Sticky X/Y Sprite Project

[TrainerSplash]

I wanted some feed back on how the back sprite is doing. (yes I'm doing the back sprite first I find it easier for mega sceptile)

 

[Typhlito]

Maybe you can try slightly turning his head a bit to look behind himself. I know mawlie doesnt do this but that is because mawlie's hair is her visual selling point. She has to keep her head straight because of her hair. If you decide to do this though, you would have to make it face away from the camera since he is always shown facing the same direction as his tail. But otherwise, nice work so far. n_n

 

[toxicroaker]

Does anyone know of a good (free) program for spriting besides photoshop or gimp? If so, I would love to see it. For some reason my gimp messed up big time and uninstalling and reinstalling it or updating it don't work. And well... photoshop is expensive.

 

[Legitimate Username]

TrainerSplash, just use this, it'll be easier.

Tyrell D. Barnes, I'm not really a fan of your new Mega Pinsir sprite, but literally the only reason why is because of the arm positions are really weird. The old arms were much better, if you can make the new sprite have that pose then it'll look awesome. Also, I think that transparent wings will probably cause animation issues, and would suggest that they simply be made opaque to make things easier.

Zygarde is proving to be a MASSIVE pain which is requiring a lot of redoing stuff, but I can probably get that animation out in the span of the next couple of days.

 

[Shachaawaq]

Tyrell D. Barnes, I'm not really a fan of your new Mega Pinsir sprite, but literally the only reason why is because of the arm positions are really weird. The old arms were much better, if you can make the new sprite have that pose then it'll look awesome. Also, I think that transparent wings will probably cause animation issues, and would suggest that they simply be made opaque to make things easier.

Mega Pinsir Update:

The arms have been adjusted, and the parts of the shell behind the wings have become opaque. I'm really liking the feedback I'm receiving in terms of my progress. I'm aiming for a good-quality sprite or better in the end.

I decided to split most of Pinsir's parts up to make editing them much quicker. I did so with the arms and legs so far, as those two have come up as issues by far. My only fear on this by far is the opacity of the wings, because both the border color of the wing patterns and the inner spike color are the same, and I resorted to outlining the two to separate them. Any advice on how to fix this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[princessofmusic]

toxicroaker I use MS Paint for the bulk of my work, but you can also download Paint.NET for free. Layell and aXl can speak for its usefulness.

Tyrell D. Barnes I'm going to be frank: while you continue altering detail aspects of the sprite, which is fine, I'm not impressed by the overall sprite as a whole. In terms of minor critique, the wings and the one leg shouldn't be perfectly diagonal; this tends to look odd, and it's generally best to avoid it. Also, the other leg looks shorter than the diagonal leg. I don't know if it's worth it making the wings translucent, either; I can't think of any BW sprites that go that far. I was also guessing that it would make animation difficult, and Legit just confirmed that. I'd suggest making the wings completely opaque.


OK, time for something else:

I call this a "style square". I feel that, within the project as a whole, it's been a long time since we've placed emphasis on comparing our custom sprites with the official ones for quality. I still do this regularly, but this should make it easier for everyone else to join in. Save the image, and each time you'd like to check a sprite, paste it in the middle and see how it fits in. If there are problems, you're better off trying your best to address them first before posting itt for feedback. Optionally, you can also use the flood fill tool to erase the grey borders by filling them in with white. The mons selected are some of the favourites among the inner circle of spriters here, although you can take sprites from here and make your own.

 

[seleccion]

TrainerSplash, just use this, it'll be easier.

Tyrell D. Barnes, I'm not really a fan of your new Mega Pinsir sprite, but literally the only reason why is because of the arm positions are really weird. The old arms were much better, if you can make the new sprite have that pose then it'll look awesome. Also, I think that transparent wings will probably cause animation issues, and would suggest that they simply be made opaque to make things easier.

Zygarde is proving to be a MASSIVE pain which is requiring a lot of redoing stuff, but I can probably get that animation out in the span of the next couple of days.

Personally, I don't like this pose for the mega sceptile. It's very strange in a combat, and, if I'm not mistaken, there aren't Gen V's Pokemon with this pose (maaybe yes, but i don't remember anyone). It's my opinion.

