KARIN'S SOULKEEPER DOES... ART?!?!

Posts

Pages: first 12 next last
Hi everyone! Yes, I know right? I am just as surprised as you ;p

I currently am still practicing with pixel art through random sketching using paint.
I kinda need to hear some comments on my work. I don't have much right now, but I'll update this every now and then.
I'm practicing on the 'gameboy-esque' style of pixeling. As such, I'm working with a 4-step monochrome ramp only.



Snake battler


What do you think?

Of course as I have said, I'll add more later.
Yeah I guess I did overdo that a bit...
Thanks for pointing that out!
I did a few more random stuff. Yay.


Snake Battler Revamped(?)


Ghost Battler


'Keep it close to your heart, always' Cutscene material


Sorry if they're kinda small. I don't want to resize them, since it ruins everything.
You just gotta... lean forward a bit, I guess.
Ebeth
always up for cute art and spicy gay romance
4390
/leans forward

These are cool, they really do look like gameboy pixels. The snake battler looks a lot better now! His head's all smooth. I would add more shading to the cut-scene pixel though.

I'm curious are you making these for anything in particular or just practice?
Ebeth, I'm just drawing these for fun. I just enjoy making stuff :)
Though If I do end up making a lot of them, I might make a game using them.

Thank you!
Ebeth
always up for cute art and spicy gay romance
4390
author=karins_soulkeeper
Ebeth, I'm just drawing these for fun. I just enjoy making stuff :)


Yeah making stuff is fun!

I kept trying to figure out what the plot of a game would have to be if you needed to fight both snakes and ghosts... something scary, ridiculous or surreal I imagine.
I don't have art with me right now, but...
Writing is an art right?

Here's chapter one of my (almost-a-year-old, in-indefinite-hiatus) novel.
The title's Nox Aeternum (Version 6)

One

Trapped in a world or secrets and lies, is the twelve year old Eliza; an ordinary girl with an extraordinary situation. Her parents perished in a mysterious fire that reduced her home to ashes, leaving her with nothing but sad memories and a feeling of guilt. A day after the tragedy, she sought refuge with a family friend. She now sat on a creaking and rickety rocking chair, idly rocking back and forth as she stared out to the far distance. Her plaited white dress heavily contrasted by the engulfing shadows of the dark room, as if to further emphasize her loneliness. The mournful whistle of the dawn wind did nothing but worsen Eliza’s sadness. She looked down on her thin, pale hands that shook uncontrollably as she forced herself to forget. She closed her eyes, hoping to shut out the world outside. Suddenly she was back to that night, the night that changed her life forever. Everything was crystal clear: The towering pillars of fire ascending to the heavens. The echoing screams of alarm. The wailing of sirens. The rush of panicked footsteps. The collapse of burning debris of which she once had called home. And in a little over an hour, her life crumbled to burning pieces. Tears fell from her eyes like rain. Her frail body trembled as she drowned her grief with tears.

Soft, slender arms suddenly wrapped around Eliza, gently brushing away stray strands of her silk-like sienna hair. Eliza looked up to find her sister. Her hazel eyes gleamed at Eliza, filled with sincere compassion. It was Karin.

“You shouldn’t think about the past too much, or you’ll grow old and wrinkly earlier.” She warned jokingly, casting a vibrant smile down on Eliza.
Eliza smiled back weakly, slightly relieved from her sorrow. Karin released Eliza and tucked her hands behind her back. Then she childishly marched in front of Eliza. Karin looks her up and down. She shook her head disapprovingly.

“Look at you… You’re a mess. What do you think will Ein think if he sees you like this?”

At that, Eliza blushed. She shrank further away into the shadowy recesses of the rocking chair. It did not require a judge to prove Karin’s words. Eliza’s charcoal-stained white dress has been through more than it was made for. Her hair, though naturally straight, lay in an untidy tangle that simply refuses to yield to neither comb nor brush. Her eyes were already set deep within their sockets, because of lack of sleep. Her once glowing skin was now sickly pale. Grief really does takes its toll on people.

