Spriting Tutorial 2 by Radnen
From Spheriki
So, if you followed the last tutorial by me and didn't like the method or thought it was too vague? Then this tutorial should clarify a few things, and focus on the spriting in question with a different method.
To help you out, I won't focus on animation this time 'round. I think the first thing that needs addressing is building a single sprite to begin with.
Contents |
Step 1: Outline
For the first step, it can help to outline the sprite you want to make, and then fill it in with the shading later. Basically you create a shell:
Just fill in the areas with a color similar to the one you may wish to fill it in with later. It also helps to have drawn a sketch of the sprite on paper beforehand, and then list what part should be what color. It's generally a great idea to go into this with a sprite in mind.
Step 2: Palette
When choosing a palette, you must be cautious of the colors you choose. If you choose colors too close in brightness, then it becomes hard to discern depth. It would end up looking very flat. Sprites have depth, so it good to have a broad range of color value.
The value scale:
With this in mind, choose a single color. After that, the darker you get should head towards the purple colors, and the brighter colors should head towards the yellows and blues.
Here is the palette I'll end up using:
Step 3: Light Source & Shades
It's good to come into this next step with a clear distinction on where the light source is going to be. In this sprite, I'll have the light come from the upper right-hand corner. This means I must put shades on the lower left of the edges of the sprite:
Do this for all areas of the sprite. Do not necessarily outline the sprite in this step, unless that is the effect you are going for. It may look better to just leave the lighter areas open. You will see why in the next step.
Step 4: Lights and Highlights
Lastly, you can add in lighter parts to the upper right, as with the light source we have distinguished.
And then if you want, you can add in the appropriate highlights. Be careful on this step, it's easy to over due it and make the sprite look glossy, which is only good on some materials.
Look closely at the colors of this sprite. As you can see, the red portions head towards purple the darker it gets, and head towards orange the lighter it gets. The blues head towards cyan, etc... This helps to blend the colors together so they appear more natural to your eyes. It's more of an optical trick.
In Closing
Well, there you have it, my sprite. A warrior holding a sword in front of him. The design was kinda rushed as you can see he is in no armor, but nevertheless, you can try to apply these steps to other sprites. I have also tweaked the colors a tad to help fit in with the scene. The highlights for example were not bright enough for being cast on by the sun.
In general:
- start by drawing a sketch of the sprite on paper.
- outline a basic shape of the sprite.
- seek a color palette, paying attention to hue and value.
- start with the shades.
- work with lights and highlights last.
It never hurts to tweak!
