ISO Sprite WIP [V. 9 Update] WITH GRASS O_O
Printed From: Pixel Joint
Category: Pixel Art
Forum Name: WIP (Work In Progress)
Forum Discription: Get crits and comments on your pixel WIPs and other art too!
URL: https://pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=20258
Printed Date: 09 April 2026 at 3:05pm
Topic: ISO Sprite WIP [V. 9 Update] WITH GRASS O_O
Posted By: Yuelyan
Subject: ISO Sprite WIP [V. 9 Update] WITH GRASS O_O
Date Posted: 05 December 2014 at 4:03pm
Newest Update: P.S. #2 I'm reaaaaally bad with palettes so I've been taking colors off of photographs of grass...so I would much appreciate it if anyone can help direct me to a better palette with the grass. From now, all new versions will be posted at the top for easier access. All past edits will be posted down at the bottom to evaluate the progress. Any last minute critiques/comments before animating? Particularly ones dealing with anatomy, angle, shading, or anything that pertains to structure and not a stylistic one. Version 1  So this is what I have so far for my sprite. Yes, it's anime-style. It's supposed to be a chibi girl. I didn't like her low pigtails, so I gave her high ones with some blue pearls in her hair. However, I'm having a hard time just drawing her facial proportions and the back of her head. From number 5 to 6 I have moved one eye lower than the other to give a sense of isometric perspective and the feeling you're looking from above. I also changed her ear's position and some other stuff such as her chin/cheeks outline, but it still doesn't LOOK right. Number 7 is an attempt at a super deformed chibi body that was quickly done just to give me an idea of how it would look like over a smaller body. I do not wish to work on number 7 because I like the taller version more (and I won't have to redo as much work in all the sprites from 1-4). It's very hard to find isometric references online for semi-chibi anime characters in isometric perspectives so I this is the best I got after I searched up an hour or two of resources. Note these are not finished, and I'm concerned with only THE HEAD for number 6. P.S. I know they're big, but that's not the issue. = =;; P.S. (again) I don't know how long it takes to get a nice sprite, but I've drew over 50 revisions, I only pasted the newest ones. <_< EDIT I shouldn't expect any critiques that quickly, but I'll post a few specifics I'm looking for help. These all pertain to 6. - How can I make her chin more pointy while still alluding to an ISO view as well as keep it a chibi face? - How can I get her head to be overall round, yet not enough that I have to shrink her body to fit the head's new shape? - Where does the line for the back of the head begin? Behind the top portion of the ear? Or underneath the ear? Version 2  I feel it turned out better after many frustrating hours...and finals are over so I have more time to work on her. I reeeally like number 8's proportion in V. 2. I actually wanted her to have a circle-y head since it's chibi-style so all feature are more "rounded". I used the circle tool in Paint as you can see in 7. Still can't really decide between 6 or 8 though...but you can definitely see how it looks better than say 1 or 2. What do you guys think? P.S. Ignore the sloppy background...too lazy on fixing it... Also, I'm not fixing the hair or shadows/highlights till I get the proportion down otherwise I'll have to redo everything when I decide to change it again. Version 3  Version 4  I'm so far happy with the anatomy thus far. I took out the pearls cuz they just look so dang weird. Her hair is tired up in ponytails...but I dun think I need to draw in the actual bands since they're so small (you know those animes that never draw in bands that tie up the girl's hair). Only two things I'm concerned about now... 1. The dividing line on the back of her head, I think I'll erase that or whatnot because it makes it too jumbled up or busy compared to the usual style I have for her. This is an easy fix. 2. I like the coloring so far on her clothes, I do need ideas on her shoes, but the boots may do. I just feel it's so cluttered cuz of the lineart. But I feel it'll be not so bad once you put her on tiles since I plan the tileset to not really have any outlines. I guess the royal blue color hides the outlines fairly well since it's dark. I kind of like number 9 too because it's simple... (#9 was really a sketch to get an idea) Version 5  I made her dress a bit longer to accompany the angle. Now I'm not so sure if I liked her boots on the last one...she just felt so top-heavy compared to her shoes..  So I designed some new boots. Also, ignore the messy grass tiling because I just did that really quick to see what she would look like on a grass tile. I kinda like 3 (the one being displayed on the grass tile) because it makes her legs look less bulky...but the boot closest to the screen does look awkward when you look at it... Which one do you think works best?  Version 6  Version 7  Version 8  |
Replies:
Posted By: Limes
Date Posted: 05 December 2014 at 11:05pm
| Woah, loli? |
Posted By: Yuelyan
Date Posted: 06 December 2014 at 4:02am
