Lemma Soft Forums

Hello everyone! I commissioned the amazing artist K. Lyn (who made the comic Plume, which is awesome btw) one of my game sprites. What's your opinion on a visual novel with this type of art?

https://trello-attachments.s3.amazonaws ... _smile.png

https://trello-attachments.s3.amazonaws ... uetral.png

The art is for a semi-futuristic rendition of The Masque of Red Death.

(Sorry for such large files)

Neeka wrote: ↑Sun Sep 17, 2017 7:17 pm What's your opinion on a visual novel with this type of art?

My first thought is "sure, why not." I like most categories of drawn art. Here are some more detailed musings...

* The Veronica character isn't especially exaggerated or realistic. I tend to prefer drawings of characters whose appearance is a bit simple, and who don't look like they were photographed. In other words, somewhere around the lower right area of McCloud's comic art pyramid.

* The art style stands out a bit because the character has a large nose and Hartman hips. I'm trying to think of something specific to compare it to, and I can't think of anything at the moment.

* After looking at the drawing a few times, I started wondering "do her wrists look unusually thin?" as well as "does her neck look oddly long?" I might be incorrect. Someone who knows more about anatomy and perspective can probably provide better feedback.

I'm not an artist, but I think the art is acceptable.

It can work, that's for sure. But honestly, you don't have to worry too much at this point. Regardless some minor miss on anatomy, I think they're just the artist's style and if you keep them consistent, people will accept them in the end. Rather than showing just one or two sprites to test the water, I suggest you make a mock up of your game where people can see the character sprite, background, and UI in one picture. By showing only the sprite, people's feedback will be more toward the artist's style rather than the game itself. Just my two cents.

Considering that you're going for a Poe-inspired story, I think that art style would fit quite well. While I agree with the others' comments that the anatomy looks a little unusual in some places, I actually think that'd lend a solid, creepy sort of flare to the aesthetic, almost in the vein of Tim Burton movies. The character doesn't look too comic-y, but is stylized in a way that still feels "serious." So even though it might not be super appealing for say, a romance-themed VN, I think it'd work perfectly for something focused on horror or psychological themes.

Thanks of all the advice! I had commissioned the first character of eleven, and was debating continuing or not.

It seems pretty awesome to me. As was said earlier, I don't see any problems with it that aren't just artistic license. I think that style will work as well as any for your visual novel.

Is there something about it you're unsure of?

puppetbomb wrote: ↑Fri Oct 20, 2017 4:05 pm Is there something about it you're unsure of?

Well, it's a unique style that isn't seen too much in visual novels. The artist hasn't worked on/for a visual novel before either. I was just debating go with this style/artist or trying something closer to an anime style.

I love it I think moving away from an anime style can really work and help your VN stand out.

Neeka wrote: ↑Fri Oct 20, 2017 6:43 pm Well, it's a unique style that isn't seen too much in visual novels. The artist hasn't worked on/for a visual novel before either. I was just debating go with this style/artist or trying something closer to an anime style.

A lot of people seem to have this question. I feel like there's two options, either you go full anime in an attempt to mimic a JVN and attract those hardcore fans of Japanese VN's, or you go your own way and market the game on its own merits, in which case you can use whatever art style you want. In your case since the story is so atypical, it seems like you probably won't get those hardcore fans running to get your game even if you went with a very anime artstyle.

Neeka wrote: ↑Fri Oct 20, 2017 6:43 pmWell, it's a unique style that isn't seen too much in visual novels. The artist hasn't worked on/for a visual novel before either. I was just debating go with this style/artist or trying something closer to an anime style.

Ah, the age old problem of following conventional genre standards vs. taking chances with a new style llD

Currently we know that there is already an audience that likes, or at the very least tolerates anime styles. It's a safe bet and caters to expectations. Deviating from the norm will always be a gamble, no matter how skilled an artist. While there may be overlap in tastes, there's always a chance that a portion of the existing audience will be turned off by an unconventional style.

The art you have is distinctly Western. It's just detailed enough to be interesting as a static piece of art, but simple and stylized enough to evoke a similar look and feel of Western feature animation. Since there have been popular VNs that have more of a Western animation aesthetic (Dream Daddy being a recent, very visible one), the likelihood that people will give a similar art style a chance is high.

Anyways, that's my $0.02 :3

I think it looks really nice, OP. Fits the idea of the story you're going for, pleasing colors to the eyes, clean lines...not everything has to be anime!

elvenhorns wrote: ↑Wed Nov 22, 2017 10:14 pm I think it looks really nice, OP. Fits the idea of the story you're going for, pleasing colors to the eyes, clean lines...not everything has to be anime!

Thanks!

I say go for it! That kind of style definitely works for what you're doing.