E-Man's Sprite R & D

[E-Man]

Hm? Did you say that the light source is tricky for you to determine? Well, to start things off, all my lights come from the right. As for why it switches, it actually has to do with the "hills" and "valleys" that are formed when the flag flaps in the breeze. Perhaps this should give you an idea of what I'm talking about?



By the way, I chose the colors for my flag because they are part of an "established" palette I decided to use. I hope this will not affect anything, but I decided to "break the rules" by adding a few more additional green colors.



I achieved this effect by lowing the opacity of the shading down to 50 percent. Will this work?

[Gors]

that's the same as using another green shade. Just add those colors and work with them instead of trying to make them fit in a really limiting palette.

because that's a rookie mistake. Not only are they glaringly noticeable, but some applications (MS Paint is a good example) cause strange things to happen to its transparency when used.

Well then I think I've always doing a rookie mistake then (I wasn't)

while pure black is good to avoid (due to lack of hue and occupying way too much space), pure white can be combined with any color for highlights and specs. Also, just set up the transparency color in MS Paint a color other than white to solve your problem.

Also the flag's animation looks weird, if you notice its tip's movement, you'll see it's shaking wildly.



pay attention to the triangle shape in this flag, and see the path the tip draws when flowing.

[E-Man]

*Scratches chin* OK then, I will put using pure white into consideration, but how about this compromise? Instead of using #FFFFFF, how about I use #FEFEFE? It looks almost the same as pure white anyway.

Also, the only reason why I was concerned about MS Pain is that I know not everyone has the best image editing software. Therefore, I decided to put that into consideration in case they did not figure out the transparency problem yet.

By the way, I fixed up the flag again. How about this?



Also, I started on the coins. Anything look out of place about them? If so, would you mind showing me?

[Gors]

i think that anyone that ventures into pixelart with ms paint should know at least that

also i am still not sure about teh shading on the fabric, it's making it look like a kit kat bar than a curved fabric imo.

as for the coin it looks really nice

[E-Man]

Gors, do you realize how much it made my day when you said my coin looks really nice? I thought there was something wrong with it, but when you gave me such a compliment on my first attempt at a Mario coin, I'm actually flattered. Thank you!

Anyway, you raise a good point about how MS Spriters would be able to figure out the transparency thing, but if it's all the same to you, I would like to stick to #FEFEFE as a precaution. Sure, if they try to mess around with an area that has a huge amount of white without knowing the trick with transparency, then I know when they would figure it out; however, smaller areas of white (such as some highlights) are more vulnerable and some spriters might miss those if they're not careful. Please forgive me for my decision to use #FEFEFE instead of #FFFFFF.

Alright, moving on, though. I see what you mean about the flag looking like a Kit-Kat Bar. I put some thought into it and I think this might work. What do you think?



By the way, I did a lot more progress on the sprite sheet and added some new sprites. I added a Poison Mushroom, a platform, the Ax (I couldn't decide on the palette), and the leaves at the top of the beanstalk.



I attempted to use the orange-yellow on a few of the sprites (such as the Star), but they didn't look all that great. I think I'll stick with the original palettes for those exceptions, but I already replaced some of the white values with #FEFEFE. Anything else you would suggest?

By the way, considering all the work I put into this sprite sheet, I think I would like to wrap it up pretty soon and get it ready for submission. I know that there's several changes I need to address before I even think of organizing them, but would everything I have be enough for one sprite sheet?

[Kriven]

On the topic of flag movement: if you look at pointed flags IRL, the tips do tend to flap around wildly as opposed to holding shape like the more sail-shaped flags do. Look at the Flag of Nepal here, which has two points (1:43):



While the stationary point is more aesthetic pleasing, it isn't quite true to life. Not that the animation is bad at all, it's really good. It just depends what you want out of it.

[Gors]

Thanks, hadn't thought about it!

but then, analyzing the same video, the ripple effects are also quick in order to 'whip' the tip part like that.

[E-Man]

*Scratches head* I'm not sure what needs to happen to my flag considering that Gors originally wanted the flag tip to not whip about all over the place, while Kriven insists that whip it about. Forgive me for even mentioning this, but these two pieces of critique are slightly confusing me because they almost appear to contradict each other... Aw well! It's no big deal! Perhaps I could stick with the flag animation I already have right now?

