Runemaster

[Quietus]

I felt in a spriting mood, and after seeing thespaceinvaders excellent Runemaster portait, i though the sprite could do with a little update. So i tried to make it a little more like the portrait. C + C? its been a little while since ive properly sprited so i felt a bit rusty

[Turuk]

Nice to have you back at it either way.

My only initial thought is the sheer amount of brown on the bottom half, and then his gloves being near there (and brown) along with whatever he is holding does not really make for a clear idea of exactly what's going on down there. It all tends to run together just a little too much, though I know you are trying to follow the portrait. Perhaps a much darker brown for the apron?

[thespaceinvader]

Indeed - i think it all just kinda runs together a little too much. I can't really tell what's going on in the middle at all. But it looks like a good start. For detailed crit, i'd say that his hand holding the hammer is too small. And you could probably open up the stance a reasonable amount if you didn't try to follow the one from the portrait - have him holding the hammer down by his side, perhaps.

[cretin]

it is really hard to see the hammer imo. cant say much else, looks cool

[zookeeper]

Great that someone wants to work on these. But I agree with the others, you don't need to follow the portrait exactly, the current pose makes the hammer rather hard to distinquish, and the book seems impossible to recognize unless you know it's supposed to be a book. I'd hope you'd make the hammer simply bigger; just look at the huge weapons the other dwarf sprites feature.

Also he seems a bit small compared to the other lvl3 dwarves, maybe you should make him 1-2px taller and/or a bit wider (having the weapon visibly on our right would probably help too), as he has noticeably less volume than the others due to the lack of a cape or shield.

And finally it'd be really nice if we'd get a lvl2 runesmith variation too, for SoF and wherever else the runesmith is used.

[Blarumyrran]

It is good practice not to use dark colors near dark contours.

[Quietus]

Thanks for the replies, ive tried to edit it as best as i can to fit everything. I know the apron is a bit bleh atm, but im wondering how i can break up the brown. Plus ive never really been any good at folds in clothing.

[Turuk]

It's certainly clearer what it is though, the lines being better defined and the weapon being held out to the side instead helps a great deal. What if you changed the color of his shoes to a darker leather to help?

[Sgt. Groovy]

The weapon is better visible now, but the angle he's holding it in is really weird. How about if he held it on his shoulder, so that the hammer head would be behind him? Or having the end of the shaft on the ground, and the hand on the head, like it was a cane?

[thespaceinvader]

Indeed - it's clearer, but his arm's bent backwards at the elbow. I'd also suggest that having the book open would be best left for an attack or idle frame - it would be easier to read (groan) exactly what it is if it were closed.

As regards breaking up the brown: Make the belt a little wider, and the buckly clearer. And maybe put some of the tools in. I don't know how well they're read at this stage, but that would certainly add some more colour. Equally, you could add some TC embroidery or panels - presently, his TC kinda fades into the background...

[teg]

For what my opinion is worth,
I like your runemaster !
I think that in the last version, its belly seems huge. I'm not sure but drawing the belt 1 px or 2 highter should correct it.
Do you considered adding some glowing around the hammer (maybe blue) to show that it is runic-magic ?
Sgt. Groovy already mentionned the weird angle of the hammer.

[Quietus]

The weapon is better visible now, but the angle he's holding it in is really weird. How about if he held it on his shoulder, so that the hammer head would be behind him? Or having the end of the shaft on the ground, and the hand on the head, like it was a cane?

Is this pose what you had in mind?

[Turuk]

Moving the belt line up a couple pixels, a slightly darker color and a buckle helps to clear up the line of where the belt and stomach is a bit.

[Gauteamus]

Is this pose what you had in mind?

Sorry about tinkering with your sprite (I wish I could do things like that), but how about having the hammers head upwards?
After all, he would not have the artifact hammerhead with all the runes down in the dirt.

[Quietus]

Is this pose what you had in mind?

Sorry about tinkering with your sprite (I wish I could do things like that), but how about having the hammers head upwards?
After all, he would not have the artifact hammerhead with all the runes down in the dirt.

Hmm the only problem with this is that the gloves are the same colour and it might make distinguishing them hard. Im not too keen on this however, i kind of prefered it with the hammer out to the side. Im going to have a play around with it.

Moving the belt line up a couple pixels, a slightly darker color and a buckle helps to clear up the line of where the belt and stomach is a bit.

Ah excellent, i'll work from this