Is my character art passable?

[Shagwrath]

I'll try to make this a short post.

I'm getting ready to start drawing character concepts for my current project Cosmic Raven and I've never gotten any feedback on my art other than from friends and family. It would be nice to hear some unbiased criticism, to see if I can do it myself or if I should look for someone to draw for me.

I don't consider myself a great artist, and it look a long time to draw the characters below but basically if they're dookie, let me know. You won't break my heart.








I draw everything in Flash with with my mouse (yes really) and am trying for my own style.

(and just as a side note these characters were from a dating sim i was working on)

[SundownKid]

The proportions of the bodies seem pretty good, though the shading may be too simplistic to put in a commercial game.

The faces still need work though. Something is off about them that you can probably find out if you get an artist to redline your drawings.

[Shagwrath]

The proportions of the bodies seem pretty good, though the shading may be too simplistic to put in a commercial game.

The faces still need work though. Something is off about them that you can probably find out if you get an artist to redline your drawings.

Thanks for the feedback! The game I'm working on now I plan to be free so maybe if I work on my shading I'll be ok?. Either way, hopefully I can find an artist on here that will help me with that (so if anyone reading this is an artist, feel free to pm me and we can work something out).

I guess I need to immerse myself in drawing for a while and try to improve if I'm going to do this myself.

[ghostpel]

About art, I'd be echoing SundownKid by saying you've got a good proportion. What I can't tell from small picture is whatever will it look good on VN screen... to be specifics, when it scaled up.
Flash's hard line often come off as unnatural and tend to make everything looks cheap, no matter how good drawing itself is.
Personally speak, I'll go as far as saying it waste of time unless you're going to do animation with it.

But , I will be likely to give it pass if it solo developer doing free indie game. But if it commercial...you may need to refine line art or shading, to keep it from being distracting.

As someone who is half-fluent in Japanese, I am more concerned with character's name. Hope they're not character from your last project. ^^'

ps. For Cosmic Raven, color scheme put me off but you really put a lot effort into it. So, I am simply want to root for your success! Keeps up!

[SexBomb]

Hello Shagwrath,

I just want to remind you first and foremost that visual novels come in so many different artistic styles. While the art is important, the true force behind a compelling VN (at least to myself, and many others) is the story and characters.

Your character designs are very visually interesting, and definitely give us a sense of the type of people they are. The anatomy leaves a little to be desired, but it is not so distracting that it would deter me from picking up the game if the story caught my interest. I would say just look at more human references to improve this minor aspect, if professional-quality art is critical for your project.

Good luck with your project!

[Shagwrath]

About art, I'd be echoing SundownKid by saying you've got a good proportion. What I can't tell from small picture is whatever will it look good on VN screen... to be specifics, when it scaled up.
Flash's hard line often come off as unnatural and tend to make everything looks cheap, no matter how good drawing itself is.
Personally speak, I'll go as far as saying it waste of time unless you're going to do animation with it.

But , I will be likely to give it pass if it solo developer doing free indie game. But if it commercial...you may need to refine line art or shading, to keep it from being distracting.

As someone who is half-fluent in Japanese, I am more concerned with character's name. Hope they're not character from your last project. ^^'

ps. For Cosmic Raven, color scheme put me off but you really put a lot effort into it. So, I am simply want to root for your success! Keeps up!

I do plan to make the project free, and I have seen similar art 'quality' on a lot of the free games I played so I came to the conclusion that it was good enough for free. I still think that I want to improve my skills and all, and i think there's a noticeable difference between the first image and the last, so I have room to improve I mean. The characters are from a project I didn't finish and the names were basically picked at random more or less, I'd love to hear what's wrong with them if you want to talk about it, as I may come back to the project one day when it's not so out of my skill set. And I thank you for the encouragement and feedback! Really appreciated.

Also here's larger resolution images of the characters, I just had to make them smaller to post here.
http://imgur.com/a/saFjN

Hello Shagwrath,

I just want to remind you first and foremost that visual novels come in so many different artistic styles. While the art is important, the true force behind a compelling VN (at least to myself, and many others) is the story and characters.

Your character designs are very visually interesting, and definitely give us a sense of the type of people they are. The anatomy leaves a little to be desired, but it is not so distracting that it would deter me from picking up the game if the story caught my interest. I would say just look at more human references to improve this minor aspect, if professional-quality art is critical for your project.

Good luck with your project!

Also thanks to you for your straightforward criticism, your comments echo my beliefs. Much appreciated!

[Taleweaver]

Personal art moved to Personal Art Threads.

[namastaii]

I personally do think the heads are a tiny bit small for the bodies maybe. When they're standing at an angle, the head is just as wide as the neck so it looks a little funny, at least to me. They're probably the perfect size and the face just needs to be more shaped.

[Shagwrath]

I personally do think the heads are a tiny bit small for the bodies maybe. When they're standing at an angle, the head is just as wide as the neck so it looks a little funny, at least to me. They're probably the perfect size and the face just needs to be more shaped.

I think their necks are a little large actually, now that I look at them after not seeing them for so long.

I'm considering hiring an artist so if I don't and work on the art myself I'll keep this in mind. Thanks!


EDIT: removed double quote

[namastaii]

Don't feel discouraged in any way. I couldn't create the art you did. Especially the bodies. Very nice.

[Shagwrath]

Don't feel discouraged in any way. I couldn't create the art you did. Especially the bodies. Very nice.

Thanks, I appreciate the encouragement.

It's all about making the game the best I can with what I have. So I know what I need to work on and what I need to consider as I move through the steps I've set out for development of the game.

All the criticism, both good and bad I get helps me look at it in a fresh perspective, and since I really just started playing VNs about 6 months ago it's a big help as I don't have years of gameplay and experience.

I won't be discouraged, I'm having too much fun! Even if my final product isn't liked I'll still be proud, learn from my mistakes, and move onto the next one, hopefully a little bit smarter than before.