Aureola Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 Working on fixing it, but there's so many things I'll likely need to re-stick figure the whole thing and do it from the ground up. In the meantime, I'm really unhappy with my promoted legion/centurion/whatever so I'm thinking of redoing him. Thought's on the stickman? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary Lord Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 That is a massive, massive stick figure. Not just that, but why would someone be leaning on their shield in the middle of combat? That doesn't seem very smart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jubby Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 he just ducks behind it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aureola Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 (edited) That is a massive, massive stick figure. Not just that, but why would someone be leaning on their shield in the middle of combat? That doesn't seem very smart. Looks about the same height to me. And the berserker is slouching under the weight of a giant axe, while this stick figure is standing up straight. He could maybe stand to lose a pixel or two. He's also not in the middle of combat, he's standing idle before attacking. By that logic, why's Lyn got her sword in a sheath in the middle of combat? How's she going to slice through bandits with such a dull edge? I honestly don't get your point here. Edited August 25, 2012 by Aureola Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deranger Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Your guy is currently four or five pixels taller (his feet's positions makes very little difference in this case). The berxerker is slouching a maximum of a pixel, as they're pretty build guys (and they're already pretty tall, I think. As a second ref you could try heroes or sword masters). So depends on how abnormally big these guys are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary Lord Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 IMHO, It's much easier to quick draw a rapier-like sword than it is to lift a wall shield as someone is assaulting you. It's not that a battle sprite might be that tall, it's more that It seems like a large leap from the first tier to the second tier classes. Each pixel is a large amount of real life height, and if I remember a tutorial from Yeti correctly, 35 pixels is about 5'10" in Fire Emblem. That mean's each pixel is about 2 inches of height, so the class somehow gains ten inches of height upon promotion, which is a bit strange. :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aureola Posted August 26, 2012 Author Share Posted August 26, 2012 (edited) I'm going for moderately abnormally big. Thanks for recommending looking at the swordmaster, it's a good reference point for what I'd consider slightly above average FE height. I brought him down two or three pixels, making him stand about two taller than the swordmaster. Seems about right to me. edit: more replies while I was typing this, I don't think I'm going to change the shield; at least, not because it's impractical. Hero's have their swords strapped to their shields, Lyon decides to flap his cape like a supervillain before attacking, Generals and Knights can underhand throw javelins, and I really don't care about sacrificing a bit of realism for the sake of aesthetics. Edited August 26, 2012 by Aureola Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary Lord Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 Well if you do decide to animate this, then what about the dodge frames? How are you planning to make those work?He'll have to move out of the way very quickly, and at the same time pull up the shield and yeah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aureola Posted August 26, 2012 Author Share Posted August 26, 2012 (edited) Worst case scenario he'll leave the shield behind but I'm almost certain I'll be able to work something out. Edited August 26, 2012 by Aureola Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary Lord Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 Why would he be looking away from the enemy? And why is his sword super duper short? All in all, it looks pretty much the same as the the first tier, except with more trim and a bigger shield. I suppose it's a good effort, but it just seems the same as the other one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aureola Posted August 26, 2012 Author Share Posted August 26, 2012 (edited) I didn't really think an explanation would be necessary... But he would be looking at the enemy, with his shield between their sharp pointy object of choice and his body. And he's not the only unit in FE to do so. When there's issues with the sprites themselves, don't hesitate to tell me, but you seem to just be nitpicking incredibly pointless details in the concepts behind the sprites. He also just has more trim and a bigger shield in much the shame way a wyvern lord just has more armor and a bigger wyvern, or a promoted hector just has more trim and a bigger axe. The sword is an actual issue I can and will try to address. I had hoped the stance, size, and future animation differences would be enough to distinguish him from his premote, but if necessary I can change a number of other things edit: more edits made the helmet slightly different (with more trim?!), made the sword bigger, fixed an issue with the body armor and the feet, some shadow work. Edited August 26, 2012 by Aureola Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary Lord Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 I can't be brilliant all of the time. Actually, there are distinct differences in every sprite. For example, Hector's pose changes, the Wyvern Lord's spear/sword/tail/dragon's head changes. And concept is the most important part of a battle sprite. Nothing is pointless. Perhaps it's all in one's own perspective, but nothing I ever say about sprites will be pointless. though possibly stupid Okay, fine, good old crit. Well, the hand on the shield looks weird, like it's been flipped or something. It seems kind of...dislocated. One of the boots is quite a bit shorter than the other, and don't say it's just perspective. At most, there should be two pixels of difference between the two. The far arm looks strange, like the forearm is twice the size of the upper-arm. The first helmet seemed better to me than the new one, less forced and more practical. The shoulderpads seems kind of small for the body, the trim is weird, almost like you're trying to make the body seem too curved. Usually most FE sprites have some kind of belt separating their top and bottom half, although this is minor, and I see you made an effort to do this. It just doesn't really look like it. Although I'm exhausted, a lot of this stuff might be due to that. The legs seem kind of far apart, and the shield itself doesn't seem like it's touching the ground, although if that's intentional, then my mistake. The front boot doesn't look shaded, even if it is, and I think that it would have a slight shadow cast on it by the shield. The back leg has lazy shading, and the sword hilt has no shading. The chest piece, back shoulder pad, and back boot have a different lightsource than the rest of the sprite, which makes it look kind of funny. