Help Wanted: Apples Within

[Benny The Miraj]

Not sure how to ask this without being annoying, but... Why no one help me? 3:



I haven't shaded a gas before. I'm not sure I got it right.

[DragonDePlatino]

Don't feel bad, man. Sometimes people don't have much to say so they just check out your art and move on. Happens to everyone.



There are a lot of ways to go about pixelling gas, but here is a rough idea of how I approach it. Use a large 4x4 circle brush and render the gas with circles that gradually taper out. From there, you can add in some highlights and smaller circles to add more detail. When you're drawing at this large a scale, it's important to block out your shapes with big brushes before adding in details like this.

[gnbman]

Not sure how to ask this without being annoying, but... Why no one help me? 3:



I haven't shaded a gas before. I'm not sure I got it right.

Nothing against DragonDePlatino, but I like your version better. I think you got it right.

[Chris2Balls [:B]]

A consistent issue I have with your sprites is the contrast. The dithering just makes it worse in my opinion.
Your shading is banded, so despite the light source being from the side, it still looks flat, especially as you don't take into account the volumes you're trying to suggest.

So I've reduced the contrast, added buffer shades, tried suggesting the volumes, and getting a vaporous/smoky effect for the cloud (your version sits somewhere between realistic and stylised and doesn't work in my eyes, which is also due to the banded shading which disregards the volumes of the cloud). I suggest you use references for the cloud, the shading for the creature... it will help a lot.

Hope it helps, and keep going!

[Gors]

The truth is that you should try and avoid dithering the most as you can

While it can be used to create midtones, it has a secondary effect of texturizing the surface you dither on. So, the creature's skin will look grittier than you expect if dithering is to be used.

Since you are not following any hardware constriction, it is alright to go and create more shades - of course, with proper contrast and volume in mind. Follow C2B's example closely for your next sprites.

[Benny The Miraj]

Not sure how to ask this without being annoying, but... Why no one help me? 3:



I haven't shaded a gas before. I'm not sure I got it right.

Nothing against DragonDePlatino, but I like your version better. I think you got it right.

I don't think DragonDePlatino actually meant to redo the sprite for me. He was just giving me an idea. Thanks anyway.

@Chris2Balls ...That looks really good. I might have to use that as a reference.

[Benny The Miraj]

Decided to work on the wolf again using Christ2Balls' shading technique. I think I at least got the mouth and the eyelids right. I kind of like the shading around the mouth cause it adds snarl to his expression. (Note: Bottom right)

[SchAlternate]

That looks a lot better than the previous sprites! Though, the wolf's left arm looks bigger than the right. Also, his hind leg looks a bit too skinny.

As far as shading goes, it looks fine, though the right forearm could be darker. Keep it up!

[Benny The Miraj]

Still not entirely sure when to or not to dither, but I think I got the eyelids down at least.

By the way, I didn't feel it appropriate to ask upon joining, but would anyone be interested in helping with the project? So far, I'm the only spriter working on the project and we could use some more. Not forcing it on anyone of course. I actually kind of feel bad asking this so soon.

[Raccoon Sam]

You're clearly improving! Keep at it - this is great!!

[DragonDePlatino]

I'm not quite sure what I'm looking at. At first, I interpreted the whiskers as metal bracings of some sort. If each whisker was pushed to an opposite side of the body then that might work. But like Sam said, this is a definite improvement. Just don't feel too pressured to dither. I felt the same way in my ooold art and since then I've learned it's a situational technique for texturing or very restricted palettes.

Also, don't feel too embarassed about asking for contributors. The only thing that irritates people on this site is when you make a request thread and expect people to do aaaaall of the work for you. And clearly, that's not the case here.

[Benny The Miraj]

Oh, how silly of me.

The whiskers are supposed to be swords.

[Benny The Miraj]

This is supposed to be that "ugly/cute" creature that eventually turns into a sinister creature type character, kind of like Inkay.

[Benny The Miraj]

I'm still working on these. Progress has been slow on this and the Fantasy Zone ripping project because I'm a little sick right now.

Anyway, I'd like to show you guys the project I'm working on: http://forums.terraria.org/index.php?thr...925/page-5

It's a game similar to Pokemon called Tamer's Network. There are more details inside. I was wondering if anyone else would like to help with spriting in this game. We could really use some more staff.

[DarkGrievous7145]

Good luck with your project!

What you've shown so far does seem pretty interesting.