[WIP] Quarterman Template

[sixtyandaquarter]

"Quarterman" template I'm working on for my project.
Updated on Monday February 4th
Minor Update Tuesday February 5th - the spoiler below now has an updated "evolution" pic for the lulz and stupid feeling of self accomplishment of pretending to have gone a long way :thumb:
If you look close at that spoiler you can see there is a new version of the front - I really need to start doing more work on sides/steps.

Current Update Post can be found on page three.  Here is the current mock up:
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g147/ ... rman-2.png[/img]

This thing's come a long, long, way in my opinion at least.
If you would want to, for some stupid reason, see the "evolution" of the Quarterman from my first attempt, open the spoiler below (it's 822x234 be warned).  It is now up to date.

Spoiler: Quarterman Evolution

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g147/sixtyandaquarter/quartermanevolution-1.png[/img]

Again, I'll continue to look forward to any comments or critiques one feels like sharing, and thank everyone whose helped out or left comments :thumb:

damn it people stop saying "no offense"!!!

 

[RavenTDA]

Yes the arms ARE short. They should be reaching midway on the thigh. Stand up and look in the mirror and look where your fingers rest on your legs. Also the knee area is looking strange but I don't think that's the problem as much as his chest and waist area as well as thighs are all at the same width. They should at least come in some at the ribs.

 

[Showkaizer]

I'm going to quote myself here. And please understand that this is just my opinion and I'm not harassing you:

In all seriousness however, I think you , and everyone else thinking of making templates.) Should stop and focus your talents to more needed elements of resources. No offense , but the template thread is swamped with them , and there are tons that are already RTP sized. In fact there are so many templates now that they are becoming quite difficult to distinguish.

Don't get me wrong , this is a good effort , but IMO you'd spend your time more wisely with other graphical elements.

 

[Sapphire]

I think the eyes really make it look kinda retarded (no offense), because he stares at his nose... If the eyes are that big, you should try to move the blue part of it one pixel to the side.

~And I agree with SK~

 

[sixtyandaquarter]

@Raven
Actually that's how my arms are if I curl my hands into a fist, but then again I have long oversized hands and a shorter legs than the average person my height.

I tried to create the illusion that the chest was larger, and that the waste dipped some in the shading, apparently not so however. I'll play with the torso to see if that fixes the feel and extend the arms more. If it still looks funny at the knees/legs I'll mess with that too, thanks.

@Sho
How could that come off as harassment? I wouldn't be annoyed any if you had come out and said "that sucks, get rid of it, take out your spriting hand and chop it off!".

@Sapphire
Yeah, I didn't notice the eyes. I've been attempting using other templates to sprite the characters in my project and when I started this thing I guess their eyes stuck, though I changed the shape of the eye itself, I kept the inner pattern of most of them... I'll fix that up, thanks for pointing it out!

-@no one in particular
Hows the shading? I'll be using this, when finished, for my project and would sprite the resources to match. I know I used a lot of colors (I believe 12 colors total), but I wanted the li'l guy to pop some.

 

[BunnyKinx]

change the color and you would have a nice alien :D

 

[sixtyandaquarter]

I would actually, heh.

Updated, and for those who don't want to scroll up to the top of the page (why?) here's a spoiler with it.

Spoiler: template update (now outdated)

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g147/sixtyandaquarter/quartermantemplate.png[/IMG]

Lemme know if you come up with anything that still looks off and needs fixing, thanks.

 

[LightAndMagic]

No offense, but I find the facial expression incredibly creepy, it reminds me of a pedophile for some reason. But the porportions are well done.

 

[sixtyandaquarter]

I usually prefer to wait for at least 2 comments before saying anything, I updated. So, while I could bump this anyway, I might as well do so and say thanks for the comments!

I altered the stance on the new version, moved the arms and legs a bit, some minor editing. Redid the head shape and face.

