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[Corus]

Hello, I was unsure to post about this or not, but I'm confused what artstyle would suit best what I'm trying to make.
It's a project I'm planning to make all by myself, programming included. I'm writing it in Java and uses libgdx. So it's basically a side scroller rpg with some inspiration by dark souls. Kinda like Terraria or Salt&Sanctuary but with more focus on the combat system. I can do art and time is not a problem.
The 124x124 sprites didn't look very good and would make more sense to use 64x64 ones, problem is, I'm not sure if pixel art is best even though it would probably be easiest.
For some reason it's easier to me to make things look better in 3d rather than pixel art, but it's also really slow and time consuming.
I also want to show some detail on the characters, so no sword and sorcery kind of graphics.
Here a wip soldier I'm making:

I have a problem drawing faces with this sprite size, but I guess it would look better without one.

[Clipper]

Just do whatever you're comfortable with.

Your soldier's pretty good BTW.

[Corus]

Had the inspiration some days ago, I think I managed to make a decent looking face out of that sprite, also started working on a new armor set which I envisioned as the starting equipment:

Animating is going to be a pain though.
And I made a cat pirate thing because I like cat people. But I'm not a furry. Maybe.

[maruki]

If you find 3D easier and time is not a problem, you should go for it.
Pixel art is easier and more difficult at the same time. IMO, the last sprite you showed us looks good.
If you are still having problem with faces, you can always take the Castlevania approach: the face is made by only a few pixels, but they still manage to convey details on other parts of the character.

[Corus]

Yeah time is not a problem but I guess what I was planning to make with 3d might make some things easier but it's just unrealistic for a single person to make.
2d 3d are hard to compare, with my modest 3d skills I feel like 3d progress feels more steady, everything can be easily adjusted or even recycled for a completely different project. I'm not even a great 3d modeller but I can achieve decent results quickly and I simply have to work on things until they look good enough. That requires time though and I don't even know how to animate 3d models. And I don't really feel like buying assets.
Castelvania style sprites is something I considered, they are not distracting and perfect for action oriented gameplay, but I feel better at having characters with a face, I think it would fit more the almost cutesy but mysterious theme. And in fact I'm hardly a retro gamer, I missed most of these games and this saddens me a little.
anyway thanks for the feedback, I finally forced myself to join a community of indie developers and it's helping me alot.

By the way, this is a model I made some time ago:
http://i.imgur.com/ni8BsSv.jpg
It's kind of rough but I think it turned out ok.

[JWK5]

Hello, I was unsure to post about this or not, but I'm confused what artstyle would suit best what I'm trying to make.
It's a project I'm planning to make all by myself, programming included. I'm writing it in Java and uses libgdx. So it's basically a side scroller rpg with some inspiration by dark souls. Kinda like Terraria or Salt&Sanctuary but with more focus on the combat system. I can do art and time is not a problem.
The 124x124 sprites didn't look very good and would make more sense to use 64x64 ones, problem is, I'm not sure if pixel art is best even though it would probably be easiest.
For some reason it's easier to me to make things look better in 3d rather than pixel art, but it's also really slow and time consuming.
I also want to show some detail on the characters, so no sword and sorcery kind of graphics.
Here a wip soldier I'm making:

I have a problem drawing faces with this sprite size, but I guess it would look better without one.

Anything you do often, no matter how well, will inevitably be made quicker, better, and more efficiently. If time is not a problem then don't worry about it, go with whichever you enjoy doing more and keep working at it, you'll eventually develop your skills where you want them to be and produce the results you are hoping for.

There's also no reason you can't do both. If each day you commit 30 minutes to an hour on pixel art and then again another 30 to an hour on 3D (or just alternate each day) you can develop them both. There's no reason you can't keep growing your skills with both and then later down the line decide which has progressed more to your liking.

[Corus]

Anything you do often, no matter how well, will inevitably be made quicker, better, and more efficiently. If time is not a problem then don't worry about it, go with whichever you enjoy doing more and keep working at it, you'll eventually develop your skills where you want them to be and produce the results you are hoping for.

There's also no reason you can't do both. If each day you commit 30 minutes to an hour on pixel art and then again another 30 to an hour on 3D (or just alternate each day) you can develop them both. There's no reason you can't keep growing your skills with both and then later down the line decide which has progressed more to your liking.

Yes I'm kinda negleting 3d. I made many decent looking meshes back when I was into Skyrim modding, ended up not doing much. I should stop being lazy and give some textures to them.
In the end what helps me most is just sketching stuff on a paper. It's mostly incredibly rough stuff but really helps me finding the inspiration.
Anyway I think I'm finally going to the right direction. I'm trying to draw a setting, maybe I'll try posting a mockup when I'm done so it would be much more clear the style I'm going for. Or if it looks like complete ass I'll just restart again, but atleast I know I'm always improving.

[ryansumo]

Your sprites actually look really good.  Whether or not they're the "right" art style is ultimately up to you though.  As for animaing them, yes pixelart can be a pain in the but to animate.  What you can do is simplify some of the work by reducing details or textures.  If the sprites are going to be moving a lot anyway then the textures you add on the cloth won't really be noticeable anyway.

[Corus]

Your sprites actually look really good.  Whether or not they're the "right" art style is ultimately up to you though.  As for animaing them, yes pixelart can be a pain in the but to animate.  What you can do is simplify some of the work by reducing details or textures.  If the sprites are going to be moving a lot anyway then the textures you add on the cloth won't really be noticeable anyway.

I did lots of research on history since I want an appealing and detailed world. I used bigger sprites because I wanted to show more detail. I think the only solution is to reach a compromise, I think I will be able to cut down details, make things more stylized but still keep the original concepts.

[maruki]

And in fact I'm hardly a retro gamer, I missed most of these games and this saddens me a little.

Oh, don't beat yourself up over it. I missed all the retro scene as well, started gaming after getting into college. When you have the time, give them a play, enjoy them. It will help you a lot, there's a ton of things to learn from them.

[Corus]

And in fact I'm hardly a retro gamer, I missed most of these games and this saddens me a little.

Oh, don't beat yourself up over it. I missed all the retro scene as well, started gaming after getting into college. When you have the time, give them a play, enjoy them. It will help you a lot, there's a ton of things to learn from them.

Yep, I plan playing some one by one. I spent most of my childhood playing rts and crappy demos. Retro games would be a great inspiration for what I'm planning to make. Luckily there are modern games like Dark Souls that take lots of things from older games.
And here's an extremely rough build:

[Corus]

A pigman with an axe! This is just a level for testing stuff.
I'm currently trying to make a simple running cycle, if you know references that are in a similar style and sprite size, please link me to them.