New Character for C & C

Gurok · Wed 19/05/2004 00:36:32

Hi.

I've been working on a character for an adventure game I'm creating for quite some time now, and I'd like some comments and criticism on him. Please keep in mind that the character will have two 'costumes' in the game, and this is the first, simpler, plainer costume of the two.

Here he is:

And a bigger one for the pixelly pedantic:

His name is Thod. And he's actually gone through quite an evolution, and began life as a sketch:

Which I then traced over and altered using Paint Shop Pro...

And finally touched up and shaded using the various Paint Shop Pro tools, as you can see above. I've been a bit undecided along the way about how his feet/shoes should look.

I've done some animations of him in the past, using the sketches, but I need to transfer him to pixelated (pixel-shaded?) form before I can get him looking any good in a game.

And after this costume has been given a roasting, I'll hopefully be coming back with properly shaded and coloured versions of him in this costume:

Darth Mandarb · Wed 19/05/2004 01:07:12

He looks pretty darn cool!

I don't know if you were trying for this look intentionally or not, but he looks VERY thin.Ã,Â The shading you've done looks more like he's flat, but with a bevel.Ã,Â Most noticable the pants.

If that's what you're going for I think it looks great!Ã,Â However, if your environments are not suited to the style he'll look out of place.

I did a little paintover to de-bevel the pants:

Added some pant cuffs and a little more detail as well as changing the shading.

Again, if you wanted the bevel look (which looks good!) I say go for it and just ignore my edit

Oh ... and Welcome to the AGS forums!

Gurok · Wed 19/05/2004 03:11:15

Quote from: Darth Mandarb on Wed 19/05/2004 01:07:12
He looks pretty darn cool!

I don't know if you were trying for this look intentionally or not, but he looks VERY thin. The shading you've done looks more like he's flat, but with a bevel. Most noticable the pants.

Thanks! He's intentionally thin. Think er... The Nightmare Before Christmas or something like that.

Quote

Added some pant cuffs and a little more detail as well as changing the shading.

You forgot to mention the best part! The shoes! You fixed the shoes!!

Finally, they look like real shoes!

Oh, I'm so happy!

Anyway, I combined your edit with my original... I liked quite a lot of it, but Thod can never have a nose. I also tried my hand at shading his belly, in lieu of any details on the pants. I kinda' don't want details because I'm trying to keep the costume really simple (and boring!).
Here we go:

Quote
Oh ... and Welcome to the AGS forums!

Hey, thanks. I've been lurking here for a while, but I thought I shouldn't make a post 'till I had something to show for myself. Hoorah!

Gurok · Mon 24/05/2004 10:08:37

Here's my new character again, this time facing east:

And once again a larger version:

I rendered him using the same scan -> line-art -> colouring + shading method again.

I'm after some more C & C on this new facing. Then after this, there'll be a pose facing west. Then north, northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest. Then it's time to animate, walk cycles, etcetera. But for now, C & C on the new east facing if you please.

Oneway · Mon 24/05/2004 11:51:23

Great work so far! I do like your character a lot!

Only have two points to share:
- the back side of his suit is too thick. The way you drew the character you're facing him from the side and a little from the front, right?
That means you see almost nothing of his back. Now it looks to me as if you're looking a little from both the front and back at the same time. I hope you inderstand what i mean, kinda hard to explain.

- again the shoes

I think they look a little too clownesque this way. Though i'm sorry i can't tell you how else to do it..

Keep up the good work!

Renal Shutdown · Mon 24/05/2004 15:29:09

Quote from: Gurok on Wed 19/05/2004 03:11:15
Thanks! He's intentionally thin. Think er... The Nightmare Before Christmas or something like that.

He looks more like a gingerbread man. The head needs to be more rounded and the body more matchstick-like. Imagine him naked, and draw on tight clothes.

Gurok · Wed 26/05/2004 17:42:49

Okay, I've adjusted his back side, I think I see what you mean Oneway, with the back "strap" of his overalls. And I've adjusted his shoes a little, changing the shading and shortening them. Hopefully they won't look like clown boots anymore.

Here goes:

I don't know, I can't help but think that his back looks a bit flat now. How do I show what should be visible of the overall straps without making the back of him look flat?

Quote from: Iqu on Mon 24/05/2004 15:29:09
He looks more like a gingerbread man. The head needs to be more rounded and the body more matchstick-like. Imagine him naked, and draw on tight clothes.

Oh, Iqu, that's pretty much the approach I took to designing his second costume (top of thread). However, I figured I couldn't do that for the overalls, since overalls are supposed to be naturally baggy. What do you think?

strazer · Wed 26/05/2004 18:20:21

The feet weren't too long, I think the tip of the shoes shouldn't be standing up like that? Unless that's intentional.

I don't know why, but somehow this character gives me the creeps...

Darth Mandarb · Wed 26/05/2004 18:24:39

I don't mind the 'ginger bread' man look so much ...

The two issues I have are:
1) inconsistent lighting
2) the shoulder strap on the over-alls

- removed the hi-light from the inner thigh area of the back (left) leg.
- thinned the shoulder strap down where it goes over the shoulder.

Hope it helps!

Gurok · Wed 26/05/2004 18:31:56

Thanks Darth for the edit. I know I have a problem with knowing where to shade sometimes. Most of my drawing experience is from the world of icon creation where everything has a plasticky 3D look to it, no matter where it is in the picture. I still think his back looks a bit flat though, and I can't seem to pick where to make the changes. However, the strap looks much better now!

Quote from: strazer on Wed 26/05/2004 18:20:21
The feet weren't too long, I think the tip of the shoes shouldn't be standing up like that? Unless that's intentional.

So should I go back and extend the feet to how they were?

Quote from: strazer on Wed 26/05/2004 18:20:21
I don't know why, but somehow this character gives me the creeps...

Yay, the desired effect!

Oneway · Wed 26/05/2004 20:37:37

Quote from: Gurok on Wed 26/05/2004 18:31:56
Quote from: strazer on Wed 26/05/2004 18:20:21
The feet weren't too long, I think the tip of the shoes shouldn't be standing up like that? Unless that's intentional.

So should I go back and extend the feet to how they were?

Yeah, sorry if i confused you. I didn't mean the shoes were too long. Like Strazer said the tips standing up was what made them seem like clownsfeet to me.

The backstrap is improved. It could get even thinner for my taste, but i don't know if that would get you in trouble (i suppose you want at least 3 pixels wide. 2 for outline and 1 for fill-color)

Still, the character looks great, i'm seriously thinking about stealing it

Renal Shutdown · Thu 27/05/2004 02:22:30

Ok, not the best of pics. A 60 second doodle to try to explain what I mean.
Since I like the basic shape of it, I try and develop it a bit more when I get a chance.

EDIT:
Ok, the first image was, well.. crap. So, here goes..

I'm kinda pleased, and it explains the matchstick-ness I mentioned earlier.

EDIT:
Also, modifying the back.. giving him an ass wouldn't be too bad an idea.