Spoiler: people too lazy to scroll up (now outdated)

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g147/sixtyandaquarter/quartermanevolution.png[/IMG]
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g147/ ... ution2.png[/IMG]

@LightAndMagic
Too bad I didn't have a pedo in my game heh.
I actually agree. The face is really creepy, hopefully the newer version looks better, or more natural.

 

[G-man]

It's getting better, you're almost there, though the eyes still creep me out...

 

[sixtyandaquarter]

Spoiler: don't wanna go to page one to see? (now outdated

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g147/sixtyandaquarter/quartermangreen-1.png[/IMG]

Updated. Just a different color scheme (with 2 less colors) and a back pose as well.
Whadjya think?

EDIT:
New: Which looks best?
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g147/ ... gtest1.gif[/IMG] | http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g147/ ... gtest2.gif[/IMG]
I'm torn between the two, honestly. I like the stance of the first one but it looks unnatural - perhaps using a script that turns the first frame "idle" I think would be best. The second one, I think looks stiff when not moving, but looks better when walking.


I know the shading on the arms (and part of the leg) is obviously not right, but I was more concerned with the shape of things, since shading can always be fixed and I've more difficulty trying to fix something that's already been shaded fully as opposed to the opposite.

NEW EDIT:
Three damn edits... meh...
Okay, I started the third direction. I like the front, I like the back, so I figured unless someone points out some glaring mistake I overlooked it must be good right? The sideview is horrible, but here's the look of it thus far:
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g147/ ... tional.png[/IMG] and once again newest:http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g147/sixtyandaquarter/quarterman-newside.png[/IMG]
The green bg being the original, the red being the newer attempt...

 

[RavenTDA]

I don't like the two dark lines for in the middle of the thigh. I'd try to clear that up some how maybe widen the area up a bit? Your ribs still need to be tucked in a pixle just to break up that straight line you have there still. Knee area looks strange still perhpas you need a cap because the back looks good it's just the front and side that's funky. Arms are still too short. Maybe try hiking up the crotch.

 

[sixtyandaquarter]

EDIT:OUTDATED
Dark,
I think I know what you are talking about, but let me just make sure...?
View attachment 2608
You mean those two lines? I wasn't liking them, but I made the template with an even width for some reason, so I'm not sure how to remedy. Is that bottom right hand side better then?

I'll do the torso checking and crotch raising - god that sounds odd - and see what it looks like it, and upload it. Really, thanks for all the advice.

I'm also thinking to change the outline shade, and lower it. I don't know why but I always preferred templates and graphics with an outline.

 

[RavenTDA]

Well if you do it that way then it looks strange with your outline. But I am talking about that area. What I would consider is reshaping it so you have just a single dark line between the thighs so fudge the pixles around a bit and you can maybe get it. Like in your which one looks better thing. See how you have a single line? Try to get it to look like that more. Besides he's looking abit bow legged right now. well one thing at a time.

 

[sixtyandaquarter]

EDIT:OUTDATED
View attachment 2613
Top Row: Current version, Earlier Version, Attempt to fix
Bottom Row: I took the upper legs of the Earlier Version (which is in the "which is better" walking test) and put it on the body of the other, to create that "one line". It's really - as I'm sure you can tell (but I'm having problems seeing it on this comp so,) 1 dark line (the outline) and the 2nd line is replaced with the darkest shading line.
The two bottom row are the same just reversed.

If that doesn't fix it, when I go on the comp with all of the old versions I'll look threw them all and all the attempts that I didn't post and see if a solution is there, and if not I'll just play around with one as I do. Hopefully I'll fix that and shorten the legs (which I didn't want to do yet).

Anyone think I should just lighten the outline? Any other shading points? I think I've worked hard on this, and even though it's not shown much improvement I feel I've done good for myself. And all pointers are extremely helpful thus far.

Thanks, once more for the feed back it's greatly appreciated. I'm sure my inability to get it right would be annoying to keep pointing out mistakes, but it's been very helpful.

