Design What do you think of my character sprite?

A

Adam Mansour

Guest
I showed it to some friends and they said he's ugly.. but I kind of like him.. but I also want to satisfy
the players who might play my game. What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance for your answers, opinions and tips for improvement!
 

Khao

Member
Okay, first problem. You're using at least three different separate pixel sizes on the same sprite. Never do this. It looks extremely inconsistent, like you're just mixing several objects that were never meant to go together. Stick to a single pixel size. Pick a single sprite resolution, and use it. Want it to be pixellated? Use a low resolution and stick to it. Don't just randomly make huge squares out of several pixels. Want it to be smoother? Then make all the parts of that sprite that smooth. Don't mix both styles in the same sprite. It'll always look off.

Instead of mixing resolutions, try something closer to this:


Secondly. Colors. You're using something like 11 colors, but because of the way you're using them (contrast to placement) you might as well be using 5. It doesn't look clean. Handle your colors well and use some better contrast between shades. You don't need that many colors if you're going for such a simplisting monochromatic look. Decrease your color count and I guarantee it'll look at least somewhat better:



You're also using the colors in some pretty weird ways, especially in the cape of the idle sprite, where you have some random lines with little to no purpose. Then in the running sprite you're actually managing to create the illusion of a flowing cape. Try to do more of that. Also, I understand the character is supposed to have white and gray colors, but you still should always use some coloring within your sprites or it'll just look dull. In real life, nothing is 100% white, or 100% gray. Everything has a color, if only slightly. Also shadows tend to have a different color than lights. No object will ever be completely gray in light and completely gray in shadow. There's more than one way to do this right, and several ways to do it better than this example, but here's a bit of an idea on how to improve coloring:



Finally, stick to a lightsource. The way the cape is shaded implies that the light is coming from the right. The hood, however is lit from... Somewhere? Think about the direction you want the light to come from, and light all elements consistently. It may be a low-res 2D image, but if you want to shade it, you should still absolutely think of each shape as a 3D object, and how it interacts with light. Again, there's a nearly infinite amount of ways to do this right, but here's just a single possible example:



Worth repeating once again: There's no single correct way to do this, you might find your own way to make things work for you, just try experimenting! But even if there's no single way to do it right there's always a way to do it better. And I hope these tips help you find the way to do just that. Whatever you do, the single most important thing is consistency. Stick to a single resolution. Stick to a single palette. Stick to a single lightsource (Or even a lack of one!). Stick to a single style. But you can pretty much go crazy otherwise.
 
A

Adam Mansour

Guest
Omg BRO! First of all thank you so much for your time.. really I appretiate it so much! You can't imagine..
As you can tell I'm extremely satisfied. This looks very professional and waaay beyond my skill haha.
Now that you showed me the last of the character, I want everything in the game to be on this level of quality.
Would you be interested to get in contact (maybe via E-Mail, discord or Skype) and build it together with me?
I pay you in the process of course and when we release it we split 50/50.
 
A

Adam Mansour

Guest
Thanks for the offer, but I'm busy enough as it is with my own project!

Still, free to use that sprite if you want, it's yours! Wish you good luck with your project!
Alright. Thank you for the Sprite :)
 
Looks pretty cool! I don't have much art experience myself, but for my two cents, the animation on the right looks pretty bouncy. Maybe try to reduce the height at which it "stretches" or something. Sorry I can't be of more help!
 

pixeltroid

Member
i think the head bobs up and down too jerkily. Other than that, I like the animation of the cloak. AND the games splash screen that you have in your signature.
 

Toque

Member
The head bob looks odd. Like it sinks into the coat. I would try without the head bob. Overall bob is fine.
 

Carloskhard

Member
Okay, first problem. You're using at least three different separate pixel sizes on the same sprite. Never do this. It looks extremely inconsistent, like you're just mixing several objects that were never meant to go together. Stick to a single pixel size. Pick a single sprite resolution, and use it. Want it to be pixellated? Use a low resolution and stick to it. Don't just randomly make huge squares out of several pixels. Want it to be smoother? Then make all the parts of that sprite that smooth. Don't mix both styles in the same sprite. It'll always look off.

Instead of mixing resolutions, try something closer to this:


Secondly. Colors. You're using something like 11 colors, but because of the way you're using them (contrast to placement) you might as well be using 5. It doesn't look clean. Handle your colors well and use some better contrast between shades. You don't need that many colors if you're going for such a simplisting monochromatic look. Decrease your color count and I guarantee it'll look at least somewhat better:



You're also using the colors in some pretty weird ways, especially in the cape of the idle sprite, where you have some random lines with little to no purpose. Then in the running sprite you're actually managing to create the illusion of a flowing cape. Try to do more of that. Also, I understand the character is supposed to have white and gray colors, but you still should always use some coloring within your sprites or it'll just look dull. In real life, nothing is 100% white, or 100% gray. Everything has a color, if only slightly. Also shadows tend to have a different color than lights. No object will ever be completely gray in light and completely gray in shadow. There's more than one way to do this right, and several ways to do it better than this example, but here's a bit of an idea on how to improve coloring:



Finally, stick to a lightsource. The way the cape is shaded implies that the light is coming from the right. The hood, however is lit from... Somewhere? Think about the direction you want the light to come from, and light all elements consistently. It may be a low-res 2D image, but if you want to shade it, you should still absolutely think of each shape as a 3D object, and how it interacts with light. Again, there's a nearly infinite amount of ways to do this right, but here's just a single possible example:



Worth repeating once again: There's no single correct way to do this, you might find your own way to make things work for you, just try experimenting! But even if there's no single way to do it right there's always a way to do it better. And I hope these tips help you find the way to do just that. Whatever you do, the single most important thing is consistency. Stick to a single resolution. Stick to a single palette. Stick to a single lightsource (Or even a lack of one!). Stick to a single style. But you can pretty much go crazy otherwise.
Amazing info man! This kind of comments/help are the best and people like you make this place awesome :D Keep it going! I'm checking your game right now to show some love~
 
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