nesdev.com

For once, i'm glad a spambot bumps a thread, because this artwork is amazing.

_________________
http://www.frankengraphics.com - personal NES blog

I'm glad to hear that. I hope you post your work as it progresses. Would love to see whatever project you end up working on.

_________________
www.mteegfx.com

Some update after the long months.

Since nobody liked the dwarf character - I really don't know what's wrong with it -, I made a new hero to the same base.

That's pretty good! Lots of color and details for such severe restrictions!

I keep looking at it and going "there's no way that's only three colors... one, two, three... huh." That's a sure sign of some masterful pixelwork.

The new character is very well-drawn (strong silhouette good color contrast, easily trackable elements to assist in animation). However, I much prefer the dwarf. He looks less like a protagonist is expected to look than your new character which looks much more "typical" for a main character. Regardless, please keep posting progress. Your work is too good not to share!

_________________
www.mteegfx.com

I like both (had never seen this thread). The only problem I see with the dwarf is that both the orange and the green colors have a very similar level. I think it would look better if one was darker than the other.

_________________
https://twitter.com/bitinkstudios <- Follow me on twitter! Thanks!

Thanks for the appreciation! Originally I liked the idea of a dwarven thief better, because it was a bad protagonist, rude, greedy, who mocks the bosses. But I wanted to make a game and none of the programmers liked it. Anyway, I have all the animations for the dwarf (removed the bag in the final form), if I ever succeed to find someone to make the game, maybe he can have some "cameo" in it, or some role - but I know that changing characters is a bit hard on NES. We'll see. Now I have some free time during the summer, I want to work on the idea.

I'm seconding what everyone else already said, you've got skill getting a lot "character" out of the harsh limitations.
Regarding the dwarf/elf boy decision, i think the dwarf may have been a bit more original, but at the same time, you've managed to make the most out of the latter. It is very expressive; more so compared to similar designs. I'm honestly a bit envious of how you manage to make those few pixels so expressive All in all, great work!

I only see one area where i'd be able to make suggestions, if you want critique. The red and blue does clash a bit and can be hard to the eye when next to each other. This is unavoidable with the current subpalette (which i think is wisely chosen to enhance the expressiveness), but it can be mitigated a bit in the portrait at least by lightly reworking the shadows/depth a bit. I made an example partly as an excercise for myself, and partly to demonstrate, but i'll wait posting so you can chime in on whether you'd like to see it or not.

_________________
http://www.frankengraphics.com - personal NES blog

Frankengraphics: I'm open to any criticism, honestly I still modify my images here and there. Just one thing: let me keep your suggestions if I like them

That sounds very reasonable! Here's the suggestion. To help comparison: I've added black outlines to parts of feather, brim, and ear, and added a quick curl of hair behind the ear.

_________________
http://www.frankengraphics.com - personal NES blog

Ah, now I understand, sorry I doesn't speak the language with such fluidity I like the outcome, I will modify the portrait, thanks for pointing at the problem!

Some mockup I made from the parts of a level. It's a bit thronged, but I wanted to show some key elements.

I'm really loving the goat/baphomet-like creature! Perfect mix of frightening and cute. Edit: And the face in the wall

_________________
http://www.frankengraphics.com - personal NES blog

I'm struggling with the background. I can not decide if I should use:

a) black background with some minor but vital background elements (like a big fountain or monument) used only one. Like in Metroid, and leave the other space to ground type tiles and make them more diverse.

b) use some background everywhere I can with more repetitive patterns. (like in the later 80's). I attached something I made.