 

[RavenTDA]

No see the issue with the two bottom ones is that it's uneven. It's either on the right or the left. You need it in the middle. That's why you have to reshape it and such...or I'm just squinting at my computer too much too late at night. XD

 

[sixtyandaquarter]

EDIT:OUTDATED
View attachment 2614

Spoiler: I believe 6x or 8x zoom

View attachment 2615

Better? I raised the shortened the legs, raised the crouch and widened the stance so theres no two lines by moving the legs a pixel each to keep it even and to not widen most of the template because when I tried to do that it looked horrible.

I also indented a rib mark, and tried to even it so it would appear to come in under the ribs and dip back out at the hips for pose and such, but I think it looks funky. Do I have to shorten the arms?

Thanks again.

 

[Venetia]

I just saw this thread, sorry I hadn't commented earlier.

This is a very good idea for a template. The face however looks quite a bit more "realistic" than the HKs and the RTP, so were it truly a middle road it'd be more cartoony. (i.e. lose the nose/mouth, heighten the eyes, etc.) That's not a note that needs attention, I'm just saying it for the sake of saying it.

That being said I think I can offer some notes.

Firstly, he suffers Limbvarius Noodlitis, or Spaghetti Limb Syndrome. His arms and thighs could be a pixel-2 pixels wider. It won't make him look fat, rather it'll make him look less skeletal.

Secondly I think you're trying to capture too much detail in the idle hands. Hands are too intricate to fully outline. Consider outlining only the shape of the hands, and use your shading colors to give the hint of fingers.

Thirdly, he must be French, because his hands and feet are tiny. Hold your hand up to your face, stretch out your fingers all the way, and cover your face with them. Not only do you look silly, but you'll also notice that your hand encompasses your entire face. Were you some kind of monkey, you could hold your (hopefully clean and fungus-free) foot to your face and see it's roughly the size of your head, barring some anomaly.

Thusly, this guy's feet and hands need to compensate for the enormity of the head. Since the head is exaggerated it's not necessary to make it completely proportionate, but they should be relatively similar in girth. If you increase the width of the arms and legs you won't see a problem with this.

Fourthly, he seems to have been downing estrogen from an early age because his hips are shapely as an adolescent girl's. I realize you can see hips in a naked male, especially if they're skinny or have large posteriors. But in sprites this only serves to look awkward and gender-bending, particularly when dealing with such a small template. One pixel looks like three inches or so in comparison to real life.

Fifthly and lastly, he seems to have been ripping weights like crazy on the bench, but spent life in a wheelchair, because while his pecs are as scultped as a somewhat thin greek Adonis, his abs are as soft and amorphic as a .....

... I ran out of metaphors.

I hope this helps, and I'm just being a smartass because you're such a cool dood.

Seriously nice progress though, I look forward to seeing more.

 

[sixtyandaquarter]

Firstly, thanks for the comments.
Secondly, thanks for the detailing in them. Very precise.
Thirdly, thanks for assuming I'm a cool dood.

Nextly:
I'm glad someone else mentioned the feet. No one ever mentioned them, and since no one better than I -here or elsewhere- had thought to mention them I figured it was either acceptable or simply didn't seem wrong to others.

You've brought some more things up that I would want to mention, but let me see how the suggestions (some of which I hadn't noticed but see now) play first and hopefully make a better model than the one I currently have.

I've been working on more definition in the lower torso, but no real progress was made so I never posted it. My next update should have it - or if no one posts, this post would be edited instead as it should be finished before I go to bed in 3 hours. I'm hoping to make an athletic look, but not a weight lifter. It seems many templates have either A) Average, B) Heavy set (in some way, chubby, husky, obese, etc), or C) Huge and powerful. I kind of what something between average and muscular. An old world like image of a farmer, miner, carpenter, soldier look, and I'm glad someone noticed the pecs heh.

Thanks, again, it's always appreciated. Though I think the hands are fairly simple in shading, could you possibly tell me a little more about what you mean, because I'm not sure that I follow.

 

[Venetia]

I will make it my personal mission to show you some hand examples later today after work and all this mess I gotta do. I'll edit this post when I get there.

edit: I lied. See post #24