all perfectly insightful art critics.  I had planned a bit of transparency, but some sort of pattern would really make them complete.  Back in a bit with some redraws....

[Daniel Thomas]

Sorry about that, JAW of course.

[Snarky]

Sorry, but she does look sort of deformed. When you look at the average head in profile, the foremost point of the forehead is roughly vertically aligned with the chin. It varies a bit with the pose and the individual, but that's what tends to look most harmonious.



Another problem is that by extending the lower part of her face that much forward, her eyes end up much more than halfway up her face where they should be, which contributes to the sense of "neanderthal head".

[Andail]

Your character has... virtually no forehead.

The hair band thing doesn't help with the forehead looking long

See, I'm getting mixed messages here.  For some the forehead is non-existent, for others it is too long.... 

The only reason the signals are mixed is because the head is so anatomically deviant it's hard to name the parts properly. When it comes to crux of the matter - that your pixie looks neanderthalish - I think the signals are pretty clear.

Maybe my former paint-over was a bit too realistic or something, so I made this very quick and rough sketch to illustrate the typical exaggerated "cute" ratio used in cartoons:
[imgzoom]http://www.esseb.com/andail/cartoonpixie.png[/imgzoom]
This one isn't anatomically correct - it's basically a big ball with eyes on - but it conveys positive things like friendliness and a childlike cuteness, often found in pixies, I'd guess.

Now, I do feel a bit guilty for nagging about things like beauty, as if every character has to be cute, and furthermore you seem pretty hellbent on keeping your character the way she is, or you wouldn't be all focused on which colour her top should be.

[Calin Leafshade]

I don't think the way she looks is a *problem* per se. It just depends on what kind of character she is.

If she is supposed to be whimsical and cutesy then you have a problem but if she is a little more brash then its not so much of an issue. As people have mentioned, her features make her look trollish and neanderthal due to the sloping forehead and huge jaw.

if you made the jaw less square she could pass as one of the elves from Morrowind:

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

There's been some question (and confusion) about combining proper anatomy with a pleasing visual aesthetic so I made a little tutorial to help you and others out.  I'll go through and explain each of the steps in detail and you're encouraged to follow along.  The idea is that, while anatomy is important, you can and sometimes must take liberties at times when dealing with very small images to get a visually pleasing result.

1.  First we start with a sphere.  It doesn't need to be perfect but it should be reasonably so because we're going to divide it into pieces to locate the proper placement for the eyes and the nose.

2.  Now that we have a sphere, draw a horizontal line through the center.  The eyes will be centered at or about this line while the tops of a *normal ear will just reach this line (*I'm drawing an elf in this example so the ear is pointed).

3.  For drawing a face in profile, one easy way to create the shape of a skull is by adding a slightly rounded triangle with the tip serving as the chin to the bottom of the sphere as shown.

4.  Now we can clearly see that the mouth line is roughly at the bottom of the original sphere.  A basic jawline and ear have been added.

5.  Some basic curves are applied, mainly the brow and the recess for the eye as well as the sellion.  The lips are beginning to get definition and the chin and jaw are refined to have more of a natural curve.  One important detail is that, while the lips reach out to the distance of the forehead, the chin does not.  As the facial details are better refined you will see how this is important to maintaining a feminine appearance.

6.  Initial details are applied and the eyes are drawn, which are triangular from the side.  The lips are defined, an eyebrow added, and the ear given more shape.  The chin is given a small divot below the lips to give the lips a fuller appearance.

7.  In this stage the remainder of the details are applied, hair added and the nose better defined.  Base colors are applied to get a better idea of how the face is going to look.

8.  The linework is gone over with shades and color and final adjustments are made to the image.

[imgzoom]http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr218/ProgZmax/facetut.gif[/imgzoom]



I think one of the biggest challenges with drawing faces when you have a limited space is getting the nose/sellion/lip curvature just right.  It can be a real hassle especially if you are dealing with a really small image, so in cases like that I will often go for what is most pleasing visually over 100% anatomical accuracy.  In the example above, I played around with the nose line and the lips quite a bit before I was anywhere near satisfied with the result and I still think it could be improved, but the important thing is that this tutorial follows natural female features and uses them as a guide to create a feminine face rather than a hard and fast rule.  Beauty is, as others have said, a rather subjective issue but if you at least follow some basic guidelines for the placement of features (like keeping the chin from jutting out) you should have no problem producing a good result.

Also, I cannot stress the value of good shading.  I intentionally included step 7 to show you the drastic difference between how the face looks with just linework and after some shading is applied.

I hope this helps.

[Igor Hardy]

I don't understand why you guys got so worked out over the face, the original looks good and has personality. I also like zyndikate's subtle modification - definitely makes her prettier - but I think I still prefer the original.

