Lord Vehement! (and a chest)

ID:258533
 
Jul 11 2009, 8:27 pm (Edited on Jul 16 2009, 10:51 am)
Just note that I'm a newbie at pixel art. I'm challenging myself by learning the way of the pixel. I've got a fun little game planned and I decided I'd start piddling with sprites since I'm terrible at everything!

Anyway, I've settled on a process by which I first draw the outline of what I want with some detail lines as well. Then I move on to trying to shade it in.

Here is Lord Vehement in all his glory:
=> => => => => => =>

I also made an isometric-ish (ish: considering I don't know the proper angle) treasure chest for practice:


Being new, I'm looking for constructive criticism along with tips for pixel art in general. Any and all aid is very much welcome!

Thanks

[Edit] Added another version with the shadow.
[Edit-2] Added the newest version with a an altered palette according to some critique and tips.
[Edit-3] Updated with the current chronology of work.
Jul 12 2009, 7:24 am
Wow, it looks really good! I'm no expert myself, but it seems you've got some talent, if those are some of your first pieces of work, as a beginner. All hail Lord Vehement!
Jul 13 2009, 10:02 am
I made the legs longer, changed the palette a bit, and put in a bunch of work on killing the noise.



I'd say it's coming along but I'm having trouble with it looking like he has underwear on Shocked That and I'm having trouble with shading the legs in general.

Please advise.
Jul 14 2009, 10:41 am
In response to Vermolius
Vermolius wrote:
I made the legs longer, changed the palette a bit, and put in a bunch of work on killing the noise.



I'd say it's coming along but I'm having trouble with it looking like he has underwear on Shocked That and I'm having trouble with shading the legs in general.

Please advise.

Well, I see that you put mind into dithering it. Well done for a beginner.I wish I cud edit it, but I'm on the run. Maybe later.
Jul 15 2009, 8:42 am
In response to Flav_Flamez34
Flav_Flamez34 wrote:
Well, I see that you put mind into dithering it. Well done for a beginner.I wish I cud edit it, but I'm on the run. Maybe later.

Indeed I did and thanks for the compliment. As for editing, please do when you get the chance!

Here's the newest version:


The legs were redone, and I made some changes to the coloring of the abdomen. That and I put some cape along his shoulders.
Jul 15 2009, 3:39 pm
In response to Vermolius
Vermolius wrote:
Flav_Flamez34 wrote:
Well, I see that you put mind into dithering it. Well done for a beginner.I wish I cud edit it, but I'm on the run. Maybe later.

Indeed I did and thanks for the compliment. As for editing, please do when you get the chance!

Here's the newest version:


The legs were redone, and I made some changes to the coloring of the abdomen. That and I put some cape along his shoulders.

Hey pal, it seems you've come a long way since you first show me this. For starters his srmor seems to be made of clay rather than metal, it is very round and not shiny enough. His arms seem to in a very tense position and they are a little short, His feet seem to be a little big and look like two potatoes. The cape looks like it is made of cardboard. Like you said before he is very monochrmatic and therefore very dull, try using hue shifting and reshape the armor. Well anyways I hope this help I'll leave you with this edit I made for you hope it helps.

Cheers!

P.S: I didn't shade the cape I just redesign it.
Jul 15 2009, 4:54 pm
In response to MdNight
Damn, that's such a change of his art. I don't think he should use this as an edit, but more of an example. Not because your art is bad, it's great, but you changed his style and art too much for him to reproduce in other images. So with that image it'd be impossible for him to reproduce other art the same style for his project(Unless you just made the rest of his art). But this is more of a message to Vermolius then you.
Jul 15 2009, 8:04 pm
In response to Vermolius
Vermolius wrote:
The legs were redone, and I made some changes to the coloring of the abdomen. That and I put some cape along his shoulders.

Heya. Nice work, Verm. Very impressive for a (duh dun dunnnnn) programmer. I see you're multiclassing :)
I wanted to point out that the shading on the lower abdomen makes his butt look like it's sticking out and his neck is waay back behind the chest. Just a quick and dirty edit:

A's original with a verrrrrry rough sketch of what that shading is telling me about his posture.
B is just an edit on the lower ab area and the neck - just as an idea.
C is a suggestion on:
-giving him a bit more of a dynamic pose using the legs
-matching the light source on the body to his black faceplate and chest piece
-and giving a heavier outline to the arms (which make them look like he's holding them out a bit more)
-oh, and some cape shading!

Just ideas. None of them match your shading style - which is a damn good style. I like the four shades of read personally and you seem to be naturally grasping shading on sprites! Nice!
Jul 16 2009, 7:38 am
In response to TheMonkeyDidIt
TheMonkeyDidIt wrote:
Heya. Nice work, Verm. Very impressive for a (duh dun dunnnnn) programmer. I see you're multiclassing :)

As always, multiclassing is difficult work! :P

I wanted to point out that the shading on the lower abdomen makes his butt look like it's sticking out and his neck is waay back behind the chest. Just a quick and dirty edit:

Interesting, I only wish someone had offered that up when I was toiling away trying to eliminate the 'underwear'. I'm definitely going to be fixing his 'booty walk' posture, as per your example. I'll fix the shading on the faceplate, gemstone, and neck, too. Look at me, forgetting about my own light source! As for the legs, I'm thinking I'll see what they look like a little closer together than your suggestion. =D

Just ideas. None of them match your shading style - which is a damn good style. I like the four shades of read personally and you seem to be naturally grasping shading on sprites! Nice!

If only you knew how long I've been working on these 2,048 pixels.

Oh, and before I forget to mention it. Your example A reminds me of the Grinch! Little did we know that Lord Vehement was the Grinch in battle-gear.
Jul 16 2009, 9:35 am
In response to Bakasensei
Hehe, I guess I did went a little overboard; although, my goal was mainly to give him an example or another way of shading things. Hope it help Verms!
Jul 16 2009, 10:48 am
I made a lot of small changes and a few decent changes. I'm still toying with the cape as it is proving difficult. I made his shoulder spikes a bit spikier, flanged out and recolored the cape, fixed a few things TMDI mentioned, and re-added the shadow around his feet.



Suffice it to say I'm not entirely pleased with the cape, it is the best I've gotten it to look though. I wouldn't mind advice on the shadow either, keep in mind it will be partially transparent in game.