12-27-2012, 01:06 PM
Exactly what Doug said. Don't use being new as an excuse for being bad; use being new as a method of forcing yourself to improve.
Some important things to know about making things look visually pleasing and correct. First, shade in the direction the light is coming from. For these sprites a light coming from directly overhead would suffice nicely; right now I can't tell where it's coming from because what little shading there is wraps itself around the outline in an entirely unconvincing and unappealing manner. The shades are also both incredibly bright and don't change anything but luminosity, which is a big no-no. As a rule, highlight colours tend towards yellow and shadow colours tend towards blue/grey.
Your outlines also look like wooden dolls with their posture. Things don't stand with their arms spread slightly apart and their feet touching facing away from each other. Try standing like that in real life and feel how comfortable it is. Try drawing something that fits your character's mood; maybe relaxed, maybe bouncy, I don't know.
Some important things to know about making things look visually pleasing and correct. First, shade in the direction the light is coming from. For these sprites a light coming from directly overhead would suffice nicely; right now I can't tell where it's coming from because what little shading there is wraps itself around the outline in an entirely unconvincing and unappealing manner. The shades are also both incredibly bright and don't change anything but luminosity, which is a big no-no. As a rule, highlight colours tend towards yellow and shadow colours tend towards blue/grey.
Your outlines also look like wooden dolls with their posture. Things don't stand with their arms spread slightly apart and their feet touching facing away from each other. Try standing like that in real life and feel how comfortable it is. Try drawing something that fits your character's mood; maybe relaxed, maybe bouncy, I don't know.