• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EST 12:01
CET 18:01
KST 02:01
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT28Behind the Blue - Team Liquid History Book19Clem wins HomeStory Cup 289HomeStory Cup 28 - Info & Preview13Rongyi Cup S3 - Preview & Info8
Community News
Weekly Cups (Feb 16-22): MaxPax doubles0Weekly Cups (Feb 9-15): herO doubles up2ACS replaced by "ASL Season Open" - Starts 21/0258LiuLi Cup: 2025 Grand Finals (Feb 10-16)46Weekly Cups (Feb 2-8): Classic, Solar, MaxPax win2
StarCraft 2
General
How do you think the 5.0.15 balance patch (Oct 2025) for StarCraft II has affected the game? Terran AddOns placement Nexon's StarCraft game could be FPS, led by UMS maker ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT Oliveira Would Have Returned If EWC Continued
Tourneys
PIG STY FESTIVAL 7.0! (19 Feb - 1 Mar) SEL Doubles (SC Evo Bimonthly) WardiTV Team League Season 10 RSL Season 4 announced for March-April The Dave Testa Open #11
Strategy
Custom Maps
Publishing has been re-enabled! [Feb 24th 2026] Map Editor closed ?
External Content
Mutation # 514 Ulnar New Year The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 513 Attrition Warfare Mutation # 512 Overclocked
Brood War
General
BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ Telegram @nuglink Buy THC Vape,Weed in Ho Chi Minh Telegram @nuglink Buy THC Vape,Weed in Hanoi Soma Explains: JD's Unrelenting Aggro vs FlaSh ACS replaced by "ASL Season Open" - Starts 21/02
Tourneys
[LIVE] [S:21] ASL Season Open Day 1 ASL Season 21 Qualifiers March 7-8 [Megathread] Daily Proleagues Small VOD Thread 2.0
Strategy
Soma's 9 hatch build from ASL Game 2 Fighting Spirit mining rates Simple Questions, Simple Answers Zealot bombing is no longer popular?
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread Battle Aces/David Kim RTS Megathread Path of Exile Beyond All Reason New broswer game : STG-World
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Vanilla Mini Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas TL Mafia Community Thread
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine UK Politics Mega-thread YouTube Thread Mexico's Drug War
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club The herO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books Anime Discussion Thread
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion TL MMA Pick'em Pool 2013
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Laptop capable of using Photoshop Lightroom?
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
YOUTUBE VIDEO
XenOsky
Unintentional protectionism…
Uldridge
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Inside the Communication of …
TrAiDoS
My 2025 Magic: The Gathering…
DARKING
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1931 users

First Character Sprites.

Blogs > fire_brand
Post a Reply
fire_brand
Profile Blog Joined October 2009
Canada1123 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-03 21:38:34
November 03 2011 02:04 GMT
#1
So I decided to change my big art project this year. I've always loved playing those old Pixel, SNES style games. Played the shit out of FF4-6, chrono trigger, SoM, Cave Story, etc. I'm really passionate about them too. In general I have a little trouble getting motivated and really jumping all over something, other than like gaming, which I could do forever. I shoulda been a pro gamer.

I'm not though so I decided I would take that passion and apply it to what I do professionally, which is art. I'm trying to make my own game now, something akin to Cave Story, a Side Scrolling, action rpg kinda thing. The plot is mostly hammered out, so now it's all about making the art. I have to do the character sprites, their motion animations, doodads and accessories, levels, backgrounds, and character portraits. I think that's it, but I'm sure I forgot something.

That brings me to my first images, the most recent drafts of the main protagonist and antagonist. They are all works in progress and are the product of several different designs.

[image loading][image loading][image loading]

Let me know what you think.

EDIT: by request working small vers. They will probably be bigger in game though.

[image loading][image loading][image loading]

EDIT: adding first animation cycle, includes up jump, and short walk cycle. and working Res image.

[image loading]
[image loading]

****
Random player, pixel enthusiast, crappy illustrator, offlane/support
ClysmiC
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
United States2192 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-03 02:09:12
November 03 2011 02:07 GMT
#2
Wow! Those look awesome =) Once you animate them, make sure to let us know. I love looking at all the individual frames of a sprite animation.

