exploring something hyperdense and with only moderately distorted proportions (i'd describe it as less about being cartoony, and more about communicating masses + materials at this resolution).
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yeah it is! you often have to make some accommodations to make things work at spec. things get nudged just so in order to make certain masses identifiable or certain outlines possible. and motion is another layer to that- often you lose density.
I started respriting nethack's default tileset, and I went straight for "cartoony" and it did make me stop and wonder if that was appropriate, because I like the idea of more proportional characters as well. Your approach is very nice, definitely destinct from something like Qud
i'm not sure i'll do this, i may do something closer to the more distorted sprites i have in the sprite set i've been working on. they make a lot of sense in many ways! i think they're more relatable too.
I just started working on them after I learned you can use custom BMPs. It's probably going to be a side hobby for a while. Maybe then I'll be able to fully understand how to play the game haha
i'm trying to learn right now too! underneath all the opacity there's a really interesting game with a lot of unusual characterful design work in it...
I think that, genuinely, is the greatest thing to emphasize in such low resolution too - and frankly, considering Ulfsire's self-admitted prior lack of experience with pixel art, the style is indeed worthy of inspiration haha. Yours is very distinct too!
speaking as someone with an art background, "technical skill" is really misunderstood and i often have more love for art from people without that background! it's just as human and deep and expressive.
oh, same! im entirely self-taught as well, and have found that to bring me much more boons than constraint. In fact, Ulf's style in itself is by far one of the best ive seen in a game, in a while
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If these were animated and four directional, I'd be sliding into your DMs trying to persuade you to do custom sprites for me! j/k