Topic: Any thoughts on improving this character?

[Blondbraid]

I've been toying with the idea for a new character for some time now, and tried drawing a sprite for her:

(She's meant to be a tourist on a tropical island who gets involved in a mystery that makes her explore the ruins and wilderness on said island)
I'm not quite happy with the result but can't quite put my finger on what I'm unhappy with so I'm asking for some constructive criticism.

[jahnocli]

For me, the top half of the body is ok, but the legs are unconvincing, with insufficient structure.

[Creamy]

I think she lacks warm colors. It could be less noticeable in game. One way to add them would be to tweak the color of her skin.

x1 x2 x4 x8

[Blondbraid]

Thanks for your input, I tried redrawing her legs and make her skin a warmer hue. Better?

[cat]

I think the problem is that with a dark skin colour and dark outlines her facial features are hard to see. You could either try to make her skin lighter, like Creamy did, or keep the skin dark and make the lines or highlights with a brighter colour.
I also like the edit Creamy did on her eyes.

[ArsCreativa]

Just a finicky personal opinion: The breasts could be better aligned, and the fold that the shirt makes at shoulder height breaks the silhouette. Totally agree with a lighter skin tone, to see better the black lines of the face.

[Blondbraid]

I haven't found the time to work with the holidays and all that, but I've updated the sprite after the feedback.
I tried lightening the skin a little bit, but I don't want to stray too far from my initial concept.

[Jim Reed]

put them side by side so you can see the edits.

Your underlying anatomy was skewed, and when the foundation is off the whole structure is off. The design is nice, tho it does remind me of lara croft. The skin tone has to be lighter, it's very hard to see black lines on her face because of the low contrast. You want the face to be easily viewable as it's the most interesting part of any character. You didn't make huge mistakes anywhere, but there are a number of smaller ones that add up. Just be more careful about anatomy next time.

The main issue in the image is that the feet are drawn in a 3/4 view with the heels being at about the same height. This means the camera is pretty low. If you look at the rest of the character it is drawn leaning more to an isometric perspective. The shoulders and the hands are not at the same level. This makes it look skewed. After fixing this, I moved the crotch area bit left because it wasn't centered properly for a 3/4 view. It's not a big move but it all adds up. Same with the belt buckle. You might want to try and draw a center line down the character next time to avoid these problems. I changed the legs to follow through the body stance shift, and after trying to get the curves look better using a mouse, I figured you used a tablet to draw it so I just gave up ^^.

Anyway, hope it helps and don't forget to lighten up that skin tone.

Post some more characters if you have them, there is a number of good artists here and they can give you more and better feedback than me.

[Blondbraid]

Thanks a lot for your feedback! I feel like your sketch and comment have really helped me see the errors I didn't see before, and I hope this redraw fixed them:

You're right that I wanted to homage Lara Croft, since I liked the games and this protagonist too was supposed to wander around ruins in the jungle,
but since I didn't want my design to be too deriviative I tried making two alternate versions:

Which color works best?

[Click'd]

Right

[dactylopus]

This color feels more natural.

x1 x2 x4 x8

[ManicMatt]

Yeah the right hand one definitely.

[Blondbraid]

Good to know, then red it is!

[Blondbraid]

So, I was drawing a new character for the same project, but I'm not happy with the first draft of his sprite either,
any tips on how to improve the pose and make him look good?

[ArsCreativa]

The first thing I see it's that the right arm looks a bit weird. It doesn't have the muscular definition of the left one.
And the pose looks strange to me, I think you usually have both hands mimicking the pose.
I like the face and the expression, anyway.

[Olleh19]

You have some nice characters going i think, but your anatomy is a bit off.
Just like the guy previously pointed out, the left arm looks like popeye, versus the right looks more like a girls arm.
When you draw characters do yourself a favour and have some reference photos up, it helps a great deal!
Or download this app called pose tool 3d by alientthink, it's great if you want to do a specific pose, you can change body type from fat to thin skinny muscular, women/man, etc.

But you have a lovely drawing style otherwise, you just need to get that anatomy right! What you also need to get right (i'm just guessing here).
But are you using a drawing tablet cintiq or something of that nature? I think it  or the screens you are using needs calibration in your graphic cards drivers. Cause it seems like you are not seeing the colors correctly on the first drawing of the "black woman". If you use windows there is Color calibration in screen settings where you go thru alot of tests to find the right settings. It can help A GREAT DEAL in matchning darker colors. Otherwise you draw blindly, in worst case! I did, for several weeks, until i realised it was the screen itself that was not calibrated correctly. Obviously there are many forms of calibration, and getting the colours/light right on the screen is essential!

Good Luck!

[Blondbraid]

I tried drawing a more neutral pose and making the arms more equal, better?

Or download this app called pose tool 3d by alientthink, it's great if you want to do a specific pose, you can change body type from fat to thin skinny muscular, women/man, etc.

I wish I could, but I don't have an iOs, and I currently don't have the budget for any new drawing tools, I'm currently working on freeware paint programs and an older tablet.
I did try looking up some stock photos to compare the anatomy to though.

[Ghost]

I think the pose in general is good, neutral and still natural. The character is leaning a bit to the left, which makes the sprite look strange. It's not much- try flipping the image horizontally while you draw; it's amazing how many small balance issues you can find and fix that way.
Like your style, by the way, very much. There's something simple and charming about it :nod:

[Blondbraid]

I think the pose in general is good, neutral and still natural. The character is leaning a bit to the left, which makes the sprite look strange. It's not much- try flipping the image horizontally while you draw; it's amazing how many small balance issues you can find and fix that way.
Like your style, by the way, very much. There's something simple and charming about it :nod:

Thank you so much, and thanks for the advice!
I've tried flipping the image back and forth and make him lean less to the left, here is a new sprite with some adjustments:

[Jim Reed]

Looks pretty nice, the only thing of note is the belt that's kinda leaning (maybe intentional) and the uneven pant leggings. If you really want to go all out you could maybe work on line thickness, it's kidna messy in spots but that's pretty high level and a lot of effort for small gain.

EDIT: also eyes are not level by ONE PIXEL!!!