Pokémon Acanthite Forums

Hello. I've recently just started trying scratch sprites, and, after some trying, editing and redoing, I have made these: (Sandshrew and Sandslash, obviously)





Please, please, please comment. Constructive criticism is highly appreciated.

Why no black outlines? If you're aiming for Pokemon-style you've missed the mark a bit, but the sprites aren't bad by any means.

You've got a bit of a pillowshading problem that's mostly apparent on Sandslash's leg but it more or less continuous throughout both of them. The general rule of thumb is, official sprites have light sources from the upper-left, so you shouldn't have shadows on the upper-left. The way you've drawn them now, the light is coming from straight in front of them (ie, the viewer). That looks a bit off.

I'd also work on smoothing out my outlines a bit and making the lines more clear; it's hard to tell Sandshrew's head from its body, for example, because the lines aren't dark enough. Don't be afraid to use black. (Acanthite's Pokemon sprite style... kinda makes me retch. It's really not very good.)

...Don't get me wrong, though! These sprites are actually quite nice and it's clear that you have plenty of skill. They just need some polishing is all.

are these really scratch??? wow! sandshrews head like is part of his body and he also has a really fat right leg. sandslash's claw is a bit on the awkward side and he looks like he is pigeon toed lol. but otherwise, greatness! i do agree with swine about the outlines also :)

I really hate black outlines. But on some places I agree they should be darker. I ought to fix the shading also. Thanks for commenting! :)

(22-04-2010 11:16 PM)Sando Wrote: [ -> ]I really hate black outlines. But on some places I agree they should be darker. I ought to fix the shading also. Thanks for commenting! :)

Don't hate on black outlines. I am so filled with impotent rage (I'm not, but...) that I will create a diagram to prove why black outlines are so awesome.


Far left is all-color outlines. This is bad. Trust me. The distinctions between sections of the body is lost, there's no illusion of depth; usually, things are darker the farther away they are from the viewer, but this isn't true with all-color outlines; the sprite just looks flat.

Middle is the official unedited sprite, which is good. HGSS sprites are some of the best yet in terms of style; black outlines have always been a staple of official-style. Pokemon has always been slightly cartoony and bold, almost like they pop out of the screen, no matter what color they're in front of. The sprite makes use of antialiasing to smooth out lines that would otherwise be jagged.

Final is all-black outlines which is sloppy-looking because the antialiasing is gone, but it still seems to "pop out." You get me?

Oh nice. First one looks best, IMO. Looks much less cartoony, more subtle...

RANDOM OPINION APPEARED!

I actuall like the Acanthite style sprites. When I scratch, I always have trouble leaving black lines, so these are pretty good. The only flaws I find are some shading issues and basic structure. Especially on that sandshrew... anyway, you have done a bang up job!