Whoops lost track of time doing this
Anyway, there were some things on your portrait that I thought could use improving (some that may carry to your smaller sprites, too).
As such, I did an edit:
![[Image: rcXSygE.gif]](http://i.imgur.com/rcXSygE.gif)
Allow me to explain--
* First off, the outline on the ear. Yellow often is picked to transition to brownish or reddish hues as you darken it. Since your predominant color is brown, I thought this third shade of yellow was unnecessary.
* I wasn't going to fix this, but I gave it a try because why not, right?
Let me just add that you picked the worst kind of hat ever. : |
I am still not sure how you're supposed to visualize these things.
In any case, your beret seemed kind of amorphous, so using a number of reference off google images, I came up with one.
Oh, and you really need to increase the saturation on this color--next to the bright red on your shirt, this color looks so dull! Also, increase contrast on the darkest shades.
*As for the eyes, they looked a little flat. I gave them volume with some AA, and I thought they'd look better if they looked less googly. They still look a little vacant, I guess, but something along those lines should work.
*I spotted more than a few issues with the shirt. First off, the collar was all off. Again, it seemed flat, so redoing the outline was necessary. The shading applied did not seem appropriate-- The light should be able to reach the upper arm so all those shadows are unnecessary. The shoulder also seemed much too round. As for the arm, unless he only has one arm, at this angle, you should be able to see a considerable amount of his left arm. I added a few creases on shirt here and there. The shading on the undershirt is a bit trickier, but in any case, it's kind of strange how it implies that the half of his torso is the point with the least light? You have to imagine as if the rest of his body was there too.
Other suggestions: I think the 'v' on his neck might be at the wrong angle, just noticed that. You can use the shading on his tail to suggest a furry texture, by making 'spikes'. It's not a big deal, but maybe it'll make it look nicer. Oh, and watch out for overusing AA.
Mario's hat seems banded. Go easy on the AA there. His skin's outline should be darker.
For Silver, the outline for the leopard portion could be darker. Same thing for the whites on the bluejay portion.
You didn't seem to mention the robot, but in any case, it has a heavy case of banding and low contrast.
Twilight sparkle's outline should be darker for the lighter purple. You could even reuse the colors from the darker purple for that purpose. You could make the second shade a tad darker for the lighter purple.
Overall, for the darkest shades, go really dark! If you're going to have outlines, you want them to really make the character's shape stand out. Don't be afraid of making your shades a lot darker each time -- contrast really brings out the lighter colors.
Anyway, there were some things on your portrait that I thought could use improving (some that may carry to your smaller sprites, too).
As such, I did an edit:
Allow me to explain--
* First off, the outline on the ear. Yellow often is picked to transition to brownish or reddish hues as you darken it. Since your predominant color is brown, I thought this third shade of yellow was unnecessary.
* I wasn't going to fix this, but I gave it a try because why not, right?
Let me just add that you picked the worst kind of hat ever. : |
I am still not sure how you're supposed to visualize these things.
In any case, your beret seemed kind of amorphous, so using a number of reference off google images, I came up with one.
Oh, and you really need to increase the saturation on this color--next to the bright red on your shirt, this color looks so dull! Also, increase contrast on the darkest shades.
*As for the eyes, they looked a little flat. I gave them volume with some AA, and I thought they'd look better if they looked less googly. They still look a little vacant, I guess, but something along those lines should work.
*I spotted more than a few issues with the shirt. First off, the collar was all off. Again, it seemed flat, so redoing the outline was necessary. The shading applied did not seem appropriate-- The light should be able to reach the upper arm so all those shadows are unnecessary. The shoulder also seemed much too round. As for the arm, unless he only has one arm, at this angle, you should be able to see a considerable amount of his left arm. I added a few creases on shirt here and there. The shading on the undershirt is a bit trickier, but in any case, it's kind of strange how it implies that the half of his torso is the point with the least light? You have to imagine as if the rest of his body was there too.
Other suggestions: I think the 'v' on his neck might be at the wrong angle, just noticed that. You can use the shading on his tail to suggest a furry texture, by making 'spikes'. It's not a big deal, but maybe it'll make it look nicer. Oh, and watch out for overusing AA.
Mario's hat seems banded. Go easy on the AA there. His skin's outline should be darker.
For Silver, the outline for the leopard portion could be darker. Same thing for the whites on the bluejay portion.
You didn't seem to mention the robot, but in any case, it has a heavy case of banding and low contrast.
Twilight sparkle's outline should be darker for the lighter purple. You could even reuse the colors from the darker purple for that purpose. You could make the second shade a tad darker for the lighter purple.
Overall, for the darkest shades, go really dark! If you're going to have outlines, you want them to really make the character's shape stand out. Don't be afraid of making your shades a lot darker each time -- contrast really brings out the lighter colors.