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here he is... i said in my last topic (when i created rei with this template) that i might make link... so... tell me what you think please! C&c would be greatly appreciated!
That's not bright on my computer, and if it is, I'm sorry. Why don't you just not have a background? ^^;; But it does look good, from what I can see of it.
It isn't a bad start, but there are some problems that should be addressed first before you continue. Perfecting a single frame will help you throughout the entire characterset making process. If you are not happy with the first idle animation, do not continue on to making the rest of the animation. Stick with that one frame until you have it exactly how you want it.
Here are some quick edits of your original Link that I did (as I always do this for people to help them improve). Of course I didn't fix everything, but the main purpose of this post is to steer you in the right direction.
Basic Points of Interest:
You really need to learn how to increase the contrast between colours. I noticed the palettes you had set out for yourself, and it looked very gradient-ish. Quite a few people around these parts use the same method, but when it comes to actually detailing your sprite, similiar shades of colour really won't benefit the piece.
Remember your light source and highlight strength. Proper highlighting and shadowing gives definition to your sprite. If you use similiar shades of colour such as your base green and secondary tunic colour, you will be in trouble. The light source is an equally important factor. If your light source is inconsistent throughout the sprite, then it will look F.U.B.A.R.
People have unique sizes and shapes. Sometimes it is a good idea to stick to the template shape, but in different cases, you are going to need to alter the size & width of the template to fit your desired shape accordingly. Do not be afraid to change the size, shape and/or colour of template to achieve your desired results.
References pictures are a spriter's dream. If you follow a reference picture while creating a characterset/tileset/ect, you should have no problem with being "politically correct" when spriting.
Points of Interest on Link:
From looking at your sprite on the right (in the picture), you can notice the difference my edits have made to poor Link.
Link's legs were pretty big and muscular as an adult in Ocarina of Time, but they were far from being tree trunks. All I did to fix this problem was move the outer row of pixels on both sides of the legs, one pixel.
Once you have fixed the legs, the boots are going to look massive. So what's our next step? Make the boots smaller and add something extra highlights on the critical parts.
Link's tunic wasn't skin tight. It looks like all you did was draw the colour on the main body and call it quits. Even though he did seem a little big for the knickers he was wearing, there still was some "give" in the fabric. Loosen up the tunic a little bit by making.
Don't be afraid to detail. That is one of the most wonderful things about larger templates, the opportunity for detail. If you follow the image I provided for you, you should be able to get some pretty neat detail out of that sprite.
That just about it for now, so I hope this little post helps out in anyway possible.
Maestro: i see what yer saying... i actually thought he looked just fine to me... but now that you piont those out i'll try to do some more detailing and such when i finish him... thank you for the pointers, i appreciate them
Ignore Wings, he's being a professionalist :p The sprite looks fine. I mean you're pretty new to the spriting game and you can at least do some decent shading.
Wings, go write a critique for that Mario sprite lol.