Creativity - 3/5
I love Floatzel, and I really love this design! You've applied the theme on a 'mon that could totally use a Mega. You've followed the Mega theme of "bigger, stronger, longer" that Pokemon tends to use with creating its Megas. The coloring was adventurous and looks great for greens, but thematically, I think it needs a tie-in--what makes Floatzel go from orange to green? A hint to this would really help tie it in as Floatzel's mega.
I think that you've done the green successfully for what it is, and that's saying something. Pokemon tends to use some really gross greens for their shinies, but you've chosen a nice one, and managed to find a surprisingly nicely-complimenting beige to go with it. These two contrasts are nice!
The part where contrast becomes a little more murky are on the dark reds. You have dark outlines on the outward-facing edges of the floating device, but the parts that would have dark outlines caused by shadows would be the parts where the floats touch the skin. When first looking at the sprite, it also looked like the red chest marking was part of the device. Zooming in, I see you did a little bit of darkness to differentiating them, but this should be darkened up a little to let the viewer know! The same goes for other parts of the float. You can use a lighter outline where the float would be in the light on the other sides.
I might consider a lighter outline for parts of the fins. Typically, outlines will try to take into account the color of the object they're on and what light that object's in. Look at Floatzel's base sprite, where the left side of the belly above our left foot curls up into the line of its slimming stomach. It starts off dark where it would be in shadow, and as it goes up to where the belly color would be in the light, it gets a little lighter. I think you could use some of this on the fins! Define the spots of the outline that are light with a light grey, and make only the shadows darker.
I'd darken the shadows on the red of the float a little bit, too--the part in shadow is a little more gray, but not darker, so it's hard to tell that there are shadows there behind the head from a distance. Consider some highlights and shadows on the claws, too, to help shape them a little more. Nothing big--just a line of light or a line of dark or two would make them look wicked!
Your forms are nice here! You've extended Floatzel's little head fin down to its nose in a nice blaze. I also like how you've elongated the arm fins, and the shapes that you've chosen for them! I think I would have considered positioning them a little differently--where the one on our right overlaps with the beige sub-fins, the green body, and the red of the float makes for a bit of a confusing first impression. I had to stare at the other arm for a moment to realize what the shapes were. Arcing this blade a little more to our right would have helped show the edges of the float without the small fins interfering with it.
I love the little claws you've scratched in on the feet--they look very menacing, and have a great shape to show that they're rounded with the perspective of where they sit.
You said that scratching isn't your best area, but that's okay! What really helps me when I'm adding onto a sprite is to stop and look at what the base sprite I'm working off of does. How does it outline the figure? How does it shape its curves? On this one, I'd look at our left side of its lower body, right above our left leg, and reference that when deciding how to outline what you scratch! The biggest area I saw on this one was the elongated fins that you created. On our right one, we see some dark dotting that seems a little scattered and uncertain. I'd definitely try to outline it like they did the belly. Notice how they step in each pixel and line of the outline to give the illusion of a curve. Once you commit to having an outline, I'd suggest sticking with it unless you have a reason not to (like a part blending into another, lighting, or the seams between two things becoming intentionally unclear), so I'd love to see that outline on the fin set a little more in stone, or at least the parts you have given a bit more order!
I see you've denoted a little line that divides the fin--this is a great, subtle detail that gives it some dimension and keeps it from being a flat shape. I also appreciate how you've created the white lines in the red. These really helped keep the float from being flat, and you also curved those lines great! They wrap nicely around the illusion of a curved 3D object.
Overall, this was a really solid attempt, especially for someone who feels like they're not great at scratching! Making curves look nice in pixel form is a tough job, but you did great here. I think refining some of your outlining on what you scratch will help you a lot. You're on a great path, and I'd love to see more of your sprites!
URPG Staff
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