Pixie Pixels

[Andail]

Oh really.
Well, you said you wanted her to look clever, and at least a handful members have pointed out that she looks kind of neanderthalish, so, this being the critics' lounge and all, maybe we felt that was worth pointing out.

I admit it was irrelevant for me to go on about cute looks, but maybe I was distracted by how you said she needed to be beautiful (an "unnatural beauty", even). And for some reason you chose to have really gorgeous supermodels as references, so good looks must really matter to you after all.

And it's all fine that you take a stand for what actual human females look like, except of course real women who break up espionage rings probably don't strut around in tiny bikinis looking whimsical.

Giving mixed signals, anyone?

For the record, I think the three other models you've drawn are really good. But the fourth needs some work, that's all.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

But I take issue with the relentless assault on my drawing style and aesthetic beauty of my pixie.

This is an unacceptable statement considering that many people in this thread, including myself, have offered useful feedback without attacking your work or being disrespectful.  Once you post your work here for assistance you no longer have reasonable control over what people want to provide assistance and critique on, so bear that in mind in the future.


Nobody likes being asked to provide feedback and then being told off because it wasn't what you wanted to hear.

As far as the dress goes, I have to say in all honesty it's pretty generic.  I would recommend looking at some clips from the various pixie outfit designs in the Tinkerbell Disney movies.  There's a good range of colorful clothing styles for each character to set them apart and also make their particular 'talent' recognizable:

[imgzoom]http://images.morris.com/images/lubbock/mdControlled/cms/2008/03/02/252890418.jpg[/imgzoom]

[abstauber]

Just one question: aren't pixies supposed to be young... like teenagers?
But Mrs. Spock in a skirt? I don't know

* abstauber adds fuel to the fire

edit: oh, and to make it at least a bit helpful: Your latest heads don't look bad, but somehow aged. Of course if it's 30something pixie you're heading after, I'd say you're there.

Maybe this helps with the head design.

[Igor Hardy]

But Mrs. Spock in a skirt? I don't know

* abstauber adds fuel to the fire

Didn't you know that Mrs. Spock was based on the same pixie image you posted? No one remembers why, but for some reason Vulcan ladies are also supposed to be busty teenagers.

[Baron]

OK now we're getting some where -Mrs. Spock really looks the part!  Do you have her in profile?

Nobody likes being asked to provide feedback and then being told off because it wasn't what you wanted to hear.

Alright, I concede maybe I got a bit frustrated with all the "she's a freak!" comments when I was already pretty satisfied with her appearance.  I appreciate that many people have offered constructive advice and drawn some decent looking pixie faces to illustrate their ideas, however most have been pretty radical stylistic departures from what I'm doing.  Realistically I'm not going to ditch my entire art style, and will have to put down any abnormalities to the fact that the character isn't really human anyway.   I regret the confusion caused by stipulating certain characteristics be revealed in her appearance, but I wanted this to inform people in critiquing the character's clothing (which, much like the face, reveals a lot about character).  I do apologize if you felt you were being told off.  The situation is doubly regrettable, since if I was to be the cause of bad-feelings anyway I could have really let-loose and had more fun with it.   

oh, and to make it at least a bit helpful: Your latest heads don't look bad, but somehow aged. Of course if it's 30something pixie you're heading after, I'd say you're there.

It's the eyes, I think.  My character has to be around 150 pixels to fit comfortably in a 640x400 screen, making the head about 30 pixels max.  At that scale proportional eyes would read only as dots.  To give more expression the eyes have to be enlarged, but the only direction to do that in is up, otherwise the character looks dumb.  But higher eyes lengthen the face, which is a characteristic of older people.  Fortunately I think I can live with 30-something looks -it adds to the sense that the character is experienced and knows her business.

And it's all fine that you take a stand for what actual human females look like, except of course real women who break up espionage rings probably don't strut around in tiny bikinis looking whimsical.

Precisely!  I was against the bikini look from the start, but many posters thought she should show more skin, and so I duly experimented.  I think more professional garb is in order, but the real trick would be to preserve a bit of the whimsy that one associates with pixies.  I agree this is a lot to ask (indeed, were it easy there's every chance I'd have found a solution without critical support), but what I'm looking for is almost a marriage between the professional (business/military, dark colours, clean cut) and the fanciful (gawdy/experimental, intense colour, more revealing).

