DAY 7
So the first week is officially over and let's just say that with the amount of progress I made today yesterday's disaster all seems like a bad dream. Today was all about fleshing out the main character sketch I drew out on paper. (which I did yesterday as I laid in bed before going to sleep, I was going to share an earlier update today to show it off but I got so into the vibe of making my character come to life in Asesprite that I just kept working until the end haha)
It's a very rough sketch of what it eventually became but that was the vague idea I had in my head.
So with that vague concept I decided to get to work in Asesprite as I just couldn't seem to have an idea for the main body to flow from my pencil to the paper.
I started out with making the guidelines for the body outline, as I did on my paper sketch.
With that done I made separate layer to draw the actual character on to and got to work.
I added the few elements I had in mind and on paper, namely the idea of the character wearing some kind of headphones in the shape of musical notes as mentioned in earlier devlogs music is the main theme I'm going for in this game.
Added some colour and hair detail as I continued on, I tried a whole lot of different ideas but I knew I wanted my character to be anthropomorphic in nature.
As I continued on something about the colour, form of the face and the musical notes as headphones, as well as their placement, on the earlier version of the character just didn't sit well with me. So I went back to the drawing board trying and changing around a whole lot of things. This colour and facial design just immediately clicked with me as it really came close to the cat-like design I had in mind originally.
I experimented with different eye designs as well as adding and removing some details on the scruffy furs edges of the face.
After a whole lot of drawing and erasing designs for the eyes gain I settled on the simple yet elegant design suggested to me by other jammers. (shoutout to everyone on the Discord server, you've been great sources of feedback and inspiration so far !) With that done I went to work on the outline of the main body.
I eventually thought about giving my character clothes but after a whole lot of experimenting and trying things out as hoodies and hats I felt it just didn't fit with the theme of elegant simplicity that sprung in mind as I worked on and on. Also something about the musical notes didn't sit well with me as at first they looked like little horns to me, which wasn't really my intention as this is the main character and I have a playful, happy mood for him/her in mind. But as I showed this design progress to other jammers on the Discord server once again and someone mentioned they loved the ears, which left me confused at first, I had a real revelation moment. So I took this idea and ran with it, changing it around so it made sense for the cat design. I kept the subtle musical note inspired design to keep it in line with the rest of the theme I am going for.
After I coloured in the body it still felt empty to me in a way so I messed around with the shading as well as adding some more music inspired details to my little feline protagonist. Suddenly it just clicked and I continued on with renewed energy and inspiration, adding a little clothing in the form of a scarf and a little tail. Finally I finished the entire process by adding some more details in the form of extra shading, body details and contouring.
And just like that my little protagonist was born and ready to go into his musical adventures:
Overall I must say I am very pleased with the way this turned out as even if it is far away from the original idea and paper sketch I had at the beginning. The spirit and essence of what I wanted to achieve with the protagonist is very much alive here. A playful, cute anthropomorphic protagonist with music inspired elements thrown in to fit with the theme of the game. (note the circle on his/her belly is inspired by the cover of a speaker, and as mentioned earlier the musical notes are still there even if in an entirely different form than originally envisioned ;) )
As a final note on the design I twisted the legs inside out a bit and kept the hips dimensions a little off on purpose as this specific sprite as this will be my reference when I'm making the walking/idle/jumping sprite and animation. This is the so called T-pose for this character as used in 3D game models and animation if you will. I don't know how many of these sprite and animations I will be able to finish for the final prototype demo I have as end goal for this jam but we'll see. My goal for this jam was and still is: making a simple playable prototype demo consisting of just the basics. Especially since I already know I will be expanding upon this game concept, it's world and characters,... after the jam. And who knows, maybe in the future some day this lovely little cat will star in his/her own full game ! But for now, let's keep the scale small and achievable during this jam, which so far has been an absolute joy !
And just like that another day full of new lessons learned, experience gained and progress achieved is nearing it's end (without writing a single line of code this time haha :p).
Before I go, feel free to leave a comment with a potential name idea you might for this little guy. I have a few ideas of my own in my head but nothing final so far and it'd be nice to get you all involved even more in the creation of this world. I can't wait to see what you all can come up with ! ;D
Have a nice day/evening/night and see you all tomorrow !