ChoW 213 :: 8bit Game Character Redesign!

[bluki]

This is my take on Black Mage, in terms of art direction my favorite is FFXII and FFTA2, the character design is so full of details, so I try to adapt that approach while still maintain it's original 8-bit silhouette, so I still give him the robe and adding more details on his body.

[Martheart]

One quick question! In the Black Mage design... can I make both the male and female versions? In the same picture, of course (I say it because if I were to redesign it for a modern remake, they would...well, look quite different XD And since you could choose the gender in a few FFs...)

Yeah sure! Would be quite interesting to see the difference between the male and female black mages

[Martheart]

Made some designs for Celicia (Cellica? Her name is spelled different everywhere!). Don't know which one is best? The third one is the closest to the sprite, but I think I like the first one better.

[hemlock-key]

Arthemis I like the first one's legs best, but the torso of the third...

[ArtByManon]

Artemis I like the first one best too...

[ArtByManon]

Next stage...

[silentkitty]

So happy to see an SMT game up there I have to go with the Yama, of course.

[sketchibo]

Urg. Looks like I'm going to have a really busy week. Probably won't finish again.

[jlafuente]

Here's my first draft; picked Centaurman. Still has a lot of work ahead but advices would be nice (: Thanks.

[Carnifex]

working on clean lines...this will take quite some time...
axazel - hey thanks alot! didn't notice.

[lancer_idenoure]

i dont think ill really have time to do anything for this, but if i do, can we pick another 8-bit character if we include the original in our final? or do we have to stick with those?

[Axazel]

working on clean lines...this will take quite some time...
axazel - hey thanks alot! didn't notice.

Glad I can help! The clean lineart is looking great so far~

[Nev87]

things have calmed down and now i have nothing but time on my hands. and just in time this is an AWESOME topic.

i chose splash woman for 2 reasons.
1) there is far to much interest in black mage
2) i wanted to paint robots and not cloth

comments, complaints? i wanna catch the bad stuff early so i can actually get a decent painting this time.

[Autumn_Elder]

Here are some of the roughs for Black Mage I've been toying with. I love the concept that the character's moral compass is between evil and atrociously evil. He's meant to be one ugly guy, one look upon his face will drive you mad, so I've been toying with the idea he's trying to compensate with style... creepy evil style.

This is a great topic! Its cool seeing how people interpret these characters. Good luck all!

[Nev87]

autumn elder - really like the one on the right in the middle of the page. think it stays truest to the black mage design but gives it a bit of an attitude that plainly says "i want to blow up your face"

[shockowaffel]

@Carnifex:
Dont spent too much time just for the lines and try some more poses, I would say.
A lot of these details are nice but can hardly some. When you start with details, the rest should be all right.

@jlafuente:
Nice metal look. Work out a center of attention and maybe rework the breast a bit, it looks somehow twisted to me. All other parts are shiny and plain, only his breastplate not.

@Sketchibo:
Too bad, i'd like to see this one finished, but if you dont have time, better choose a simple style.

@silentkitty
How about using a reference for the head ?

@ArtByManon:
Looks great and promising, but Im worried about the center of attention.
It should propably be her face or upper torso, but with her stick shining like that, it's a bit hard. Maybe it would be better if the light would be closer to her face.

@Arthemis IX
The knees of the first one look a bit strange, but her pose is the best.
I also like no1's armor, but not her free lower half.
To me it's a kinda cheap way of drawing attention, plus I cannot take it serious as an armor if she runs around in her panties.

[dwinbotp]

I am not going to mention how many times my Black Mage failed to cast a Fireball at the right time before the spell finally fizzles into crap. I love the character, Good time to make it look cooler than usual, or I'll try anyway. I will excitingly expect everyone's take on these timeless characters, to be FUN

my spellcaster so far!

[Autumn_Elder]

@Nev87 Thank you, I believe thats the first time the line "blow up your face' invoked joy ^.^... actually blowing up many things brings me joy... I mean... uhoh!

Just so I'm sure do you mean the one on the far right middle row, or the one in the very middle. Cause I think both could blow up my face... I'm pretty sure I'm going to dream about that.

