Askeladden

[Paladin]

Thanks for the advice, but I just want to say that he isn't supposed to perfectly resemble an owl, his design is just loosely based on one. In the stories, he is a perfectly normal human, I just like to use some owl features when I design kings, because I think it fits.

[Paladin]

HELP, I don't know how to shade the dress!

[Level 1]

Here, have a reference that I use sometimes.

[Paladin]

Ha, funny, I actually used that a bit, I just have trouble applying it to my lightsource and high contrast.

[Iocus]

Heh heh, that tutorial sure is getting around.

Anyway, I wish I could make an edit for you, but unfortunately, I can't access internet from my computer at all this week, so I'll just give you an incredibly vague and confusing explanation.

When you have crease at the bottom of her dress, it indicates that the cloth is bending inwards, so you have to make the outline illustrate this as well. Generally, when you have
creases, they travel from and to the hinge points in your surface. That is, from the region that applies the largest "pull" to the lowest. So you would like the folds in your surface to more
or less travel in the same direction along its corresponding triangular plane.

...I'm so sorry I'm not making any sense

Btw, kind of disappointed you got rid of her pigtails.

[Paladin]

That was actually a pretty good explanation, and I think I get what you mean, so I'll just have to see if a can manage to do it.

Also, I'm not getting rid of the pigtails, I was just checking if I can draw long hair at all.

[Paladin]

I needed a little break from spriting, but here's some practice. I would like some input on techniques to help make the sprites a bit more appealing, as well as some advice on colours.

[Chris2Balls [:B]]

It really depends what effect you're aiming for. Are you imitating a style? Are you inspired by a style? What do you want to say through these sprites?
I can see you're already experimenting with proportions, and sticking to a more desaturated palette. Making a big head/face allows more facial expressivity, ie making emotions easier to read, especially if the features are stylised.
You'll get appeal when you get close to what you want to express

[Paladin]

Hm... I feel that your point about expressing things through sprites is very important. I haven't really done anything more than just giving it a vague thought before beginning to sprite. I also think that's why I can't really enjoy the sprites I make, because they don't say much.

I think what I really want is to express more emotions and settings. Perhaps experimenting with colours and expressions. I like bizarre stuff, so maybe I should be a bit more radical when I sprite. I want to draw things you can't really encounter in reality and more in stories, so I think I might have drawn the wrong thing the whole time.

I didn't really know how to word this, so it might be a bit weird.

[Chris2Balls [:B]]

It isn't a question of wrong or right - keep making sprites as spontaneously! Looking back at the results and asking yourself what you see in them (and not what you want to see in them) will come in useful to your expression.

It's fine if you don't know, it takes (a lot of) time to find your way, so yeah... experimenting is really important! Have fun.

Coming back to appeal: you can also make your sprites appealing if you imitate or quote a style. It's like people who imitate Mario&Luigi sprites, Metal Slug explosions, or people who imitate Secret of Mana trees, the list goes on. The appeal is in the recognition of the reference and in its successful execution: you're getting appeal from the quoting.
Things get interesting when you bring together your subject/topic with what you're referencing/quoting: you're potentially bringing new meaning and context to the quote, which also gives more depth to your work, too. You've already started doing this by turning an Askeladden story into sprites, for example.

[Paladin]

All right, small update.


Askeladden and his long ass scarf

EDIT: Just noticed his hand looks kinda weird, I should fix that


Background progress, criticism is appreciated. Still not the final palette, so there is going to be more contrast from the sky, I think.


Still having problems with the dress. I think I'm imagining the triangular axis wrong.

[Chris2Balls [:B]]

The triangular axis starts from the folds, that's why. Remember that clothes are basically fabric under tension, and the fanning is created where there is tension.
I think if you visualised the girl's body it would help understand where the dress is pulling on her body:

This isn't perfect and I found it pretty difficult to do, but I hope you can get something out of this.

[Level 1]

This might help you get a good reference for the dress

[Paladin]

Applied some changes to the dress according to what Chris and Level 1 suggested. I'm not sure if it's done yet, but I think it looks better now.



Started a run cycle for Askeladden.

Thoughts?

[Kelvin]

Very interesting take on a remastered Pokemon sprite. As for the background practice, I like it, but the grass seems a little bland. The trees are really good, though.