The Droch Fae

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Urs
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The Droch Fae

Post by Urs »

The Droch Fae

The Droch Fae are the descendants of the Sidhe and the Issaelfr in the world of Orbivm. They also aren't very nice, have a hatred of other species, and in general could be considered Dark Elves, even though they're not.

For a better description read this:
(By Turin)
After peace came to the northern lands at the beginning of Saecula Foederum, the elven people were of two minds. Many, especially those from the southern hills of the Issaelfr and those Sidhe who moved westward into Silvia, began to trade with the men living in the Marauder Forests. They saw the peace as almost an unofficial alliance. Some, however, particularly those on the northern end of the Sidhe peninsula who had often suffered from Marauder sea raids and those Issaelfr who had benefited least from the prior friendship between them and the men, saw the peace as little more than a temporary cessation of hostilities.
Still, these were merely differences of opinion, of no practical import, until, several years after the peace, the councils of the Sidhe and Issaelfr agreed to meet on neutral ground - Silvia - to discuss the fate of the two nations. There, it was agreed that the ancient disagreement between them was senseless, and that they ought to unite under one banner. Thus was founded the High Elven nation, ruled by a twelve-man council of both Sidhe and Issaelfr lords, with its capital at the old Lavinian city of Portum Frigae. The council immediately sent emissaries to the men living in the forests west of them, proposing making the peace between them truly permanent, and offering an exchange of not only goods, but ideas - technology, fey wisdom, and more. In essence, an alliance, though with no explicit agreement to aid the other in battle against a third party.
Many things happened when news of this reached the different areas inhabited by elves. In the city of Alfheim, the local nobility grew furious, for obvious reasons; they declared they would recognize Portum Frigae's nominal authority over Alfheim, but expected to be in practice completely autonomous. The Issaelfr in the lands east of the capital, upon hearing they were in an alliance with men, had a similar reaction, not only because they would suffer from having the center of elven society moved to Silvia, but because they had no love of men - their alliance with the Marauders had only ensured they could not be friends with the Sidhe across the strait connecting Iceswept Bay and the Great Ocean. The Sidhe of the Northern March, who had suffered the most at the hands of the Marauders, were horrified at the prospect of allying with "those damned men". Their four Thunderblades rushed to Mount Stormkeep, where they declared that at least some Sidhe were willing to reject the absurd decrees of Portum Frigae.
On the other hand, those Issaelfr who lived in the southern hills had been friends with the men for hundreds of years, and embraced the new alliance as a continuation of the old. The Sidhe of the Southern March had never been harassed by the Marauders, and had some respect for men based on their dealings with the Dardanoi. The Western March had been ruled by Vaniyera, slayer of men, for half a century, but before that had been led by Leithan, the most open-minded of the Sidhe, for much longer. Uneasily, it accepted the rule of the High Elven Council.

However, this thread is not about the faction, but about the art. For discussion of the faction, register and comment here. (Or just follow the link in my sig)

Please do, however, critique the art not only in terms of how good it is, but also in how it suits the faction. If you feel something doesn't fit, say so.

Anyway, this is going to be my main spriting project till around summer, which is when I'll help out West's and Devman's RPG, Tales of Aeldaria.

And also, Unit Tree to be found here. Once some more of the L1's are made I'll make a cool one.

Oh, and also, here's the first actual sprite:
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Level 1 Standard Swordfighter
Level 1 Standard Swordfighter
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turin
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Re: The Droch Fae

Post by turin »

A good start, but the armor, specifically how it connects to the neck and head, looks weird. Almost like he doesn't really have a chin...
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Urs
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Re: The Droch Fae

Post by Urs »

Yeah, I actually agree with that. The problem was I didn't know how the armor connected either, so I just guessed.

This ought to fix it, though.
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fae-warrior.png
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turin
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Re: The Droch Fae

Post by turin »

Yeah, better.

Though, is it just me, or is his head smaller than the normal size?
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And I hate stupid people.
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Vendanna
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Re: The Droch Fae

Post by Vendanna »

turin wrote:Yeah, better.

Though, is it just me, or is his head smaller than the normal size?
Its because the head is proportionate to the rest of the body, normal wenoth sprites usually have bigger heads, tought I must say that it doesn't bother me as it is.

