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[baconman]

Anybody with graphical expertise care to give a guy some pointers on developing pixel-creatures that are non-human in nature? I'm going for 3, generally scalable phases:

Juniors @ 24x24
Adults @ 48x48
Seniors @ 96x96

...there is one or two classes that may expand; one in particular will be double those sizes; as it's junior is along the lines of Sniper Joe, the adult imitates both Robot Ride armors and Big Eye-style MM enemies; and it's senior form is a variation of Yellow Devil. While the sizes themselves may vary, the majority of characters they're designed to interact with are 48x48.

Thanks!

[J. R. Hill]

First of all: look at references for any animal you're drawing.  Trust me, you may see dogs every day of your life, but if you're anything like me, when you go to draw them you'll biff it up without a last minute cram session. Also, figure out what aspects of an animal are most interesting and work those into your art at all costs.

Other general observations:
Most animals don't have human eye construction.  Some, like cats for example, do have multi-colored eyes, but for the most part animals' eyes are typically black.  (Or like horses, so dark brown that they look black)

For younger animals, the head is larger in proportion to the body, and eyes are typically slightly wider apart and lower on the face than in adults.

Furry surfaces in general are somewhat "dull" in the way that they shade naturally, meaning they have shadows but not very bright/shiny highlights.  Scale surfaces are the opposite, where they have very bright highlights in some places.