Lady Frimelda

[Kagebunji]

I know it does not fit the reference, I wrote that, but she looks bulky bow, a simple skirt and great hair isn't enough to make her look girly, plus the portrait is quite manly, so this might lead to some misconclusions of peoples. Maybe slightly more visible or bigger breasts might help. Do as you like though, it is your's sprite anyway.

[Zozma]

you shoulda seen her on ffta2, this is much better, breasts would be the easiest solution as the boots have complete frames already and boobs would be a simple copy/paste to all the walking frames

[Kagebunji]

Um, I told to them all that this is Frimelda, smile isn't fitting her bla bla, it is obvious I saw her in FFTA2 ;P Well, it all depends on R999, I will be satisfied with the breasts, if he won't do it, I will.

[Zozma]

yeah not doing the smile, it doesn't fit fft characters well

the breast would fix everything else

[Smash]

You kids must learn to not trust that overseas lot


They even had an unessesary grey.

Hmph.

 

[R999]

@Smash: Portrait looks nice, but I definitely prefer the original by a large margin.



1. The work on the hair is very nice (but so is the original's).
2. Unnecessary highlights in the hair though.
3. The brighter skin tone does suit her more however, it might not be coherent beside other FFT portraits.
4. The "black shading" near the neck, why?
5. Piece of hair shading is off to the right of right eye.
6. Mouth/Lips is shortened unnecessarily.


Overall, the original's shape, size, angle, --eyebrows-- more closely resembles her round face. I think you have accidentally removed a color there; her clothing should not have brown on it. Portrait looks feminine to me, what are you guys smokin'! Though If this was a "which is more feminine" contest, Smash's piece is better.

[jimmyjw88]

That looks more feminine now and that extra fixes with the hair looks better.

[SilvasRuin]

1 and 2: Smash's hair looks less pixelated and has more realistic detail.
3: The shading is more pronounced, which is perfectly logical as that large collar would block more light than the original has it blocking.
6:  Smash's expression portrays what she's been through much better.

That bit of hair to the right of the eye does look really weird to me, but other than that, I prefer Smash's portrait.

[jimmyjw88]

What Silvas said and actually, the highlight on the hair is necessary as its making the hair looks natural and realistic.

[R999]

@SilvasRuin: Natural is one thing, FFT art is another. Too much highlight = too much contrast = not FFT style. Either style is unnatural if you have to use that argument. The black shading is unrealistic. Any good artist would know this; Smash probably made a mistake on this part. As for the expression, again we should remind ourselves that this is FFT, not RandomGameX. I am not totally fond of Smash's portrait's shading; the blacks are way too dark, even if using that "realistic" argument. They have more contrast indeed, but just a bit too much.

For this sprite, I will try to combine some elements from Smash's portrait into the other and see whichever works best. At any rate, I am sure he could improve it further if he wanted to. Don't get me wrong though, this has been one a very good portrait among his works (which I am sure most of us know by heart). I am not saying it is bad, just pointing out (mostly) why I liked the alternative version better.

[Kagebunji]

Smash's attempt is far better, no matter how you look at it. Hair still looks like FFT style, but is far more awesome. The face expression Smash gave her really fits her, She has been through a lot like I said on page 1, Silvas said it too. That black shading is logical, I dunno why you think it is soo wrong :/

[Knox]

I like Smash's, seems to fit FFT more imo.

Great work Smash <3

[mav]

Portrait looks feminine to me, what are you guys smokin'!

Are you referring to the original or Smash's? And if Smash's, is that a bad thing? Eh, I guess it could be if this is not a feminine character. Half the people mistook the original portrait for a guy though, so a little femininity might be what this portrait needs. In any case, either portrait works; there are benefits and downsides to both of 'em.

I'm not too familiar with this character though--is her hair brown, as we've seen on the portraits and sprite, or reddish, like on the official art Zozma posted?

[GeneralStrife]

Yeah i can actually tell its a girl with the 2nd portrait

[Kagebunji]

It is brown Mav, that red is just an illusion.

[R999]

@Kage: Do you know what is a primary and secondary light source? All I have to say is, White reflects light. Unless the person we are shooting is in a dark room with a singular light source -- of which is not the case for FFT portraits.

This is an example of a person with hair, with white clothing:



Don't try to darken the areas I have circled.  



Primary Light Sources





Secondary Light Sources






@Mav: That's been bothering me as well. The first portrait, Square's in-game portrait, and illustration all allude to a reddish brown hair.

[Kagebunji]

I get what you are saying, and I know how white reflects light, but it looks just strange here. Dark looks far better to me, pal.

[GeneralStrife]

This bickering is pointless.

[Zozma]

okay, we should end the discussion of the portrait, i agree that its pointless, they are both 16 colors and to be honest i don't think once its in the game that it would make much difference which one is used, they both look great, anyone has the option of using either one now.

there are plenty of peoples custom portraits that could use a smash touch up far more than this one, but who am I to say...

[Smash]

Back from the local waterpark and now this. Looks like R999 likes to argument.

I always like a good argument too.. Wait. Smash rejoice, this ones about spriting!  

gogogogogogo

1. The work on the hair is very nice (but so is the original's).

The original one looks pixelated, and doesn't have the right textures achieved. Round and clay-like don't work right for hair.

2. Unnecessary highlights in the hair though.

Highlights on hair are definetly FFT-esque, and are nessesary to add depth and sharpness.

3. The brighter skin tone does suit her more however, it might not be coherent beside other FFT portraits.

Either way i'd look the same. Filler critiques go.

4. The "black shading" near the neck, why?

To add depth. Otherwise it would look flat.

5. Piece of hair shading is off to the right of right eye.

When working on faces, even the smallest of details could change the final image of the work in drastic ways. Details like shortening the eyes, eyebrows and a smaller mouth all contribute as one to help add a female touch in this case, unlike the standart atributes. These small details have to be in fact, small, to not derail too far from the style, which in this case they didn't save for extreme nitpicking.

6. Mouth/Lips is shortened unnecessarily.

See above.

7.Natural is one thing, FFT art is another. Too much highlight = too much contrast = not FFT style. Either style is unnatural if you have to use that argument. The black shading is unrealistic. Any good artist would know this; Smash probably made a mistake on this part. As for the expression, again we should remind ourselves that this is FFT, not RandomGameX. I am not totally fond of Smash's portrait's shading; the blacks are way too dark, even if using that "realistic" argument. They have more contrast indeed, but just a bit too much.

These and too many more prove "too much highlight = too much contrast = not FFT style" is false. There are both low contrasted portraits as they are with contrast in FFT. As a personal preference, I find the latter good-looking and fitting FFT's dark nature.

The black shading is unrealistic. Any good artist would know this; Smash probably made a mistake on this part.

It happens that, the Baroque style of painting who was developed during past ages seems to be a favorite of mine when dealing with such topics, especially when refering to Tenebrism, my favorite.



Or you could forget the argument and use whichever you like, or mix parts.