After viewing HarveyDentMustDie's thread on one of his excellent WIP pieces (thread here: http://www.pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=18540)

I wanted to see if i could make characters in a similar fashion because i liked the simplicity of it as well as how detailed they were given their size, without completely copying his style.

So here's my attempt, 8 attempts with various differences, some with differing leg positions, thicker hands etc. I know some of the differences are minor, but i am aware that at such a size those differences can be more readily seen.



I'm not too worried about colour at this point as im more concerned with the actual structure of the person and whether more or less detail is needed to convey that it's a person and to make it more readable.

Also wanted to give thanks to HarveyDentMustDie since it was his simplistic character WIP that inspired me to give this a try.

Thanks for the comment Level one, I appreciate that the differences are minor, i guess i was just worried that some of the looked too static (Numbers 2,4 and 7 come to mind) so i included them for comparisons sake, as well as 3,4,5,6 because i wasn't entirely sure if the leg looked right, if i over AA-ed it or if it wasn't anatomically correct.

Personally im leaning towards 8 so far, but i want to ensure it's correct before i start using it as a base in which to make other characters. I'm not sure if i'll stick with the details on the faces though (mouth, eyes, possibly nose), it's all up in the air so far.


Edited by AshCrimson - 14 April 2014 at 8:47am

Well here is the thing, you don't just want to use 8 as your base, maybe you should try other character body types, a fat body, a tall and skinny body, a short body etc.
8 seems very average, which isn't bad, but if you want to create more body types, you should diverse your options a bit.

I didn't say the character is bad. I said that if he wants to use it as a base then that's fine, but he should try and make more dynamic bases for variety.

Hmm, well their poses are all the same, which isn't bad for a base, though I wish the that SK longer arms, also, for T, make its chest more pumped, as if he it had muscles, and F, well fat bodies are the hardest for me, but I have to say that F has the same height as A, which means it's legs should be a bit thicker as well, and shorter.Here is a good reference.

No need to apologize man, we all have to start somewhere haha, and well one way to show muscles i=on the chest, is to widen them, that shows pectoral muscles, and F is looking a lot better, more realistic, yet it retains that simplistic look you are aiming for.

Nah it seems rather fine as a base, I'd say that with this you can start making original characters

Edited by Level 1 - 14 April 2014 at 12:17pm

So far it looks fine to me

Added a wizard, tried making him hold his staff vertically but not sure if it looks correct or right. Added a quiver to the archer, hopefully it's readable, as well as the strap holding it.



So far: Fighter/Warrior, Archer/Ranger, Cleric/Priest, Another-fighter?/Thief And lastly Mage.

Like this?



Thanks so much for the comment Stitchy; I've reduced the arms holding out the weapons by one pixel, changed the staff and how it's held, let the archer hold his bow further down in a more restful position.




Edited by AshCrimson - 15 April 2014 at 12:28pm

The cape on the knight isn't moving like the feather in the archer.

Yeah... sorry about that! I'm thinking of making a mock-up (maybe a game, who knows) of a stratgy RPG like shining force. I'm going to create a few more characters, one per class, whilst trying to make them each look unique and properly defining their role... or try at least.

Here's my attempt at three different warrior/fighter classes with their own unique class progression (think of Final fantasy tactics, advance or advance 2 or shining force series):



First row:

1 = Warrior 2 = Shieldman 3= Templer (Heavily armoured spear wielder) 4 = Bulwark (heavily armoured shieldman with large tower shield)

Second row:

1 = Warrior 2 = Fencer 3 = Duelist (Dual-wielding swordsman) 4 = Kensi/Weaponmaster

Third row: To be done

1 = Warrior

I'm a tad worried about the Bulwark and Templer, not sure if the heavy armour looks right or reads as armour.


Edited by AshCrimson - 16 April 2014 at 11:27am

Looks cool, Awesome improvement.

Yet another update! Some more class-types, changed some of the poses, tried to make it look like the heavily armoured tower-shield using guy was either resting the sword on his shoulder or holding it up. Not sure which one looks best, changed the way the 1st row 3rd warrior held his spear, not sure where to go with the 2nd row 4th warrior/kensi/weapon master guy. And i tried to make it look like the 3rd row 3rd knight was wielding a twohanded mace.



I'd really like some feedback on how readable they are and if the arms, body etc look right, as well as the proportions. I've tried to make their stances look less uniform and less static as well.

Apologies if the picture is chaotic, trying my hand at making more. I get the horrible feeling that they look and feel rushed, to me at least.

Also, sorry if im asking too much, just really unsure what to do at the moment with this piece.


