Criticism for Fakemon sprites

[zwb147]

I've been trying to create fakemon sprites in at least a similar style to pokemon sprites, but they haven't turned out that way... Anyway most designs are final I'm just looking for help to make them look more like official pokemon diamond sprites. Thanks in advance!

Here they are:
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/9937/justbohro.png

[x0_000]

Well, the first problem that you'll need to rectify is that your anatomy for a few of your fakemon is off. Pokemon, although simplified compared to reality, still keeps the anatomy of the base creature when there is one. References are your best friend, and Google is helpful for that. For example, your lion family on the first row is just... terribly done, to put it bluntly. The head for Liane seems more dog-like that cat-like, and your feet aren't really feet, they're just toes. At the very I think Persian would be a good comparison.

As for some friendly advice, no one has the time to help you with all of them at once, so you should pick out a small set (around 2-4) that you want to work on and move on from there. It's better to have all the criticism focused so that improvements are more frequent instead of a few changes spread across all your sprites.

[zwb147]

I see, then I will do them by evolutionary line, starting with the Lions.
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/7350/liane.png

I started by attempting to make the face more catlike, the outline is where I'm at so far, with a lion and a persian as a reference.

[x0_000]

It's a good start. One thing I think might help is making the nose smaller; Persian's nose is very small compared to yours. I don't know if that's a trend in pokemon, but it's worth looking into. The fang could also benefit from being small, unless you're trying to go for a sabretooth look, in which case I'd say make it bigger I'd say currently it looks like a cross between a cat and a bear.

From a design perspective, part of the charm of pokemon as I see it is seeing animals that are familiar, yet unfamiliar, by taking an existing one and spicing it up! What can you do to make your pokemon more than a lion? The female version as it is doesn't look any different from a normal lioness. For the male, a clear idea that comes through is a fiery (literally!) mane, but that doesn't translate for the female one, unfortunately. You could go for a classic tail on fire like charmander, although it's unoriginal. Most pokemon designs come from myths, so maybe you can find some inspiration researching the history of lions and myths relating to them.

Edit: For the lioness, I think it'll help to reference an actual lioness, instead of a lion as the mane hides some of the head shape. I did a quick search and this link looks pretty good, the head angle is even close to your original sprite!
http://theislamicway.files.wordpress.com...oness1.jpg

[zwb147]

http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/7350/liane.png

I looked up lions in mythology, and decided that to make it different for both lions,I will make the tail be similar to the herald in the picture. If that's not enough for the female, how about adding fire-like markings on her sides? Also, I added extra fur to her chin just to see how it looked.

And I was going for the "larger teeth than a lion normally has," so I made the teeth bigger.

[zwb147]

I have now outlined the body, particularly for the female lion, but the male will basically have the same pose and everything. Anything to be fixed?

[newGuy]

Right now you seem to be skipping a few muscles and not really paying attention to the overall flow of the mane.

I made a quick draft that might help you get an idea of the general anatomy of the legs, but I'd advise you to google loads of pictures of lions in the wild in order to get that pose done.

[Omega]

Why is Wham bam king, Koopa troopas and barney the dinosaur pokemon?

You might want to also stop yourself from making the most boring uncreative pokemon like a black blob as a shadow pokemon.

[BynineB]

I have no idea what that lion is doing in the outline you just posted, besides maybe offering a handshake. You don't see any quadrepedal animals doing that. Its legs are very fat and lack tone, and its back is flat.

[Sketchasaurus]

I think part of the design problem for the lion (I'm not gonna even start with any of the other ones) is that you're making it a starter Pokémon. Fire lions seem to be a common trend in Fakemon projects.
Also, the current outline you have doesn't communicate the power and ferocity lions are known for.
Take this sketch I drew up for example:

It's a tad under-designed, but I think it provides a good starting point design-wise. Try to communicate the energy and strength in the characters with the pose that they're in, the Pokémon sprites aren't only there to show what they look like, they also give them a sort of personality with the way they are posed and drawn. Lions are often symbols of power and courage, try communicating how the creature embodies that with how it's posed.

Also, Instead of making it a starter, I'd probably approach it as if it were the "region's" Arcanine or Ninetales. Personally, I wouldn't even give this one any Evos or prevos.