EDIT: Oh, and btw, watermarking pixel art doesn't really work... all it would take to get rid of that is the little pipet tool, whatever it's called.
Newbistic
Profile Blog Joined August 2006
China2912 Posts
November 03 2011 02:14 GMT
#3
Very nice. The hero has a nice innocent look about him with those eyes. Villain's creepy smile is also great, I could see my 7 year old self being haunted by it on dark nights.
Logic is Overrated
Son of Gnome
Profile Blog Joined October 2010
United States777 Posts
November 03 2011 03:15 GMT
#4
looks awesome man, I also love the old school sprite art design idk something about is so cool.
Whatever happens, happens
`Zapdos
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
United States935 Posts
November 03 2011 03:17 GMT
#5
can you make shrunken version of the sprites so we could see what they would look like if it was actual size. also pretty good work ^_^
www.twitch.tv/thezapdos come watch me :]
WaveofShadow
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Canada31495 Posts
November 03 2011 03:33 GMT
#6
Art is fantastic....how do you plan to go about making the actual game though?
twitch.tv/waveofshadow ||| Winner of AHGL's So You Think You Can Cast! ||| Juicy Dad for lyfe ||| 'idk i get a kick out of stupid things' - Jarms Yarng
fire_brand
Profile Blog Joined October 2009
Canada1123 Posts
November 03 2011 03:39 GMT
#7
On November 03 2011 12:17 `Zapdos wrote:
can you make shrunken version of the sprites so we could see what they would look like if it was actual size. also pretty good work ^_^


The actually working art is about a quarter the size or something? I just bumped it up to make it clearer for everyone looking at it : P

On November 03 2011 12:33 WaveofShadow wrote:
Art is fantastic....how do you plan to go about making the actual game though?


I haven't gotten that far yet -_- My brother is doing a double major in programming and music, so I'll probably being counting on him to really help me out with the coding and music/sounds. He's done some music/sounds for ipod apps, so he'll be a huge help.
Random player, pixel enthusiast, crappy illustrator, offlane/support
mmp
Profile Blog Joined April 2009
United States2130 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-03 04:30:27
November 03 2011 04:20 GMT
#8
You should check out http://www.pixeljoint.com/ for low-res inspiration. They have a lot of extremely skilled artists who will do things you didn't think were possible.

I think your antagonist needs some lower saturation, and feature definition that relies on contrast rather than hue. e.g. Why is the mouth a black line instead of a dark shade of the skin tone. This better represents the color average of the surrounding pixels: the lips are not actually that thick.

Use sharp edges like that only on the exterior to distinguish your objects from their background or your sprites will turn into a noisy mess when you try to fit everything in. You can only get away with this if you're willing to distort the size of the features you want to detail (head, eyes, weapons, as you see in a lot of Japanese games). If you want to see a different approach that captures realism without exaggeration, check this out:

+ Show Spoiler +
Each sprite is roughly 4x10 pixels.[image loading]


Castlevania: SotN has some nice side-scrolling artwork in the medium resolution range.
I (λ (foo) (and (<3 foo) ( T_T foo) (RAGE foo) )) Starcraft
Tatari
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
United States1179 Posts
November 03 2011 14:17 GMT
#9
I really love that evil clown sprite. I think that's really well done. The hero looks cute too.
A fed jungler is no longer a jungler, but a terrorist.
fire_brand
Profile Blog Joined October 2009
Canada1123 Posts
November 03 2011 17:44 GMT
#10
On November 03 2011 13:20 mmp wrote:
You should check out http://www.pixeljoint.com/ for low-res inspiration. They have a lot of extremely skilled artists who will do things you didn't think were possible.

I think your antagonist needs some lower saturation, and feature definition that relies on contrast rather than hue. e.g. Why is the mouth a black line instead of a dark shade of the skin tone. This better represents the color average of the surrounding pixels: the lips are not actually that thick.

Use sharp edges like that only on the exterior to distinguish your objects from their background or your sprites will turn into a noisy mess when you try to fit everything in. You can only get away with this if you're willing to distort the size of the features you want to detail (head, eyes, weapons, as you see in a lot of Japanese games). If you want to see a different approach that captures realism without exaggeration, check this out:

+ Show Spoiler +
Each sprite is roughly 4x10 pixels.[image loading]


Castlevania: SotN has some nice side-scrolling artwork in the medium resolution range.



