Messages

A tail? That could be good though. You could rotate his hat so the shape makes two subtle peaks on either side of his head. Then make his skin a sunburned hue...

Plus, you know, there's the coolness factor at parties when you explain to people that you like computer games.Ã,  No, not playing them...making them.

Hahahahah! You nerd! Seriously, talking at a party? LAME.

[The Well-Dressed Villain]

This week's topic:

The Well-Dressed Villain

It may sound cliche, but there are many possibilities. Here are a few examples of totally different executions of this theme:

Snidely Whiplash!


The Kingpin!


Kain!


Vice!


Random bulldog on the internet!


Basically, be as creative as you want.

Restrictions
Max Size: 125x175
Max Colors: 32

Steve is talking about you using the Sam sprite as a "reference," a step farther than inspiration.

At a glance, you see to like using a lot of neutral grays.

I don't know about the passing keyframe there....

Definitely check this out:

The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0571202284/103-6678957-5951047?v=glance&n=283155

I have read this book, and it's the best I've seen on the topic.

[Deserter]

I hope this has the attitude you're looking for.

Deserter
12 colors for sprites, 2 distinct colors for background
2x zoom


reference: http://www.dougntess.com/Images/ks750.jpg

But ye shall never get out of HIS (BB) shadow... hahahahar

At least he has the courtesy not to post any of my musical abortions.

Yea, the one handed finger snap is smooth. Except she might think you're a whore.

Chicky,

I feel like I've just had a long talk with Eugene Levy from American Pie. You know, that scene where he gives the magazines to Jason Biggs.

Cold-shower inducing.

As a rule, don't colour sketches.

Just because he didn't do a great job of coloring the sketch doesn't mean he should never try. In my experience, lots of sketches can look very nice when you color them (a foundational stage for digital painting).

As for the piece itself, I'd say the proportions of the face need closer attention. Eyes set roughly halfway between the chin and the crown, etc.
Right now, the side of his face not towards us seems to bulge out more than the other side. For now, keep sketching, and draw from real life. Worry about coloring later.

Resist using the evil "flip horizontal" command.

[public domain]

There is no difference in legality between ripping graphics from an indie versus a professional game. In either case, you would be using someone else's intellectual property.

Just because you didn't pay anything for some graphics on the web, doesn't mean that these are free to use either. Someone created them, and someone holds the copyright.

What you are looking for is graphics in the public domain. They can be harder to find (you're probably better off drawing your own stuff at this point), but they're out there. For instance, if you Google image search from only .gov domains, the results are public domain by law.

When you shrink the dimensions, be sure to select "Nearest Neighbor" from the list by the "Resample Image" option (Photoshop).

For the GIMP, I believe you can turn off AA in the scaling options.

If all else fails, just index your sprite first.

It's an interesting approach... the brown looks good against the pale ground color, but I don't know if it'll have enough contrast against every background. The same issue is present with the bag, which might appear to be an object lying on the ground.

In the original GUI, I intended that when you click on the bag (which will have a bigger arrow to the side) that the items will scroll out along the bottom edge of the screen. Likewise, when you click on the options button, Save, Load, and Quit buttons (perhaps even a score or chapter title) will scroll out along the top edge of the screen.

Having the O for options is a bit confusing, since it uses the same shape as the inventory items (people may think it's a collar when the inventory is fuller). As far as a logical hierarchy, the options command should be a bit more important.

I appreciate the paintover though.

Thanks for the pics! Much appreciated.

Does anyone have any thoughts on maintaining a constant perspective point throughout a game?

I like the idea of a uniform perspective for each background. I'm a little confused though, since this background does utilize a single point perspective (on the middle of the right edge). If it isn't too much trouble, perhaps you could post screenies illustrating your point?

Unlike a series like RON, this project will have quality control, so I can make sure the backgrounds stay consistent. Granted, I don't want to spend a lot of time fixing up other's people work. It will have to be a balance...

Anybody read this comment? I thought it was helpful, though incomplete.

http://news.com.com/5208-1028-0.html?forumID=1hreadID=12943&messageID=101551&start=-1

Ok, I found some time to work on it a bit.

Here are the changes:

- De-purple-ized it, but not quite as much as Neil did.
- Got a bit more creative with the clouds
- Varied the line thickness of the objects in the foreground (not sure if I'm happy with that)
- Added a darker outline beneath the bracelet/wristwatch
- Made parts of the GUI a light blue color



Some notes on some of the other suggestions:

I realize that for a bg with a boat in it, it's very boring. I guess I can say that boat is not the focus, but that's a lame excuse. I didn't really feel like drastically changing it, since the bg is really there to demonstrate the art style. The shadows and lighting are boring, too. Maybe it's just a bad scene for a background.

Sprite:
There is no shadow on his arm because the cuff doesn't really extend far enough over his upper arm to cast one.

The two white pixels are the clip that attachs the bag to the strap.

I made the patch white to balance the white collar at the top of his figure.

He's supposed to be worn down and raggedy, since he's on the run.

Thanks a lot for the crits so far! When I have some spare time, I'll try to incorporate some of them, maybe experiment with several versions.

Love the specific advice, Pessi and Neil! I'll see what I can do.

To answer some of the questions:

The main character is a puppeteer/scam artist.
The GUI look isn't a specific one, but I'm trying to make it adventurous, like a brochure for a safari (blue stitching and African looking font).
Super Jazz Man is alive and well, I'm just doing the art direction for this one. I'm supposed to establish a style, design characters, and maintain consistency.