The Resource WIP Thread 3

@Sharm (=^_^=) I looked at the settings and decided to do it using a tool rather than the way I had done it previous. (=#o_o#=) I was doing it by hand, which is another reason it likely didn't look too great, but it does look a lot better. (=^.^=) Nothing like relaxing after a HUGE contest by doing graphics.

Oooooh. Yeah, that explains it. Doing it by hand would work better with pixel art.

I feel self conscious showing these since I have never made custom tile art so they aren't that good but

Ignore the map, it's just a test for the pieces and there's going to be a parallax sky behind the windows. I'm going for a more minimalist vector look since it's within my skill set to make and I can churn out a lot of pieces quickly. Plus I like the clean look. Maybe it doesn't fit for a RPG game though :0

@Applesaws Nice! It reminds me of mobile games. Don't worry if the design doesn't match what others are doing. You don't want to be the same as everybody else. I'm curious what the npc's will look like.

Thank you! I am inspired by graphics from minimalist mobile games a lot. People tend to hate mobile games but I think they have a nice aesthetic going for them in a lot of cases. As for characters and NPCs, they will be made in a similar style to this (lol imagine using base engine generator sprites with this....).

@Applesaws Yeah I like minimalism too. People tend to like a lot of flashy stuff in their RM games but for me I like simplicity.

I like it! Is this the art you were claiming as ugly? Totally wrong, this isn't ugly at all. Clean and simple may not be flashy, but do it right and it's stronger because it has a better visual foundation. Also, if you want things to look a little more visually complex all you have to do is add in more of the simple shapes. For example, the desk in particular could benefit from having a small ledge over the legs. Arts and crafts style furniture uses this a lot. You could also look to Arabic architecture to get examples of this, the designs are really detailed but all made up of very simple mathematical shapes.

I think a little bulk to the bedding might be a good idea, the blanket right now has no thickness to it, so jutting it out from the bed a little and softening the corners would help. I think the walls need a little attention. A baseboard should be enough, but some sort of edging at the top helps define the room better.

@Applesaws I'm in a vector art class, and that's much better than anything most of the students can make in raster -or- vector. You're doing good; I especially like the pillows. ^^

@everyone-else/-whoever-cares

While I'm waiting until the rotation feature for my game (*muffled screaming*) is done to do normal art, I decided to work on something special. Mid-game, the player can choose to enter a village at the base of the castle, partially flooded from the storm. I'm trying to create an animated wave graphic that, in-game will push the player, or knock them over, depending on where they stand.

...It's.. uhh...


... a work in progress.

I have no idea how I should approach this. Any ideas?

Not really, water is hard. Um, maybe keep in mind that the shadows in water can seem completely independant of the highlights because they're based more on depth instead of form like most objects.

For the last couple of days I've been working on Pokemon-style mountain tiles to replace the current rock wall-looking ones I was using, since I wanted a more rounded look to my world.
I'm pretty happy with the final product:

As always, any and all critique is welcome :)

I'd like to make my facesets less stock-generated-looking (if that's the right phrase), and was wondering if I could get some feedback on the following method. The left portrait was made using MV generator parts, and the right uses the same generator parts with a filter applied to each individual part.

Hmm, I like what it does to the lines, they're more comic book like so they add a stylizing flair, but I don't like what it does to the color. It's too dodge and burn looking and adds in what looks like dents in some spots. It's an interesting method but not something that I think works as is.

I think the easiest way to make the generated images look less like stock is to tweak the facial features by hand with drawing not filters. It doesn't have to be big alterations, sometimes really small things can make a huge difference. Like adding in a bit of shadow to the face that better fits the shadows the hair would be casting onto the face or changing the eye shape slightly with a wider dark line on one part of the eyelashes, or putting in a dimple. You wouldn't have to be an artist to change the shape of things a little, just a willingness to try and a good art program.

The best things would be anything that makes the facial features look like they're not independent of the rest of the face. For example if she's smiling really wide you draw up the bottom lid of her eyes a little. Unfortunately making the features less independent does take a lot of artistic knowledge.

@Sharm Thanks for the feedback and very useful advice! :smile:

Made this using Candacis MV Sprite+ Heavy.
NOT FOR REUSE / NOT FOR REPOST BY OTHERS.

I think you can guess who it is, If you can't well then back to the drawing board.


The hair is intentionally oversized for comedic purposes. And will get an animated sprite of it's own soon. Just the hair. :D

Well I... well. That's..
...

...It looks like him, alright.

As for actual critique, the head and hair doesn't match the style of the rest of the sprite. I'd recommend simplifying the colors on the head a bit, and cleaning up the outline on the hair.

Yeah the outline needs some fixing but I was kinda going for a creepy photoreal look for the face. I used some public domain images of him to start reference then pixel edited by hand to bring out the details.

I could alternatively blend out the colors on the rest of the sprite to make that part look more like the head I suppose too. Some really gentle smudge tool work at 1 pix.

Huh? I'm not getting updates from this thread for some reason. Odd... Anyways hows it going? What do you guys think about the size of the wolf? Is it too big or does it not really matter?

I don't know whether I should make another larger set of trees specifically for battlebacks.

Me neither. Your comment is the first notification I've received in some time.

The wolf looks like a giant beast. If it's supposed to be much larger than the human though, then it's fine.
The grey colors are so pleasant on the eyes, relaxing to look at.

Have you increased your playable character's size for the battle view? Or is that the same size as the walking sprite?


Edit:
@From Ariel I like how it moves & looks altogether. But the hairstyle is kinda bad :p

I get notices from this thread, unless Sharm posts. I never get notifications from Sharm anymore for some reason.

@starlight dream The hair being bad isn't From Ariel's fault though. ;)

That's gotta be confusing, I post a LOT on this thread.

@FleshToDust As a battler it's a good size but with everything else it looks randomly scaled instead of on purpose. It also makes the character's sprite look extremely tiny. I think the smaller character in battles could work for you but I think you should only do that if it helps with the story you're telling. For example, if you're using the smaller size to reinforce the feeling of someone being overwhelmed by a situation they find themselves in or if you are trying to get us to focus more on events than your character. But if you do, follow through all the way. Make the battlers either smaller or a type of creature that can easily be larger than life (like dragons or gods).