SonicZetrex wrote:
Looks like I'll be able to find my style of "my character" soon...
Aaaaaa, you went straight into your pixel editor didn't you???
Your character is stiff as a board!
Get out a paper and pencil and sketch some actiony standing poses right this second!
Make it quick and ugly. Here's what I mean:
Spoiler:
Don't even worry about proper anatomy. Just draw a few circles/ovals/lines/whatever and get that feeling down. Large shape for torso, smaller shapes for limbs, etc. Later, you'll be able to use your sketches as a personal reference. What's important is that you escape from the confines of a pixel-based mindset. Drawing freely on paper and transposing that image back into the sprite editor is a good way to preserve at least a little bit of personality. Use long, curvy lines wherever possible - they are a great way to demonstrate flow.
A simple pencil sketch can make the difference between a lifeless statue (the kind seen in Terraria), and Duelyst-tier poses that are gleaming with life:
Spoiler:
When it comes time to come back to the sprite editor, reference your drawings. Fill out the forms with flat colors, then let your mind fill in the shapes for you. Don't worry about shading for now - worry about form. I use the silhouette method a lot myself. First I fill out a very rough silhouette, focusing mainly on proportion and posture...
Spoiler:
Then I go nuts on the detail and do whatever else I gotta do.
Spoiler:
I didn't need to draw on paper beforehand because this is a comparatively large sprite and there are lots of dragon references online. I can get across all the feeling I want using large freehand strokes, bucket fill, and a large eraser. But that's for a large sprite. On a scale like yours, every single pixel counts. The smaller the sprite, the more you'll need a reference to start out from. Get drawing!
[quote="SonicZetrex"]Looks like I'll be able to find my style of "my character" soon...
[img]http://i.imgur.com/GymHH15.png[/img][/quote]
Aaaaaa, you went straight into your pixel editor didn't you???
Your character is stiff as a board!
Get out a paper and pencil and sketch some actiony standing poses right this second!
Make it quick and ugly. Here's what I mean:
[spoiler][img]https://s17.postimg.org/t088fdysf/chrome_2017-04-27_23-42-34.png[/img][/spoiler]
Don't even worry about proper anatomy. Just draw a few circles/ovals/lines/whatever and get that feeling down. Large shape for torso, smaller shapes for limbs, etc. Later, you'll be able to use your sketches as a personal reference. What's important is that you escape from the confines of a pixel-based mindset. Drawing freely on paper and transposing that image back into the sprite editor is a good way to preserve at least a little bit of personality. Use long, curvy lines wherever possible - they are a great way to demonstrate flow.
A simple pencil sketch can make the difference between a lifeless statue (the kind seen in Terraria), and Duelyst-tier poses that are gleaming with life:
[spoiler][img]https://s15.postimg.org/ibbl1tpcr/chrome_2017-04-27_23-18-05.png[/img][img]https://s9.postimg.org/subuoa7tb/chrome_2017-04-27_23-21-15.png[/img][img]https://s1.postimg.org/y8fh0y5pr/chrome_2017-04-27_23-22-15.png[/img]
These sprites are no larger than yours![/spoiler]
When it comes time to come back to the sprite editor, reference your drawings. Fill out the forms with flat colors, then let your mind fill in the shapes for you. Don't worry about shading for now - worry about form. I use the silhouette method a lot myself. First I fill out a very rough silhouette, focusing mainly on proportion and posture...
[spoiler][img]https://s9.postimg.org/idbixbbr3/chrome_2017-04-27_23-52-46.png[/img][/spoiler]
Then I go nuts on the detail and do whatever else I gotta do.
[spoiler][img]https://s27.postimg.org/nysxlhbqr/chrome_2017-04-13_13-26-43.png[/img][/spoiler]
I didn't need to draw on paper beforehand because this is a comparatively large sprite and there are lots of dragon references online. I can get across all the feeling I want using large freehand strokes, bucket fill, and a large eraser. But that's for a large sprite. On a scale like yours, every single pixel counts. The smaller the sprite, the more you'll need a reference to start out from. Get drawing!