I would recommend looking at some clips from the various pixie outfit designs in the Tinkerbell Disney movies.  There's a good range of colorful clothing styles for each character to set them apart and also make their particular 'talent' recognizable:

Yeah, I've looked into the Disney stuff.  I like how there is a lot of source material from many different angles, but it all falls way to far on the fanciful end of the clothing spectrum.  Who would take "Agent Tinkerbell" seriously in that green sparkly number, let alone some of the frillier outfits.  Back to the drawing board, I guess....

[Eric]

Two things that might be throwing people off about the forehead:

1. The headband. I know the look you're going for, like a Cate Archer from the first NOLF sort of thing. But I think most here are reading the pixie's hairline as starting at the back of the headband, and not the front, giving them the idea that the forehead is elongated (or Neandertalish). Maybe if you slid the headband back and gave just a hint of bangs or something, it would negate that effect.

2. The concave curve where the nose meets the forehead, which I believe is called a sellion, usually goes in a bit more than your tracings of the models do, and this usually corresponds with where the eye goes. Look at the photos you've provided, and see how the brow makes a little shelf over the eyes. Yours slope back a bit too much.

The two together make for the baffling paradox you cited earlier -- too much forehead, and not enough forehead!

I am complete and utter garbage at pixel art, but you can see I've just shifted a few pixels around here to show what I'm getting at:



As for the fashion, I say go all-out secret agent, and have her wear a catsuit. But then again, I have a special place in my heart for Emma Peel, so you should take my opinion on catsuits with a grain of salt.

[Baron]

I guess I could play around with some pre-band hair, and full-body catsuits are awesome.  In the meantime here's some more outfits:


I've altered the back of the jaw as per Daniel Thomas, and experimented with some wing patterns as per... quite a few people.  Remember the fills inside the wings will be semi-transparent, so the pattern will not read quite as boldly in game.  The first suit is based on Elizabeth Hurley's outfit from the first Austin Powers movie (kind of a metallic futuristic number).  The next is an example of the camouflage suggested by Tabata.  The third uses the navy blue and golden colours based on those of police uniforms, using the generic dark tank top females tend to wear in action movies and a somewhat funkier skirt.  Pursuing that idea, the fourth costume is the same but uses browns for a more earth-tone/banana republic military look.  Comments or suggestions about the clothing direction?

[Tabata]

OK now we're getting some where -Mrs. Spock really looks the part!  Do you have her in profile?

The characters name is T'Pol from Star Trek: Enterprise (if you want to google for more pics of her).

   



edit:
found another one in profile

[abstauber]

@Ascovel: I actually never noticed that before, but apparently my subconscious mind did.

Anyhow I did a quick paintover/liquify session:

(altered wings, forehead and the chin)

[Baron]

I've decided to go with the neanderthal look.  She's a monster -a freaking murderess - so stay the hell out of her way!  I've also roughed out her front views (still have to do a couple back ones, fix some details, etc.).  I really like abstauber's wings, but I'm pushing my height limit as it is and fear I cannot risk having them stretch above the head.  The jaw and forehead work he did also makes her cuter, I concede, but less like the BEAST that she is!!!!!

http://www.vanwijst.com/games/flutterby/turning_rough.swf

[Armageddon]

Her arms are doing weird stuff.

[Baron]

Her arms are doing weird stuff.

Yeah.  I'm having a hard time with the profile.  By rights the back arm should be thrown back with the front one, but it doesn't look right when she spins (the illusion of transposing the right & left arm appears and is also very weird looking).  I think I've gone as far as I can without my live model doing some walk-cycles for me, after which I can rotoscope in some more natural poses.  For anyone interested, I finished the whole rotation:

http://www.vanwijst.com/games/flutterby/full_turn_beta2.swf


The wings look a little funny, probably because they shouldn't be fully extended in profile, which makes it look like they are spinning faster in the back views.  And there are arm problems -they don't look bad in the individual frames, but they don't look natural in the spin.  I can fix both those issues with more modelling, but otherwise I'm pretty happy with how the face, body & clothes have turned out.  Any improvements on the current design are welcome.

[Khris]

Regarding the positions of arms and wings in the angled sprites:



Also, her hips are really narrow compared to the chest and shoulders.

[Baron]

Fascinating -I've never seen that technique before, but I can sure see its usefulness!  Unfortunately I've just copy & pasted the same wing for the forward & side view, which would make the wing appear to be unnaturally long in a quarter turn.  Realistically the wing probably needs to be shorter in profile, but I will play with it to see what looks best.  Thanks for sharing!