Perihelion
Sponsor
NOTE: This template is NOT available for commercial use unless you want to pay me for it somehow.
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Sorry, guys, I've decided not to distribute this publically.
Q: Why's it so small?!
A: It's designed for 16x16 tiles, ergo they should be blown up to 200% in an actual game.
Q: Why 16x16 tiles?
A: It's easier than 32x32, looks SNESy, and lets you use SNES rips/RM2k3 tilesets if you're so inclined. Mack and Blue tilesets look pretty good with it, although you may need to make some of the doors a few pixels taller.
Q: So are there any advantages to this template besides laziness?
A: For one, it doesn't look like a dough-faced, stump-armed midget. You can actually pose the arms and stuff! Also, the small number of pixels involved means drawing new poses is much easier than it'd be for, say, HK.
Q: But you can't put detail into sprites that small, right?
A: Sure you can; try harder!
The one on the left is a character made by Berserker (don't think he was done shading, but whatever), which I resprited on my template. Really, you just need to focus on the most important details and use contrast. Also, keep in mind that these are designed for use at 200%.
Q: Okay, so can I use it?
A: Sure, but I'd appreciate it if you let me know. I like to keep tabs on who's doing stuff with it. I'd also like to see what you make if you're inclined to share, both to satisfy my curiosity and to give feedback.
Q: Any tips for spriting on this template?
A: I've been using about four colors per large item, three for small ones, and picking bright, high-contrast shades is important. I've also found that varying the outline shade (and using it for actual shading) can sometimes help you define form and use your space better, and you have to focus on making shapes prominent instead of super-smooth. Smoothness is nice, but you need to be able to tell what's going on. Exaggeration helps in general. Like, I always put the minimum dimensions for hair at least a pixel outside of the template outline, and likewise for bulky items of clothing; stuff like armor looks flat if it's plastered to the skin. It's a bit different from spriting on larger templates, so your first attempt might not look incredible, but practice a little and see how it goes. Also, look at SNES sprites. Particularly Chrono Trigger, since I referenced it a lot while making this template.
A: It's designed for 16x16 tiles, ergo they should be blown up to 200% in an actual game.
Q: Why 16x16 tiles?
A: It's easier than 32x32, looks SNESy, and lets you use SNES rips/RM2k3 tilesets if you're so inclined. Mack and Blue tilesets look pretty good with it, although you may need to make some of the doors a few pixels taller.
Q: So are there any advantages to this template besides laziness?
A: For one, it doesn't look like a dough-faced, stump-armed midget. You can actually pose the arms and stuff! Also, the small number of pixels involved means drawing new poses is much easier than it'd be for, say, HK.
Q: But you can't put detail into sprites that small, right?
A: Sure you can; try harder!
The one on the left is a character made by Berserker (don't think he was done shading, but whatever), which I resprited on my template. Really, you just need to focus on the most important details and use contrast. Also, keep in mind that these are designed for use at 200%.
Q: Okay, so can I use it?
A: Sure, but I'd appreciate it if you let me know. I like to keep tabs on who's doing stuff with it. I'd also like to see what you make if you're inclined to share, both to satisfy my curiosity and to give feedback.
Q: Any tips for spriting on this template?
A: I've been using about four colors per large item, three for small ones, and picking bright, high-contrast shades is important. I've also found that varying the outline shade (and using it for actual shading) can sometimes help you define form and use your space better, and you have to focus on making shapes prominent instead of super-smooth. Smoothness is nice, but you need to be able to tell what's going on. Exaggeration helps in general. Like, I always put the minimum dimensions for hair at least a pixel outside of the template outline, and likewise for bulky items of clothing; stuff like armor looks flat if it's plastered to the skin. It's a bit different from spriting on larger templates, so your first attempt might not look incredible, but practice a little and see how it goes. Also, look at SNES sprites. Particularly Chrono Trigger, since I referenced it a lot while making this template.
Uh, this is some random stuff I've made for this template. Since people keep asking me to help them sprite on it, I figured I'd throw up some of the stuff I've made. This is for educational purposes ONLY. You may NOT use any of this.
Here's some random hair I doodled at one point. Some of these are better than others; I made them quickly to get an idea of how to draw hair on this template.
The general rule I've found is that high contrast, exaggeration, and having a few distinctive shapes with dark outlines is the way to go. It looks flat and pasted on if you use realistic proportions, and they're too small to do individual hair texture like you could on a big sprite, so you need to go for shapes instead.
Here are a few full sheets to give you ideas. Again, THESE ARE NOT FOR YOUR USE.
Here's some random hair I doodled at one point. Some of these are better than others; I made them quickly to get an idea of how to draw hair on this template.
The general rule I've found is that high contrast, exaggeration, and having a few distinctive shapes with dark outlines is the way to go. It looks flat and pasted on if you use realistic proportions, and they're too small to do individual hair texture like you could on a big sprite, so you need to go for shapes instead.
Here are a few full sheets to give you ideas. Again, THESE ARE NOT FOR YOUR USE.
