coyotecraft
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This is a really dumbed down tutorial for people who want to use the Half Kaizer template. It's mostly just repeating stuff that I mention when critiquing others works. HK sprites can be difficult to work with, especially if you are used to working with smaller sprites; the size can be overwhelming. Most of the time I see people hurting themselves with a large color count or poor shading. If you are a beginning artist this isn't the tutorial for you.
Getting started, get your template and color palette. You can get them both from the HKCP gallery.
Know what it is you are making. You'll never get where you want if you don't know where you are going. Have a sketch on hand or find some reference pictures from the web. Here is the character I sketched out, it doesn't have to be detailed or drawn well. He's wearing some kind of metal head gear, tanktop, baggy pants, and a chain.
1:
Ok, draw your outlines with a simple fill in the color that you're going for. Some people have a hard time with perspective, the sprites are viewed from a high angle. Clothes will hang, wrinkle, and bulge in places so don't hug the templates outlines. Keep clothes, hair, shoes, and anything else on separate individual layers.
2:
Know your basics. There are plenty of tutorials on pixel art and technique. This is the most important step but the hardest to explain. Shading is all a matter of knowing where and how much light hits the sprite. Keep the light source above the sprite. Don't over crowd it with shades, you can have an open area with just one color. During this step you should lighten your outlines where needed.
3:
Finish up the sprite. Remember to shade the skin in any areas that might be covered up, usually the hair. If you are having trouble with side view frames the best advice I can give you is it to bring a copy of the front view down to the same level and bring lines across.