Best way to do sprite poses

[GammaBreak]

For my next game, I'm thinking of going with only a few characters, so I'd like to potentially do a little more with different sprite poses.

However, my game also involves sprites with multiple outfits, so right away I foresee this quickly multiplying the cost if the sprite changes very much. Like for example, if I have a sprite that needs 3 outfits and 3 poses, the artist has to draw a pose for each outfit, resulting in 6 different sprites.

Are there any basic sprite poses that are flexible enough to convey a couple of expressions and not change the overall sprite very much? Stuff like crossing arms, hands on hips, etc, except some of that requires body shifting, otherwise it can look stiff/robotic.

[Elsa Kisiel]

Just changing the arms (and the hand) can help convey a lot. If well made, it can even look dynamic and natural without changing the rest of the body at all.

(And of course, you will need different facial expressions, but I don't count it as different poses.)

[_ticlock_]

if I have a sprite that needs 3 outfits and 3 poses, the artist has to draw a pose for each outfit, resulting in 6 different sprites.

Hi, GammaBreak,

Actually, it requires 9 sprites, but I guess you meant 6 additional sprites.
Facial expressions are the easiest approach but you already knew that. Using sleeveless clothes can be beneficial (t-shirts/sport clothes/swimsuits). This way you might have some freedom with hand-related postures and gestures. As you mentioned, crossed arms, hands on hips can work. I would consider high five, hand on mouth, facepalm, fixing hair with hand, salute pose, blow a kiss, hands in air, hand poses in general(V sign, OK, etc.).

[puppetbomb]

It's hard to say which type of pose changes will be most effective without knowing the personalities/archetypes of your characters.

For more reserved or lethargic characters, you can get away with minimal changes to the default pose. Dramatic, energetic characters will need more drastic pose changes to convey that part of their personality. I would try to have at one major character that needs only a few pose changes if I have another highly active character in the cast.

Some tricks to minimize assets I've picked up are:

• Creating outfits with similar silhouettes. Overlaying different textures, patterns and shortened hemlines/sleeves can disguise reused assets and make redrawing poses for new outfits easier.
• If there's a character with lots of poses, consider a mostly sleeveless wardrobe to maximize reuse of arm assets.
• Permanent props occupying one or both hands. It expresses individuality while limiting the need to pose both arms/hands.
• Different head angles. The downside is that hair and expressions will need to be redrawn, but paired with arm pose changes, it creates a more dynamic look without needing to redraw the entire body.

[GammaBreak]

For more reserved or lethargic characters, you can get away with minimal changes to the default pose. Dramatic, energetic characters will need more drastic pose changes to convey that part of their personality. I would try to have at one major character that needs only a few pose changes if I have another highly active character in the cast.

Yeah, this is my issue. Picture a very bossy, dominant character, standing with their hands on their hips. They need to look intimidating, so they probably stand tall and thrust their chest out. You can't really go from this to making them look nervous just by moving an arm or a hand and changing their face. There's too much in the body language that needs to change to fully communicate that. They'd probably slouch or shrink back, tip their chin down, etc.

[puppetbomb]

Hmm another option could be creative wardrobe manipulation.

If you gave the dominant character a long cape, you could draw a dejected pose with him huddling his entire body under his cape. That way you can change his clothes, but the dejected pose wouldn't need to change for as long as he wears a cape.