Midi's Sprites

[des]

its all terrible

just kidding i really like the overworld sprites

[Kelvin]

So, for this update, first is my current progress on reshading Midi's frames. It's not complete, just the running and standing are finished. To the right, I tried to fix the shading on his beret to look rounder.

Next to that is Silver with a minor palette tweak and his wings flared out.

Below him is the first few frames in a teleport effect that's supposed to look like a whoosh of energy engulfing the character, in which they disappear. It's supposed to have an electric flame-like look, sort of like how the Forerunners teleport in Halo Legends, but I kinda suck at that type of effect.

Some color tests for Rift.

Mario with fixed palette and reshaded overalls.

Test of Twilight Sparkle with less shades in her coat. She looks a bit flat to me, but if I darken the shade, it stands out too much, so kinda looking for the right balance there. Gonna try changing the shape of the shade, too, and see how that helps, maybe give her darker outlines, too.

[Iocus]

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:


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.

[Kelvin]

Left, old version, middle, Iocus' version, right, my edit based on what Iocus pointed out. I tried to keep the beret the same size and fix the jacket without outright copying his lineart. Granted, it was tempting, since he did such a great job on the cloth detail. I'll work on the palette later, but I'm actually planning on changing his jacket from red to red-orange, which I think will look less garish. I tried increasing his contrast in the past, but it always came out looking really garish.

I didn't make the eyes thinner like in Iocus' version because it made him look more shocked or surprised, and this was a neutral expression. I might do it when needed, but not here. I also didn't AA the pupils because it looked too glassy when I did.


Here's the completed standing animation. His hair now bounces too so it doesn't look like he's got a ton of hair gel.

[Level 1]

Your newest edit is much better, the beret actually looks like a beret now though I guess my only questions, that it appears the one of the ears i shorter than then that is showing more.

[Kelvin]

That's how it was in the original lineart. The artist I hired likes to superimpose perspective on faces. Notice the eye on the same side is smaller, too.

[Level 1]

I understand perspectives, though if you look at the left ear (your left) the tip is far longer than the right ear (your right)
Take a look at this.
See how the eyes are all about the same height, and the ears are too? Also, take into consideration that this angle is basically the same as your edit.

[Gwen]

I still thin kthe beret is much too flat, it just looks like he has a squashed pea on top of his head. I think it would help to give the beret some more oomph and fluffiness like Iocus's.

[Level 1]

Now that you mention it, it does look kinda funny, probably because of the shading, it doesn't give it a convincing texture, and the shape doesn't resemble a puffed up beret, also, it's missing that one little tip part, you know, like that one stand or button that goes on the top of em.

[Kelvin]

Alright, I'll fix the ear, but I am NOT putting a stem on the beret. It's an English beret, not a French one. English are floppy and have no stem, French is poofy and has a stem.

[Iocus]

Hm...shouldn't that front ear overlap the beret, actually? I mean, the hat should be sitting on top of his head, between his ears, right? So it's natural that at this angle, the frontmost ear would cover it partly.

[Kelvin]

Actually, a squirrel's ears are more to the back than on the sides, so the beret should be in front of the ear, but now that you mention it, there is an inconsistency here. The ears on the side view sprites should be moved back a couple pixels. I'm a little disappointed in myself for not noticing this sooner.

[Iocus]

Yeah, that was the thing that I was going by. Regardless of how it is, there's an inconsistency between the portrait and the smaller sprites.

[Kelvin]

That's what I just said, even though you already said what I was talking about but made it sound like you didn't say that and then I said... gah, screw it. Imma go fix it now. XD

Also, quick test for Shacklebolt's idle animation:

[Gwen]

His body moves, but his legs stay perfectly still. I get that it's a test, but you might want to include more movements in his legs. Because right now it looks pretty bad(not the sprite work, just he animation)