Pixel Joint Forum: ah, I am crappy!

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zaneeba
Seaman
Seaman

Joined: 18 December 2008
Location: United States
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Posts: 15

Topic: ah, I am crappy!
Posted: 06 April 2009 at 5:17pm

Ah! I suck so bad!

I am making a game that is a Top-down RPG. This is a standing face-view sprite of the King.

His face, I really like. It is nice and detailed. However, the clothing, especially the robe, cuts away the aspect of his personality, which is grand!

Are there any helpful tricks that I'm missing that will add more detail and less ugly shadow to him? please help, because I apparently am missing something.

Edited by zaneeba - 06 April 2009 at 5:18pm

Aye brooka dakka brooka dakka meeyem meeyem!

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Infamy
Seaman
Seaman

Joined: 02 April 2009
Location: Canada
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Posts: 10

Posted: 06 April 2009 at 5:57pm

I really like this guy, theres alot of detail in the head, it certainly pops out to the forefront. The only real advice i can render is probably in reference to proportion

Disclaimer: I dont claim to be any kind of authority on the subject of pixel art, and you should take my advice as a grain of salt

Heres a quick cut and paste jobby to show you what I mean.

I just moved it around to suit the shape of his head more, and gave him so more girth to appear larger. Though, this may be contrary to the size your going for, i think it suits the size of his head nicely.

hope this helps XD

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zaneeba
Seaman
Seaman

Joined: 18 December 2008
Location: United States
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Posts: 15

Posted: 06 April 2009 at 6:07pm

I like his proportions, actually. He looks just like that in my concept art. however, unlike my concept art, he is very flat and pixelated! his clothing has no "wow" factor and the shadowing is all crappy!

Here is my concept art (sorry for how big it is

)

I want my sprite to look like this. His robe should be all spotty and weird like this picture here. and his shoes need to look... well... like shoes. not weird rocks under his robe.

Aye brooka dakka brooka dakka meeyem meeyem!

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Infamy
Seaman
Seaman

Joined: 02 April 2009
Location: Canada
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 10

Posted: 06 April 2009 at 6:17pm

hrmm i see where your going,

imo I still think by modifiing the proportions a bit he'll appear less flat. For instance, in your concept art, his arms come just short of his belt. And in the pixelled version the arms tends to lead the eye down and inward, giving him a shallower/elongated appearence.

Id bring the arms up a bit i think.

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zaneeba
Seaman
Seaman

Joined: 18 December 2008
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 15

Posted: 06 April 2009 at 6:21pm

those are his wizard sleeves!... but I guess you're right. wizard sleeves or no, it DOES give him a weird elongated appearance. I will fix him immediately.

Aye brooka dakka brooka dakka meeyem meeyem!

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jalonso
Admiral
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Joined: 29 November 2022
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Posts: 13537

Posted: 06 April 2009 at 9:08pm

I say your problem is in the coloring and keeping all the lineart intact.
If you'd like I'll make a tiny edit for you to maybe help.

What do you mean top-down? Your sprite is head-on?
Is this the perspective you are talking about?

This is what I see in your art which is not top-down but head-on

Edited by jalonso - 06 April 2009 at 9:19pm

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God_Is_Evil
Midshipman

Joined: 11 March 2009
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Posts: 97

Posted: 07 April 2009 at 3:10pm

He means the sprites in his game are like this view.

This is a top down dude i drew for some kids game.

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zaneeba
Seaman
Seaman

Joined: 18 December 2008
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 15

Posted: 07 April 2009 at 8:44pm

What I meant is RPG style. Kindof like Zelda or Final Fantasy. This is still not rpg, but it suffices enough that nobody will notice it in-game I dont think.

Edited by zaneeba - 07 April 2009 at 8:44pm

Aye brooka dakka brooka dakka meeyem meeyem!

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Metaru
Commander

Joined: 03 February 2020
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3305

Posted: 07 April 2009 at 10:37pm

thats more like a top-frontal angle

do the onvius comparision between what you have and what are you pretending to do. its qute hard to notice where is the problem.

