The VG Resource

tried out a design for an alien monster thats been sitting on my desk. right now its just a floating head, but i could potentially give it a body. Looking for input at the moment.


Edit: Fixed his eyes, they were bugging the ever-living crap out if me.

I would suggest working on a background that's not black, white, grey or a pure (100% saturated) colour: this will help you give a setting for your sprite. Generally, I'd aim for a colour that's an opposite to the colour you're working on (blue/orange, red/green, yellow/purple), so that the sprite stands out.
I like the green palette for now, but what more can you define on the sprite? Is it a kind of insect? Think about structure, think about texture. Here's an edit:

Anyway, keep at it!

I'll have to say the purple adds a very nice touch.

This just being a rough draft, I hadnt given much thought into it.

But changing the BG color is some good advice. I'd only ever thought of a background color as alpha. Never really stopped to think it'd be more useful than that.

not to mention, a purely saturated background affects your color perception drastically.

Very True

Looking at him I feel he's more jelly-like than an insect.



Here's an update.

Edit: Not sure how I feel about adding in a tongue.

problem with it looking like a jelly rather than like an insect is due the lack of a visible exoskeleton. at this point, desing wise, looks like a shameless breed between a metroid and a venonat.

i meant he was more suited as a jelly.

nice connection. i had neither in mind when i was drawing it up. but theres also only so much originality you can add when youre trying to keep things generic.

what would you suggest changing to vary its appearance? (exo-skeleton having been noted.)

If you're going for jelly-like, you probably want harsher contrast and larger highlights, to indicate a sort of slimy shininess to it...

It actually reminds me of a ghost alien. I don't mind the design, I rather like it.

In a video game its simple shape makes it inviting to jump on or shoot. This is why goombas have a fat squishy looking body.

If you want it to look less like a Venonat Metroid hybrid, it's quite simple! It's all in the eyes! Add eyebrows and it will give the creature a personality, something Metroids lack. Or give the eyes glowing yellow pupils. Trust me it will make all the difference.

I know it's been said before but if it is supposed to be slimy it has to be shinier. When I first saw it my impression was that it was mossy and had a kind of squidgy plant texture.

I've been working on several renditions. I tried giving it eyebrows, but paired with the eyes i had on it, it just turned into something i wanted to hit repeatedly until it stopped twitching >_>

I've also been toying with a kind of "Honeycomb" pattern for many eyes. The whole insect thing got me thinking that it might be cool to try some more insect like features paired with his slime body. It is an alien afterall. They need not bend to our laws of biology.
I'll have a few up tomorrow for more input.

Edit: Here's a last update. I think this sprites been overworked. I'll probably come back to it in a few weeks but idk.