Sprite Sheet

Here's my first sprite sheet. For those that don't know what this is, it's a compilation of all the sprites that go together so that there aren't multiple files. A game might use this by knowing what the coordinates of each frame are in order to render animations. This took quite a while to finish. It might be because there's too much detail or just that I haven't done this before. At any rate, I can relate to why making an entire game can take several years to complete.

If anyone wants to see these animated, I put them on my GIFs page.

More sprite creation

I decided to include a few images to kind of show my process when I can't figure out how to make a sprite right away. I started this process because I wasn't sure how to make a fore-shortened sword look good on a small scale, but it ended up being really helpful for the whole sprite. The first picture is a side view of this character. I couldn't figure out how to draw this as a sprite, so I drew it with the traditional style. I also couldn't figure out the hand, so I drew a close-up to get it right.

The second picture is a rough side view of the character that I was able to use as a reference when making the simple, pixel version. The sprites are based on a typical style, so this is helpful when the pixel version isn't obvious.

The last picture is the sprite, which is supposed to look similar to the second picture. Obviously, it's not identical. The colors also don't match the other sprites completely yet, so it's not ready to put into a sprite sheet for game use, but it's getting there.

Sprites

This is my first attempt at making sprites that can be used in a game. It's actually a lot harder and more time consuming than I originally thought. They're kind of small, but that's because it's drawn pixel by pixel. It also makes sense for something that might go into a mobile game. Also, this upcoming game provided some inspiration.

I also moved the animated GIF to the GIFs page since I'm not a fan of flashy stuff on the main page.

More concept art

Here's a few pieces of concept art for the game. You can tell that the background is the same for all these - thanks to layers. I also added color to the one with all of them so you can tell which is which. Although, putting everything in one picture kind of messed with the composition, so I don't know if I really like that one as much.

Cell Shading

This is one of the first pieces of concept art/character design for the game. It was also an experiment on how well I can cell shade, which is probably going to be the style for our game since that fits better for 2D. I think I understand the basics. For those that are interested, cell shading seems to work best with just 2 colors (not 3 like I originally thought for the base color, highlights, and shadows). You just have to know where to put the shadows. Anyway, I'm still learning, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

Valley of the Shadow of Death

I'm not sure if I'm completely satisfied with how this turned out, but I thought it was a cool idea.

Original

Here's an original drawing.  This was kind of a step-by-step drawing that I'm showing some people at work.  I experimented a little bit with color, as well.  I tried to come up with a good palette, but it ended up being a little too strong, so I softened it a lot with white.

Jedi

I got carried away with this today, but here's another quick one I did.  This one's not an original, but I thought it was cool, so I drew it anyway.  It comes from here.

A few more

Here's a couple more pictures.  The first was just a quick black and white drawing to help me get accustomed to drawing on the tablet.  The second is much more polished.

Long time no draw

This is one of the first drawings I'd done in awhile.  This is actually just pen and Photoshop--no Wacom tablet.  5 points to anyone who knows what this is from.

Do or do not. There is no try.

Once upon a time, I used to know how to draw.  I've recently discovered the Photoshop and Wacom tablet combination, which has inspired me to get back into illustration.  This blog is a way to show what I'm relearning how to do.  The majority of the drawings I put here will be concept art for a video game I'm helping make, but as I get back into the swing of things, I'll post other paintings.  I might also include some other rants or reviews of games/movies/books, but those will probably be few and far between.