Sticky X/Y Sprite Project

[Falgaia]

Wow, 3003 replies. This thread really has gotten around, hasn't it?

Anyway, as The Cynical Poet mentioned, college dinged, and I finished my Secret Santa submission over the weekend, so now I have time to sprite. So, as any responsible person would do, I looked at the list of things I said I'd sprite/QC in the past, and then QC'd something else instead.

Responsibility.
New________Old_________

Since I'm probably officially the only person that does pixel art that actually likes this thing's design (and even then, it's only because Tristan did some serious heavy lifting in my AS Nuzlocke and earned my respect on behalf of his species) I decided I may as well begin spriting what was infamously known as the Mega no one would sprite. Thanks for biting the bullet on that one, Brobat.

Changelog

~Normalized a lot of the linework around the lightning hair.
~Changed up the lightning hair's shading and made the shade brighter due to it being in lesser demand than in Manectric-B's sprites. Spiky hair now with cast shadows, cool.
~Face editted to better resemble in-game. Jagged-heart-rate mouth included, alongside a clearer, more well-defined eye.
~Leg bush redrawn with properly proportioned spiky-hair.
~Literally every leg redrawn, as previous legs were oddly positioned and poorly conveyed depth while being much too thick. Current pose is based on legs viewed from a few separate freeze-frames on the ORAS model. (ORAS Model Viewer is literally the best thing ever.)
~Claws re-cut and recolored to be brighter and not blood-red, because this is a kid's game and we can't have the ESRB bumping the rating.
~Blue now more of a blue-green. Maybe I'm just imagining it, but it looked to me like there was a slight hue-shift between Mega and -B in the ORAS pokedex, although I may have imagined it. Up to you guys whether we should keep in this color or not, since I'm still going to be editing it with the creation of the backsprite.

Backsprite should be coming soon; after all, I have free time now! I shall not squander this valuable treasure, unless the Delta Episode suddenly gets more interesting. (fingers crossed)

Comments on recent spriting developments should come soon as well. Just wanted to get this out there for C&C before looking over recent works. Oh yeah, and I have no idea if I can attend the movie night for any length of time, but I'll be sure to hop into the room if I happen to be at my computer at that time.

 

[Falgaia]

Ok, so since I don't have any image references for Mega Lopunny yet, I'll settle with this for now.

Well, this college semester is officially over for me. Meaning more time for sprites!...Unless I act lazy over the entirety of winter break. But I at least have one thing to show for extra time:

It's not too much right now, really just bringing the back sprite back into the picture. The most major changes would be slight size adjustments, the addition of Altaria's new tail, and the pink highlights to the clouds. I'm not 100% satisfied with the back sprite, though that may be due to Mega Altaria just looking like a giant fluff of cotton candy with wings and a tail. Additional comments or QC would be welcomed.

Layell, that link seriously helped tons with trying to get Mega Altaria's back sprite to look halfway decent:

I've re-positioned the angle Mega Altaria faces, emulating both how regular Altaria looks in B/W and how M. Altaria appears in the in-game model. I'm still not all that happy with the huge cloud on Altaria's back, though I've tried to make it appear more floofy. The tail here is simply a place holder until I work up the motivation to sprite a better looking tail for the back sprite. The same applies for the missing wing, although I know that'll be hell (I'm not all that good with curvy lines).

First off, since there are much better pictures than those, here are some I took using my own 3DS and a camera. (why the heck does Megaltaria get 6 animations while poor Manectric only gets 3)

Mega Altaria Pics

One of the biggest issues I see currently with the backsprite is the shape the clouds take, although this is an issue that can't really be helped since the sprite was made prior to the game's release and there was no way of knowing what GameFreak would pull on us. Basically, MegAltaria's back clouds take the form of five "tails" that spread as MegAltaria falls and close in as it rises. In the pose exercised by the sprite, the clouds should be spread apart, as in the second photo. This may be a little difficult to pull off, as there'd essentially be a central cavity among the five tails that would likely need to be emphasized through the use of shading and outline. In addition, the head and left wing probably shouldn't be visible from behind the cloud, with only MegAltaria's pirate hat being visible over its intense girth. If you show the left wing at all, it shouldn't be overly prominent.