A nice looking sprite, I like it and the posture feels natural too. :D
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Re: The Droch Fae

Post by Shadow »

Not bad the hair could need a few extra shades though. :mrgreen:
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Urs
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Re: The Droch Fae

Post by Urs »

Well, I ended up redoing the archer a couple of times. First it wasn't elven enough, then not droch enough, so I ended up on a compromise.

I'm not sure how happy I am with it - please comment, it would really help (although I heard that the less comments, the better it is, so...)

Thanks to everyone who did comment.

About the shades of hair - uh, yeah, I should work on that. I'll do both the archer and the warrior at the same time then.
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The Archer. He shoots arrows at stuff.
The Archer. He shoots arrows at stuff.
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doofus-01
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Re: The Droch Fae

Post by doofus-01 »

Mostly OK, I think.

Maybe his arms are a little too short, or his legs and torso are a little too long. If you moved his eyes over a pixel or two, he wouldn't be as south-facing.
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Re: The Droch Fae

Post by turin »

He sits very low in the hex.

It's good overall; I think his chest and the strap across it could use more shading (right now it looks like one solid color).
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And I hate stupid people.
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Urs
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Re: The Droch Fae

Post by Urs »

Archer 2.0. I tried to address the concerns people brought up, as well as some of my own.

Oh yeah, and they're all huge. But that's semi on purpose. The Level twos will be only about 1 pixel taller, but with cooler equipment and pose.
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yes, he has a metal shoulder pad. He stole one from the warrior.
yes, he has a metal shoulder pad. He stole one from the warrior.
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Re: The Droch Fae

Post by Shadow »

You still used a too limited color scheme. Experiment with it, some brighter colors (few) on the right places will work wonders. Experiment a bit.
... all romantics meet the same fate someday
Cynical and drunk and boring someone in some dark cafe ...
All good dreamers pass this way some day
Hidin’ behind bottles in dark cafes
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Re: The Droch Fae

Post by Urs »

Brighter highlights... that looks pretty good, actually:
archfigh.png
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And with experimenting in different colors - I don't want them to appear as if they can afford very many, bright clean looking clothes. Rather slightly tattered, more subdued colored clothes.

But on experimenting, I did try something different with the highlights on the new revision - Light blue for green, and light green for some of the reds. Makes it look brighter.

Also, for anyone who actually reads this topic - I've been working on a Filidh, but the first one I made _really_ didn't cut it, so I scrapped it and started from scratch. It's looking pretty good... so far.
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Re: The Droch Fae

Post by Sapient »

Those highlights are very pillow-shade-looking to me... :( please go back... the sprite looked fairly nice before, except for the odd lack of detail on the face and the weird roundish appearance of the boots. I agree it could use some more color details but that isn't the right way to go about it.

Another point to consider is how does it compare to the official sprite sizes for units of similar race and level?
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Urs
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Re: The Droch Fae

Post by Urs »

Getting one sprite a week done. Not good.

Anyway, here comes the Filidh (the mage of the faction):
Mage unit - darker version of Sidhe Raindancer, with some Frost Elf thrown in.
Mage unit - darker version of Sidhe Raindancer, with some Frost Elf thrown in.
filidh.png (1.28 KiB) Viewed 10379 times
My thoughts on his attack are going in the direction of "snowstorm" or "hail". Haloes are gonna be fun. :twisted:
Sapient wrote:Those highlights are very pillow-shade-looking to me... please go back... the sprite looked fairly nice before, except for the odd lack of detail on the face and the weird roundish appearance of the boots. I agree it could use some more color details but that isn't the right way to go about it.
Ah well. I'd see what everyone else thinks, but I'd need comments for that... (hint, hint)
Sapient wrote:Another point to consider is how does it compare to the official sprite sizes for units of similar race and level?
They're all above mainline size. However, they're going to be in the Feudal Era, which is more powerful than mainline, so I think it's okay. Also, as I said, there won't be much increase in size over the levels - rather, increase in equipment, clothing, and overall coolness.
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Re: The Droch Fae

Post by turin »

:? The Filidh seems considerably smaller than the other two; is that intentional?

Also, I agree about having them bigger than the normal size for level 1 sprites to a certain extent, but these guys are 45, 47 pixels tall - I'd prefer for them to be at least a few pixels shorter. They'd still be bigger than the units in the IE if they were 42 for the smaller units, 44 for the larger.
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And I hate stupid people.
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