Pixel Joint Forum: Standing Knight

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Well, here we go again. For my second attempt at pixel art, I decided to go for something more proportional. I've had an idea for a platformer-type deal involving a knight, and thought it might be prudent to try creating him.

Of course, before I go about animating, I'd like to get him cleaned up as much as possible. I tried to apply what I learned from my first sprite, and then also tried some dithering due to it being a bigger sprite. Not sure how well it came out.

What'chya think?

Author	Message
Darlos Seaman Joined: 20 March 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 24	Topic: Standing Knight Posted: 07 April 2007 at 3:13pm
	Well, here we go again. For my second attempt at pixel art, I decided to go for something more proportional. I've had an idea for a platformer-type deal involving a knight, and thought it might be prudent to try creating him. Of course, before I go about animating, I'd like to get him cleaned up as much as possible. I tried to apply what I learned from my first sprite, and then also tried some dithering due to it being a bigger sprite. Not sure how well it came out. What'chya think?
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halfDemon Commander Joined: 04 February 2006 Online Status: Offline Posts: 318	Posted: 07 April 2007 at 3:25pm
	Looks extremely flat. I would definitely up the contrast. I would also like to note that the lighting is a bit weird; is the light coming from directly in front of him?
	Every pixel counts, even the dead ones.
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Metaru Commander Joined: 03 February 2020 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3305	Posted: 07 April 2007 at 8:09pm
	remove one segment of the foot. Edited by Metaru - 07 April 2007 at 8:09pm
	I ate leel's babies
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Omegavolt Commander Joined: 03 March 2005 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 227	Posted: 09 April 2007 at 12:35pm
	Dithering is for big sprites only. This is not one of them. After all the repairs, it should look pretty nice!
	OnGameDev
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halfDemon Commander Joined: 04 February 2006 Online Status: Offline Posts: 318	Posted: 09 April 2007 at 2:17pm
	*Originally posted by Omegavolt* Dithering is for big sprites only. This is not one of them. After all the repairs, it should look pretty nice! How untrue! Dithering is a huge stylistic choice and can be used for said purpose. Although it is much harder to use efficiently on small pieces, that doesn't mean it can't/shouldn't. Edited by halfDemon - 09 April 2007 at 2:17pm
	Every pixel counts, even the dead ones.
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Monkey 'o Doom Commander Joined: 24 September 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2994	Posted: 09 April 2007 at 4:49pm
	I suggest reading the mozco tutorial (it's archived and some images are broken but it's still the best metal tutorial out there for pixel art) and applying its techniques to this knight to give him some nice shiny armor. The most important concepts for metal are contrast and reflected light; be sure you understand how Igarashi (Mozco's creator) uses those on his icons. Though I agree with halfDemon in the respect that you can choose to use dither on any piece, here it would ruin the illusion of a metallic surface (once you give it one ;) ) and generally isn't used on sprites; they have enough good high-contrast colors and enough detail that open spaces for dither are rare if found at all. I also suggest changing the saturation of the armor from 0 to something higher but still very low; on a percentage scale something like 5 sounds about right but you should mess around and find a greyish color that has enough tint to be interesting. The piece seems solid anatomically (based on my meager knowledge) and is okay in that respect, but it might be improved if you turned him to face the viewer just a bit. Though he really won't be walking that way, it'll give you more space to define the shape of his armor, make the walking/running animation(s) easier for the viewer to interpret, and make the piece generally more interesting. Another thing I'd like to say is that you should try to define shapes and distinctions between pieces of armor more realistically. Show separations with highlights and shadows and overlap armor segments so you can make fullest use of the shadows. While you're at it, I think an above-front lightsource would be more effective than the purely frontal one you have now, in that it will help define details and simplify lighting in an area or two. Crud. Noticed one more thing. Make the cape a bit more dynamic, I say: it doesn't need to be flying behind him like in a running anim, but maybe have it move a bit if/when you animate this? Giving motion to the cape would also be made easier by turning him towards us a little. Good luck with this project!
	RPG is numberwang.
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WIP (Work In Progress)
Pixel Joint Forum : Pixel Art : WIP (Work In Progress)