Rat Folk Swashbuckler for C+C [new image]

[lo_res_man]

I created this character to be like a swashbuckling rat man. I worked hard to try and work on my foreshortening and stance, as well as folds and drapery.
I think its OK, but I wonder what you people think.
It took me about a day, not including the time it took to come up with the basic rat folk type.
The stance is based on the figure on the right in this picture. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:0408_USA_Olympic_fencing.jpg


{Edit}
Wow, thanks for all the responses. I agree He could look more rat like. In fact I have made some edits to the image, both for stance, and for rattiness. He can't look too ratty, thats not part of the character or the people, but he should look MORE ratty. Here he is

Note the new non-sword hand and the slightly changed sword.

[Ghost]

The style is great, and I like the pose- very swordsman-like. Colours are well chosen too.

He does look more like an exaggerated, seasoned and aloof human character, though, possibly some french musqueteer.

Not very rat-like (I see that the nose is meant to give him ratty features, but that is about all I could say). As an old D&D player I had quite a different idea about his looks from the topic's caption alone: Prominent front teeth, slightly clawed hands, a pointed nose that goes slightly upwards or patches of fur. This is, however, totally dependand on your definition of a "rat folk".

Very nice sprite all the way!

[Ryan Timothy B]

I'm no fencing expert, but it looks like the center line of his shirt is off to the right too far, making his upper torso aim away from where his head is aiming, and the rest of his body suggests he is facing more to the left.  Looks awry.  And the olympic fellow looks as though his upper torso is facing 7 o'clock (6 o'clock is directly behind camera view; he's aiming slightly to the left of camera view).

I like the character, are you going to be doing a little shading?

[ThreeOhFour]

Looks great - really dig the alternating linework thickness and the left foot .

[lo_res_man]

Ghost: I hope I have addressed some of your points without deviating too much from my original style. Rat folk in this mythos are are not really related to rats, they are just  a race who live in the underground sewers and caves and tunnels of this fantasy metropolis. This one is very cleaned up be cause he escaped this hunt/purge/genocide inflicted on his clan.

Ryan Timothy: I have I hope addressed some of your concerns. As for shading, I find that counter productive, in that it adds to the time needed to make the sprite, So it takes away from the spontaneity. As well, any shading would be rather crude, I only have ms-paint to work with.

Ben304: I am glad you like the varied line.  I am not sure what you like so much about the left foot, but hey, a compliment is a compliment.

[ThreeOhFour]

I'd like to be stubborn here and show you how easily and quickly shading can be done:



This was, of course, done in mspaint - which is not a bad program, it's just far less convenient than others and I use it for a fair bit of my stuff. I'm not saying that a shaded version is the only way to go - obviously your sprite is great without shading - I'm saying it's not that hard to achieve if you want to go there.

I also reserve the right to appreciate sprites based solely on their feet, and am hopeful you will respect this .

[lo_res_man]

More ratfolk, only this ones a wild one!




A judge in the Ratfolk judges the woman's disputes of hoard-rights and birthing-rights. Because she must remain impartial, she may wear no bells and must dance the silent dance with her sister judges, nor suckle child on her four teats. A judge is payed by a gathers worth of of scrounge by each party before the trial.
A Ratfolk woman whom wishes to become a judge must be mentored in turn for 3 weeks by all judges, then goes for an prolonged mentorship with the one who chooses her. After several years of training, the young one is given a full body tattoo in one night, with designs worked out by the apprentice and her mentor. This a very painful experience, and some do not survive. If they do ,they are a full bodied judge and may only be disposed by a successful accusation of Greed, involving both parties in the trial and a majority vote of the whole clan. Such a creature is Outcast.
This Judge is very young, but has already shown great wisdom in her decisions. Some have given her extra gathers in appreciation for her gifts. Sadly, this has caused some friction between her and the other judges.

So yeah, hope you like it.

[Babar]

Slightly longer pointed ears in both of them for some extra rattiness?

[lo_res_man]

I will do that on Miss rat, but it would be impossible to do that on Mr. Rat because well, his hat is covering them. Thanks for the suggestion though.

[Ryan Timothy B]

I like what you did with the sword guard, aiming it in the proper direction so it covers his hand.  Now that you did that he seems to be pointed in the right direction.

As for shading, I was only curious; it wasn't a suggestion.

[Afflict]

I like the characters, the second one more than the first.

Let me start by saying they look like humans with some exaggerated features, eg:nose. (pretyt much what ghost said)

I don't like the first ones nose, its too blocky imo. Maybe if you made it rat shaped rather like longer at the top declining back? Anyway his pose is amazing and the style I love it.

Maybe also try adding a blackish tip and some whiskers?

Just some ideas on how to take it in other directions.

[Ghost]

Backed up with your explanation about "your" definition of rat folk, the sprite is awesome, and you can easily ignore my first comments  The "wild female" is pretty neat too! (The tribal marking is a great touch)

[Ryan Timothy B]

I don't like the first ones nose, its too blocky imo.

No way.. lol  the blockish noes makes him look snooty.  I like it. Reminds me of Dustin Hoffman in the movie, Hook (as Captain Hook).

[lo_res_man]

An edit for the lady.



I took the suggestion about the ears. As well I corrected some things that were bugging me about the drapery. It still bugs me though.I am sort of pleased with the bottom skirt part, but I cant seem to get the the upper torso right. This by far my most ambitious effort with cloth and such yet, so I was wondering if any of the more experience members at this could help. This is something I really want to improve on, it opens up so many possibilities for characters.

[Ghost]

Very minor edit because I think there is not too much "wrong" with the sprite- you could make the neckpiece a bit more "flowing" and reduce the lines on the torso; also, her breasts seem a bit too low. Or, better, her legs are pretty short compared to her torso, which might be intentional.
Hope this can help you a bit.

[Erwin_Br]

The poses are great!  I'm not so much fan of the pixelated lines, though.

--Erwin

[vertigoaddict]

How many nipples do rats have? I'm not sure, so I couldn't really comment on the many lines that are visible on the Ratwoman's torso.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

I really think you are on to something with these sprite designs.  They look very visually interesting and have a nice style.  The only thing I would suggest is to pay closer attention to anatomy.  I mean yeah, they aren't human, but they ARE humanoid, and the torso on the woman is far too long for the length of her legs.  Try bringing her hips up about 6-8 pixels, like so




You may need to adjust the arm length as a result.  Nice work!