 

[Shachaawaq]

Wow. I did not realize this would be a lot more complicated than I initially perceived. I honestly almost threw in the towel until I saw that Style Square of yours. I don't know if I'd be using it correctly based on my current perception of it:

Basically, through a debate, a list of Pokémon was selected as the judging grounds of a custom sprite. When a draft was completed, the creator could place the product in the center and compare it to that of the others to check for quality. This could mean that, say, a custom sprite was based on a Rock-type Pokémon, and you wanted your product compared to other Rock-type Pokémon for jaggedness, shading, etc.

I've already done two drafts, and I'm wholeheartedly willing to do a third. If my perception is correct, would I start by placing Bug-types in the square and comparing my product's quality to theirs? Am I following correctly, or am I looking at it all wrong?

EDIT @ 15:55: Oh wow... I decided to use it with my Mega Pinsir sprite, and I have never been so appalled by my own creation, LMFAO. I immediately scrapped it.

 

[princessofmusic]

No, that isn't it. Months ago, I had some of the other spriters fill in a questionnaire wherein one of the questions was to identify your top three favourite mons. There was no debate; for example, Sneasel is Layell's favourite and Rotom is Legit's.

Regarding comparing a sprite to official ones of the same type, this can be useful, but it's just as important to see that your sprite fits in with all other sprites.

 

[Typhlito]

Personally, I don't like this pose for the mega sceptile. It's very strange in a combat, and, if I'm not mistaken, there aren't Gen V's Pokemon with this pose (maaybe yes, but i don't remember anyone). It's my opinion.

There actually are a couple of pokemon that do turn their heads in a similar fashion. Teddy is probably the best example though. Everyone else is less extreme.

The point Im trying to make is that the pose is useable. The head is pretty good but once the leafy decor hides his neck a bit, it would look less weird; just like how teddy's hand is covering up its neck keeps it looking normal.

 

[TrainerSplash]

So since that I already made a "backsprite" for Mega sceptile, should I just copy and past the front sprite's head in order to making look the direction. It seems that everyone is saying all different things. but mostly pointing towards to making switched heads.

 

[Legitimate Username]

Fixed this up to be more similar to reference images.

The right leg is missing because that leg literally does not exist on the original sprite, and I don't have the time to spend scratch spriting one. But yes, this pose is absolutely correct, and should be used as a base for the Mega sprite.

 

[TrainerSplash]

Fixed this up to be more similar to reference images.

The right leg is missing because that leg literally does not exist on the original sprite, and I don't have the time to spend scratch spriting one. But yes, this pose is absolutely correct, and should be used as a base for the Mega sprite.

Thanks, I'll start working on this soon.

 

[Shachaawaq]

Mega Pinsir Update:

Oh my god, I think I may have done it...

I ran through each individual part and gave my potentially best-looking draft a chance to shine. The majority of the overhaul went to the wings and the shells, which were given probably the most attention out of the arms, legs, head, etc., save for the horns to an extent. Below is the sheet of all of its separable parts:

All of the parts to the front sprite are shown above. I finished editing every single part for any obvious errors, including those mentioned by princessofmusic, which include the minor critiques on the wings and the legs; Layell, which include the opacity of the wings and the color palette; and Legitimate Username, which include the arm positions. Basically, everything I've learned up to this point is infused with this draft. I also modified its eyes; before, it was looking semi-upward, and now, it's looking straight ahead.

Lastly, I did a quality check using the style square, and the sprite did not appear as appalling as the former one, so I have faith in this draft. I'm hoping I did well, as I've had a couple of peer reviews, and they were mostly good, so that boosted my confidence.

P.S. I couldn't help but notice Pinsir's body looks like the freakin' bottom-half of an acorn. lmao

 

[Legitimate Username]

Woo, 400th post.

I'm pretty happy with how this came out, but I may revisit it at a later time. I don't have much else to say, except that snakes are a total pain to animate and this took like 4 tries to get right. It's loosely based on Rayquaza's motions.

 

[Typhlito]

Legitimate Username While I think what you have is great, I cant help but get that feeling that it is incomplete. As if it is a couple frames short from being finished. When I check out the other snake-like sprites, I feel this way even more so.

All 3 have that "flashy" handful of frames that makes it seem complete. Whether it was from an extra wiggle or an expansion of their body, it helps make the animation look more complete if that makes sense.

While there isnt anything wrong with the animation, I hope you consider this.

Edit: I know you based it off rayquaza but I think that the extra movement provided by rayquaza's tail is what allows rayquaza to get away with the small body/head movement. Not to mention its really big rare animation.

