I already have a couple of thoughts.
Usually when I see edits or recolors from newbies, I usually tell them to stop doing that. It can be done but unless they sit down and deconstruct the sprite heavily which takes more critical thinking and tact, it is difficult.
Which I'm going to express here as well, not to be mean nessecarily but you could approach making a Toon Link styled sprite with NES restrictions in a better way. And while there is nothing wrong with the practice of editing and recoloring in of itself often times people will do what you are doing where they get a pre-made sprite that exists from another game and try minor tweaks. Which often times yield lacking results.
My opinion is that you're better off doing it from scratch as opposed to just making an edit. In this case because you're working with an an art style that is not initially affected by the same limitations for the console it was on, you will probably struggle way more than you should be trying to get the details at least somewhat accurate to what you are aiming for by restricting yourself to the limits of an NES console, let alone the first zelda. You could heavily edit it as Ton suggested as well but I've already stated my thoughts to why I would suggest doing something totally different.
I am also going to echo Ton's point about NES restrictions. Unless you have every intent of megamaning this spirte with two layers and using four colors, avoid doing more than three colors and stick with the NES palette. And thats where it could get challenging because you have to figure out a balance between detail and simplicity to sprite something small enough to be readable yet have that aesthetic you want for it.
![[Image: Palette_NTSC.png]](/image.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thealmightyguru.com%2FGames%2FHacking%2FWiki%2Fimages%2Fe%2Fe8%2FPalette_NTSC.png&hash=bc0897ef1440a112731fbbf2d625fd2e)
As for suggestions on what I would do if you do wish to continue editing this, Get references from the internet of Toon Link, study the colors of his uniform, maybe reconsider heavily which colors you think would best suit what would work best. I would also maybe suggest looking at the Minnish Cap and Link's Awakening sprites to help give you a better idea of what you might want to do in order to tackle certain details of toon link since they're both the same perspective as the legend of zelda. However, unless you take the time to seriously edit these heavily, I am not certain how just editing it will turn out and if you end up finding yourself in a position where you'd get frustrated, start over entirely from square one.
Usually when I see edits or recolors from newbies, I usually tell them to stop doing that. It can be done but unless they sit down and deconstruct the sprite heavily which takes more critical thinking and tact, it is difficult.
Which I'm going to express here as well, not to be mean nessecarily but you could approach making a Toon Link styled sprite with NES restrictions in a better way. And while there is nothing wrong with the practice of editing and recoloring in of itself often times people will do what you are doing where they get a pre-made sprite that exists from another game and try minor tweaks. Which often times yield lacking results.
My opinion is that you're better off doing it from scratch as opposed to just making an edit. In this case because you're working with an an art style that is not initially affected by the same limitations for the console it was on, you will probably struggle way more than you should be trying to get the details at least somewhat accurate to what you are aiming for by restricting yourself to the limits of an NES console, let alone the first zelda. You could heavily edit it as Ton suggested as well but I've already stated my thoughts to why I would suggest doing something totally different.
I am also going to echo Ton's point about NES restrictions. Unless you have every intent of megamaning this spirte with two layers and using four colors, avoid doing more than three colors and stick with the NES palette. And thats where it could get challenging because you have to figure out a balance between detail and simplicity to sprite something small enough to be readable yet have that aesthetic you want for it.
As for suggestions on what I would do if you do wish to continue editing this, Get references from the internet of Toon Link, study the colors of his uniform, maybe reconsider heavily which colors you think would best suit what would work best. I would also maybe suggest looking at the Minnish Cap and Link's Awakening sprites to help give you a better idea of what you might want to do in order to tackle certain details of toon link since they're both the same perspective as the legend of zelda. However, unless you take the time to seriously edit these heavily, I am not certain how just editing it will turn out and if you end up finding yourself in a position where you'd get frustrated, start over entirely from square one.