Speaking of the flag, I remembered that the flag has a skull icon on it. Luckily, I didn't forget about it. How does it look?



Also, to add some new progress, I actually took a look at the most recent sprites I created. I was uncertain about the spots on the cap of the Poison Mushroom becuase they blend in too much, so I decided to change them. On top of that, I didn't like the highlight on the ax, so I also addressed that issue. Here are the results.



While I'm happy about the new highlights on the axes, the Poison Mushroom did not turn out as well as I thought it would. The lighter spots blended with the highlight on the cap, while the darker spots blended with the cap far more than the original. I think I'll stick with the original variation, but what do you guys think?

[E-Man]

Well, this topic is a little quiet now, so how about I show you my final sprite sheet after I laid everything out?



I think the sheet turned out rather well, but if I must be nit-picky, I have to say that the layout seems too basic and a little lackluster. If you think it's good, I'll just create a forum topic in the submission section and give the sheet some finishing touches. Of course, if something about the layout bothers you, I'm open to suggestions that would make it more appealing.

[Hiynastrike]

OHHHH! Now I see why the lights swap on the flag... I would have to say... That the flag looks like it's coming out when the light is on the left...

[E-Man]

Hey, mate, don't worry about the misunderstanding. It wasn't the first one I was involved in and this one is clearly not the worst.

Anyway, with all the progress I've done so far, you reckon that this sheet is ready for submission, Hiyna, or do you see something else that needs to be addressed?

[E-Man]

Okay then, I think the lack of anymore feedback means that I'm good to go on this sprite sheet. I guess there's nothing left but to to submit it, which I already attempted to in another topic.

With that aside, I think I should work on the next sprite sheet. For this next one, I'm going to tackle a Mario character to practice animating characters. It's one we all love. He appeared in almost every Mario game. He keeps on going despite the odds against him. Without this guy, the Mario games would not be what they are today. Everyone, I give you...



GOOMBA! ......... What? Were you expecting someone like Mario or something?

..... Okay, it's a little bad of me to get overly excited over nothing. I'm sorry about that. Anyway, before I move onto complex sheets I decided to start with the most basic of enemies. Sure, I could sprite Mario, but since he has more animation and moveable parts than a Goomba, the smart choice is to start off small.

What do you think? See any corrections you would like me to cover?

[Hiynastrike]

Hey, mate, don't worry about the misunderstanding. It wasn't the first one I was involved in and this one is clearly not the worst.

Anyway, with all the progress I've done so far, you reckon that this sheet is ready for submission, Hiyna, or do you see something else that needs to be addressed?

Maybe you can put a curve on top when the flag is in (highlight is on the right)

[E-Man]

Hey, whatever you say, guv'nor! I'm happy to oblige!



The only thing is that I'm attempting to submit the previous version of the sheet in this topic.... Aw well! I could just tack it on in a post I'll edit!

http://www.vg-resource.com/showthread.php?tid=24011

[E-Man]

Hmmm... The lack of feedback on this topic is rather disappointing... Then again, most of the sprite topics are hardly getting any attention anymore, so what gives?

.... Aw well! I better not think about it too deeply. Right now, though, I better focus on the topic at hand. To start things off, I gave my little Goomba some animations.




Idle


Blink


Idle + Blink


Just let me know what you think, OK?


By the way, when I was in the process of getting my sheet submitted, Ton had a few words to say about it. He liked almost ever aspect of the sheet (especially the coin, the flag, and the Fire Flower), but he was a little bothered by the Mushroom, the Star, and the Axe.



He thought the Mushroom looked too much like a circle, so I enlarged the cap. Personally, I like the original better because it looks adorable, but I am willing to go with the first option. As for the second one.... Not so much...

To make the Star look more round, Ton suggested to add another shade in there. I complied with his advice, but it wasn't easy to do. In fact, I'm a little uneasy if my new shades look any good. What do you think?

As for the Axe, I did a little something to make it looks less flat. I don't know what you guys think, but i am proud of how it turned out.

Got any other suggestions before I compile these new versions into my final sprite sheet?