In regards to the front sprite, the back cloud could probably be raised up a bit, as MegAltaria seems to be anchored to it a little lower in the base model. In addition, since MegAltaria's sprite is in more of a swooping/landing pose, positioning MegAltaria lower on the cloud would better illustrate the directional momentum implied by the pose. Other than that, I'd consider shrinking the body and potentially adding cloud to all of the current clouds, since the clouds seem larger in the model than they are in the sprite currently. Shrinking the body several pixels would be much easier than increasing the clouds' masses, so I'd recommend going more along that route.

So yeah, that's my two cents. I'll add my opinions on more sprites when I get more of the relevant Mega Stones.

 

[The Cynical Poet]

So, taking into consideration what aXl had suggested, I decided to leave Mega Altaria in the most humid environment and come back to see the results. This is what happened:

Now in all seriousness, I really tried to make sure the cloud was a much more accurate reflection of the in-game model. Instead of taking the easier route of shrinking the body, as aXl had suggested, I added much more mass to the cloud. This means I practically erased the entire base of the cloud, and scribbled some lines until I was satisfied with the cloud. The results are pleasing to me. As for the back sprite...well...let's just say it's going to take a lot more than just scribbling around the base of Altaria. I'll be attempting the back sprite once again tomorrow hopefully. Thanks for the critique, advice, and screenshots, aXl! They should definitely aid in my endeavor to sprite this behemoth of a tail.

EDIT:
So, I've gotten some progress on the back sprite with Altaria's insane cloud tail:

This is the result of continuous work on what was a single cloud unit, until I managed to separate it into five different clouds. I've got some mixed feelings on how it looks, and the tail/wing are simply there to grab an idea of where they would appear on the sprite once I get feedback on the cloud tail itself. Honestly, the biggest challenge here is how to properly shade everything on this beast, mainly due to Altaria's pinkish hue - it was somewhat tricky to make this look like it wasn't going to be pillow shaded, especially since I was trying to replicate the images aXl had provided.

 

[Falgaia]

And we're back live.

Mega Manectric
NEW________OLD________

So the front's still the same front I used on Tuesday, so nothing new to report on that front, so this issue of the Changelog will be for the Backsprite.

Changelog

~Same color altercations made to match the new Front.
~Angles corrected on much of the lightning hair.
~Head now more prominent and squared.
~Leg fur seriously overhauled and mostly re-done.
~Legs made to be longer/thinner and redrawn in the front.
~Generally made to look more ready to pounce. +)

~Might need to find a way to make the backsprite a little less wide, but wanted to get other people's opinions before trying anything.

Comments and critiques are greatly appreciated, as always. I've been shooting to get a Mega Lopunny so I can better QC Splash's work on it, so I'll aim to get that finished before coming back on for C&C later myself.

 

[inscribe]

I started Pikachu Ph.D's back sprite. Thoughts? Planning on fixing the right ear because it looks awkward to me. (anyone else?) As for the front sprite, I'm done working on it for now. I don't see anything to fix, but maybe you guys do, so please gib suggestions

 

[TrainerSplash]

Who's ready for a stream? Primal Groudon is what I'm editing.

here's your magenta colored groudon.
Stream is still going on, but I might be done spriting for the night, may go on to Sableye's back sprite as I realized how crappy it was when I made it.

Edit: just gonna say what I did t these sprites so everyone knows, cause apparently I forgot to say it yesterday I am really sorry for not saying I was busy with that stream y'all.

• Color was obviously changed
• Tail spikes obviously grew and became tilted at an angle like in game.
• Mine head out lines on the back sprite
• new tail outlines on back sprite
• Small highlight edits on both front and back

As Kyzueth mentioned I will try to make his stomach darker, I just didn't do it cause I thought that didn't matter to anyone but me xP

 

[princessofmusic]

I'm doing a small wi-fi giveaway here and advertising it because my boxes are full. )': Please give it a gander.

Anyhow, I've been working on a few things, and here's a teaser of one of them.

View attachment 32091

I adjusted the perspective of Vivillon's wings and made certain it was a shiny swap, so this is done for now.

aXl Manectric looks ideal, except for the size. I'd push for a scale-down to 95 percent at least, if not 90 percent. As it is, it's more humongous than every title legendary and Wailord, and there's a lot of "dead space" in the upper body.

The Cynical Poet While I agree with aXl's critique and fluffy bird certainly looks much better nowadays than it used to, I'd suggest taking a break for now and working on something else that needs attention. Also, note that the possibility of me finally getting to Mega Altaria someday isn't out of the question, although that all depends on when I get unlazy.

As a general note, Lopunny needs a lot of work for those iffy proportions and shouldn't be considered anywhere close to done. I'll be continuing to wrap up XY over the next while.


Movie night is tomorrow; don't miss it! aXl Typhlito Wobblebuns

 

[Layell]

anyone interested in prepping for the move night should pop by #xysprites and see the topic. I'll be bringing the popcorn. See you 8 PM EST or 7h 20 min from this post.

 

[Kyuzeth]

700th post - Mega Salamence update
This is only the right thing to do for my 700th post on the site. Here ya go!

Front

Revisions

- Fixed central right face spike (left for viewer)
- Thickened left brace (right for viewer)

I'm pretty sure the front sprite is completely finalized by this point. Let's get to the main draw!

Back

I'd just like to make very clear; this sprite is a heavy WIP. The wings are extremely difficuly to get right and I'd really appreciate some help on them. The canvas is horizontally maxed out and I've tried to make them as large as I could, so I hope I've at least nailed the size. The right wing mainly needs work, but I'm honestly unsure as to how I should do it. I've used the ORAS model viewer for the braces, which I hope are thick enough, as well as regular Salamence's Gen V backsprite. This sprite is probably gonna run on feedback, so if you have even the slightest thing to add, go right away. You've all helped me so much with the front and I'm really grateful for that.

Comments
I'd say Mega Manectric's size is ideal as it is. Keep in mind, it's a lot taller than regular Manectric and I feel like the size difference between regular and Mega should be established clearly enough. That and I'm afraid some of the detail will be lost, were it to be resized...

Primal Groudon looks great, Splash. I suggest making the gray a bit darker, but other than that the red looks brilliant. I swear, at some point I'll give a possible resize a shot.

I might whip something up for Christmas, provided I'm motivated enough to get working. Anyway, that's all for now, so Kyuzeth out.

 

[princessofmusic]

Movie night was an overall success thanks to the solid turnout. Layell aXl Legitimate Username Typhlito Branflakes325 TrainerSplash The Cynical Poet Blue Frog tape Exeggutor We started somewhat late and aXl had to leave early, but it was a nifty thing to do right before the holidays.

I'd say Mega Manectric's size is ideal as it is. Keep in mind, it's a lot taller than regular Manectric and I feel like the size difference between regular and Mega should be established clearly enough. That and I'm afraid some of the detail will be lost, were it to be resized

Well, I made a ghetto MS Paint comic.

Manectric being nearly as large as Zekrom looks odd. At 90 percent, it's still over ten pixels taller than the standard sprite, which is sufficient for a 96 by 96 canvas.

That Salamence back is workable, though. You might be glad to know that it was my final team member in Alpha ;p

 

[Kyuzeth]

Movie night was an overall success thanks to the solid turnout. Layell aXl Legitimate Username Typhlito Branflakes325 TrainerSplash The Cynical Poet Blue Frog tape Exeggutor We started somewhat late and aXl had to leave early, but it was a nifty thing to do right before the holidays.



Well, I made a ghetto MS Paint comic.

View attachment 32132

Manectric being nearly as large as Zekrom looks odd. At 90 percent, it's still over ten pixels taller than the standard sprite, which is sufficient for a 96 by 96 canvas.

That Salamence back is workable, though. You might be glad to know that it was my final team member in Alpha ;p

Looks pretty good when resized 95% and you've made some good points, so I'll take back what I've stated earlier.
Glad you think my Mega Salamence back is coming along, since it was a pain to make. I'm considering doing wing shading next, but I might alter the brace's shading as well. I'll have to look at its thickness to make sure it matches the front, too. Sound good?

