Sal collects eyeballs

[Arachne]

I haven't had much motivation to finish larger pieces lately, so I wanted to draw something simpler. I thought a mockup would be a good idea, and I've been curious about the C64 restrictions for games. Ptoing has given me some help with those, and my boyfriend named the main character Sally.

I don't really have any real ideas for this yet, so I thought I'd draw a larger and more detailed version of Sal.

Still C64 colors. I'm having a bit of trouble with her dress, so I'm still working on the folds and stuff.



Here are some of the sprites and tiles. The main character is two sprites overlaid. I'll put together a mockup later and explain the restrictions as far as I've understood them. It's a lot to keep track of, and I'll have to experiment a bit to figure out which colors to choose for global colors (pink and brown, currently) and background color and where to use sprites and where to use tiles and all that.


Mushroom walk animation.

Any input is welcome.

Edit: Final(?) version:

[johnnyspade]

I'm pretty sure you were going for something drenched in a creepy vibe, so hope you don't mind if I say the big Sally is really off-putting!

I like how you implied the surprise expression even though there are no means of the conventional mime.

cannot wait to see the mock-up ready, or the Sal piece finished!

[Arachne]

Heh, looks like it wasn't quite accurate?

Edit: Alright, I think I have the cloth mostly figured out now. Just a bit more work on the shading remains, I think.


From these two sketches. I'm so tired of drawing folds now.

[johnnyspade]

wow!  that you were using your own sketch as a reference makes it even more valuable!  move on with the tone!

[Indigo]

you're making the mistake of focusing too much on the folds themselves before thinking of the underlying shape.  You're working backwards.  Try starting with a basic shape with shading, then add folds on top

A very very quick edit:


just a bit of flattening can help resolve your current issue.  Note that I used dirty tools and screwed up the palette in the process :S

[Arachne]

Thanks! You're right, and I sort of lost track of my light sources in the process, I think. I'm still not sure if the direction of the light on the body matches that of the head. I darkened the other light source, added some shadows and tried to fix the perspective a bit. I hope what I intended is clearer now.

[Conceit]

I love the design of the creature as well, it manages to have quite a startling expression without using too much human means to do it.  You took good advantage of the C64 tones to create your own quirky atmosphere. I also see good progress in the folds

That was a good point Indigo made, follow his advice...I'm just gonna pick out little things that sticked out to me.

personally I'm not really sure of the lastest interpretation of the folds, specially the way they wrinkle as they touch the ground.

Looking at your sketch, you captured well how when it touches the ground, the cloth created creaces that made the cloth directly above the ground sort of puff up a little, you made very decided and strong lines that describe exactly how the cloth sort of turned on itself and went below the the clothed figure to create those puffed up creaces.

However, in the actual sprite the cloth that is about to touch the ground just seems to sort of float for no reason, the creaces close to the ground arent clearly specified.

Also, in the sprite it looks like he's got a type of sleeve for his right hand, and a different one for the left one...I'm not quite sure why the sleeve closest to us looks so inflated when his arm is so thin.

Also, with the first picture you posted you seemed to have a difference in the amount of white used in his wet bulgy little head at the top, while the shirt didnt have as much bright white highlights. Now they sort of hold around the same amount  of white and this sort of reduces the impact of the freaky texture on his head, while making the shirt look all the more unlikely.

Ok now, with all the crit out of the way let me say this is probably one of my favorite things ever posted here, and in the internet in general, this is going to my favorite pics folder =)

[Arachne]

Thanks a lot for both crits and compliments.

The problem with the folds on the ground is that I wasn't quite sure where or if I should cut them off since the cloth I used for reference was a bit longer than what I intended for Sal's dress. You're right, though, and I hope it looks better now.

When I drew the reference for the sleeve, I put a sock in it to make her a shoulder, and the result was, well, that.

Ah, good point. I've removed the white highlights to make it more dull and clothlike.



I also changed the shading in a few places. Nothing major, though. I feel that I'm relying a bit too heavily on the reference, and I think that's keeping me from making radical changes. So bear with me. I'll get it right in the end, I hope.

Edit: Cleaned up the background a bit and added some sketchy foliage. I added a bit of blue to the mushrooms to make them look less flat. I shaded them with the darker blue initially, but I didn't want to make them too prominent.



Any suggestions?

[Arachne]

Here's a more substantial update. Hopefully the last, but see what you think.

[Portrait]

Hmm, i like it. The background is kind of plain but it fits it. Other then the background i love it!  :y:Great work!

[Helm]

Hm the lack of black shadows on the tunic makes it appear a bit astral; it is as if Sal is not really in it, it's superimposed on him in the etherial realm. What would be a good way to address this issue?

[Ryumaru]

I think black accents dont hurt the piece at all and it doesn't take much to bring it to Sal
sorry for the rough example ( what is this gimp??)

[Arachne]

I agree that a bit of black would make it look better, but I'm not sure how to make something like that look natural. I think the dress would have to have darker shadows to begin with and then have a third light source illuminate those, but there's no telling how that would turn out without trying. Well, that's how I'd approach it, anyway. I would probably have considered using black for shadows from the start if she didn't have those thin, black arms.





Played with some more hires/mcol sprite combos. The mcol sprites can have three colors + transparency. Two of those three are global colors shared by all the sprites, in this case pink and brown. The hires sprites can have one unique color + transparency. Twice the resolution and half the colors, I suppose. Sprites are 24 x 21 pixels in size, and you can only have 8 sprites per scanline. I'm using two for Sal, which leaves 6. I figured hearts (lives) and fires (health) would appear infrequently enough to add a bit extra to them.

[michael]

i really like sal's sprite! i really want to see her move! shes got a real nice no face vibe

[Antago]

I would suggest adding a background. This is an example here, but it needs more detail. However it illustrates the point.



Basically it just illustrates a moon sky and some black stalactite type things in the background. You could add some moonlight hightlights and some purple shade "highlights" on things like the edges of the mushrooms and leaves and things.

[Destiny]

Wouldn't the moon contradict his current light source though :/?

[Antago]

I suppose, if you want to be a Nazi about everything. There are alternative lightsources however in this great and vast world. Still I wouldn't worry about it

[Helm]

Attitude. Strike. Be careful.

[Antago]

It was Nazi as a metaphor, not as an insult. Really, lighten up your heart will beat easier

[Helm]

Words are just words, they can be meant as insults but not always. One's tone has to be interpreted. The moderators have to make the call on whether your tone was assholish or not. Look under my name, it says 'Shogun'. My call was that it was. If you're searching for a way to say that you didn't mean to insult Destiny, it will serve you well to end your post with something along the lines of 'sorry' or 'no offense' perhaps throw in a smiley for good measure.

Now I will give you the space if you feel like apologizing properly to Destiny, if not, hey, that's just how Antago rolls, it ain't my karma. But if you give me lip once again or you insult anyone else here, you're gone.

EDIT: Also, Antago, if you reply here in this thread again in a defensive manner or whatever not related to the art in the thread you will get a strike from me. (ptoing)

[Conceit]

There CAN be multiple lightsources in a picture, and really if one of them goes straight to the camera it's practically useles...so you COULD have the moon there...atlthough it's kinda useless if we're to take it as a lightsource :p

Personally I did think the undefined blotches did feel kind of awkward next to the uber detailed mushrooms....and Antago's solution is adequate...without the white because it does kind of eat up all the attention....( IMO it also gives a sort of "enlightment" mood to the picture, as if sal is some kind of sage and I dont think that's what we're going for). I personally would have looked for a way to do some kind of murky forest or swamp that fits the mood, but without showing too much detail...I thought of bamboo sticks for whatever reason...