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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
Canada31494 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
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