I ate leel's babies

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Infamy
Seaman
Seaman

Joined: 02 April 2009
Location: Canada
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Posts: 10

Posted: 07 April 2009 at 11:01pm

Top frontal is a good description. I think its 3, 1/4 overhead, but each game uses a different mixture of the 3 point perspective. Theres a good deal of foreshortening.

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zaneeba
Seaman
Seaman

Joined: 18 December 2008
Location: United States
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Posts: 15

Posted: 08 April 2009 at 5:38pm

Yeah, like ALttP. I know that ALttP isnt the best type of sprite to strive fore (since their angles are so ridiculous) but it still looks pretty cool.

Oh, and I fixed the sprite to look more awesome-esque! I just looked through some of the pixel galleries and realized that people used a checker-board technique to blend the shadows. So thats what I did to, and it looks so much better!

look between the two and it is a WORLD of difference!

Aye brooka dakka brooka dakka meeyem meeyem!

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zaneeba
Seaman
Seaman

Joined: 18 December 2008
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 15

Posted: 09 April 2009 at 10:26pm

I have decided to make the sprite a lot smaller, due to it being rather impossible to animate a BIG sprite on a large scale.

But what worked on the big sprite seems to not work on the little sprite. I should have known that, but I didnt. The cross-hatching is far more noticable, so he looks like he's wearing sequins!

Aye brooka dakka brooka dakka meeyem meeyem!

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jeremy
Rear Admiral

Joined: 25 November 2024
Location: New Zealand
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Posts: 1704

Posted: 10 April 2009 at 12:58am

That checkerboard blending is called dithering. Make sure not do overdo it, though you haven't so far :)

In your concept art, his neck can be seen and he's got his chin raised all haughtily, as it is he looks like a hunchback :P

Edited by Jeremy - 10 April 2009 at 12:58am

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Marshall
Seaman
Seaman

Joined: 13 April 2009
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Posts: 12

Posted: 13 April 2009 at 6:29pm

I'd say increase the contrast in his robe where his stomach is so it looks like it juts out a bit more (if that's the look you're going for).

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

Author	Message
zaneeba Seaman Joined: 18 December 2008 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 15	Topic: ah, I am crappy! Posted: 06 April 2009 at 5:17pm
	Ah! I suck so bad! I am making a game that is a Top-down RPG. This is a standing face-view sprite of the King. His face, I really like. It is nice and detailed. However, the clothing, especially the robe, cuts away the aspect of his personality, which is grand! Are there any helpful tricks that I'm missing that will add more detail and less ugly shadow to him? please help, because I apparently am missing something. Edited by zaneeba - 06 April 2009 at 5:18pm
	Aye brooka dakka brooka dakka meeyem meeyem!
	IP Logged

Infamy Seaman Joined: 02 April 2009 Location: Canada Online Status: Offline Posts: 10	Posted: 06 April 2009 at 5:57pm
	I really like this guy, theres alot of detail in the head, it certainly pops out to the forefront. The only real advice i can render is probably in reference to proportion Disclaimer: I dont claim to be any kind of authority on the subject of pixel art, and you should take my advice as a grain of salt Heres a quick cut and paste jobby to show you what I mean. I just moved it around to suit the shape of his head more, and gave him so more girth to appear larger. Though, this may be contrary to the size your going for, i think it suits the size of his head nicely. hope this helps XD
	IP Logged

zaneeba Seaman Joined: 18 December 2008 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 15	Posted: 06 April 2009 at 6:07pm
	I like his proportions, actually. He looks just like that in my concept art. however, unlike my concept art, he is very flat and pixelated! his clothing has no "wow" factor and the shadowing is all crappy! Here is my concept art (sorry for how big it is ) I want my sprite to look like this. His robe should be all spotty and weird like this picture here. and his shoes need to look... well... like shoes. not weird rocks under his robe.
	Aye brooka dakka brooka dakka meeyem meeyem!
	IP Logged