Cool, thanks for the feedback. I actually had the mouth a darker shade of skin, but it didn't read well so I had to make it darker. I think with pixel art you have to sometimes make things contrast heavier than they should just to communicate structure and stuff. I'll revisit it for sure though, thanks.

And I'm definately going with distorting size relations. I had the hero with actually completely differnt proportions before going in and changing size relation between the face and body drastically.

+ Show Spoiler +
[image loading]
Random player, pixel enthusiast, crappy illustrator, offlane/support
ClysmiC
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
United States2192 Posts
November 05 2011 18:57 GMT
#11
Keep us updated about your game on this blog please . I can definitely see the cave story inspiration in the villain. And cave story was such an awesome game that I'd love to play a game like yours that is inspired by it. It looks really promising. Just don't give up half-way through :3
impression
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
413 Posts
November 05 2011 19:08 GMT
#12
Awesome! The middle character looks a little bit like Ryuk from Death Note ^_^
행운을 빌어요 재미
ClysmiC
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
United States2192 Posts
December 28 2011 02:47 GMT
#13
So I know this blog is pretty old, but are you ever gonna give us a follow-up on this game? You still working on it? I'd love to see what progress you've made.
Togera13
Profile Joined January 2012
United States10 Posts
January 07 2012 03:34 GMT
#14
are u trying to make a game?
Togera13
Profile Joined January 2012
United States10 Posts
January 07 2012 03:35 GMT
#15
u would be good at making textures for minecraft probally
Togera13
Profile Joined January 2012
United States10 Posts
January 07 2012 03:35 GMT
#16
AKA paintings
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
PSISTORM Gaming Misc
16:55
FSL s10 TeamLeague: ASH vs PTB
Freeedom2
Liquipedia
SC Evo Complete
13:30
SEL Doubles #1
SteadfastSC473
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
SteadfastSC 473
ProTech131
Vindicta 51
MindelVK 35
gerald23 16
JuggernautJason0
StarCraft: Brood War
Britney 31999
Sea 2940
Rain 2013
BeSt 293
Dewaltoss 149
ggaemo 90
Hyun 82
Mind 75
Aegong 63
Snow 49
[ Show more ]
JYJ 21
IntoTheRainbow 18
Dota 2
Gorgc5195
qojqva1511
Counter-Strike
fl0m1525
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor539
Liquid`Hasu298
Other Games
gofns13587
tarik_tv7085
singsing3027
B2W.Neo812
Beastyqt499
crisheroes136
ToD131
QueenE121
KnowMe87
Mew2King77
Trikslyr46
Liquid`VortiX0
Organizations
StarCraft 2
WardiTV1182
Counter-Strike
PGL351
Other Games
BasetradeTV123
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 14 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• intothetv
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• Airneanach5
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• lizZardDota260
League of Legends
• Jankos2638
• Shiphtur179
Upcoming Events
DaveTesta Events
1h 14m
AI Arena Tournament
2h 59m
Replay Cast
6h 59m
PiG Sty Festival
15h 59m
Clem vs Serral
Maru vs ShoWTimE
Sparkling Tuna Cup
16h 59m
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
21h 59m
Replay Cast
1d 15h
Wardi Open
1d 18h
Monday Night Weeklies
1d 23h
Replay Cast
2 days
[ Show More ]
Replay Cast
3 days
Replay Cast
4 days
The PondCast
4 days
KCM Race Survival
4 days
Replay Cast
5 days
Replay Cast
6 days
CranKy Ducklings
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-02-26
LiuLi Cup: 2025 Grand Finals
Underdog Cup #3

Ongoing

KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 1
Acropolis #4 - TS5
Jeongseon Sooper Cup
Spring Cup 2026
[S:21] ASL SEASON OPEN 2nd Round
[S:21] ASL SEASON OPEN 2nd Round Qualifier
WardiTV Winter 2026
PiG Sty Festival 7.0
Nations Cup 2026
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026
IEM Kraków 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter Qual
eXTREMESLAND 2025

Upcoming

ASL Season 21: Qualifier #1
ASL Season 21: Qualifier #2
ASL Season 21
Acropolis #4 - TS6
Acropolis #4
IPSL Spring 2026
CSLAN 4
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Bellum Gens Elite Stara Zagora 2026
RSL Revival: Season 4
NationLESS Cup
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
CCT Season 3 Global Finals
FISSURE Playground #3
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.