Nice design Magistrum, but i still think it's a tad too creepy for a Pokemon. I would suggest changing the face to the one on the bottom left of your link. With this face you still get the creepy/mysterious vibe, but you have something that resembles a real face much more than the other without also being somewhat disturbing and annoying.
Aww, I thought that the Cradily's fake-eyes-inspired features made it a more pokemon-y feel. Will work on this though; when I asked my sister[who also plays pokemon] on which face looks good she actually preferred the same choice as yours.
Sweet CAPmon man. I personally prefer the face that you currently have going.
Have you experimented with different body builds? I think he'd also look great with a sort of wider, chunkier body that appears less nimble but more intimidating. Maybe with the neck-leaves flowing down his back like a miniature cape of sorts, filling up empty space in the design to make him look even bigger? Haha geez I'm just rambling now.
Yeah, I like it too, although not as much as the original one. I actually have made other body builds/types, but with the current stat spreads being submitted, I think the current body build fits it the at the moment. In the stat submissions thread, the most common SpDef build sits at 130 while the speed department, although varying, has a majority with middle speeds. The currently existing pokemon with those stats are Umbreon, Cresselia and Uxie, all of which are actually more slender than my capmon.
I actually believe that higher SpDef does not mean bulkier build, but rather it's the Def and/or Speed that influences the body type. Nov's first design or Eol's design, for instance, can actually pull off a SpDef build with just the right supporting explanation. Although, it's a different ballgame when the final speed stat be lower tier or high tier, then that will be the time to consider its appropriate build.
I don't think your Troll is too creepy, Magistrum, it might give off that effect because of the more detailed rendering of the wood, but it'd work just fine as a sprite, I think. I've enjoyed the way you've cataloged his arsenal over this thread, making him really come alive.
Haha, I am glad that shone through. I wanted to give a feel for my capmon that it has an obnoxious, mischievous and/or
trollish attitude to bring humor and not just focus on how intimidating and creepy he is.
Magistrum, don't change the face - it is creepy but very effective as a Dark-type. Looks like it could be a strong, stage 3 Pokemon. It'd lend itself to a sprite perfectly.
Magistrum, I'd not change the face at all from the original. The creepy red vines were the best option for the eyes, imo. The circles don't accomplish the same effect. It reminds me of Spinda's face in the creepiest (and best) way possible.
@Magistrum: I don't think this looks overly creepy, just creepy enough. I can imagine it being a Pokemon, I personally wouldn't change anything.
pux, srk1214 and Corkscrew, I also, personally, prefer the original, since my supporting arts already depicted on how the vines represent some of its basic facial expressions [especially in the solarbeam and tail whip ones]. However, as I said with alexwolf, I will continue to work on this; now I actually think I got myself in another internal crossroads on which direction to go. LOL on the Spinda comment though; it made my day because i adore Spinda.
@ Magistrum Topic: eyes/mouth/chest
I wouldn't mind the red vine spirals if the goal was to make the tree bark look as if it were possessed armour (something a ghost/grass type may do well to evoke), but since the CAP submission clearly has green, goblin-like appendages and ears protruding from the bark (clearly an impish beast WEARING bark armour), the hollowness evoked by the red spirals is somewhat ...disconcerting. And not in a way that furthers its dark typing either, the mischievous gremlin wearing the woody armour as well as the dead-ness of the once living tree used to make the bark armour plates do enough to evoke that image. Instead it creates this disturbingly weird problem where you ca SEE the arms and legs of this creature which is CLEARLY there, but then its torso and face are just . . . not. And it's not that they are covered up either, because there are holes in the bark he is wearing where a face should be, and they aren't obscured by darkness either, because you can see the luminescent vines of the tree itself... which just doesn't make anatomical sense unless the creature beneath has a crater in place of the face and a massive concavity for its torso as well. and, again, this style would work really really well for a ghost type, especially with less organic looking appendages, but for the rest of the theme you've got going on . . . I just . . . I don't know. It's still amazing looking, but I think that getting rid of the weird glowing red bits in its chest and mask would really really improve the design because, honestly, they don't ADD a lot being there, and kinda serve to just confuse and muddle the intent of the design.
Simplifying the art with either
A: Darkness obscuring the creature's face and chest
or
B: Glowing eyes and/or teeth from beneath the mask
would just make the design perfect IMO.
First of all, thanks for the constructive criticism! ^_^
I believe pokemon has already tiptoed into the borderline of anatomy, considering what i believe to be anatomical oddballs such as
Sigilyph[how exactly does it fly? just psychic powers i guess since there's no way it'll fly with those wings] and
Lickilicky. [say what you want about its tongue being safely proportional, i still think a heavy chunk of muscle that makes its long blobby wide tongue would make him tumble. Shortening its pre-evo's counterweight tail gives it no favors, either. Chameleons are small, narrow-tongued and four-legged for a reason.]
But I digress. On the matter at hand, though--- with the chest/torso/abdomen part, I actually think it is the least problem of all since the
forest troll concept I go with explains it. Forest trolls are illustrated as having vines/plants/tree parts growing on its body, and can be confused with treants if not for some of its organic, ogre-ish body parts. In relation to my design, it's a tree hollow with a vine spiraling around, which is actually a part of the plant features growing on its body which I made subtle by adding the darkness. Otherwise you would'nt want me showing you a vine sticking out from
somewhere privy. Another is the "leafy muffler" it
wears, which I will also point out as not merely cosmetic but actually part of its body.
On the justification of facial features, you may refer to the
back art of my capmon. I gave a mild hint on how its troll head part relates to the mask part, which is almost only half the mask in terms of width. The other dimensions of that green head, though, is the mystery. Is its troll head small and circular? Is it long? Does it square at the bottom? Does it actually conflict with the eye or mouth part of the mask at all? And with the justification of the abdomen vine, is the mask actually a mere mask, or is it actually the
real face?That is the mystery I wanted to portray.