 

[seleccion]

Woo, 400th post.

I'm pretty happy with how this came out, but I may revisit it at a later time. I don't have much else to say, except that snakes are a total pain to animate and this took like 4 tries to get right. It's loosely based on Rayquaza's motions.

It looks fine!! One think that i would change is to add some movement at the arms.

 

[Kyuzeth]

It looks fine!! One think that i would change is to add some movement at the arms.

Zygarde has no arms. The tendrils on the sides of its body only vibrate when using certain moves, including Earthquake and Land's Wrath.

 

[Falgaia]

Woo, 400th post.

I'm pretty happy with how this came out, but I may revisit it at a later time. I don't have much else to say, except that snakes are a total pain to animate and this took like 4 tries to get right. It's loosely based on Rayquaza's motions.

If possible, although I know this would be hard as hell to do, I'd love to see this thing do the tail undulations it does in the game, although we'd probably need a second sprite pose for that. Barring that remarkably difficult suggestion, my other suggestion would be to add the blinky lights of in-game Zygarde, as those shouldn't be too hard to add and will increase the coolness of the animation by at least 100%.

 

[Shiruba]

If possible, although I know this would be hard as hell to do, I'd love to see this thing do the tail undulations it does in the game, although we'd probably need a second sprite pose for that. Barring that remarkably difficult suggestion, my other suggestion would be to add the blinky lights of in-game Zygarde, as those shouldn't be too hard to add and will increase the coolness of the animation by at least 100%.

I actually think that this would be a better animation in general. The other one looks great, don't get me wrong, but Zygarde's not really something that would move an awful lot; it's supposed to watch over the world from under the earth like some vengeful sentinel and be generally rather creepy, so the slight movement [and the blinky lights] staring ominously fit more from a flavour standpoint. You can especially tell in Amie, as you can never tell what its expression is due to it not having eyes, thus making it hard to really hard to tell what its expression is; making it even more unsettling.

 

[TrainerSplash]

I actually think that this would be a better animation in general. The other one looks great, don't get me wrong, but Zygarde's not really something that would move an awful lot; it's supposed to watch over the world from under the earth like some vengeful sentinel and be generally rather creepy, so the slight movement [and the blinky lights] staring ominously fit more from a flavour standpoint. You can especially tell in Amie, as you can never tell what its expression is due to it not having eyes, thus making it hard to really hard to tell what its expression is; making it even more unsettling.

Ok first of all I thought you said Anime not Amie xD
But yeah, Amie is a very good source for how a Pokemon acts. Taking Sableye for example, he he is a very creepy and odd pokemon like a goblin. He shows this in amie.
So if you guys need help with how a Pokemon acts Amie is the best. But let's keep in mind that most of the emotions are more cheerful. So that may be a problem.
along with the Mega Evolution not being playable in Amie is also a problem.

 

[Legitimate Username]

aXl, if you (or someone else) can give me a sprite with the alternate down-pointing tail pose, I can try and incorporate it into the animation. I can give no guarantees, but I've given this some thought and I think that it's most likely doable.

 

[TrainerSplash]

Mega Sceptile's front sprite is almost done. All I need to do is put the finishing touches on his tail and put the giant "X" on his chest.
I put it in the style square to see if it looks right and pretty much does. Opinions for now? mostly on what done of the tail and his giant leaves on his hands.

 

[Typhlito]

Ok, So I took some time to fix up mega banette's front animation some more before starting the back since the front still had some mistakes even though they were mainly on the fingers. Also made the main animation a bit longer. Probably going to start on the back now.

Also, I havent forgotten about this guy. Hes still a wip though. :]

Just need a few more frames and its done. I'll just call Branflakes325 over to take a look.


Really nice splash. About the tail, I think the curve could be adjusted. Maybe make the curve more rounded since the curve kind of goes flat if that makes sense. Looks good otherwise :)

 

[TrainerSplash]

Thanks Typhlito! I see what you mean of how to make it more round sorta. But I literally just edited the current tail and removed the tip. So maybe it's just odd seeing it unbushy?
Also I noticed I messed up on the "Christmas tree" tail section or the section that acts as a projectile as the dark green section need to be larger. Along with the dark green stripes needing to be recolored the normal shade he is.
But I guess we can just take a look at it once the tail is done.