ARTWORK: Dio stabs wildly with a pencil

[Diogenes]

So I suppose I'll show off my meager artistic talent here...I don't have much to post now, mostly because I hate digging up old work and I'd rather just post stuff as I make it, but eh, more will come soon enough.

Well, for now, I've got some new fancharacter stuff. I'm planning on making a fangame (it's in sort of pre-fetal stages now, so there's literally nothing to show off), and one of the ideas I'm playing with for the story is to revive Fang and have him leading a small team of bandits, in this case working for Eggman. A quirky miniboss squad, essentially.

First up, definitely not the final design but I'm throwing it up anyway, is the strong man of the group. A bear of some sort (not polar, tho'), he's big, tough, and nearly silent. The most "honorable" of the group, if you beat him in a fair fight he'll stand down and stay out of your way. For the next design I'm thinking bigger arms, more hulking, probably no spikes on the helmet, maybe bigass "gauntlets" that look more like giant pistons, basically big chunks of metal for the purpose of punching harder.

Second, much closer to final, a squid girl. She controls ghosts, for some reason. The hood is designed to look like a ghost with its tongue hanging out...I'm wondering if the tongue is too obvious or out of place when she's not wearing the hood. I'm also thinking of adding another pair of arms but I'm worried it might get too cluttered. Also ignore the absurdly long sleeves on the rightmost one, that's older and outdated.

Also I'm open to suggestions on these character designs, so if you've got any ideas I'd love to hear them.

[Little Miss Fortunes]

Wow! You're a really talented artist and designer, I love these designs to pieces! They fit the Sonic style perfectly, yet are both original looking and just oozing with character - the bear character looks reserved and honourable, as you described, and the squid girl looks like she can be a bit cheeky at times.

And oh my gosh I. Love. That. Ghosty. Hood. So. Much. I want one! That's just the cutest (and coolest) thing ever!

Your fangame certainly sounds interesting from what you've said - I can't wait to see it sometime!

[Diogenes]

Thanks. And I'm glad to hear that they do look Sonic-y, as that's one of the things I was worried about; for a while I focused on moving my style away from Sonic-styled stuff, so I wasn't sure if I could still pull it off.

Also, inked and colored the squid girl. Not 100% sure about the colors, but overall I like it. Now I need to come up with a name...

[Saint Nathan]

^ I'm reminded of Zoras.

Your really good Dio. The charecters are nice, they look good, nice work man.

[Little Miss Fortunes]

Oh my gosh! She looks even more awesome coloured! I love the pink markings on the tips of her hair/arms, they're so pretty!

As for a name... Well, she looks shady (and somewhat mischievous?) whilst wearing the hood, but looks quite refined when she isn't wearing it... Something to do with the hair, and how the tongue part of the hood looks a bit like one of those ties... Am I making sense?

But, if you're gonna go by Sonic traditions, her name would probably be something to do with her ghostly powers... Necro the Squid, Haunt the Squid, Poltergeist the Squid..? Ah, I'm no good with names, but I'm sure you'll find a good one for her.

Keep up the great work!

[Gabz Girl]

Loving the character designs! Not only are they unique and nicely drawn but like Summer said, they look very Sonic-y. Brilliant work! *thumbs up*

[Reading]

The characters here remind me of the villains in Super Paper Mario; the strong and "honorable" one is like the military general O'Chunks, the creepy, cheeky girl is like Mimi...is a sinister, poetic jester coming up next?

Anyway, I like the designs and touches here. The accessories like the bear's helmet and the squid's ghost hood are nice flairs. Great character design, as everyone else has said. I can imagine some good dialogue and distinct developed personalities with these characters.

[ChaosMiles07]

Squid-girl definitely looks professionally done. Nice talent, Dio.

[SuperStingray]

I really like that squid girl. The Sonic series needs a larger aquatic character ratio. If you're looking for a name, how about Teuthida? It sounds feminine and it's also squid related.

That bear's pretty cool too; his helmet really gives a tough air to him. The design reminds me a lot of Bark.

Edited April 5, 2009 by SuperStingray

[Diogenes]

the strong and "honorable" one is like the military general O'Chunks,

I'm not sure I'd call a guy who flies around on his farts "honorable", but yeah, kind of a similar thing.

If you're looking for a name, how about Teuthida? It sounds feminine and it's also squid related.

Hm, maybe. I like using the usual Sonic naming scheme but going a bit more subtle than just a color or ability (plus it's got a bit of a witchy feel to it as well), but it's a bit of a mouthful.

