Why is shading this backsprite so difficult? Gahh, I'm totally lost at this point. I did some more of it though, and while it's not that good, it's getting there. All that's left is fixing the hand (somehow...>_<) and some of the arms:
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CAP 4 CAP 4 - Sprite Submissions
- Thread starter Sunday
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I may have made the head too big... D:
Yeah, it is a little big NastyPass...
One of my final updates on the backsprite. Did more shading just about everywhere I needed to. It looks pretty good. I'll re-visit it tomorrow morning if I can.
Male on right, female on left. The female has a smaller drill.
I'm going to revisit the shiny colors like I said. Make the blue a little less bright and make the lightest brown a little darker. Then I'll recolor the backsprite as well.
One of my final updates on the backsprite. Did more shading just about everywhere I needed to. It looks pretty good. I'll re-visit it tomorrow morning if I can.
Male on right, female on left. The female has a smaller drill.
I'm going to revisit the shiny colors like I said. Make the blue a little less bright and make the lightest brown a little darker. Then I'll recolor the backsprite as well.
I started my sprite because I didn't like the hands in everyone else's sprites. Hands are normally very difficult for new artists to learn. I've spent years on human anatomy drawing, and I consider myself pretty good when it comes to hands. So, I decided to see if I could do the hands on this thing "right".
Well, as you know, pixel art and full-size art are two VERY different things! This sprite has really kicked my ass when it comes to drawing hands. With pen and pencil, I can quickly whip out near-perfect human hands in almost any pose. On the other hand (badum psh!), I've spent hours noodling on this thing, and I STILL can't get them right!
Overall, I'm only happy with one hand on my sprite -- the big one on the ground lower left. All the others represent a compromise of some sort because of the limitations of the 80x80 pixel grid. The hand on the upper left is the worst of the front four. I'll keep working on them, although I may not have any hair left when I'm done...
The spacing of the back arms and hands was a nightmare to get in. Cramming 8 arms with big hands in a single 80x80 square is INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT! I know you know this Wyverii, I'm just saying it to vent.
Despite the difficulties, It's been fun working on this sprite. I really have enjoyed the challenge. The reason I'm reluctant to do a full submission, is because I really like yours. Normally, I submit art because I think I can do it better. In this case, I'm just playing around and enjoying it. As someone who only "moonlights" in spriting, this gives me a deep appreciation for what you accomplished pixel artists have to go through to render your ideas.
Hmmm, I like your sprite Doug, but I think the face could be improved.
For some reason I feel it's off.
Something like Wyverii's sprite's face is what I lean towards in terms of preference.
For some reason I feel it's off.
Something like Wyverii's sprite's face is what I lean towards in terms of preference.
OK, I'm pretty much done for the night. Here's my whole collection. It's finally a complete set:
Darkening the light brown on the shinies made the whole sprite appear darker. It also made the blue even more bright. That's alright though, as it doesn't look as bad with the darker brown.
Darkening the light brown on the shinies made the whole sprite appear darker. It also made the blue even more bright. That's alright though, as it doesn't look as bad with the darker brown.
Anything in particular you dislike about my back sprite? I can still change it...
I still need to shade and fix the transparency but here's what I got so far.
No matter what I do to the eyes, they end up looking a little deranged. As I shade, I'll probably change a few things and fix how some of the arm guards look (I'll probably mess with the eyes about 50 more times because I want that black outline around them that cartoons' drawing has).
Comments?
No matter what I do to the eyes, they end up looking a little deranged. As I shade, I'll probably change a few things and fix how some of the arm guards look (I'll probably mess with the eyes about 50 more times because I want that black outline around them that cartoons' drawing has).
Comments?
Arctic, I think that looks a bit too flat, even with the possible shading.
And the arms seem a bit cluttered.
I'd make the head smaller to give yourself more room.
And the arms seem a bit cluttered.
I'd make the head smaller to give yourself more room.
Making the pupils bigger may possibly make the eyes less psychopathic. Probably not though.