Infamy Seaman Joined: 02 April 2009 Location: Canada Online Status: Offline Posts: 10	Posted: 06 April 2009 at 6:17pm
	hrmm i see where your going, imo I still think by modifiing the proportions a bit he'll appear less flat. For instance, in your concept art, his arms come just short of his belt. And in the pixelled version the arms tends to lead the eye down and inward, giving him a shallower/elongated appearence. Id bring the arms up a bit i think.
	IP Logged

zaneeba Seaman Joined: 18 December 2008 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 15	Posted: 06 April 2009 at 6:21pm
	those are his wizard sleeves!... but I guess you're right. wizard sleeves or no, it DOES give him a weird elongated appearance. I will fix him immediately.
	Aye brooka dakka brooka dakka meeyem meeyem!
	IP Logged

jalonso Admiral Joined: 29 November 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13537	Posted: 06 April 2009 at 9:08pm
	I say your problem is in the coloring and keeping all the lineart intact. If you'd like I'll make a tiny edit for you to maybe help. What do you mean top-down? Your sprite is head-on? Is this the perspective you are talking about? This is what I see in your art which is not top-down but head-on Edited by jalonso - 06 April 2009 at 9:19pm
	PJs FAQ <•> Sticky Reads
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God_Is_Evil Midshipman Joined: 11 March 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 97	Posted: 07 April 2009 at 3:10pm
	He means the sprites in his game are like this view. This is a top down dude i drew for some kids game.
	IP Logged

zaneeba Seaman Joined: 18 December 2008 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 15	Posted: 07 April 2009 at 8:44pm
	What I meant is RPG style. Kindof like Zelda or Final Fantasy. This is still not rpg, but it suffices enough that nobody will notice it in-game I dont think. Edited by zaneeba - 07 April 2009 at 8:44pm
	Aye brooka dakka brooka dakka meeyem meeyem!
	IP Logged

Metaru Commander Joined: 03 February 2020 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3305	Posted: 07 April 2009 at 10:37pm
	thats more like a top-frontal angle do the onvius comparision between what you have and what are you pretending to do. its qute hard to notice where is the problem.
	I ate leel's babies
	IP Logged

Infamy Seaman Joined: 02 April 2009 Location: Canada Online Status: Offline Posts: 10	Posted: 07 April 2009 at 11:01pm
	Top frontal is a good description. I think its 3, 1/4 overhead, but each game uses a different mixture of the 3 point perspective. Theres a good deal of foreshortening.
	IP Logged

zaneeba Seaman Joined: 18 December 2008 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 15	Posted: 08 April 2009 at 5:38pm
	Yeah, like ALttP. I know that ALttP isnt the best type of sprite to strive fore (since their angles are so ridiculous) but it still looks pretty cool. Oh, and I fixed the sprite to look more awesome-esque! I just looked through some of the pixel galleries and realized that people used a checker-board technique to blend the shadows. So thats what I did to, and it looks so much better! look between the two and it is a WORLD of difference!
	Aye brooka dakka brooka dakka meeyem meeyem!
	IP Logged

zaneeba Seaman Joined: 18 December 2008 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 15	Posted: 09 April 2009 at 10:26pm
	I have decided to make the sprite a lot smaller, due to it being rather impossible to animate a BIG sprite on a large scale. But what worked on the big sprite seems to not work on the little sprite. I should have known that, but I didnt. The cross-hatching is far more noticable, so he looks like he's wearing sequins!
	Aye brooka dakka brooka dakka meeyem meeyem!
	IP Logged

jeremy Rear Admiral Joined: 25 November 2024 Location: New Zealand Online Status: Offline Posts: 1704	Posted: 10 April 2009 at 12:58am
	That checkerboard blending is called dithering. Make sure not do overdo it, though you haven't so far :) In your concept art, his neck can be seen and he's got his chin raised all haughtily, as it is he looks like a hunchback :P Edited by Jeremy - 10 April 2009 at 12:58am
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Marshall Seaman Joined: 13 April 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 12	Posted: 13 April 2009 at 6:29pm
	I'd say increase the contrast in his robe where his stomach is so it looks like it juts out a bit more (if that's the look you're going for).
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