How can I make these sprites 'acceptable'

[Solid_Spy]

I tried submitting this and waited for quite a while for these to get accepted, though unfortunately they haven't.

I started a topic a while back on how to improve them which did help a bit, but I don't want to necro it.

Just not sure at all what they want me to do about these.

[Kelvin]

If it's your own thread, you can bring it back. But we're here already, so let's just talk here.

I think the jungle and bush versions look a bit cluttered. It's also kinda hard to see the arms in some frames at 1X. As for the walking, how come it has normal walking when it's holding stuff, but the one without anything on it does this weird squat?

[Xander]

They seem like nice sprites to me.

MFGG might have use these sprites too:
http://www.mfgg.net/

I'd submit them there also.

[Ton]

The shading is really what bugs me the most.

[Solid_Spy]

I think the jungle and bush versions look a bit cluttered. It's also kinda hard to see the arms in some frames at 1X. As for the walking, how come it has normal walking when it's holding stuff, but the one without anything on it does this weird squat?

Ah, i'm not sure what you mean by cluttered, like do you mean they are too close together, or not lined up correctly? I have the sprites lined up by 32 x 32 for game developers. I could separate them a bit, but it will create more empty space.

I will try to fix the arms, maybe by adding darker shadows.

As for the weird squat, i'm following the traditional Yoshi's Island Shy guy walking animation sorta. The shy guys that hold stuff walk normally. I can change this if it is a must.

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The shading is really what bugs me the most.

What's wrong with the shading that needs fixing?

Edit: Ok I'm not exactly sure what it is that people want, so I decided that the best course of action is to experiment with different styles.

So, which one of these three looks the best (please don't say #1):

[Xander]

Number 3 has some nice colors that pop. That would get my vote.

[DragonDePlatino]

Why these were rejected, I have no earthly idea. They're not fantastic sprites, but they're not too shabby, either. The animation is simple, but the colors are quite nice and these would be very functional sprites for a game. I mean, stuff like this has been accepted into the custom section and your sprites are a lot better than those.

Maybe the admins have a grudge against you?

[Solid_Spy]

Why these were rejected, I have no earthly idea. They're not fantastic sprites, but they're not too shabby, either. The animation is simple, but the colors are quite nice and these would be very functional sprites for a game. I mean, stuff like this has been accepted into the custom section and your sprites are a lot better than those.

Maybe the admins have a grudge against you?

Idk, I'm a relatively new member here. I wouldn't jump to accusations. Maybe a different admin accepted those sprites.

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Number 3 has some nice colors that pop. That would get my vote.

Number 3 it is then .

Edit: Here they are ^^. I added more detail to the shading, and added some brighter colors. I also fixed the arms and got rid of the 'squatting' animation due to popular demand :p.

[Jaharl]

Your sprites look nice, and have really good shading, but the only problem that I see is that they are way too flat.

[Solid_Spy]

Your sprites look nice, and have really good shading, but the only problem that I see is that they are way too flat.

Ah, that's what I was missing. I had to add more round-ish shadows around the clothing to take out the flat look:

[Ton]

Maybe the admins have a grudge against you?

Seriously? For what? For trying to help the site grow? We're not that petty an we don't have time to be that petty.

The simple truth is that these need a lot of work. The outlines are uneven in places, the shading is minimal at best and severely lacking in spots. The mask shading makes no sense and the shades are too high contrast.

The framework is there. It just needs a little polish. And if he can do this, he will know how to do it for future submissions. That's what's going on here.

As for the other sheet on the site, some of our older stuff is certainly lacking in quality when compared to newer work. When we were first starting out, we were much more lax on our custom submissions. Hell, all of our submissions. As a result, a lot of it needs to be phased out at some point.

But now we have higher standards to meet. We want to have the best custom work on the web, and to do that, we have to be a little tougher on what we accept. That's why we have these forums. I hope I cleared some stuff up.

[Jaharl]

Everything looks awesome, but the problem is the shy guy looks flat when he is taking off his mask. You should try to change the way he takes off his mask.

[Solid_Spy]

The simple truth is that these need a lot of work. The outlines are uneven in places, the shading is minimal at best and severely lacking in spots. The mask shading makes no sense and the shades are too high contrast.

Ok, i've decided to just refactor the area around the shyguys head and body cuz it's just not working out. I'm still not sure what you want me to do about the shading, are there any specific sprites that need the most work with shading? I'm feeling like i'm being tugged back and forth here with the contrast. I'm not sure what level of contrast that is supposed to be correct. I'm also not sure what you want me to do about the mask. The mask is round-ish flat, so I have a round shadow on the bottom. Do you want me to make it thinner, or thicker?

Here I'm using different levels of contrast, in comparison to the oldest sprite to the right:



which one has the best contrast? The left one is the one you said had too much contrast.

[Virt]

The third one from the left looks good. Either that or a mix of the third and fourth one.

[Solid_Spy]

The third one from the left looks good. Either that or a mix of the third and fourth one.

Ok, How does the new shape look compared to the version at the top of the thread (I feel it looks better, but i'm looking for others criticism)?