Character Sprites

Experimentation

There were a few different methods I wanted to test before going ahead with my official art style. Of course, I will be going with a pixelated style for all aspects of this game, inspired by the Stardew Valley look. There are several ways I would go about this, so I wanted to have a play around with a few of them.

The first idea that I had came about after experimenting with some of my backgrounds (which I was experimenting with simultaneously to the sprites) - to take a full-resolution image (I usually draw in 2K) and pixelate it. To see how this style might look, I took one of the extra sketches I did of Oran, lowered the resolution, and then using the "posterise" effect, which reduces the amount of colours in an image.

You can see the results to the left, and unfortunately I think that the sketchy pencil brush I used to draw it combined with the detailed shading and colours means that it just looks like a really low quality drawing, as opposed to an intentional pixel art sprite.

Disclaimer: I made both of these stills before I drew the reference sheets, so if the colours/outfits are wrong, that's why!

This is the method that I was expecting to work the best; and so it did. I first drew the sketch in 2K, and then scaled it down to the size I wanted the sprite to be in - I did this because I find it much easier to actually see what I'm sketching when it's in full resolution, and blocking out the shapes and proportions is a very important step in giving the sprites that same amount of personality as the reference sheets, for example.

I firstly drew Oran - looking at this drawing now, I think I made the resolution a little too low, and so some of the angles look a little unnatural. Other than that, I really like this sprite, and it looks very similar to some of the actual sprites I ended up doing (in hindsight, I think I actually prefer the hair on this sprite than on his final sprite).

I then attempted Ross, albeit in a slightly different style. I wanted to see how a sprite would look with coloured lineart - this is a technique I use a lot when drawing with harsh outlines, where you colour the lines using a darker version than the object's colour. As you can see on his skin and hair, I tried to do this, however I don't really like how it came out, as it takes away from the stylization of the piece.

In conclusion, I will be using this pixel art technique for the final stills, as opposed to the posterize technique from before. I will, of course, be keeping the lines black, in order to preserve the style.

Now that I've figured out how I will be creating these stills, I will go right ahead and make them. I decided that, for the purposes of the teaser trailer, I will create three different emotions for each still, which I have named "neutral", "bashful", and "love". For the purposes of preserving time and energy, I have videoed the entire process of me making these stills, including what references I used, what roadblocks I ran into, and what changes I made along the way.

Ross

As you might be able to see, I actually did the linework for this still before finalising Ross' reference sheet, which is why certain aspects such as the jacket and neck-bandage are different. I also forgot to add his tattoos and beard, so had to add them in after I stopped filming - the only other issue I can spot is that increasing the resolution of the sprite (which is necessary so that the sprite can be used alongside other high-res images) messed with his "band" pin, and made it look a little strange. Other than than, I really love this still, and I think it's probably my favourite of the five characters.

Tokyo

Clearly I was slightly distracted whilst drawing this still, as the video pauses for extended periods of time, which shows me coming away from my computer. While I believe this still does bring out the character, I think that Tokyo ended up looking a little frog-ish, especially in the "love" sprite. I really like how the top came out, however, and I think that the shape language came across really clearly.

If I were to change this character design, I would make the face longer and the mouth smaller.

Romeo

I absolutely love how Romeo's sprites came out. I think that his personality really shines through, and whilst he still embodies that flamboyant aspect that I imagined of him from his very first concepts, however has developed an individuality that I didn't expect. The shape language, colours, and expressions all give a really good impression of his characterization overall.

If I were to change this sprite, do it again, I would probably make him less skinny as I think it looks a bit too unrealistic, and perhaps make his arms shorter.

Noah

I'm quite proud of how well I managed to execute the shape language in this character sprite - I managed to keep the body/hoodie looking boxy enough to keep his square shape language, but kept his hair round enough for him to still look circular as well. I'm especially happy about the eye shape in his neutral still - they still look sultry and upturned - however I wish I had kept it going throughout all of his sprites.

If I were to ddo this again, I would probably try and keep the facial shape more consistent throughout the three sprites, and perhaps make the hair less spagetti-looking.

Oran

This is the final sprite I had to create, and in my opinion is no the best I could do. I think that the torso is a nice shape, and looks pretty circular, however the face and hair are less than what I would like - the hair is too straight and flat, and the face looks awkward. I also think that the "love" sprite is a bit odd, although I'll give myself the benefit of the doubt, as without eyes or eyebrows it is much harder to portray strong emotions. The shirt and accessories came out nice, however.

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