On a side note, I feel like I'm the only Omega Ruby player here. ._.

 

[ShadowCrush]

Hey guys, guess I had to register to show my appreciation of your project, it's really well done, great job!

I have a few quick questions:
1: I don't see any download options, it would be great to quickly be able to grab all latests sprites, hopefully well formatted. Are you considering doing this?
2: Not really about your work as it is now, but are the animations of the not-newly-introduced Pokemon in OR/AS the same as in X/Y?
3: Any chance to see a non-Active Xerneas sprite?

Keep up the good work, and have a merry Christmas!

 

[princessofmusic]

Hey guys, guess I had to register to show my appreciation of your project, it's really well done, great job!

I have a few quick questions:
1: I don't see any download options, it would be great to quickly be able to grab all latests sprites, hopefully well formatted. Are you considering doing this?
2: Not really about your work as it is now, but are the animations of the not-newly-introduced Pokemon in OR/AS the same as in X/Y?
3: Any chance to see a non-Active Xerneas sprite?

Keep up the good work, and have a merry Christmas!

Hey ShadowCrush, thanks for the feedback.

1. I've considered doing that before, although it's probably too late to put together something meaningful in time for xmas. We'll see.
2. I'm not sure I understand this question Layell
3. Maybe. Showdown doesn't need it, although I imagine that the reduced palette would be more useful for ROM hackers.

It's funny you asked, though, because by coincidence, I made this last week.

View attachment 32173 View attachment 32174

The shiny version looks awful, so I hesitated about sharing it, ugh. If you're asking on behalf of a friend who's a ROM hacker, anyone is free to use these, but there are absolutely no guarantees that they're done and won't be improved in the future.

(Should I have saved this for Christmas? idk, Xerneas-Neutral isn't really that festive)

On a side note, I feel like I'm the only Omega Ruby player here. ._.

Nah, Layell plays OR as well, and I trust you to do whatever you feel is best on ol' mence.


EDIT: reply to ShadowCrush

1. We get updates whenever someone feels like doing them, so this thread should tell all.
2. No, the models are the exact same from what I've noticed.

 

[ShadowCrush]

It's funny you asked, though, because by coincidence, I made this last week.

Aaand, yoink! Thanks mate.

1. I've considered doing that before, although it's probably too late to put together something meaningful in time for xmas. We'll see.

Huh, I didn't even realize the timing. I don't wanna stress you out, seems like a good deal of the current sprites needs a little photoshopping. :P Maybe I'll end up doing something myself, though I imagine it'll take your organizing to make something well-updated. How often, rougly, are new sprites added to your project? Downloaders might benefit if the sheet had a "last edit" column.

2. I'm not sure I understand this question Layell

I have yet to play OR/AS, but what I mean is, to clarify for whoever might answer, do Pokemon in OR/AS posture differently between X/Y and OR/AS? You know, how their sprites look differently across not only generations, but also say R/S/E and FR/LG, or D/P/Pt and HG/SS.

If you're asking on behalf of a friend who's a ROM hacker, anyone is free to use these, but there are absolutely no guarantees that they're done and won't be improved in the future.

Nah, it's not for rom hacking, I'm doing some other hobby stuff with it. :)

 

[TrainerSplash]

its not worth going profile to profile as Christmas is a bigger holiday also I don't want to risk getting "we don't celebrate it" X) you better not call me a noob this time Princess >:(
So from me to you guys, Happy Holidays.

Edit:
oh yeah forgot these

slight darkness change on chest and spikes, other than that color should be the same,

 

[Regime]

TrainerSplash the Groudon look great; but I have one issue:

What is the deal with these curving diagonal lines; they look really out of place and uncontrolled

 

[TrainerSplash]

TrainerSplash the Groudon look great; but I have one issue:

What is the deal with these curving diagonal lines; they look really out of place and uncontrolled

hmm havn't noticed that, yeah I'll try getting rid of those thanks for noticing them!

