Sprites - Projects - Sheets - Characters

[Gad]

Yello!

So I was inspired by Siegvar and i'm writing this post.
My main wondering it's about drawing, spriting, shaping and shading.

75% of spriters are just great in making single sprites. You know - the spriter's work isn't lying on art in 100%. It could just take year to make a character, when you make everything very carefully and precisely.
Spriter is person who makes sheets - not just a milion of single sprites. Like Siegvar already said - people who make single sprites are just kind of artists. If you are good spriter you should make lot of sprites not in weeks, but in hours/days. You are excelent spriter, if you make sprite sheets, where all of sprites are very detailed. You may not accept this - that's just my opinion.

1. Spriting as work

A. Every good spriter (that I know) was starting with making lot of single sprites. For example try with recoloring existing sprites, then remaking them and finally go on with making your own - with the base ofcourse.

B. If you already made some nice sprites you can finally start to train with your speed. Search for your real character, when you'll wind it you think about the style, attacks... etc...

C. Speed painting is kind of art too. This is not very detailed, if you are begginer, but if you have realy good skill at this(and not bad aplication), you can go on with details, but this is not the point of my "teaching".
The whole speed is founded with the "sprites needed" and "shaping". This is realy easy and important part, when you wanna make character in "high speed".

Difference between shaping and shading.

"Shaping" is just making one-color shape of part of body.
"Shading" contains real shading, editing shape and pasting parts that u don't need to draw.

For example:
http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/9011/davisshaping.png


Also if you wanna make fast simply character you can do something like this:
http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/4566/davis0.png
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/6703/davis0needed.png

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/9675/davis1.png
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/7045/davis1needed.png

In this method you just have to make a realy little part of whole sprite sheet and other sprites are just an edit of those. I hope you understand what I mean, cause I'm not great teacher and my english is very cheap :/.

D. Special Attacks are realy important and expensive. If your character's sprites are unique and effectual it will be good rated. 3/4 of character's greatness is hidden in special unique sprites. You know - if you copy attacks from woody this won't be realy creative. So you can try to make your own moves, for example you can just copy and paste different parts of body in other places, just be creative - your ideas are realy important here.

2. Spriting as an art

A. As an art spriting is reeeeeealy demanding... If you want to make awesome single sprite you need very detailed character. Making single sprite is easier if you do it 2/4 times bigger and at the end you're just scaling it into right format.

B. The base of great art is good looking. If your character will not be very effectual and it will look ugly, not intresting then it just won't be good. You have to think and have the nice idea for this. Remember - you don't make whole sheet, but one sprite - so you don't have to worry about other poses, which could be hard to draw.

C. Details - this is the rest of good work. Great sprite should be very detailed - almost pixel by pixel. You have to shade everything very properly and don't forget it's just one sprite - you can make it about one hour, if you want to make this look reeeeealy nice.

3. Lf Drawing Training

Little Fighter Style is realy demanding. If you want to make new moves, but you're afraid the proportions won't be good enought - use template. It's realy simple and it will help you with basing of nice movements. You can draw super-duper poses, they will just a base for your real sprites. It's not realy difficult to draw template with simple pencil.


~Gad
Ps. This is probably my longest post ever.

[Apocalipsis]

I voted for "I'm and artist - I make single sprites, but they're very detailed". I just don't like the use of speed as excuse for bad quality sprites. You know, the "I did it in 5 min =D *shows crappy sprite*".

Take as example two spriters A and B. Each sprites makes a char, same quality data. Spriter A finish the char's sprite in 1 week, everybody rates it 3/5. The spriter B finish the char's sprite in 3 months, but it's rated 5/5.
Then someone comes 1 year after both started workings on their chars, he/she downloads both chars. Wich is better sprited, and thus, who is better spriter?
(There is a problem when someone is so slow to finish things that motivation get lost and the char doesn't get finished, wich is my case :p )

Oh, and there is a difference between making high quality sprites and detailed sprites. Details are affected by the design of the char itself.

The thing about sheet sprites (or to-be-animated-sprites) is that they should be very fluid. Lots of spriters have this problem (even the ones who make good looking single sprites).

[LutiChris]

Lolz just because i do single sprites doesn't mean i'm not a spriter
i tried & attempted several times (LutiChris, Wolver, Mikey, PeterPan, etc...)
but i never finnish
sigh*

[Gad]

Sure, you are a spriter, but you are more like drawer, because you don't make the whole work - just some of sprites and you drop it away.

@Apoc

You are excelent spriter, if you make sprite sheets, where all of sprites are very detailed.

I'm just talking here about work. ;]

It's sure, that great looking sprites will be better rated. But if you don't have to detail everything why would you do this (ok for progress, but nothing else? :P)? You don't have to detail every sprite like the "standing" one, do you?

[Magnamancy]

I voted for the 'detailed sheet' option.
This is because when I want to create a picture I do it by hand -> not
a sprite.
When I do make sprites, it's for characters, and so one just won't cut
it, and I don't leave them alone until I'm perfectly happy with it
(I take roughly ~an hour or two, per sprite sometimes )

[Apocalipsis]

@Gad
You don't need to make everything detailed. It's just somethig that you can do or not. I said that you don't need details for good quality sprites. Just take good care of proportions and correct animation.

Someone who makes 2/3 mods wich lots of chars, and every one of them have animation and quality problems, is not a very good spriter. I prefer people who make quality stuff than lots of stuff. But it's just my opinon, as you have yours.

(Btw, I finished sheets with same quality than standings, but choosing the "Detailed sheets" doesn't look good as I didn't released any)

[8obis]

I voted for "I'm spriter - I want to make sheets without pointless details"
Because i believe that the sprites don't have to be overdetailed.
I noticed that for example Apoc.He makes everything overdetailed (No offence ) and it doesn't actualy look like the other LF2 characters the shading is to different.
The only place where you have to overdetail is the face... (char name_f)

LF2 sprites:
Less detail, less work,good results


Apoc's (overdetailed dunno what to say^^) sprites:
More detail (duh), more work, but awesome results

Editverdetailed standing as well.

Choose your destiny!

P.S Gad,congratz on your longest post lol.

~RtXaS~

[Eddie]

I wouldn't classify myself as either - I kind of do both Artsy fartsy and 'spriting' as you define it xD

You need another option lol

[Lauli]

Yes, something like "I like making details, but don't give a damn about those basic frames" would be ideal.

[Alblaka]

"I have been trying lot of times, but I just can't sprite." >.<

Though im acceptable on creating, copying, redoing effects like balls or water ponds () or etc...