As for the dress code, for me 60s remain the true spy era, and you already stated you took some inspiration from that period, so why not go even more in that direction with the dress? Give it some funky pattern and more colors. Perhaps you could try some boots on her too (would make her uniform a bit less girly). If you're determined to have her garments very business like, then I don't have any good ideas - none of the iterations so far feel business like to me.

[Baron]

I want to preface this post with my thanks for all the constructive feedback.  Although I may take issue with certain aesthetic stances expressed in this thread, I appreciate that all of you have taken time out of your busy days to try to help me out.  Having said that....

If she is supposed to be whimsical and cutesy then you have a problem but if she is a little more brash then its not so much of an issue.

I would not say that cutesy and whimsical are necessarily in the same basket, but I think you hit the nail on the head that in graphical adventures we (rightly or wrongly) judge character based on appearance.  So my agent has to be tough, and she has to be proud, so she's going to carry her head high, whereas the more demure feminine ideal is to kind of look downward.

Maybe my former paint-over was a bit too realistic or something, so I made this very quick and rough sketch to illustrate the typical exaggerated "cute" ratio used in cartoons:
[imgzoom]http://www.esseb.com/andail/cartoonpixie.png[/imgzoom]
This one isn't anatomically correct - it's basically a big ball with eyes on - but it conveys positive things like friendliness and a childlike cuteness, often found in pixies, I'd guess.

OK, so she's got cutesy proportions.  But she looks kind of shy and sullen to be breaking up intermagestical espionage rings.  As Cailin said, she's got to look the part.

There's been some question (and confusion) about combining proper anatomy with a pleasing visual aesthetic so I made a little tutorial to help you and others out.  I'll go through and explain each of the steps in detail and you're encouraged to follow along.  The idea is that, while anatomy is important, you can and sometimes must take liberties at times when dealing with very small images to get a visually pleasing result.

OK, I get this.  And theoretically it is a very well proportioned face, although somewhat old and masculine looking for my purposes.  Love what the shading does to bring out the features, btw, but I can't be spending that kind of time on individual frames if I'm going to finish this project in my lifetime.  So stylistically I'm sticking to the line art (it works well with vectors anyway).

The only reason the signals are mixed is because the head is so anatomically deviant it's hard to name the parts properly. When it comes to crux of the matter - that your pixie looks neanderthalish - I think the signals are pretty clear.

So... I'm really having a hard time with the "anatomically deviant" label, especially given that this sketch was offered as an improvement.

[imgzoom]http://www.esseb.com/andail/cartoonpixie.png[/imgzoom]

Why must the attractive female have a bulbous forehead and ridiculously oversized eyes?  Why must their infantile faces be squished into the bottom-most quadrant of their heads?  Why must they look downward, or at least tilt their heads down demurely?  And why the small mouth, no-jaw aesthetic?  These features may be considered to be beautiful by some, but the characteristics they evoke are insecurity, vulnerability and weakness.  Some men may find this attractive in women, but this character needs to be stronger than that. 

Sorry, but she does look sort of deformed. When you look at the average head in profile, the foremost point of the forehead is roughly vertically aligned with the chin.

But what if she is holding her head up proudly, like a soldier.  Here is a simplified version of my process with some random feminine profiles procured from the internet for the purposes of demonstration.  Models were selected on the basis of a) having a full-profile picture and b) holding their heads up proudly.  It so happens that I think all three are reasonably attractive human females, but we are all entitled to our opinions.



What I have done is trace my model's face and main features in a simplistic fashion: eyes are just circles with a brow line and a white dash highlight.  The ear must be oversized to make it obvious that she is a pixie, and the eyes need to expanded or they will only read as dots at my game's resolution.  Expanding the eyes downward makes the nose appear to be too high and making the characters look dumb, so my only option is upwards.  This is a 200% zoom.



I must then play with the features a bit, due to the way that vectors are compressed.  An eye can easily bleed into a forehead, etc. so features must be separated sufficiently so as not to look awkward at 100%.  Here is the result:



In conclusion, I don't think the "anatomically deviant" label can really stand up to evidence.  This is in fact how human females do look, admittedly with crazy hairstyles and certain feature accentuations required by my game characterizations and resolution.  I think this style suits the "feel" of my game, and makes my characters appear both human enough to be beautiful but also exotic enough to be believable as a magical species.  I think comments like Daniel Thomas's are fair and constructive, as such feedback can improve the art without compromising the style.  But I take issue with the relentless assault on my drawing style and aesthetic beauty of my pixie.  I challenge anyone who thinks I'm that far off the mark to make their own pixie-game.  With blackjack.  And hookers.  On second thought, forget about the blackjack....