The design reminds me a lot of Bark.

Yeah, that's what I worry about. I'm thinking about changing the species, because if he stays a bear, I think everyone is going to associate him with Bark, no matter how much else is different about him.

So, content. No one's going to burst a blood vessel if I post sprites in an "artwork" topic, right?

If I ever get my fangame rolling, I'd like to have some new sprites, so I've been fiddling around with these from time to time. Not quite finished with these, obviously, but it's enough to critique, I think. The basic goal, aside from just a general upgrade, was to update them a bit while still keeping to the old style. So Sonic's got green eyes and longer spines, but not the droopy-long sort of spines he's had in some games. Also it turns out Mighty isn't completely useless after all; just a little tweaking of his Chaotix sprites gave me perfect shoes for Sonic.

...also during this I noticed that Sonic 2 Super Sonic is actually...buff. And now I can't unsee it.

[ChaosMiles07]

Sprites is art. If anybody else tells you otherwise, they're ignorant.

Critiquing the sprites:

You could ONLY BARELY tell that Sonic has green eyes. And his hands are WAAYY too small.

"Buff"? How? You could barely see anything of him underneath all that shine...

[SuperStingray]

I think they came out quite nicely. The Sonic one reminds me of the one used Sonic: The Fated Hour. But I think the eye color could be made a bit more noticeable. And I'm assuming you plan to give the other ones arms.

[Phos]

Looks pretty good, almost reminds me of a sprite based on the Sonic Rivals 2 model.

I say drop the green eyes, this resolution doesn't lend itself to irises. They tried this for the Sonc Advance sheet, and his eyes looks like a garbled mess half the time. I know you tweaked the shoes, but all I see are Mighty's shoes. They're also missing the buckle, if you were planning on including it.

And I can understand why you'd give Sonic green eyes (not really, I think it's a horrible idea, but I'll play along), but why would you do the same to Nack?

Metal Sonic's legs look a bit strange, the rear leg appears to connect behind the ankle joint, and he doesnt need to nub if you're going to be making Sonic's body round. Rather, the intake is supposed to be the size of Sonic's tummy, and the cowling is as wide as Sonic's body.

E: Metal's fingers are extended when his hands are at rest.

Edited April 16, 2009 by Phos

[Diogenes]

And his hands are WAAYY too small.

I believe I just stole the hands from a Sonic CD sprite, so that's their fault, not mine. I prefer the smaller hands to S3&K's gargantuan ones anyway (plus I'm not so good at making my own).

"Buff"? How? You could barely see anything of him underneath all that shine...

It's the arms...they have muscles. Kind of reminds me of how Sonic's arm looks midway through transforming into wereSonic in the opening of Unleashed.

They're also missing the buckle, if you were planning on including it.

I thought about it, but I don't think there's enough pixels to do it right. The original sprites got away with leaving them out, so I think I can too...

And I can understand why you'd give Sonic green eyes (not really, I think it's a horrible idea, but I'll play along), but why would you do the same to Nack?

At first I just left them there since he was edited from the Sonic sprite and as far as I know he doesn't have an official eye color, but then I started thinking about green=money, and him being a greedy bounty hunter, so I might as well stick with it.

and he doesnt need to nub if you're going to be making Sonic's body round.

Yeah, I think you're right on that one. I wasn't all that satisfied with how I did that anyway.

E: Metal's fingers are extended when his hands are at rest.

Pretty sure I stole that hand from a Sonic CD sprite too.

For content, the Super form topic got me thinking, someone mentioned something like a fusion of technology and organics for Eggman's "Super" form, and then this popped into my head. Essentially he's fused with the Eggmobile, commanding it directly with his thoughts. The mechanical arms mimic his movements, so Eggman's doing a lot of energetic posing and finger-guns while he's fighting. The floating balls are cameras/eyes and also shoot lasers I guess. And, like the best of Eggman's machines, it kind of looks like him if you squint (the big front cannon is the nose, the camera-eyes can dock on the circles above that, and the ridges on the sides are the mustache, like with Eggrobo and the giant Death Egg Zone Eggman robot).

And yes, his mustache changes color. But to silver, not gold.

[Phos]

Ah, so that's what those nozzles were for!

Pretty cool. I'm thinking that he'd go for a less gruesome connection, but I guess he can always reverse it as long as he's super.