Agreeing that shrinking the head a little will give you more room, as it looks even more cluttered than mine right now.
With shading it may look less flat.
Agreeing that shrinking the head a little will give you more room, as it looks even more cluttered than mine right now.
With shading it may look less flat.
Amen to that. When I tried the jump from pixel to digital my work looked like it was hit with a truck. You may also now now why I did the hands like I did, ;p because puffy hands = easier scaling. There's so many little things about pixels that can drive people insane. Usually, I find that people have the most problem with shading in a sprite (which I use to mask anatomical mistakes the size won't let me correct >>; shh). Good shading can save sprites.
Oh yes, you've got a curving upward mouth with hints of upward points at the ends. It looks like a "cat's smile" and that might be putting some people off. It's definitely got attitude though.
EM: I'd lower the saturation of your colours a tiny bit, especially the bright blue and purple. Also i'd try not to overdither your sprites, Nintendo don't usually add much except on large areas of colour (which this doesn't have).
artic: Get some hands down towards the bottom, this looks really cluttered and i'm having trouble making any sense of what's going on at the back. The hands also look tiny compared to the head but I think you're dealing with that. The eye's outline is a bit thick at the front making it look as if it's wearing mascara. ;p I'd thin out any line that's not one pixel thick.
Heh, it seems to me that few can ever like both the front and backsprites of any work I do here at the same time. xD The same thing happened with me VS KoA on Pyroak.
hi. i did a quick re-colour + shiney:
also added the little dots on his hands and forehead, and made his smile a little less dorky looking.
EM, your backsprite is really cool, i think you could make it much better by stacking the fingers, so that the middle finger is lower to be covered by the index, and same for the pinky. that way the curve would make more sense, because now it looks like his fingers are just bent to the left.
also added the little dots on his hands and forehead, and made his smile a little less dorky looking.
EM, your backsprite is really cool, i think you could make it much better by stacking the fingers, so that the middle finger is lower to be covered by the index, and same for the pinky. that way the curve would make more sense, because now it looks like his fingers are just bent to the left.
And the noob at spriting has to ask, what is dithering? I think I know, but I'm not completely sure. I'll just fix the stuff that's bothering me anyhow.
I'm going to fix the fingers like you said Zantimonious. And I'll lower the saturation a bit again Wyverii. I'll update when done.
I'm going to fix the fingers like you said Zantimonious. And I'll lower the saturation a bit again Wyverii. I'll update when done.
Something about the hand looks weird...
EM: How odd, you do it without knowing what it is.
Dithering is the checked pattern you make with shades. You've done a lot of it on your backsprite and a have a little on my own backsprite's head as well.
Zant: You've got broken outlines around the spikes (the outline's too light). The crossed hands also feel too small in comparison to the others and there's nothing to suggest perspective with the arms (they're pretty much all the same wafer thin width from front to back).
Dithering is the checked pattern you make with shades. You've done a lot of it on your backsprite and a have a little on my own backsprite's head as well.
Zant: You've got broken outlines around the spikes (the outline's too light). The crossed hands also feel too small in comparison to the others and there's nothing to suggest perspective with the arms (they're pretty much all the same wafer thin width from front to back).
OK, that's what I thought. I removed it from the waist and the armband. I knew what it was just didn't know what it was called (or when it was appropriate to use. >_>)
I've somewhat fixed the hand, though I'm not sure if it's better than before. At this point, it may just look better as a fist.
I've somewhat fixed the hand, though I'm not sure if it's better than before. At this point, it may just look better as a fist.
fixed all the stuff Wyverii pointed out:
I've made a sketch of a possible sprite but I'm not too sure about its pose. Since I'm new to spriting it'd take me a long time to do the shading, so I'd like to fix anything wrong with the sketch first. If anyone has any criticisms I'd love to have them, thanks.
Wyverii gave me some good feedback about the top front hands looking too flat. I altered the fingers of the top left one, to give it some more depth. I also changed the mouth on the female to look less like a "cat smile", as Wyverii pointed out. I changed a couple of the back hands slightly to improve the outlines and blocking.