 

[ShadowCrush]

How come Volcanion is of such a dark-red shade? N-Kin's coloring seems pretty spot-on. Most of the sprites are of slightly stronger colors, which works fine, but Volcanion's seems a little intense.

Also, what are the rules for empty space? Couldn't find that on the first post. Canvas from center?

One other very minor thing: Isn't Diance 151 of the Central Dex, not Mountain? Sources I've read also put's Hoopa and Volcanion there.

 

[Falgaia]

eh backsprite won't be done for another two days so have a Frontsprite while I procrastinate on Mega Manectric's resizing.
Mega Latias

Because eye color/size/moves and stats are a good enough reason to create a new sprite. I've been looking for an excuse to make another Mega Lati for awhile now and procrastinating on boring tedious work seemed like the best excuse I could come up with. So have a much more tame-looking Mega Latias to go along with the much more wild-looking Mega Latios.

Also, Merry Christmas, everyone. +)

Hopefully I'll find the time to push out some more updates on Saturday.

 

[Kyuzeth]

eh backsprite won't be done for another two days so have a Frontsprite while I procrastinate on Mega Manectric's resizing.
Mega Latias

Because eye color/size/moves and stats are a good enough reason to create a new sprite. I've been looking for an excuse to make another Mega Lati for awhile now and procrastinating on boring tedious work seemed like the best excuse I could come up with. So have a much more tame-looking Mega Latias to go along with the much more wild-looking Mega Latios.

Also, Merry Christmas, everyone. +)

Hopefully I'll find the time to push out some more updates on Saturday.

JUST when I was thinking of resizing Mega Latias. Anyway, great job as always, aXl!

Expect a Mega Salamence backsprite update later today, everyone. Merry Christmas to y'all!

EDIT: He is here!

Changelog

- Altered wing shading
- Revamped right wing (bless the ORAS model viewer!)
- Brace is a bit thicker to make it match the frontsprite better

As always, if there's anything to add, just immediately throw it at me! If Layell and pom think the sprite's good as it is, I'm gonna start working on the shinies, as the same color differences apply when going Mega: both the green and orange are brighter and darker, while the brace has a dark gray color. I know how I'm gonna make the Shinies, but won't post them until the sprites are considered done.
Once again, Merry Christmas, folks! Kyuzeth out!

 

[The Cynical Poet]

eh backsprite won't be done for another two days so have a Frontsprite while I procrastinate on Mega Manectric's resizing.
Mega Latias

Because eye color/size/moves and stats are a good enough reason to create a new sprite. I've been looking for an excuse to make another Mega Lati for awhile now and procrastinating on boring tedious work seemed like the best excuse I could come up with. So have a much more tame-looking Mega Latias to go along with the much more wild-looking Mega Latios.

Also, Merry Christmas, everyone. +)

Hopefully I'll find the time to push out some more updates on Saturday.

Oh boy, I love Christmas presents from Uncle aXl! I'm definitely loving how Mega Latias is looking, though I can't help but feel there's a bit of a style difference between M. Latias and M. Latios now - primarily with regards to their faces. Maybe I'm just imagining it, since I'm still waking up some. Anyways, Marry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! You may not see me too much, since I got Omega Ruby today. :D

EDIT:
'Kay, guess I lied about not seeing me any time soon, since it hasn't even been a full day since I posted. But the urge was too strong not to tinker with Mega Latios after seeing aXl's Mega Latias. So before someone else eventually posts their version up without further ado:

So, I basically took aXl's M. Latias and used its body, editing it to be more bulky. Instead of just making a bigger sprite of Latias, I decided to use the framework from the original Latios sprite that was in use, making adjustments when needed. Finally, I decided to make Latios' body a bit darker than Latias', but not too drastically.

 

[Kyuzeth]

I don't mean to spam the thread, but I consider this update significant enough to warrant its own post.

