Mini 2D Character Creation

[aaron_da_killa]

Hey guys!

Probably not really your conventional MapCore question but does anybody have any tips or pointers in regards to making mini (size wise) 2D characters (humans, zombies etc) like this for games? I'm making a 2D platform game in flash and I need to create the player and a few npc like the ol' Mario, I'm looking at 25, 60 pixels for the player. I've tried doing them pixel by pixel in photoshop but both attempts at the character look rubbish.

Any ideas?

[e-freak]

well the usual: go for silouette, try to break down to only the really important and distinguishable details and work out which color represents what, how contrasts work and what shapes imply what meaning. yes and pixelating is the way to go.

[aaron_da_killa]

Thanks e-freak. Since posting this I actually found a pretty cool website for this sorta stuff. I read through some of the tutorials and I still can't make a decent character!

Here is my latest (and best) attempt:

[attachment=0]marvin.gif[/attachment]

Any suggestions on what I should do next?

[arhurt]

I think you need to exagerate the proportions a bit. Make his head bigger and his arms shorter and larger, as well as his feet. Never tried to do any pixel art so I can't imagine how hard it must be

[Thrik]

Try drawing the same thing as a large cartoon version and see if it works, and then try to produce a pixel version that resembles it. Pixel art is all about using the pixels cleverly to give the impression of there being more detail than there is, but if you don't have a good idea of what kind of detail you're trying to suggest it defeats the point.

You do need conventional artistic skills to pull off good pixel art, so if you can't make a large version look good then you really do have a problem.