I think those changes helped, but I'm still not happy with the two top front hands. I'm going to try a major rework of the top left hand, and rotate it into a more anatomically correct position. I'm also going to rework the fingers on the top front right hand.
As it is right now, the top left hand is rotated too far clockwise, which is an uncomfortable wrist position, without flaring the elbow outward. In my pencil sketch, I had the elbow bent outward, which is why the hand is in its current position. But I had to move the elbow in to fit in the 80x80 square. I didn't move the hand to compensate. In real life, when the elbow moves, the hand moves too. As an artist, I know this. But, when I get preoccupied with cramming in pixels on this thing, I have a tendency to forget some of my natural artistic instincts.
I'll post my results, if I think they improve the sprite. Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I spent so much time staring at these pixels, that I have a hard time looking at it objectively. Getting a fresh perspective from others has been very helpful.
I think those changes helped, but I'm still not happy with the two top front hands. I'm going to try a major rework of the top left hand, and rotate it into a more anatomically correct position. I'm also going to rework the fingers on the top front right hand.
As it is right now, the top left hand is rotated too far clockwise, which is an uncomfortable wrist position, without flaring the elbow outward. In my pencil sketch, I had the elbow bent outward, which is why the hand is in its current position. But I had to move the elbow in to fit in the 80x80 square. I didn't move the hand to compensate. In real life, when the elbow moves, the hand moves too. As an artist, I know this. But, when I get preoccupied with cramming in pixels on this thing, I have a tendency to forget some of my natural artistic instincts.
I'll post my results, if I think they improve the sprite. Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I spent so much time staring at these pixels, that I have a hard time looking at it objectively. Getting a fresh perspective from others has been very helpful.
DJD- Now, I am not an expert on spriting,but I think the top 2 hands, should be in a sort of open hand, (facing me) welcome jesture. I think that them palm down makes the sprite feel a bit like the top hands are grounded, yet they are in midair.
It looks really good, but I think the bottom part of the head and the horn-drill (haha new move for this Pokémon, maybe? :P) are too big.I've made a sketch of a possible sprite but I'm not too sure about its pose. Since I'm new to spriting it'd take me a long time to do the shading, so I'd like to fix anything wrong with the sketch first. If anyone has any criticisms I'd love to have them, thanks.
Like the sludge, though. Kind of shows this Pokémon in action, like with Typhlosion's fire mane or Hippowdon's sand streaming out.
Wyverii gave me some good feedback about the top front hands looking too flat. I altered the fingers of the top left one, to give it some more depth. I also changed the mouth on the female to look less like a "cat smile", as Wyverii pointed out. I changed a couple of the back hands slightly to improve the outlines and blocking.
I think those changes helped, but I'm still not happy with the two top front hands. I'm going to try a major rework of the top left hand, and rotate it into a more anatomically correct position. I'm also going to rework the fingers on the top front right hand.
As it is right now, the top left hand is rotated too far clockwise, which is an uncomfortable wrist position, without flaring the elbow outward. In my pencil sketch, I had the elbow bent outward, which is why the hand is in its current position. But I had to move the elbow in to fit in the 80x80 square. I didn't move the hand to compensate. In real life, when the elbow moves, the hand moves too. As an artist, I know this. But, when I get preoccupied with cramming in pixels on this thing, I have a tendency to forget some of my natural artistic instincts.
I'll post my results, if I think they improve the sprite. Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I spent so much time staring at these pixels, that I have a hard time looking at it objectively. Getting a fresh perspective from others has been very helpful.
Like Gengar Master said, the top two hands look grounded. However, I don't think they should be both palm up, they should be more in an action type pose.
(still have EM's permission) My version of EM's poses. Will edit shinies in soon.
EDIT:
Lesson relearned: sprites with dithering are a bitch to recolor. :[
Are you referring to the top hands in the back? Or the top hands in the front?
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