“Tell you what,” Karin held out her hand to Eliza. “I’ll fix you up, then we’ll head over to our favorite restaurant. My treat.”

Eliza was reluctant to accept Karin’s offer. She did not want to drown Karin with her sorrows. Karin offered her hand once more. Eliza finally took it, smiling thinly at her sister.

The ever-shifting waves of people flowed down the streets of downtown. The cacophony of voices accompanied the dissonance of early morning traffic, resounding together in an orchestra of discord. Eliza held Karin’s hand tight as her sister maneuvered her way through the sea of people.

“Eliza…” A familiar voice called out. Eliza stopped abruptly, almost throwing Karin out of balance.

Karin faced Eliza “What’s wrong?”
Eliza looked around, searching for the source.

“Eliza…” The cold but sweet voice of a woman called out once more, her voice resonating sadness.

Eliza ran after the voice, hastily cutting through the crowds. Karin swore under her breath and ran after her. Eliza weaved past dozens of people and burst into an abandoned building. The voice cried out again. It seems to be coming from above. Eliza ran up the spiraling flights of stairs, in pursuit of the ominous voice. Karin was still running after her, calling out and trying to stop her in vain. Eliza raced up the stairs, eager to find out if her assumptions were correct. She knew perfectly well that it was impossible. She knew it was all for nothing. But something inside her pushes her to go on and continue her pursuit. It was a feeling that she thought she lost the day the tragedy fell upon her. A feeling she let go of when hell was set loose to torment her life. It was an anticipation that all will be better tomorrow. It was hope.

Eliza reached the rooftop of the abandoned building, and she was blinded by the glare of sunlight. It was unnaturally bright. Harsh white light poured out from the heavens and flooded the mortal world with its brilliance. She disregarded the intense sunshine and continued her pursuit of the phantom voice, shielding her eyes with her flimsy hands.

“Wait, Eliza!” Karin called out from behind her. She was panting, breathing heavily from racing after her sister. “What are you doing?”

But Eliza did not listen to her and kept going. It seemed that the light has emptied her mind of all thoughts and sense. Her mind was devoid of everything but of her pursuit for the voice. She walked blindly onward. A hand suddenly reached out and tried to hold her back. The disembodied hand had an iron grip, fastening tightly around Eliza’s wrist. It was forcing her to stay. Eliza wrestled with all her might. Eventually, she freed herself from its grasp and she continued following the voice. The glare suddenly subsided and the surroundings got more visible. A vast expanse of blue sky dotted by cotton-like clouds surrounded her. A gentle breeze brought fresh air from the nearby forest.

“No! Eliza, stop!” Karin called out, but it was already too late.
The resounding crackle of weak concrete filled the air. Time seemed to slow down as Karin ran towards Eliza, in a hopeless effort to save her. The aged concrete roof failed to support Eliza’s weight and gave in, sending her hurtling down with a loud shriek.

Eliza landed with a sickening crunch and was jolted awake by the pain of the impact. The abandoned building slowly dissolved into darkness. Eliza sat up, confounded by all the strange events. Was that a dream? She blindly reached out to the dark void. Her hand brushed cold metal and she recoiled in shock. Where am I? She wondered.

“Careful you blithering idiot!” The infuriated voice of a man spoke from out of the darkness. “This girl’s worth more than your miserable, pathetic life!” There was a shuffle of footsteps followed by unintelligible chatter.

“Step aside, twit.” The man said; annoyance entangled with every word that escaped his breath.

Eliza retreated further to the darkness. Her bare back suddenly made contact with cold metal, and she jumped in surprise, ending up colliding with even more metal above her. She started to panic. Her heart beat faster and faster. She pulled her legs up to her chest and curled up in a corner. Bright light filtered in as the cover was parted. It took time before Eliza’s eyes could adjust to the brightness of the room. The first thing she saw was the fuzzy figure of a man. He peered through behind pillars of black. He was surrounded by a halo of brilliance. The man held his hand through the pillars and reached out for Eliza. She shut her eyes, whimpering in fear. The man’s hand gently combed her hair. Eliza started trembling. Her eyes glued shut, tears slowly trickling down her cheeks. As strangely gentle as his touch, the man spoke to Eliza.

