Monster Sprite (and more) *updated*

[Closedworlds]

Hi guys, this is my first post.
I created this monster sprite for a game I am currently working on.
The style I was going for is FFV's monster sprites. There is also a little map sprite of him.
I make most of the graphics for FF Essence but this monster will not be for that game.
I would appreciate a good critique because I've been told he doesn't look proportionate, regardless of all the editing I've done to him lately.
C+C

Spoiler

UPDATE *11/23/2009*
Thanks a lot to Perihelion for the beautification. He added more creative coloring, redid the detail in the cloak/hood, and improved the lighting.
I elongated the torso, redid "his left" shoulder spike, pulled the arm up, redid the hands, redid the torso, and redid the boots. Also Completed map sprite.
Unfortunately, I think his hands are still a little crappy and I need help shading the inside of the cloak. I cannot do hands to save my life.

 

[mawk]

the main parts are very well-done (cloth folds and such,) but it looks like you got lazy on the hands and the interior folds in his cloak.

as far as the proportionality thing goes, his legs and arms are far too long. for the leg proportions, I'm assuming his hips begin where his pants do, and legs shouldn't take up two-thirds of the body like that. as fer as arm length goes, with proper proportions, the fingertips should come to just above mid-thigh height. simply extending the torso a bit should really help in that regard.

also the spike oh his left shoulder (his left, our right) is positioned a little strangely. I'd think that it would be tilted up a little more than the one on his right shoulder, since his left arm is extended and pointing outward.

the patterning on his boots seems a little strange to me, too. doesn't look like it follows the shape of the boots themselves at all.

the map sprite is small and adorable and looks pretty much perfect from where I'm standing.

 

[Closedworlds]

Wow, thanks. I can definitely make some better changes now. I originally had a longer torso but I guess at the time I thought it was to long. I've had so much trouble trying to make good hands and they remind me of mickey mouse gloves. As for the boots I wanted to have a complex design but it didn't turn out so well.

 

[Sgt. Cookie]

The arms look a bit too short as though they hadn't grown yet. And the inside folds are a little too straight. I suggest you make the arms a little longer and just do a waves or curves or anything other than straight lines as it looks like the cape has got a wire frame.

 

[Perihelion]

You clearly have an eye for detail, but you tend to use the entire palette range in every single area, which makes your art look flat. Your palette is also boring; in general, you want to avoid flat grays and colors close to gray, and you want the highlights to be noticeably warmer than the shadows.

I did a rough edit. I'm sure you can improve on this, but it should give you the idea of what I'm talking about, anyway.



I didn't touch the overworld sprite, but it needs more contrast. The shoes need a lot of work; I lost interest right after I started working on them, but you can see how I softened them to give them a little depth, anyway. Shiny objects will generally be high-contrast and have "stripes" following the shape, or at least very strong bounce light; the darkest part is rarely the edge unless it's right over a dark shadow. Study photographs to get an idea of how light works on metal. Revisit the gloves, too; I didn't work on them, either. The whole piece would benefit from bounce light along the dark edges, actually, but I was too lazy to put it in.

I didn't touch the overworld sprite, but it needs more contrast. The line work is solid, though.

 

[Closedworlds]

That is fantastic Perihelion. I get a better understanding of shine and shade. Your critique is greatly appreciated and I fully understand what you mean about the colors. Most of my experience is with small sprites so this is one of my very few bigger pieces.


This here is the flying death fortress I created for my enigmatic man in black. Its for the overworld map. It is a colossus when it flies among standard flying ships such as Airships (classic FF size). C+C


This is a Dragon Princess I made about a year ago. C+C

 

[Closedworlds]

Thanks a lot to Perihelion for the beautification. He added more creative coloring, redid the detail in the cloak/hood, and improved the lighting.
I elongated the torso, redid "his left" shoulder spike, pulled the arm up, redid the hands, redid the torso, and redid the boots. Also Completed map sprite.
Unfortunately, I think the hands are still a little crappy and I need help shading the inside of the cloak. I cannot do hands to save my life.

 

[Celesinator]

Lex it looks a lot better! The designs are much more flawless and the colors on the map sprite are good! Looks like it was directly ripped out of FFV! Great job! And the airship for the villain is nice as well. Ana- the dragon girl looks great too! Wish you luck!

 

[sojournen]

Nice to see so much talent on this forum. I have nothing to add that hasn't already been said as far as critic, just wanted to say, good job.

 

[Perihelion]

Hey, just so you know, when people do an edit of your work, it's generally to show you how to do it properly, not for you to directly use. You won't learn if you just use the thing I made. Instead, look at it, figure out what I did, understand why, and then do it yourself. Although I am glad you appreciated it!

Also, I'm a she, but details. ;p

Hoo boy, I came back to this late.

 

[Celesinator]

Perihelion, if you didn't want him to use your edit, then you should have said so in the post before instead of having him think he could use yours. He edited a lot from yours.

His sprite was edited a lot more than yours was. All you did was do the top half of the cloak, which would be the hardest. He is a rookie compared to you, Perihelion. He is learning, too btw. Before you edit someones sprite, you should think about if they will steal it. It's technically still his sprite, either way. I know it would be best if he redid it himself, but what could get better? He could end up with the same result as you. You should have said for him NOT to use your edit and for him to do it himself. He's redoing it himself, though.

 

[TheInquisitor]

Some criticism of the drawing and not the pixel art here:

The character's arms seem a little short, certainly on the pointing arm. If that arm was put down by his side it'd probably reach only his waist. That needs to be longer and his legs could also do with being longer too.

 

[Perihelion]

Celes_cole, I should've specified, which was my bad, yeah--I tend to assume people understand what I intend when I make an edit, although that frequently isn't the case, so I'm going to say from now on. I'm not worried about him stealing it or whatever; I did a bit of work on it, but it's certainly not mine. The thing is that you don't learn if you don't do things yourself. Yes, it may be worse if he tries to reproduce what I did than if he just uses the thing I made, but the point isn't to make this particular piece the best it could possibly be. The point is for him to improve as an artist, which will be harder if I do things for him. Teach a man to fish, etc.