Before I began creating art for any character sprites, I needed to decide on a style to draw them in. When a character is presented in a comic book, more details can be shown, because your camera moves depending on the shot for the scene. With a sidescroller, a characters proportions need to be altered so that there is enough distinction in their silhouette that emotions can be portrayed in their animation. Each character needs to feel distinctly unique in shape and movement because they are much smaller on the screen. Sidescrollers don’t usually get the benefit of being able to zoom in on a characters face to convey emotion. Classic sprite games such as Final Fantasy 6 did this AMAZINGLY well, even with greater color and size restrictions.
While I enjoy more realistic proportions in some games, Twilight Monk really calls for a dynamic range. I’m looking forward to pushing this range even further with larger boss designs later on.
-Trent
Personally, I’d stick with the more normally proportioned design for your main character(readability and what!). The shorter one makes him seem a little young, and I don’t know if being tall really matches his personality.
Great to see all this! Keep it up!
I’m a first-time reader, and I just plowed through Twilight Monk in less than an hour–I’m hooked, and can’t wait for new pages! That said, I’m also excited for a Twilight Monk video game. ‘Metroidvania’ style games are among my favorite genres; well-drawn and fluidly-animated sprites have always appealed to the old-school gamer in me. I know nothing is set in stone yet, but perhaps you’d be willing to answer a question or two? Will there be a level-up / equipment mechanic to get stronger? And will it have the hallmark of Metroid and Castlevania games, the method of finding new items which allow you to backtrack to previous areas and open up more content?
Personally, I love the idea of save rooms. As gamers, these days we’re mollycoddled. It works in some gomes, but for side-scrollers, I feel that pre-determined safe areas are more fitting. But that’s just one new fan’s opinion.
In any case, I’m loving all of your work so far…and looking forward to seeing more! Good luck!