[FalyneVarger]

This sounds like fun! I've never entered one of these before and I just might have to make this my first.

[Nev87]

I might work on it later today but i need to get away from it for a few hours. Comments?
suppose after i post ill get some word in on the first 3 pages

[Suneater]

Guess this is pretty much as far as I'll go with the lines. Colouring's up tommorow. Let me know what you think, I've gotta run now but I'll try to throw in some crits tommorow.

[shockowaffel]

@Nev87:
Pay attention to the composition. The picture swings drastically to the left side.
Try to compensate that, for example by adding more space left and taking some right, or by another pose.

@Suneater:
I like it. Just from looking I would say, that maybe the arms and/or legs are a little bit short, but I could be wrong.

[Feil Magnus]

Lots of cool black mages that's nice.
I'm going with firebrand as gargoyle's quest was my first GameBoy game, it brings back cool memories

[Nev87]

Dwinbotp - badass BLM, reminds me of the Black Waltz characters from 9
Autumn Elder - from top left to bottom right it would be #6.
carnifex - looking great so far lots of little details, just make sure before the details go in you have all your shapes exactly where you want them. that bow and arrow is looking a little wimpy for such a big creature, more importantly it looks like such an awkward angle but maybe its just me :/
Jlafuente - loving this so far. keep going
sketchibo - aww, work is work i suppose but i really hope you can finish this one
silentkitty - great form, love the volcano(i hope thats a volcano:/)
artbymanon - currently the character feels lost to me. swirly background overlay + light source/ focal point being so far away from the character i suppose. will she be mechanized? currently reading as just a mermaid and not splash woman.
arthemis xi - #3s face and hair and armor with #1s pose, boots and pauldrons perhaps?
bluki - great pose, love all the little things that make it feel like final fantasy
pinpointte - loving your style fitting for the black mage
elissimo - looks and feels like splash woman
axazel - now that is how you do a robot centaur for a video game
john mckenna - feels like its lacking something. its very docile for something that has to capture my imagination for a character. is yama a good guy bad guy? i know nothing about her. nows your chance to teach me through your artwork. figure out what characteristics make yama, yama and than figure out how to translate that.
kazerneal - agreeing with axazel. john mckenna you can use this too
pixeltuner - love the palette. pose doesnt seem a little stiff to you?
suneater - wooo go for it! give her personality
dkiearth - who doesnt love a fiery redhead with a giant sword though picture that thing on your back. if it was coming forward so much on the bottom she wouldnt be able to grab it from her back. :/ i seem to be having a hard time saying w/e it is im saying
UCT - hmmmn :/ very modern and fluorescent. not reading much character from it.
lady chestnut - this made me lawl. lets see what you do with it
zepheenia - you sure did raise the bar to those of us working on splash woman. thought about just starting a different one cant wait to see it in color.
janjager - she scares me :/ its the face.....if i had dreams of that face id wake up screaming.
amberthyst - nice start
crysse - nice sketch. lets see where you take us
bannd - hard to make out the rest but the face sure is interesting. reminds me of scarecrow from batman

lots of splash woman, yamas, black mages, celecia and gorgons. what about the other 3

[kazerniel]

Axazel and Nev87: thanks very much for the help!

Arthemis IX: I like the outfit of the 2nd and the 3rd, but imo the 1st has the best pose

[Nev87]

shackowaffle - little better? i took away the 8-bit picture cause i didnt need it in there if we are discussing composition. also idk if that was the entire canvas that you were seeing as i used the snipping tool to grab a portion of my screen. did as you suggested anyways

Kazerniel - it was mostly axazel she said it first but i figured it could do with redirecting in case you missed it

[Thélema]

As I promised, here are my WIP's, a pair of lovely black mages :3

[FalyneVarger]

My initial sketch for Cecilla. Done on my 6x9 writing tablet so I kind of ran out of room. She will most likely be full body in the final.

[ENNEX]

Redesigning Yama

Still working on that other giant hand >_> I have redone it...so many times.

[FalyneVarger]

ENNEX
It looks like the problem you are having with the hand is that you are drawing it facing down. I would try to make it mirror the other one personally so that the palm is facing towards her hip.
The way it is now (or what I can see of it) just seems a little awkward.