Edited by AshCrimson - 17 April 2014 at 12:34pm

In regards to what Stitchy mentioned earlier about the hand sliding up and down pole: It definitely needed to be addressed as it looked very odd, but I wonder if a better direction to take it would be to have it stay completely static, and have the arm change it's angle. Currently the most recent post with a sword looks like its just being continually thrust into the ground. It would also add a little bit more subtle realism to the sprites. Even if only a couple of the sprites do it, it will add a sense of real physical limitation to all of them.

Edited by Noburo - 18 April 2014 at 7:04am

A bend in their knee or in the body as a whole? I'm not sure what you mean. I'll edit them later, hopefully i will be able to make them look more natural.

Just wondering, is it easy to make out what they are, do they look too samey etc? The reason i am harping so much about readability is if they can't be distinguished i am not sure i should continue.

I was wondering about doubling the units sprites in size, but when i try doing that, it ends up looking wierd and im not sure where to start, anyone got any advice/information? I'll post my attempt at making it bigger and more detailed later, when i get a chance sorry!


Edited by AshCrimson - 19 April 2014 at 5:28am

All right! You're making some stellar progress.
All the different classes (and their readability) is okay, it's just a matter of bringing their silhouettes to another level of distinction. I want to bring up the age-old example of Team Fortress 2's classes:


After minutes of playing, all of these shapes immediately mean something, regardless of what ridiculous hats or accessories are piled on top. Think about shape recognition!

The mock-up class description screen has a case of "important text being bland", and the identical symbols restricted to one color don't make it easy to read. Get some visual hierarchy in this thing! Small text, bold text, green text, red text. Typography doesn't have to be boring, it just needs to be effective!

Your size increase is well done, but do you need to do it?
Increasing the size is a mixed blessing. You get to know things about your character that were only implied earlier, but you have to face your own uncertainty about what a character looks like. Most importantly, making something bigger can sap the life and vitality from its crunchy, vibrant pixels. Sometimes you'll miss how the small size of early sprites gives them fantastic, engaging posture or form, and on runs the risk of making them more mundane when one "improves" them. So your enlargement is well done, no errors of skill or talent there, but you have to ask yourself if it's needed to describe what you are drawing.

As for knowing where you are, you're doing great. Finding the right balance between small pixels and inventive design is challenging, but your work is a good mix of the two. Keep on having fun drawing, and let the playfulness and experimental attitude grow and flourish.

Another update, probably a more subtle one;



Tried to fix the issue of the arms and chest not matching the perspective of the legs, as well as making it so they aren't too symmetrical.

I'm not too keen on the arms of the characters holding the staffs.

I feel like i've improved somewhat.

Thanks for point that out about the inconsistant lighting Inphy! I kind of wanted a more imposing physique for the bishop/blue-robed priest.

Here's a quick edit, hopefully fixing the light-issue for that priest.



Is the other priest (brown-robed) afflicted with the same issue? If so i will change him as well.

Thanks again for the advice, I've tried to do that, hopefully it won't look so weird now!

I've also added a few more characters/units. I'm specifically worried about the wizard's (In between Warrior with shield and archer)left arm and whether or not it looks correct.



I feel like im getting better, even if it's incrementally, so thank you for persisting with me so far!

Thanks for the comment Mr Fahrenhei, i might give that a go.

Quite a big update (in terms of characters done):



I'm a tad worried about the knight; wasn't sure how to make it look like plate armour so i tried 3 variations, a minimalist one (1), a more detailed version (2) and a compromise between those two variations (3).

Hopefully the other characters still look decent.


Edited by AshCrimson - 21 April 2014 at 10:57am

Thanks for pointing out the stiffness in the shoulder's SuperTurnip, which results in a stiffer stance. Is there anything i can do to remedy this in terms of techniques? Do you think applying Mr Fahrenheit's advice might aid in making them more three-dimensional?

Characters, their design, stances, anatomy is really out of my comfort zone and is the weakest area i have. I'll go over all of them at some point, hopefully making them look better and putting a bit more work into them, i may have rushed them slightly, so sorry about that!

Thanks for the feedback, appreciate it!

I've been working around with the basic characters again, in an attempt to address some of the issues raised by Superturnip (just a note im solely focusing on the torso and chest and arms in this piece):



Green: 1: Original (from 2 and onwards i moved the left arm a pixel-closer to the chest) 2: Tried suggesting a chest... but ended up looking somewhat like breasts? 3: Tried to make it less obvious. 4: Kind of going back to the original chest, reduced unneeded AA.

Blue: 1: Original 2: Similar to green 4, reduced AA.

Fat: 1: Original 2: Reduced banding and AA, tried to suggest more girth but now i have the issue of it facing straight outwards... tried dealing with it by sculpting it with shadows, not sure if it worked.

Small: 1: Original 2: Reduced AA (was way too much of it on his arms), tried to define chest more.

Purple (Skinny): 1: Original 2: Reduced AA, tried to define chest more.

As always, any criticisms, advice or comments are appreciated.