Hello, all. Very new to CAP, and not a strong spriter, but the overall spirit of CAP inspired me to give it a run anyway. I welcome all feedback and hope I don't offend the true artists too terribly with my rendition. Here's the sprite currently:
Yes, I went off the beaten path in terms of pose. Hopefully this does not violate the first rule of the OP in terms of "too much artistic license". In this rendition, CAP 5 is using his own body here to form a noose, emphasizing his Dark typing. The Dark type will plow their way to victory by any means necessary and CAP 5 is not above that. Temptation knows no bounds with this 'mon.
I've received some feedback on #cap already, and tried to implement it all as best I could. It is 2 am local time though, so I'm pushing this out for further review in the hopes of more critiques. I know I especially struggle with shading and I'm sure the snake's current contortions are physically impossible, so I'd love some suggestions on the construction of the coils.
All in all, this, my first contribution to any CAP, was about having fun. I enjoyed putting it together and even if it doesn't win, I hope it inspires others to give CAP a go.
Yveltal, some criticism: I actually think your circles are pretty good, with 2 exceptions. The last underbelly circle as it fades from view could probably be shifted one plane higher (as it is it looks too low and too large). Secondly, the center circle on the second orange band looks a bit warped. Just round it out, I think. Lastly, unrelated to those remarks, I think the angle of the neck coming out of the head is too drastic. He looks a bit like a hunchback.
elcheeso: I much prefer your latest rendition. The coloring seems much more in the style of Pokemon, which I'm sure you're aware of. Perhaps my one suggestion would be to make the eyes more expressive, if possible. Also, the hind-ear should have a leaf pointing out to some extent, no? Looks bare without it.