The VG Resource

I'm stuck.



The Ref is:
http://i25.tinypic.com/11qmj4j.jpg

I'm now working on the Oathkeeper, and I guess I'm sorta done with the lines, so I started to shade - but it feels off, and I don't know how to fix it. It's so fustrating. =/

With bond of flame, it shouldn't be too hard to just add those two spikes on the back of the 2nd circle, right?

Ah, that's true. Nah, it shouldn't abe a big deal, it's actually more or less a cut-n-paste job. I hope that it doesn't make the weapon *too* long.

Which of those Bond of Flame incarnations is the better one? So I can ditch the others.

third one, i believe. although it looks way too similar with the 2nd one.

The 3rd is essentially the second with the handle tweaked to be more angular.

I'll edit this post shortly with the 3rd sprite including spikes.

Edit-fu:

now that i se it more carefully, the handle is more octagonal than a circle. unless thats because its a result of it being a 3D model.

No, it really is octoganal, but I'm finding it hard to represent at that size. Bond of Flame hasn't been my best work...

but make it simple. dont get overwhelmed by everysingle detail on the handle. the shape is the most recognizable feature and even though the blade is what defines the object.

also, the kingdom key could use a bit, but just a bit more contrasts. its made of metal, isnt it? it looks rather plasctic atm to my taste.

http://www.pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_po...7&KW=Mozco here's a resubmit of the Mozco shading metals tutorial that you might find useful.

That tutorial makes sense, but there's a slight problem.

Just how far should I drift from the style for sake of good representation? So far I'm using the colours and shading methods from the game sprites (which is what would put it in-style). That causes a problem when keys require certain shdes of grey or black, as the supplied palletes for that SERIOUSLY lack in contrast. The shaft of Follow the Wind and pretty much all of Oblivion testament to that. The keyblades are in fact far too long to be used in the game (or at least not without difficulty).

So what say you? Would it be advisible to ditch it being 'in-style', and go hell-for leather on the shading and palette?

And yeah, I'll go redo the BoF's handle.

A.K.A GrooveMan.exe learns that he can't shade for shit, and should use references for shading more often.



Not *quite* brave enough to attempt the face or hands from scratch, but everything else is custom. I built the outline and shaded it how I thought it should go, but when I finished it looked pillowy and OH GOD MY EYES, so the second time round I ditched a few shades, and followed the shading style of Draglade more closely; and it does look much better. I'm quite proud of how the hat turned out.

It's in Draglade Style apart from the height - it's somewhat taller.

I'm gonna to a mockup for a menuscreen, where you can select what classic RPG classes you want to fuse. I'm not sure what classes I'm gonna choose, though. Any suggestions?

Edit: In case anyone cares, I tend to work out character designs by saving a shit load of character art, then finding interesting fragments, and using those as ideas. If you only save images that look good, then it's easier to come up with a good looking outfit! The chimera of body parts you end up with are pretty lol-worthy, though.
http://i38.tinypic.com/15rbf2p.png

shirt and hat lookin awesome
pants kind of look pillow-shaded
try to focus less on shading the clothing folds and think of the pants as if they were his legs, shade his legs like they were naked, so that then you can add the folds.

I'm not sure how to de-pillow the lower part of the trousers, since they already consist of only two colours and the outline. I did tweak the aqua parts though, along with some other minor bits.



Better?

yeah, but now looking closer at it, his right arm also looks pillowed
do it like this: use gray on his forearm, and above his forearm use white.

REDUX

?

I like it so far, but I think you should play with the colors and try to find some more interesting combinations. Right now they're just meh.

Keep it up! (You don't sprite enough )