[Badnik Zero]

Nice character designs. I'm a fan of the bear, he's very fitting for the series, and I don't think he bites too much off of Bark's design. And I love the idea of a squid being a character, as a non-mammal, and she's got a pretty cool superpower for a squid. She could even move like a ghost, if you want, as if she were swimming in water. Squids do kind of glide along. A few design suggestions, if you don't mind. I like her hands because they really suggest a water creature, but her lack of snout would stand out among the other characters. She's a squid so she doesn't have a nose, but would you consider giving her a pointed squid head (could look like a bishop hat, to a supernatural effect) or Dr. Zoidberg styled face tentacles? The tentacles might be a bit much, maybe a bit too scary for what you're looking for. Anyways, I really like her. She reminds me of some characters from an old CCG I used to play. As for a ghost related name, the most obvious thing to me would be Spectra, although it's a bit cliched. Most Sonic names are though.

Edited May 7, 2009 by Badnikz

[Diogenes]

So hey! After abandoning a dozen different things and spending several months (...years? ohgod) doing jack shit, I am now attempting something completely different!

No, seriously. This is a thing that I am making. An Eggman fangame, partially inspired by that really old concept art that eventually became Eggman. I'm posting here rather than Misc since I don't have much to show of the actual game part (I've got a fair amount of the engine done, though no levels besides a shoddy test area, and I haven't programmed enemies/health/lives/actually starting and finishing a level yet) but I've got words to say and pik-a-tures to show.

Story:

Ivo the Egg-Man is kind of the wacky inventor sort, eccentric but well-liked. Sonic the Hedgehog is a bitter and jealous forest animal who wants to ruin things for Ivo. There's a damsel to be saved, though I haven't decided between Madonna (Sonic's human girlfriend from that old concept art) or Sara/Sera/whatever (from the OVA). Sonic kidnaps her, and Ivo's got to run, jump, and fight through several zones (and several other familiar characters) to save her.

Gameplay:

Pretty standard platforming stuff (no Sonic physics; this isn't a Sonic game, after all). He runs, he jumps. Jump on bad guys to defeat them, or use one of a variety of weapons (so far I've got a hammer, boomerang-wrench, bombs, and a spring-loaded boxing glove kinda thing). He can swim, but he'll slide uncontrollably down steep slopes.

Enemies/Bosses:

...will be the various heroes of the Sonic series modified and repurposed. The only basic enemies I've decided on are a mini-Sonic that is basically a Koopa Troopa (hit him once to make him curl up, and again to send him rolling into other enemies) and a generic bat-enemy based on Rouge.

Bosses, tho', I have some more concrete ideas...and drawings!

Boss #1: Knuckles: Spike-Fisted Mole

He burrows underground, then pops his head up to look around, giving you a chance to bop 'im. After a few hits he'll start mixing in some punches from underground...but he's the first boss so he won't last long.

Boss #3?: Amy Rose: Lucky Hammer Dealer

Boss of the casino/carnival stage, thus the changes to her outfit. Not sure of the exact mechanics of the fight, but I'm thinking of a sort of indirect fight involving pressing buttons to make a giant robot slam giant hammers down, hopefully on her rather than you. Also she's a human in this (the ears are fake), because I said so.

Boss #4?: Blaze: Molten Cat Queen

I dunno she breathes fire or something. Also I can't draw cats for shit.

Boss #5?: Rouge: Greedy Mother Bat

She's basically suffocating in her own bosom. She flies around, summons the little bats I mentioned above, maybe drops crystals on you or uses some kind of supersonic burp.

Boss #7?: Jet: Squawking Defense Parrot

Flies around, dives at you. If you've played Wind Waker, it's kinda like the fight against that bird. Also I know Jet is a hawk, he's a parrot here because no one likes him.

I also plan on Shadow and Tails being bosses, but I don't have any ideas or designs for them yet.

Final Boss: ???

Well I'm not going to just say who it is. Though I'm picturing a fight kind of like the first half of the final battle in Kirby's Adventure, with Ivo on his little flying scooter from Sonic CD's ending shooting at the boss.

It's totally going to be Zodick, how could I not use this obscure crazy looking fuck?

[LoseR]

So hey! After abandoning a dozen different things and spending several months (...years? ohgod) doing jack shit, I am now attempting something completely different!

No, seriously. This is a thing that I am making. An Eggman fangame, partially inspired by that really old concept art that eventually became Eggman. I'm posting here rather than Misc since I don't have much to show of the actual game part (I've got a fair amount of the engine done, though no levels besides a shoddy test area, and I haven't programmed enemies/health/lives/actually starting and finishing a level yet) but I've got words to say and pik-a-tures to show.

