The VG Resource

Tell me what you think!

The one on the left is the third form, the one on the right is the first form, I have a 2nd form planned, basically a taller, slender version of the first form with features of the third.

P.S. In case you can't tell, the stuff that looks like hair on the third form are supposed to be quills.

Welcome to TSR toadkarter Toastfighter!

Allow me to help you with your 'fakemon' here.

First off these don't look much like pokemon at all, most pokemon are based off real life animals, objects and the occasional greek/fable creature like a hydra for example, these only look vaguely like lizards, but don't have any specific traits to a certain one.

The big guy shouldn't have that much dithering on it (which is basically checkering with the colours) And it's feet look awkward as if its trying to tip-toe, also the bright green symbol on the chest looks ugly compared to the rest of the thing, I recommend changing the color or making it darker and blends with the brown.

The little guy who looks an awful lot like spider-man if he were a lizard is better, but still suffers with shading, the head could use some work by shaping it more circular and add a darker shade inside too.

I hope some of this helped, and i'm sure some other dudes will help you with other things I may of missed, cuz i'm dumb.

Short answer? They're not good.

Long answer? Your lineart is jagged, your color choices are kinda bad (need more contrast) and your shading is unrealistic.

since my shading is obviously terrible, could someone show me how to shade/color it properly? maybe changing part of it thats so jaggy? I also removed the the Emerald (the thing on its chest) I just figured that I might as well use that eye color somewhere else and the chest seemed kinda bare. Im working on a edited version based on some of the advice. They also aren't supposed to actually be pokemon, but something new thats reminiscent of that style of game.

Also, can someone suggest a better program than freaking MS Paint?

(08-08-2011, 07:22 PM)Vipershark Wrote: [ -> ]Short answer? They're not good.

Long answer? Your lineart is jagged, your color choices are kinda bad (need more contrast) and your shading is unrealistic.

I don't want to derail a topic but I just want to say that THIS POST is what NOT to do when criticizing art. Starting with the blunt sentence of "They're not good" is in no way helpful to the artist or even your own post. It's just an extra sentence you added for the sake of looking like a longer post.

The "long answer"? It's a single damn sentence and it doesn't elaborate on anything. The lineart is jagged, yeah ok. Can you continue with that thought? Where specifically is it jagged, where should he be refining it the most, and what can he do to fix it? The colour choices need more contrast. Yes, that's true but again, what can he do to fix this? You provide no reference or tips as to how to make the colours properly contrasted or anything and again you just flat out started with saying they're "kinda bad". Finally, THE SHADING remark was even less helpful than the last two for the same reasons; lack of reference, tips, advice, edits or anything. You didn't mention why it wasn't realistic, how to fix it or even acknowledge the lack of depth in the sprites. If you want to criticize something at least put in the effort to guarantee the person has something to go off of. You gave them NOTHING to work with other than the fact that his sprites are "bad."

Sorry about that.

Personally, if they really are intended to be fakemon, I'd recommend looking at official pokemon sprites a little more analytical. Observe the colours, structure and poses, then find a couple official sprites similar to what you want yours to be like and use them as reference, for colour, shape and the like. I don't feel like being in depth myself(hypocrite, I know), but they're honestly not that bad. The first design is quite nice and given some proper refinement, it can look like a nice pokemon.

(08-08-2011, 07:36 PM)Toastfighter Wrote: [ -> ]Also, can someone suggest a better program than freaking MS Paint?

MS paint has nothing wrong with it. I still use it as my primary program for spriting, it has everything I need. :/

If you really want to use a different program though, I'd recommend Graphics Gale. It has built in pallete editing tools and an animator that allows you to edit each frame and see your animations while you work on them.

Okay, heres the full sheet for them, the top 3 are 3 alternative designs for him, please tell me which is the best to build on design wise.
The bottom 6 you will need a program with "mask" availible, take out the background and replace it with mask, then paste one onto the the other to get a complete sprite.
I know, I hate the horns too.

Personally I like the original the best out of the three designs.

I don't know what you're trying to do with these guys in comparison to Pokemon, so I'm just going to give you advice as if you were just making straight-up, official-type fakemon.