| Er, no? I always liked anime styles because they were expressive and colorful. I was kinda of disappointed that Pixeljoint doesn't have enough of them - either that or people tend to disapprove the style. I just joined today, but I've been dying to post on here because it's one of the few (or only) places that I could find that can help you in pixel art. A lot of my inspiration comes from KawaiiHannah too. |
Posted By: MrHai
Date Posted: 06 December 2014 at 10:59am
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Now I'm no ISO expert, but it appears to me that your issues are mostly down to artistic choice. These look quite good to me already, nothing immediately sticks out to me as 'wrong'. That said, personally I prefer the back of the head on #5, though maybe it could be a little smaller. I think you'll just have to experiment a little until you arrive at something you're happy with. Maybe someone more qualified than me will chime in with their views later ;) ------------- "Work is more fun than fun" -John Cale |
Posted By: Limes
Date Posted: 06 December 2014 at 11:31am
| I was just messing with you. Of course not. It looks really good and I think that an anime style doesn't look as good when brought to pixel art form but many disagree. |
Posted By: RebeaLeion
Date Posted: 06 December 2014 at 1:34pm
| It's nice and clean. Good work. |
Posted By: Yuelyan
Date Posted: 06 December 2014 at 3:54pm
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That's what I thought too after I initially finished 1-4 (5 is just a change of the pigtails). However, the more I look at it, the more I realize my view and proportions are off...at least from an ISO view. I tried finding various resources, but it seems the anime style gives the back of the head near the mid section or top portion of the ear rather than starting below it. If you start from below the ear, it gives the illusion you're facing left and right rather facing diagonally down. Yeah, I definitely think artistic style plays a role here, but I also believe that every anime style carries some basic anatomy altogether. The only difference in anatomy are the chibi forms or how "deformed" you want the characters to be. Thanks for your input! |
Posted By: Yuelyan
Date Posted: 06 December 2014 at 4:00pm
I think it depends on the size and style. I can see that many sprites on here are veeery small, so details are not so good. However, you can take a look at Trickster Online's sprites. Here's one example (not made by me) of a side-scroller game sprite (now this is an actual loli XD): 
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Posted By: Yuelyan
Date Posted: 06 December 2014 at 4:02pm
| Thank-you! I wanted it to be clean since when I add background tiles, the characters themselves should stand out so they don't mesh within the background. :) |
Posted By: Yuelyan
Date Posted: 13 December 2014 at 5:13am
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I apologize that I didn't quote my replies in the last three posts (doh, haven't used message boards in a long time). However, they're all listed in chronological order to the people who posted beforehand. Finally, an update (V. 2)! Done with finals so I have more time to work on her! What do you guys think? |
Posted By: Yuelyan
Date Posted: 17 December 2014 at 4:53am
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New version done. I want to say it's completed (for the naked body, but I'mma put clothes on her later), but lemme hear your thoughts about it? How's the anatomy on ALL the new sprites this time? Especially in comparison with the first ones? I've shortened her by a few pixels in thinking that'll better fit her isometric angle as well as chibi proportion. I do need critiques on her back. I've never drawn anime backs before up till now and I find it very difficult without some guidance. I tried looking up references again...and this image came about as my result. I've moved her pigtails down to better suggest an iso-view. Any suggestions or comments on this? Also, the shadow for the back head seems kinda awkward...? Like with the W shape to suggest hairline (since she does have pigtails)... |
Posted By: noaqh
Date Posted: 17 December 2014 at 8:13pm
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huh? What's wrong with anime style works on PJ? sure there aren't many here but to make it looks good, you req some skills( most of em are holding your pen). I have nothing to say about the sprites like the others... since your anime certain type of style doesn't give much details to the hair( Like the old style of drawing sprites in RPGmaker) The shadow in the back is reasonable unless you want a specific type of lighting shader( which is impossible If you want to keep it pure-pixel)... still, I'm lookin forward to see your choices of attire... this base sprites is practically nude in some views. |
Posted By: Melee
Date Posted: 30 December 2014 at 12:57am
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The back looks fine to me; you're working with only so many pixels, so just keeping it a simple line is fine.
