pointless sprites

[newGuy]

Hey, this is my first post here, not including the ones in my introduction thread, so, here goes nothing. I'm looking for some feedback on those sprites, and hoping you dudes would be so kind as to keep in mind I'm still an easy-mode-player in the sprting game.

random experiences with character spriting.


my concept on the Grinning Colossus from YHTBTR


a pokemon gold-style sprite based on Dio, I think I used one color more than I was supposed to


Well, that's it for now, hope you people can give me some helpful feedback on those.

[Sengir]

I really like the creepy black thing, but I think you need to increase the contrast for the little people.

[newGuy]

By the 'little people' you mean the first sprite? You think I should redo the palette? Are the sunglasses of the blues brothers (dudes in the suits) visible? Thanks for the comment!

[Sengir]

yeah, i noticed the sunglasses, but the colors look to similar and too washed out.

[brandman1996]

The first sprite's look... odd. I really don't know what to say about them or how to give cc on.

The second's eye's look like you used the circle tool on them. Either way they hurt my eyes and the green does too. Change background please, and add some shading to the outline of the eyeball's. Also on the sprites next to the first, the iris looks towards you instead of forward like the first. I've never played the game so I don't know whether it's supposed to or not, but still.

The last one's are fine except I think the shades are a little too bright and vibrant for g/s.

[DioShiba]

The black outlines on the smiling thing bug me, but since It's a concept I won't go too deep on that.

Just another thing for future reference, try not to use MS paint default circles (or default colors for that matter, you used at least 3 shades I can recognize on MS paint) for any reason, if you really want something decent try to draw it from scratch. Won't kill you to try even if you are using a mouse. I mean the whole thing looks like you used a tad too much (notably the eyes, but I noticed that half of the body is the same as well)

[Sengir]

Oh! and before I forget I'd like to suggest you use the pink from the Grinning Colossus' gums to make veins on his eyes, it'll make him look a bit crazier.

[newGuy]

Well, thanks for all the comments. I'm really not sure about how to shade the eyeballs for them to look more realistic. I did realize from the beggining they are a little choppy, but I just don't know what's the method to fix those. As for the first sprites, why are they odd? I'll give a shot into the contrast issue Sengir pointed out as soon as I have time, but I'd like to know what made them too odd for you to criticize.

Anyway, I do know I'm not supposed to use the default circles from ms paint, I just did so 'cause I couldn't really draw a better one by hand (and yeah, I do use a mouse). But, what's wrong with paint's default palette? As long as I shade it correctly, I never thought it would be a problem. Is it?

EDIT: Not that it's really helpfull, cause the original game art is really... slopy. But this is the original Grinning Colossus.

[Proton]

EDIT: Not that it's really helpfull, cause the original game art is really... slopy. But this is the original Grinning Colossus.

It's not even grinning.

You could always try a different ellipse and see how it goes for you.
Just because the original was a plain circle mean you have to have a plain circle.

[brandman1996]

Well, thanks for all the comments. I'm really not sure about how to shade the eyeballs for them to look more realistic. I did realize from the beggining they are a little choppy, but I just don't know what's the method to fix those.

Well you could AA, lighter shades to the left, darker to the right, soften the color's hue, etc.

As for the first sprites, why are they odd? I'll give a shot into the contrast issue Sengir pointed out as soon as I have time, but I'd like to know what made them too odd for you to criticize.

Well the body poses are messed up, which therefore causes the completed ones to look very strange, and I'm almost sure you wanted those body poses like that so I left it alone.

Anyway, I do know I'm not supposed to use the default circles from ms paint, I just did so 'cause I couldn't really draw a better one by hand (and yeah, I do use a mouse). But, what's wrong with paint's default palette? As long as I shade it correctly, I never thought it would be a problem. Is it?

Alright good. If you left it like that and moved on that would be a horrible mistake. As for the pallet I really didn't have a problem with it besides the background color, but it wouldn't hurt to use a different pallet.
mod edit: it's palette not pallet, fyi.

EDIT: Not that it's really helpfull, cause the original game art is really... slopy. But this is the original Grinning Colossus.

Well. Um. Looks like you have already raised up the bar for the grinning colossus. Finish it off and it should be a sprite that puts the game designers to shame.

Oh and Sengir did bring up a good way to make it's eyes stand out. Though be careful not to overdo it because it will ruin the effect. Just add a few strokes for the veins in it's eyes around the rim.

[Cobalt Blue]

you know brandman is ok to tell new people to use AA and shit, but be sure to explain WHY they should do it.

[Sengir]

Here's an edit I made:


see how much more readable they are with more contrast?

[Chris2Balls [:B]]

brandman, you're doing a good job giving criticism and such, but as metaru said, you also have to say why.
and illustrating your words with an edit can be quite helpful too.
you're also being very judgmental without necessarily backing up what you're saying, ie:

Well the body poses are messed up, which therefore causes the completed ones to look very strange, and I'm almost sure you wanted those body poses like that so I left it alone.

anyway.

right: what is the grinning colossus exactly? a cylinder with a mouth and eyes? if it is a cylinder, then think in three dimensions: for now, it looks like a bullet shaped strip, like this:

this is because of the strips of shading on each side of the sprite.
one easy way of fixing this is to add more intermediate shades between the light and medium values, maybe also adding a backlight.
another would be to change the light source, to something more ambient, to make your life less complicated!

here's a list of tries i've made:


i'm not very good at conveying volume on cylinders, especially as i haven't had any practice. i'd recommend you look for some references for something more consistent.
i hope i've helped and given some ideas on how to improve!

oh and you could add in a tiny, tiny bit of colour in the palette or as a discreet secondary lightsource, to spicen things up... up to you

[Chutzpar]

You've been a bit lazy with the side-facing views. In the front view, the mouth's a bit crooked - which is fine - but in the side views you've made both sides of the mouth look identical. If it's asymmetrical, then you should make the side views distinct, rather than just flipping it and reshading~

[Sengir]

Well the body poses are messed up, which therefore causes the completed ones to look very strange, and I'm almost sure you wanted those body poses like that so I left it alone.

erm, I don't really get this. that pose seems pretty normal to me :/