MEGA SALAMENCE - FINAL VERSION

Changes

- Claws palette swapped to correspond with Shiny claws better
~ Claws were somewhat of a problem, made a bit darker on Shiny to make them correspond with anthracite braces and shade
- Shiny palette accorded to ORAS model, though somewhat brighter
~ I may make the outlines a bit lighter on the Shiny, don't know yet
- Including black and transparency, it hits exactly 16 colors on both sprites

At last, spriting this Pokémon has come to a close. Gotta say, the front's still one of my favorite sprites and I'm happy with how the backsprite's turned out. I haven't done much backspriting and couldn't have done it without the ORAS model viewer (PRAISE HOENN), but it's come to a good close, if I can say that. This has been a big learning experience for me as a spriter and artist; I'm really, really grateful for the helpful feedback you've all given me. This sprite would've been nowhere if it wasn't for all of you. Thanks for everything!
If anything's off or needs to be fixed, don't hesitate to spit it out, as always.

On a final note, here is the music that I've listened to while spriting this beast of a dragon. Enjoy!

Music

 

[princessofmusic]

Oh boy, I love Christmas presents from Uncle aXl!

This made me chuckle.

The holidays are almost over, but nevertheless, I've brought some desserts, seafood hor d'oeuvres, and escargo for the New Years party.

View attachment 32510

Goomy was mainly the work of Wobblebuns.

At last, spriting this Pokémon has come to a close.

no

I'm okay with leaving it as it is for now, but some adjustments need to happen eventually, particularly with the linework. The light source is also off on the back sprite, and this is something you can fix if you like; note that the wings should cast a shadow below them on the hind body, and any highlight on the leg ought to look different.

Also, what are the rules for empty space? Couldn't find that on the first post. Canvas from center?

Placement on the canvas has never really been that important, but I usually do this out of convenience. The bottom line is "as long as it looks OK on Showdown". Don't worry about the event legendaries.


Mega Latias looks great, and the back sprite does in fact exist; aXl won't post it here yet because he's being sneaky.

 

[Kyuzeth]

no

I'm okay with leaving it as it is for now, but some adjustments need to happen eventually, particularly with the linework. The light source is also off on the back sprite, and this is something you can fix if you like; note that the wings should cast a shadow below them on the hind body, and any highlight on the leg ought to look different.

Could you make a short list of changes I need to make on the lineart? In regard to the backsprite: outside of altering the shading below the wing, I guess I should work on the wing's highlights and remove the dark shade on the left wing. I had my doubts on the wing shading anyway, since shading is my weakest point in spriting.
I'll be glad to make any adjustments to perfect the sprites, I just need to know what to do. I can't work that well without clear directions, sorry. :s

 

[Falgaia]

So I've been holding back on this post for awhile, but unfortunately I have to make this quick since I have to wake up in 6 hours. So hey, have a super post of all of the smaller sprite jobs I've completed over the past few days. Yay! Also, have some music.

Mega Manectric


Although I didn't do the exact math, the top set of Mega Manectric sprites are probably scaled about 92% of the original, since I thought 90% made his face look too small. Not much to say here, took about 1 hour to resize, give or take ten minutes.

Mega Latias


Yeah so PoM mentioned that I had finished the backsprite awhile ago (Saturday evening) but hadn't posted it. As I mentioned on my DA page, I thought that just posting the backsprite was a bit of a copout, so I wanted to pad the post with additional content. As usual, I have little to say about my own work, so you guys can say it in my stead. As always, Comments and Criticisms are always appreciated.

Scatterbug
New~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Old~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Speaking of my own work, on request from PoM, I QC'd some of my old sprites; in this case, Scatterbug. Primary differences include lengthening the main body, more clearly defining the neck scruff, and removing the head shine while editing the colors to make up for the lost highlight. Also, the legs are a bit thicker and more visible than previously. Figures that these things would have issues considering they were made while waiting for the science fair judges to get to my board. But anyway, I think he looks a bit better now. +)

Considering I have to wake up early just to visit the doctor's offices, I'll try to see if I have any time to critique some sprites then; if not, I'll shoot for a QC post by the night. So yeah, I'll chat more with you all soon. +)

Also, Kyuzeth I just wanted to point out how its funny that you posted Mechanical Rhythm considering I was watching Chuggaaconroy's XBC playthrough while making these sprites.