Story:

Ivo the Egg-Man is kind of the wacky inventor sort, eccentric but well-liked. Sonic the Hedgehog is a bitter and jealous forest animal who wants to ruin things for Ivo. There's a damsel to be saved, though I haven't decided between Madonna (Sonic's human girlfriend from that old concept art) or Sara/Sera/whatever (from the OVA). Sonic kidnaps her, and Ivo's got to run, jump, and fight through several zones (and several other familiar characters) to save her.

Gameplay:

Pretty standard platforming stuff (no Sonic physics; this isn't a Sonic game, after all). He runs, he jumps. Jump on bad guys to defeat them, or use one of a variety of weapons (so far I've got a hammer, boomerang-wrench, bombs, and a spring-loaded boxing glove kinda thing). He can swim, but he'll slide uncontrollably down steep slopes.

Enemies/Bosses:

...will be the various heroes of the Sonic series modified and repurposed. The only basic enemies I've decided on are a mini-Sonic that is basically a Koopa Troopa (hit him once to make him curl up, and again to send him rolling into other enemies) and a generic bat-enemy based on Rouge.

Bosses, tho', I have some more concrete ideas...and drawings!

Boss #1: Knuckles: Spike-Fisted Mole

He burrows underground, then pops his head up to look around, giving you a chance to bop 'im. After a few hits he'll start mixing in some punches from underground...but he's the first boss so he won't last long.

Boss #3?: Amy Rose: Lucky Hammer Dealer

Boss of the casino/carnival stage, thus the changes to her outfit. Not sure of the exact mechanics of the fight, but I'm thinking of a sort of indirect fight involving pressing buttons to make a giant robot slam giant hammers down, hopefully on her rather than you. Also she's a human in this (the ears are fake), because I said so.

Boss #4?: Blaze: Molten Cat Queen

I dunno she breathes fire or something. Also I can't draw cats for shit.

Boss #5?: Rouge: Greedy Mother Bat

She's basically suffocating in her own bosom. She flies around, summons the little bats I mentioned above, maybe drops crystals on you or uses some kind of supersonic burp.

Boss #7?: Jet: Squawking Defense Parrot

Flies around, dives at you. If you've played Wind Waker, it's kinda like the fight against that bird. Also I know Jet is a hawk, he's a parrot here because no one likes him.

I also plan on Shadow and Tails being bosses, but I don't have any ideas or designs for them yet.

Final Boss: ???

Well I'm not going to just say who it is. Though I'm picturing a fight kind of like the first half of the final battle in Kirby's Adventure, with Ivo on his little flying scooter from Sonic CD's ending shooting at the boss.

It's totally going to be Zodick, how could I not use this obscure crazy looking fuck?

ME. WANT.

[Big Boss (legendsneverdie)]

What's Zodick?

[Old dead account]

Love the squid girl, she's well made and not a fucking X character recolor for once.

Also, this is the 666th thread on this section of the forum.

[Dr. Mechano]

So hey! After abandoning a dozen different things and spending several months (...years? ohgod) doing jack shit, I am now attempting something completely different!

[SchemingMinor]

I want this. So badly.

As for things you haven't decided, totally go for Sera, I say. She's a lot more closely related to Eggman than Madonna would be, I think. (Nothing to do with my shameless shipping of Sera and OVA Eggman, of course not)

The game sounds amazing, in any case. I'll be following your work, sir- Looking very forward to seeing more on this.

[Diogenes]

What's Zodick?

Basically the least insane thing about Illbleed. Seriously if you've never experienced Illbleed you owe it to yourself to watch this LP. That game is batshit insane in the best way.

SPEAKING OF BATS (and less so of shit).

I've made a few sprites for ItEM (wow that's a coincidentally readable abbreviation...). Ivo himself (with hat and without; I intend to have the hat as a separate sprite and have it so it'll lag behind a bit when he's falling), Amy Rose, Sara and Madonna (I haven't decided yet so I tried both), and Rouge.

[Soniman]

Taking your advice on original characters, I also made a Squid character, though compared to yours it isnt nearly as unique (plus shes got fingers, the squid hands felt out of place)

Regardless of that, this Eggman game sounds friggin amazing and I can't wait to see what comes of it

[Match]

Could I just say that, despite what some others have said, I flipping LOVE that first set of sprites you showed off?

Also, Robotnik needs to go on a midnight adventure to find a snack. In his pajamas.