Agreed with the practically nude in some pieces comment. :P when you put clothes on her, you'll be getting rid of that booty cheek, hehe. As for the lineart itself, have you tried coloring it so that the flesh lineart has a different color from the hair & clothes? Adds more colors to your palette (depending on your palette choices, I suppose), but it'll make those curves feel less jagged (along with aa). The back of the head on the lower pony version (on the right) has that weird curve bc of how you stuck the lineart pixels right on top of each other along the curviest part. Knock out a few of those pixels to refine the curve, and it'll look smoother. :) Pearl-pony is probably stronger right now bc of that curve being hidden there. Her hair is also more of a solid "chunk" of information, which helps. Perspective-wise, I think you're doing fine for isometric view. You'll need to pay more attention to the clothing when you stick that on bc there's more detail/potential for you to wonk up a hem or whatever. Good job so far. >:) |
Posted By: Yuelyan
Date Posted: 31 December 2014 at 5:02pm
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Originally posted by Melee The back looks fine to me; you're working with only so many pixels, so just keeping it a simple line is fine. Agreed with the practically nude in some pieces comment. :P when you put clothes on her, you'll be getting rid of that booty cheek, hehe. As for the lineart itself, have you tried coloring it so that the flesh lineart has a different color from the hair & clothes? Adds more colors to your palette (depending on your palette choices, I suppose), but it'll make those curves feel less jagged (along with aa). The back of the head on the lower pony version (on the right) has that weird curve bc of how you stuck the lineart pixels right on top of each other along the curviest part. Knock out a few of those pixels to refine the curve, and it'll look smoother. :) Pearl-pony is probably stronger right now bc of that curve being hidden there. Her hair is also more of a solid "chunk" of information, which helps. Perspective-wise, I think you're doing fine for isometric view. You'll need to pay more attention to the clothing when you stick that on bc there's more detail/potential for you to wonk up a hem or whatever. Good job so far. >:) Hi, Thanks for the tips! Though in my newest update I think she looks better without the pearls since the pearls look awkward in some angles like the back in comparison to the front. Lemme know what you think of the newest one with the dark blue dress since I finally added clothing on her. Edit: I also didn't want to color her lineart too much because it's going to be animated - makes it easier on me a bit since I'm new at this (my 4th attempt at pixel art...never animated before). |
Posted By: Yuelyan
Date Posted: 09 January 2015 at 4:31pm
| Any more critiques and/or comments are greatly appreciated! I need them before beginning animations! |
Posted By: PixelSnader
Date Posted: 09 January 2015 at 11:57pm
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Those strands of hair on the side of her head are really narrow and have the lines going up really high, which currently gives off a rather noisy feeling and it'll be even more noticeable in motion. I suggest combining those strands in to one clump, and making the lines a bit shorter and more subtle. More like how stuff on the forehead is done, or that other sprite someone posted. ------------- ▄▄█ ▄▄█ ▄█▄ ▄█▄ |
Posted By: Yuelyan
Date Posted: 10 January 2015 at 5:56pm
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Originally posted by PixelSnader Those strands of hair on the side of her head are really narrow and have the lines going up really high, which currently gives off a rather noisy feeling and it'll be even more noticeable in motion. I suggest combining those strands in to one clump, and making the lines a bit shorter and more subtle. More like how stuff on the forehead is done, or that other sprite someone posted. Do you think the strands are actually really high up or just because of the angle? I'm trying to perpetuate and isometric view from a somewhat aerial view, so I would think they need to be sorta high because it indicates more of the bangs covering much of her head? Also, I don't know how to make the strands more clump-like because her character hair is really tied up into those pigtails, so there are few strands of hair dangling out. Hmm, it could be just artistic style? I'll see if I can get a version where I reduce the height of the strands on the top at least. |
Posted By: PixelSnader
Date Posted: 12 January 2015 at 9:36am
The pigtails aren't the issue. It's the strands that run up very high, and they are very noisy and different compared to the rest of the bangs. Here's an edit;
 ------------- ▄▄█ ▄▄█ ▄█▄ ▄█▄ |
Posted By: Yuelyan
Date Posted: 20 January 2015 at 12:45am
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Originally posted by PixelSnader Er, I can see your point, but that's not the sprite I'm currently working on. I should make it more clear on first post... I put clothes and accessories on my new sprites. They still carry the high strands, but that's because I want to see if it fits with the clothing style as well as angle-wise. That's my newest edit. Should be on the first post. If not, I'll paste one here:The pigtails aren't the issue. It's the strands that run up very high, and they are very noisy and different compared to the rest of the bangs. Here's an edit; |
Posted By: Yuelyan
Date Posted: 22 January 2015 at 2:48am
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New update! Phew... I MMUCH like this grass a lot better...even though it's missing transition tiles... XD |
Posted By: eishiya
Date Posted: 22 January 2015 at 8:12am
| I liked the old grass better. The new grass has more volume and looks better on its own, but it has too much contrast, the character doesn't stand out as well against it. |
Posted By: Yuelyan
Date Posted: 22 January 2015 at 12:52pm
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Originally posted by eishiya Hmm, I see what you mean. The reason I wanted to work on a new grass tile was because I was told the old one looked too busy and it hurts the eyes if you imagine the character moving along it. I think it's because of the high contrast too... In fact, I think it's mainly contrast problems because I'm not good at picking palette colors so I take it off of real life photographs.I liked the old grass better. The new grass has more volume and looks better on its own, but it has too much contrast, the character doesn't stand out as well against it. |
Posted By: Yuelyan
Date Posted: 22 January 2015 at 4:40pm
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Another update! I think I like this one a lot better...fits the style sorta and less "noisy". Wha do you guys think? I might experience with different palette colors later because I want to make it look "lighter" and not so..."dreary"-looking with the dark palette. Something to the effect of Sword of Mana in its use of light colors, but of course with my own touches. |