“You have no idea how much trouble you put us into, little girl.”

(Warning! It's pretty long.)

I know I might have sounded a bit amateurish in this, so forgive that.

So, what do you think?
It's pretty good.
Just a few minor notes. English is not my native language, as you know, so take it with a grain of salt


Extraordinary is a very positve adjective, not quite suitable for the girl. I would choose something else, unless that's your intention (it does collide with the following paragraph)
A break between this topic sentence would be fine, too.

Then, if Karin is joking, she wouldn't say grow winkly earlier (which is truth), either early or mention at some stage in live (be it adulthood or whatever) "You'll look like an old lady in no time" or anything of similar meaning is what I mean.

I find her reaching out a nice touch, but I would perhaps add a "Yet" to emphasise Eliza's struggle and Karin's effort... although that one really isn't necessary.

"She did not want to drown Karin with her sorrows. Yet Karin offered her hand once more. Eliza finally took it, smiling thinly at her sister."

The first turning point feels a little bit rushed, but that's alright. I would take more time between her falling down and being found, though. You have the indication of people having worked to get to her, but you have no filler or mind going black or simply text to indicate passing time. It's like she's found 1-2 minutes afterwards.
Still a little bit unrealistic, but all okay

PS: also edited that one post.
I really like your stuff! Cute, sweet and retro, in a very positive way.
Not the shallow kind of cute, either! <3
JosephSeraph>First time I heard my works being called cute. Thank you :)

Kyla> Yes, that was a bit intentional. I wanted to create some contrast and stuff.

About your next comments though, I think I might go with those. But though I agree that the turn of events are a bit rushed, I honestly can't come up with any more scenes right now so...

Thanks again :D
Well, you can also make her mind go black, or make her awaken afterwards, wondering how long it's been. Just any indication of her not being aware of what has been going on around her.
Nothing new, but it's something...


A silhouette I made for my game. From scratch.


Damaged sprites that I made for my first game. Hastily resized, so there might be some things off...

PS. I suck at hair (see lower left sprite). Any advice you can offer?
No idea how it's supposed to look like, but at a glance it's anything but spikey.
Try to imagine how the sides of the hair must look like, and make it similar to the frontview.
Also, the shade is off. The lightsource is to the top left according to the other ones (highlight on the hair), so her left side of the hair should definitely be lighter than it is right now.

I can't give you any perfect tips, though..
Lato
Infantry for life!
1209
I really like the sad girl cut scene art!
Lato> Thank you! I am glad you like it :)

Kyla> I don't know why, but I find it difficult. I wont stop practicing on it though.
About the light source, I was trying to copy the (rather confusing) style of the rtp. Where it comes from the top left, and slightly to the front. So objects nearer to the viewer will be brighter, and etc.
Though I admit that I just derped with the shading XD
My main concern was whether the sprites look good when zoomed out or not, so I went the lazy route...

Thanks :)
Try to scribble it on paper as well, that is very useful to get a grasp for what your character actually looks like, or is supposed to look like.
But practice makes perfect!
I got bored this morning, so I mak this.

http://rpgmaker.net/media/content/users/46909/locker/20140828_112521.jpg*

It's been a while since I last drew something, so some stuff may be off here and there. The shading, on the other hand, has never been my specialty. So If you'd just consider that, please?


*It's kinda big, so...
Lato
Infantry for life!
1209

Did a recolor, so nice.
Do you want some critique? : D

It's cute, especially the face.
But the proportions are rather off towards the bottom. The hand on the right is far too small*, and her hips are slimmer than her shoulders!
For women, they're as big as the shoulders or wider (grown women usually a tad wa, a 0,7 shoulder to hip ratio is most attractive, btw)

Also, sweet recolor!
Pages: first 12 next last