Pixel Joint Forum: Weapons help, Harpoon gun

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thebombsauce
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Topic: Weapons help, Harpoon gun
Posted: 23 February 2014 at 5:04am

So I tried to take what I learned here last time I posted about color and shading and made this harpoon gun, I would love to hear some good advice from people on composition

edit: not scaled up version

Edited by thebombsauce - 23 February 2014 at 5:07am

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Hapiel
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Posted: 23 February 2014 at 6:04am

Composition is how different subjects work together on a larger canvas, or possibly how a single subject works together with the edges of a canvas.
However, on a single object such as this harpoon it is completely irrelevant.

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thebombsauce
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Posted: 23 February 2014 at 6:19am

I used the wrong word in this case then, I just need suggestions and criticism on the piece in general.

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Hapiel
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Posted: 23 February 2014 at 6:33am

What is the gold glitter on the left side? whatever it is representing, I can not read it and that is a problem.

Personally I don't like black outlines on such small icons, you should consider if it is really necessary. Only add it if it needs it in order to be readable on a strange background later.

As for the harpoon itself, while this should be the most important part of the gun (it is what distinguishes it from a normal gun), I can hardly see it!
Forget realism, and make that harpoon a bit thicker

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thebombsauce
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Posted: 23 February 2014 at 7:43am

The gold glitter is meant to be the band thats pulled back to create the tension for the harpoon to launch, I agree that it comes across poorly but I couldn't figure out a better way to display it.

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Hapiel
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Posted: 23 February 2014 at 8:18am

Unimportant detail at this size. Also: How is that supposed to work? It is not a crossbow or a slingshot right?

Look up some refs! googling harpoon gun resulted in nothing that looks like your sprite!
Of course a harpoon gun is not a single handed gun, which is what yours looks like!

In the few game images that it shows you'll see that all of them feature very visible harpoons!

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thebombsauce
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Posted: 23 February 2014 at 4:11pm

I used this

as a reference, notice the band running across the top except in mine I thought it'd be cooler to have most of it inside the gun with only a bit poking out. I agree through that it looks very short like a hand gun instead of a rifle and I should probably lengthen it.

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thebombsauce
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Posted: 01 March 2014 at 11:39am

Alright I took what you said and completely redid it, I think it looks nicer and the firing mechanism is more clearly defined tell me what you think

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Hapiel
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Posted: 01 March 2014 at 1:13pm

Yes, there is improvement!

I can now read the rubber band as you described. However I can not believe that a harpoon gun with this mechanism on top will ever be practical!

I edited your gun a little bit.
First I cleaned up the design. If you really need to have a black outline at this size it is going to be very hard to read (for example the harpoon's width is now 66% black and only 33% dark grey. That will not look like metal!) so I made the harpoon even thicker.

From the reference you had, I liked how the gun was underneath the harpoon, so I changed the sprite to match that. Without putting the rubber band on top as you did the rubber band will be unreadable so I omitted it. It is not important enough.

Lastly I removed the inner black outlines and added some color.

I hope this helps!

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WIP (Work In Progress)
Pixel Joint Forum : Pixel Art : WIP (Work In Progress)

Author	Message
thebombsauce Seaman Joined: 02 February 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 23	Topic: Weapons help, Harpoon gun Posted: 23 February 2014 at 5:04am
	So I tried to take what I learned here last time I posted about color and shading and made this harpoon gun, I would love to hear some good advice from people on composition edit: not scaled up version Edited by thebombsauce - 23 February 2014 at 5:07am
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Hapiel Rear Admiral Joined: 30 June 2023 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3266	Posted: 23 February 2014 at 6:04am
	Composition is how different subjects work together on a larger canvas, or possibly how a single subject works together with the edges of a canvas. However, on a single object such as this harpoon it is completely irrelevant.
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thebombsauce Seaman Joined: 02 February 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 23	Posted: 23 February 2014 at 6:19am
	I used the wrong word in this case then, I just need suggestions and criticism on the piece in general.
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Hapiel Rear Admiral Joined: 30 June 2023 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3266	Posted: 23 February 2014 at 6:33am
	What is the gold glitter on the left side? whatever it is representing, I can not read it and that is a problem. Personally I don't like black outlines on such small icons, you should consider if it is really necessary. Only add it if it needs it in order to be readable on a strange background later. As for the harpoon itself, while this should be the most important part of the gun (it is what distinguishes it from a normal gun), I can hardly see it! Forget realism, and make that harpoon a bit thicker
	IP Logged

thebombsauce Seaman Joined: 02 February 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 23	Posted: 23 February 2014 at 7:43am
	The gold glitter is meant to be the band thats pulled back to create the tension for the harpoon to launch, I agree that it comes across poorly but I couldn't figure out a better way to display it.
	IP Logged

Hapiel Rear Admiral Joined: 30 June 2023 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3266	Posted: 23 February 2014 at 8:18am
	Unimportant detail at this size. Also: How is that supposed to work? It is not a crossbow or a slingshot right? Look up some refs! googling harpoon gun resulted in nothing that looks like your sprite! Of course a harpoon gun is not a single handed gun, which is what yours looks like! In the few game images that it shows you'll see that all of them feature very visible harpoons!
	IP Logged

thebombsauce Seaman Joined: 02 February 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 23	Posted: 23 February 2014 at 4:11pm
	I used this as a reference, notice the band running across the top except in mine I thought it'd be cooler to have most of it inside the gun with only a bit poking out. I agree through that it looks very short like a hand gun instead of a rifle and I should probably lengthen it.
	IP Logged

thebombsauce Seaman Joined: 02 February 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 23	Posted: 01 March 2014 at 11:39am
	Alright I took what you said and completely redid it, I think it looks nicer and the firing mechanism is more clearly defined tell me what you think
	IP Logged

Hapiel Rear Admiral Joined: 30 June 2023 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3266	Posted: 01 March 2014 at 1:13pm
	Yes, there is improvement! I can now read the rubber band as you described. However I can not believe that a harpoon gun with this mechanism on top will ever be practical! I edited your gun a little bit. First I cleaned up the design. If you really need to have a black outline at this size it is going to be very hard to read (for example the harpoon's width is now 66% black and only 33% dark grey. That will not look like metal!) so I made the harpoon even thicker. From the reference you had, I liked how the gun was underneath the harpoon, so I changed the sprite to match that. Without putting the rubber band on top as you did the rubber band will be unreadable so I omitted it. It is not important enough. Lastly I removed the inner black outlines and added some color. I hope this helps!
	IP Logged