First off - Try using more saturated and brighter colors. Pokemon tend to not be dull. Here are three I picked out that I think you could take colors from:

Secondly - On Pokemon, when an organic shape such as fur or grass is being represented, it is simplified like woah. Take a look at Wooper's "antenna" vs a real Axolotl's. As you can see, Wooper's antenna aren't as feathery, but they have the same color and position so they get the point across. I think this problem is most visible in your evolved form's mane. Try simplifying it, looking at Arcanine and Ninetales for examples.

Third - shading. B/W style sprites usually have no highlights and very simple shadows. I would recommend, once you fix your colors, cutting down to two shades per color - unless what you're shading is supposed to be very shiny/reflective. Then a highlight or two is okay. In addition, dithering was only used in Gens 1, 2, and 3.

Finally - Your design, although a bit complex, seems like it'll look fine once you fix the sprite itself. However, Pokemon usually have large, expressive eyes. I use official Pokemon as reference for most of my eyes, and there's a handy chart Here.

Your work reminds me a lot of my work from 3 years ago and I think I've come pretty far since then.

Good luck, and keep spriting!

The proportions aren't very Pokémon-like at all, the overall design sense is more close to that of Digimon.
Here's what I mean:

(08-08-2011, 09:10 PM)Sketchasaurus Wrote: [ -> ]The proportions aren't very Pokémon-like at all, the overall design sense is more close to that of Digimon.
Here's what I mean:

Spoiler

Well, you did my own creation better than I did... If you'll excuse me, im just going to go cry in a corner now T.T

obs: people's edits aren't suppose to kill your motivation, and if it does, it's because you're dumb.

They're doing their best to give you suggestions, saying 'welp im crien in a corner' isn't the best thing to do.

(08-08-2011, 09:33 PM)Gors Wrote: [ -> ]obs: people's edits aren't suppose to kill your motivation, and if it does, it's because you're dumb.

They're doing their best to give you suggestions, saying 'welp im crien in a corner' isn't the best thing to do.

It was a joke, harsh

---

Just saying guys, Im not trying to make a pokemon or a digimon, I am working on this for a game with a friend, the premise is like pokemon and digimon, but the creatures begin to change their appearance before they evolve, this tree in particular is a land based (the other 2 are water and sky based, off of the greeks species classification system) This one in particular is going to evolve from the small guy, and into either the big guy up there, or a basically a Large Bat man, the best description i can think of for a color palette would be a more "Demonic" one, thats why I chose Black and Crimson. I know, I have been piss poor in explaining this up to date, sorry.

Btw I suggest you use this animal as a reference to make it more poke'-mony

giant Chinese salamander

(08-08-2011, 09:36 PM)Toastfighter Wrote: [ -> ]Just saying guys, Im not trying to make a pokemon or a digimon, I am working on this for a game with a friend, the premise is like pokemon and digimon, but the creatures begin to change their appearance before they evolve, this tree in particular is a land based (the other 2 are water and sky based, off of the greeks species classification system) This one in particular is going to evolve from the small guy, and into either the big guy up there, or a basically a Large Bat man, the best description i can think of for a color palette would be a more "Demonic" one, thats why I chose Black and Crimson. I know, I have been piss poor in explaining this up to date, sorry.

If you're not making Pokemon, don't call them "fakemon". Fakemon denotes a fake Pokemon, not an original monster creation, no matter how Pokemon-inspired it may be.

What you're doing sounds a lot like my current project - one thing I've learned is that if you're making a monster-battler game you have to differentiate them from Pokemon in both sprite style and design, or else they're just glorified Pokemon. Try a totally different style - more shades, less shades, totally different colors, different size/color restrictions, different outline styles - the possibilities are endless. Change the designs up too - put things on them that you definitely wouldn't see on a Pokemon.

My previous critique still stands, however - things like Pokemon and Digimon are good to study if you're doing a cartoony monster game, though I would also suggest looking at other similar games - try Shin Megami Tensei (or the more childish spinoff Demikids), Dragon Warrior/Quest Monsters, Azure Dreams (hey, I ripped that sheet!), or Telefang.

If you don't want people to think you're making Pokemon, you can't be making Pokemon in the first place - or calling them Pokemon for that matter.