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaman Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 The sprite has an interesting concept, although I can't think of any soldiers in history that used a tower shield, without being larger. Maybe he could have a build more like a berserker, just with armor? These are just ideas. My word of advice to you for now, is work on your animations. Don't concentrate on the finer details, this will come later. Get the frames down, then work on another one. I think once your animations are smooth enough, you can then start to concentrate more on the proper shading, and sizing. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary Lord Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 (edited) Well, it started as a 40 pixel behemoth, and then he took it down a few pixels. Also, focusing on animations first might be a good idea, but then again, learning proper shading and such is essential for a sprite. Having one great frame is better than having a bunch of bad ones. You know, Aureola, if I have been offending you, then I heartily apologize. I realize I might be pretty blunt. Edited August 26, 2012 by Mercenary Lord Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT075 Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 the hand and shading on the shield looks weird i think if it was positioned the way the shading and hand position implied, his leg would be more behind the shield Also I have no issue with him leaning on the shield because this is a game where Armor Knights take off their chestplate to use as their shield during their attack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary Lord Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 (edited) All of the above is quite true. I suppose leaning on a shield is all right,it would just be weird in an animation. Edited August 26, 2012 by Mercenary Lord Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aureola Posted August 26, 2012 Author Share Posted August 26, 2012 (edited) @Shaman I think spending some more time on animations would be a good idea, though I'll need to leave them as stick figures until the base sprites are down, as it'd be pretty pointless to fill them in with a subject to change sprite Merc Lord, be as blunt as you'd like, it's fine, and I'll try to take what you say into account as long as it's not silly ;) CT075, hopefully the lighting's fixed a bit now. The light source in FE sprites is an imaginary point between the two combatants, right? Highlights/shadows should be a bit better placed now. I'm not really sure how I'd modify the shield to make more sense but I tried defining the curve more to see if that'd help. also, various references I'll now be specifically referring to. Hopefully this gives a better idea of what look I'm going for. I think the shield is about the right size, but maybe it could be a bit bigger since he is a promote. Dunno. edit: and with that in mind, random screwing around with the legionaire: Edited August 26, 2012 by Aureola Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary Lord Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 I definitely prefer the first one. As for the new sprite, the shading is a bit better, but the shield still seems like it's floating. Try moving the shield down a pixel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aureola Posted August 26, 2012 Author Share Posted August 26, 2012 I'm gonna try to make this new style work before I totally toss it. I'd like to see it work because it distinguishes them from the soldier and halberdier by giving them more their own style. New armor color is from a warrior, the idea is that these guys would keep the same general armor color (while still changing a bit from pallet to pallet), while their pants and shield change to reflect the unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary Lord Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 (edited) Eh...the second one just looks bad...I can't put my finger on it. It might be the outline. The first one actually looks pretty cool, I will admit it. Maybe you could make the first tier the original version, and make the second tier this new one? Edited August 26, 2012 by Mercenary Lord Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aureola Posted August 26, 2012 Author Share Posted August 26, 2012 Definitely considering distinguishing the tiers that way, though until someone can put their finger on what's wrong with the first or I get a flash of inspiration, I'm just gonna leave those two up there for critique. Meanwhile.. working on my motion blurs Magic use animation in progress for the Saint (the name, like most of mine, is a placeholder). Were I to theoretically program the class into a game, it'd either just straight up have light magic or be able to attack a unit's resistance for half weapon damage and at range, light brand style. Not really sure which'd work out better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT075 Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 on the one on the left, I think his leg should either be more hidden by the shield or shaded darker, since his shield's in the way this is based on how the shield appears to be oriented btw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aureola Posted August 26, 2012 Author Share Posted August 26, 2012 Better? I'd obscure the leg more but it's already been said that his legs are pushing it with how far apart they are, I feel like it'd be pretty wide if I move a leg behind the shield. Unless you mean to move the shield in front of the leg? and here's an edited saint animation and his premote Legitimate attacking animations'll come after a thoroughly embarrassing outdoor sword swinging adventure to get the motions down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT075 Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 (edited) yeah i meant moving the shield in front of the leg that would also fix the hand issue because right now it looks like his arm is too far out Edited August 26, 2012 by CT075 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aureola Posted August 26, 2012 Author Share Posted August 26, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts