Advice For Making Good Status Bar Faces

[Domestic-Weirdo]

Lately, I've been attempting to create custom status bar face graphics. Understandably, I noticed that many alternate face graphics in various mods tended to be reminiscent of Doomguy, in the sense that they were either directly derived from the default graphics or they shared characteristics with him (i.e. chiseled jawline, expressions that convey a no non-sense attitude).

 

I wanted to create a set of faces of some average, laidback guy. I found an image that was being used as a banner of a forum that I sometimes hang out in and decided that it met my criteria as a good base for my laidback character. Eventually, these graphics inspired me to actually make a whole mod around this guy so I've also been working on modifying some of the enemies and things of that nature.

 

 

I recently shared my preliminary results with this forum and the responses were mostly positive. However, there were a handful who thought it looked bad and needed improvement. The problem is that I honestly can't see how to improve the quality of these faces as my talent as a pixel artist is pretty mediocre (and I'm probably being too generous) and this cartoon appearance is about the best I can do. Considering that these custom faces were the root of this mod, I feel as though a good portion of its appeal rests upon this.

 

What would be some good advice for improving this set of faces? I would rather learn some artist tips so I can improve these graphics myself but I'm also willing to accept direct help if anyone feels up to the task.

Edited January 1, 2022 by Domestic-Weirdo

[Spendoragon]

Looks like a good start. Something you definitely want to do to improve these is touch up the hair around the ear area and the ear itself. It still looks anti-aliased and fuzzy compared to the rest of the pixels on the faces, they are crisp and pixelated and end up visually conflicting. The nose and mouth could be angled a little bit more so they look softer and rounder which would fit the cartoon aesthetic better and not appear so rigid. Just my 2 cents.

[Domestic-Weirdo]

13 hours ago, Spendoragon said:

Looks like a good start. Something you definitely want to do to improve these is touch up the hair around the ear area and the ear itself. It still looks anti-aliased and fuzzy compared to the rest of the pixels on the faces, they are crisp and pixelated and end up visually conflicting. The nose and mouth could be angled a little bit more so they look softer and rounder which would fit the cartoon aesthetic better and not appear so rigid. Just my 2 cents.

Thanks, I will come back at some point with a updated set of graphics.

 

Just a further question, I learned that some of the people who didn't like the faces I have done simply didn't like the aesthetic it was going for as they think that the style is out of place in Doom. Would retaining the style while complementing it with a more detailed or variable skin be a good compromise?

[Doomkid]

Most modified graphics you see around the place, even the ones that look good, clash quite a bit with Doom’s style; I wouldn’t worry about that all too much. The reference art is cartoony, so turning that realistic-yet-pixelated would be a hell of a job. I think, beyond what Spendoragon mentioned, you would benefit from adding a little more shading to his skin (use more than just one light tone and one darker tone and go for a bit of a gradient at the edges).
 

Beyond that I think you’d have to change the style altogether, which would defeat the purpose, or at least would require you to use a new reference pic and start from scratch, and that in turn would be a shame because IMO the sprites have charm to them!

[Domestic-Weirdo]

Sorry for the wait, just been dealing with other things lately. I've redone all of the faces shared here by cleaning up the ear area while also improving the gradient effects around his cheek and forehead.

 

 

I didn't make any changes to the mouth or nose as I'm still deciding on how to should change them. However, I do have some rough test sprites sporting a more pronounced ear while the first one tries out a lighter outline color.

 

Edited January 17, 2022 by Domestic-Weirdo

[Domestic-Weirdo]

I have finally managed to finish the rest of the HUD faces.

 

               

 

My main concern with these ones are the facial accessories and the blood. Is there anything I should ty to improve upon in regards to the quality of the eyepatch and bandages? Should any of the faces be bloodier?

 

Edited February 7, 2022 by Domestic-Weirdo
Removed extra sprite image