Hi here's my latest piece for a 16x16 style rpg.  This will be a part of the intro screen.

I'm looking for brutal honesty and blatant critique.  Please, tear it to shreds.  I want perfection (and I know I don't have it yet). :)  (I officially waive the rule that you have to be nice to a first time poster)

What do you guys think?




Edited by samw3 - 09 August 2009 at 8:23pm

Holy freakin cow! This program is sweet!  I feel so giddy and yet.. so noobish for not knowing about this program.  I constantly fight with the color palette, having to use a "color replace" tool in Macromedia Fireworks.

I'm also very much looking forward to your critique Hatch.

Thanks so much!

24 is fine by me :D I got it down to 20 in my experiments, but as long as every color in your palette is under control, that's all that really matters.

Anyway, I think you should focus on antialiasing, for one thing. You've got it in a few spots, but there are man areas where you've got the colors to do it, but haven't. The white trim on the robe, for example, and his belt buckle. Now, if I remember correctly, there wasn't much aa going on in the SNES days (which I'm guessing is what you mean by 16x16 rpg), so it may be defensible in terms of style, but I personally think it would give it a really nice, polished look that it lacks atm. I'd even consider adding a color just for AA if you find a large gap in your palette where it could be used extensively. I'm pretty religious about aa though. Anyhow, as you AA, you should also try to clean some your more rough lines into smooth curves, particularly in areas where you don't have the colors to AA. Clean lines can do wonders for smoothness.

You also have a number of spots of very harsh banding. What's banding, you ask? Well, Helm has already written the absolutely definitive thesis on it, which I suggest you read in full. In fact, go ahead and read everything in that thread

In particular, pay attention to what he calls "basic fat-pixel banding". The harshest examples of that here are on his hand, and the transition to purple on the left side of the white/gray trim around his neck. Once you "see" banding, particularly fat-pixel banding, it's impossible to un-see it. You'll spot it everywhere and it will send shivers down your spine.

Ok, I tried to work in your ideas.  And I'm just about dithered out ;)



How does it look now?

@Manupix: I actually did the copy-paste symmetry on purpose and because I thought it looked neat .. no, really I did :)  Is it really such an aversion?


Edited by samw3 - 10 August 2009 at 8:27pm

It'll only look better with proper lighting.  One side would be slightly changed, if at all, and the other side would really show the darker side of the metal and the rest will shine in comparison to the darkened parts. in respect to lighting.