(08-08-2011, 10:20 PM)masquerain Wrote: [ -> ]If you're not making Pokemon, don't call them "fakemon".

It's not being called fakemon,
they're fakey-mon,



fakey-mon.











fakey-mon.

(08-08-2011, 07:36 PM)Toastfighter Wrote: [ -> ]They also aren't supposed to actually be pokemon, but something new thats reminiscent of that style of game.

He said this before you posted your crit.




You said you've done poorly with describing it to this point.

I suggest going into more detail,
maybe a little backstory,
some traits,
etc.

Would help make something more dynamic in the end.

Like, it's coloured demonic,
is it actually demonic?

Can it come off as more demonic;
like a more savage pose, more fitting details, etc.

(08-08-2011, 10:20 PM)masquerain Wrote: [ -> ]

(08-08-2011, 09:36 PM)Toastfighter Wrote: [ -> ]Just saying guys, Im not trying to make a pokemon or a digimon, I am working on this for a game with a friend, the premise is like pokemon and digimon, but the creatures begin to change their appearance before they evolve, this tree in particular is a land based (the other 2 are water and sky based, off of the greeks species classification system) This one in particular is going to evolve from the small guy, and into either the big guy up there, or a basically a Large Bat man, the best description i can think of for a color palette would be a more "Demonic" one, thats why I chose Black and Crimson. I know, I have been piss poor in explaining this up to date, sorry.

If you're not making Pokemon, don't call them "fakemon". Fakemon denotes a fake Pokemon, not an original monster creation, no matter how Pokemon-inspired it may be.

What you're doing sounds a lot like my current project - one thing I've learned is that if you're making a monster-battler game you have to differentiate them from Pokemon in both sprite style and design, or else they're just glorified Pokemon. Try a totally different style - more shades, less shades, totally different colors, different size/color restrictions, different outline styles - the possibilities are endless. Change the designs up too - put things on them that you definitely wouldn't see on a Pokemon.

My previous critique still stands, however - things like Pokemon and Digimon are good to study if you're doing a cartoony monster game, though I would also suggest looking at other similar games - try Shin Megami Tensei (or the more childish spinoff Demikids), Dragon Warrior/Quest Monsters, Azure Dreams (hey, I ripped that sheet!), or Telefang.

If you don't want people to think you're making Pokemon, you can't be making Pokemon in the first place - or calling them Pokemon for that matter.

i assumed it was an umbrella term for pokemon-esque games.

---

(08-08-2011, 10:35 PM)Proton Wrote: [ -> ]

(08-08-2011, 10:20 PM)masquerain Wrote: [ -> ]If you're not making Pokemon, don't call them "fakemon".

It's not being called fakemon,
they're fakey-mon,



fakey-mon.

(08-08-2011, 07:36 PM)Toastfighter Wrote: [ -> ]They also aren't supposed to actually be pokemon, but something new thats reminiscent of that style of game.

He said this before you posted your crit.




You said you've done poorly with describing it to this point.

I suggest going into more detail,
maybe a little backstory,
some traits,
etc.

Would help make something more dynamic in the end.

Like, it's coloured demonic,
is it actually demonic?

Can it come off as more demonic;
like a more savage pose, more fitting details, etc.

There will be 12 in all of the creatures, 3 starters (1 land 1 water 1 air) 3 evos (same as before) and 6 final forms (1 water, 1 water-air, 1 water-land, 1 land, 1 land-air, 1 air) and they will evolve based on which stats are distributed where, like with this one, giving it Def makes it turn into the Red Hulk up there( land), while giving it Speed will make it into a bat (air-land) the land branch is based on humanoids+mammals, the water is based on insects, the air based on reptiles. The reason I want it demonic colored is because it is based around dark caves, hence the dark colors, and I always like Black/Red so that seemed to go well with the theme.

The game is a world that evolved much like our own, although instead of upgrading their tools and technology, man created new tools, weapons in the fellow creatures that inhabited their lands who became machines of war. Those who learned to control these creatures used them to savage others who had discovered the same secret, and lit the spark for a flame that would erupt the world in the inferno of perpetual war. The story that we follow is that of one of these creatures spawn that finds its way to an isolated, innocent island, and the blight of war that creeps across the sea, following it's lost prize.