To be honest, I don't like the 4x width for this size. But one of the things you can do with modern systems is actually have a real stance for characters and their idle animations. Have one foot forward, one back. You can mess with it however you want and it'll look cool especially if different characters have different stances.
Wrt the bowleggedness - if you gave everyone huge bowlegging and had a giant RPG world... no one would actually see bowlegged because everyone is "bowlegged". Your art would just be that way. Don't worry about the one sprite, worry about the collection of sprites. The cool thing about RPG sprites like this is that you establish a system and visual language, and eventually you use it to describe each of the characters. I mean, if that wasn't a thing, it'd be really awkward that he has a giant head and hands and generally has totally f'd proportions.
Shrike's got you pretty much covered. I mostly did this for practice, but I think limiting your color output can really get more out of your limited space.
I took out the skintone highlight because it was essentially white. If you zoom in on the palette you'll see they're almost identical. The shadowing on the face also took up a lot of vertical space, and that vertical space, especially on low things like the chin, is a priority if you want things looking down. Making that highlight bigger and pulling it down also directs his face away from the player and more towards the bottom of the playfield.
The rest of the image is a hodgepodge. You could interchange a lot of what Shrike does for what I did. I like to imagine drawing ovals of stuff, coloring in the main color and shadows. Remember that the core shadow is the darkest, and it's right next to the main lit color! Shrike missed that under the knee, but whatever, my paints look funny because they're way overlit. Also, uh, look at how nicely Shrike angles the legs. The darkening he used only near the top is a nice way to make the legs look more angled out which gives the character a more dynamic pose.
Ok. Can we get a moderator to sort this? #FemaleLinkJam is important to me, so I'd like to sort out rules out quickly and find a different host if this is not OGA's jam. Thanks.
You have two different issues. Let's break it down.
Your first issue is perspective: in the IoG sprite it's 3/4 topdown. Look at where the eyes are compared to the nose. Specifically look at the bottom of the eyes and the top of the nose. That weird height comparison creates depth because something normally higher (eyes) are lower than something further away (nose). It's exagerated which is why the normal reverse engineering aspect of your method tends to fool you. Artistic license is for artists, not dorks.
But you can get away with it if you try to get into the same feel the artist was going for. It's not super apparent here with angled perspective, but it is in the second area.
The problem you're having with the stomach is the same. You want to create a buff dude with a larger pectoral area, but you're too much on a sideview. Drop your character's shoulder. The pit of the from arm should be low, and then imagine where the pit of the back arm is. The chest is somewhere vertically inbetween, and because the shirt puffs, its lower. Tbh I think that belt betrays the puffy adventurous shirt he's wearing, but that's me.
Issue number two is excitement: in both IoG and Zelda you have a plucky adventurer. That's not a walk cycle, that's a "get to it" cycle. Watch the animations play out, and you'll see. It's halfway inbetween walking and running, but it's definitely 100% emotion. Take the sprites and drop them so that the heads are level or even 1px lower during the contact stage, and watch the difference in feel. It is slow and lethargic.
I hope this helps. Last thing: your character is erring on the highly lit side. This is a design choice, so it's not bad, but a lot of pixelers will do this, and it's nice to be aware of it. It is a legitimate way to be realistic, but it doesn't help readability. More shadows and more highlights help read 3D forms and light. I would keep the same amount of colors but stretch out the range of your color ramps. Good luck.
To be honest, I don't like the 4x width for this size. But one of the things you can do with modern systems is actually have a real stance for characters and their idle animations. Have one foot forward, one back. You can mess with it however you want and it'll look cool especially if different characters have different stances.
Wrt the bowleggedness - if you gave everyone huge bowlegging and had a giant RPG world... no one would actually see bowlegged because everyone is "bowlegged". Your art would just be that way. Don't worry about the one sprite, worry about the collection of sprites. The cool thing about RPG sprites like this is that you establish a system and visual language, and eventually you use it to describe each of the characters. I mean, if that wasn't a thing, it'd be really awkward that he has a giant head and hands and generally has totally f'd proportions.
Shrike's got you pretty much covered. I mostly did this for practice, but I think limiting your color output can really get more out of your limited space.
I took out the skintone highlight because it was essentially white. If you zoom in on the palette you'll see they're almost identical. The shadowing on the face also took up a lot of vertical space, and that vertical space, especially on low things like the chin, is a priority if you want things looking down. Making that highlight bigger and pulling it down also directs his face away from the player and more towards the bottom of the playfield.
The rest of the image is a hodgepodge. You could interchange a lot of what Shrike does for what I did. I like to imagine drawing ovals of stuff, coloring in the main color and shadows. Remember that the core shadow is the darkest, and it's right next to the main lit color! Shrike missed that under the knee, but whatever, my paints look funny because they're way overlit. Also, uh, look at how nicely Shrike angles the legs. The darkening he used only near the top is a nice way to make the legs look more angled out which gives the character a more dynamic pose.
Anyways, good luck.
let's get a mod in here and they can tell me what they want to happen w/ the female link sprite.
Ok. Can we get a moderator to sort this? #FemaleLinkJam is important to me, so I'd like to sort out rules out quickly and find a different host if this is not OGA's jam. Thanks.
Aww shrike, why you gotta hate?
I added a few more characters. I think I'm going to upgrade some of the sprites to 5 colors, too.
I created a matching set of Zelda inspired items here:
http://opengameart.org/content/rpg-items-0
If there are any items you guys want, please ask! Items are by far the easiest things.
You have two different issues. Let's break it down.
Your first issue is perspective: in the IoG sprite it's 3/4 topdown. Look at where the eyes are compared to the nose. Specifically look at the bottom of the eyes and the top of the nose. That weird height comparison creates depth because something normally higher (eyes) are lower than something further away (nose). It's exagerated which is why the normal reverse engineering aspect of your method tends to fool you. Artistic license is for artists, not dorks.
But you can get away with it if you try to get into the same feel the artist was going for. It's not super apparent here with angled perspective, but it is in the second area.
The problem you're having with the stomach is the same. You want to create a buff dude with a larger pectoral area, but you're too much on a sideview. Drop your character's shoulder. The pit of the from arm should be low, and then imagine where the pit of the back arm is. The chest is somewhere vertically inbetween, and because the shirt puffs, its lower. Tbh I think that belt betrays the puffy adventurous shirt he's wearing, but that's me.
Issue number two is excitement: in both IoG and Zelda you have a plucky adventurer. That's not a walk cycle, that's a "get to it" cycle. Watch the animations play out, and you'll see. It's halfway inbetween walking and running, but it's definitely 100% emotion. Take the sprites and drop them so that the heads are level or even 1px lower during the contact stage, and watch the difference in feel. It is slow and lethargic.
I hope this helps. Last thing: your character is erring on the highly lit side. This is a design choice, so it's not bad, but a lot of pixelers will do this, and it's nice to be aware of it. It is a legitimate way to be realistic, but it doesn't help readability. More shadows and more highlights help read 3D forms and light. I would keep the same amount of colors but stretch out the range of your color ramps. Good luck.
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