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Description
This is the second installment in the Smashified Series! You can watch the time lapse video here: (With Commentary | Without Commentary )

This one was a ton of fun, but also very challenging! I've never really done anything with this much metallic and reflective material, so trying to capture that was definitely tough. In the words of Sakurai, "Maintaining his NES look was a top priority." I wanted to capture the essence of his sprite while still staying true to the promo art as well, so the body proportions fall kind of in between the two. Plus, I wanted to add some details that you might find on real medieval armor to some degree. Trying to interpret a character in a new way is always difficult, because I want to stay true to the original artist's vision as much as possible. Given the style of the official Shovel Knight promo art, I did have to kind of reinvent some things, such as the leg armor.

I was a bit torn between this pose and a running pose. I feel like Shovel Knight's run cycle is quite iconic and demonstrates a lot of character. However, I ended up doing something that pays homage to his primary method of attack: shoveling. I wanted a pose that looks a bit like he's rearing to start charging headlong into battle, shovel first. I also wanted to capture the rigidity of his movements as an 8bit character, which is a quality that I think he should share with Megaman, were he to be in the game.

Trying to figure out ways to distress the armor in a way that looks convincingly tactile was also an interesting challenge. I plan to post a tutorial of my findings, so stay tuned for that.

Overall, it was a lot of fun, and I hope I met your expectations!

I also have an announcement! I'll be partnering with Chris Sczcesiul Zesiul to produce the art for Smashified going forward! The goal is to be able to make more characters more quickly, and I'm confident in his abilities to replicate the Smash style. I hope you guys are all looking forward to what we make together.

As always, if you want to suggest a character, the best way to do that is in the comments on the YouTube video or on twitter. Wherever you post your suggestion, make sure to use the hashtag (#smashified ) so that it's easier for me to find your suggestions.

Also, special thanks to Chris for giving me really great feedback during the creation process. He's a cool dude.

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EDIT: Got some questions about Photoshop brush settings. I'll detail those here:

base shading:
Default Soft Round pressure control on opacity (occasional I'd up the hardness when necessary)

distressing:
Round Angle Low Stiffness
Round Fan Thin Bristles
Various brushes from Chris Wahl's Mega Pack (including soft scratches, soft grunge, some others)
A tool preset by Ray Frenden called Pencil: Real - 03 HB from his Inking Brush Tool Presets

Other stuff. Feel free to download and use them for stuff, but please credit if you publish it!

Description
This is the second installment in the Smashified Series! You can watch the time lapse video here: (With Commentary | Without Commentary )

This one was a ton of fun, but also very challenging! I've never really done anything with this much metallic and reflective material, so trying to capture that was definitely tough. In the words of Sakurai, "Maintaining his NES look was a top priority." I wanted to capture the essence of his sprite while still staying true to the promo art as well, so the body proportions fall kind of in between the two. Plus, I wanted to add some details that you might find on real medieval armor to some degree. Trying to interpret a character in a new way is always difficult, because I want to stay true to the original artist's vision as much as possible. Given the style of the official Shovel Knight promo art, I did have to kind of reinvent some things, such as the leg armor.

I was a bit torn between this pose and a running pose. I feel like Shovel Knight's run cycle is quite iconic and demonstrates a lot of character. However, I ended up doing something that pays homage to his primary method of attack: shoveling. I wanted a pose that looks a bit like he's rearing to start charging headlong into battle, shovel first. I also wanted to capture the rigidity of his movements as an 8bit character, which is a quality that I think he should share with Megaman, were he to be in the game.

Trying to figure out ways to distress the armor in a way that looks convincingly tactile was also an interesting challenge. I plan to post a tutorial of my findings, so stay tuned for that.

Overall, it was a lot of fun, and I hope I met your expectations!

I also have an announcement! I'll be partnering with Chris Sczcesiul Zesiul to produce the art for Smashified going forward! The goal is to be able to make more characters more quickly, and I'm confident in his abilities to replicate the Smash style. I hope you guys are all looking forward to what we make together.

As always, if you want to suggest a character, the best way to do that is in the comments on the YouTube video or on twitter. Wherever you post your suggestion, make sure to use the hashtag (#smashified ) so that it's easier for me to find your suggestions.

Also, special thanks to Chris for giving me really great feedback during the creation process. He's a cool dude.

--------

EDIT: Got some questions about Photoshop brush settings. I'll detail those here:

base shading:
Default Soft Round pressure control on opacity (occasional I'd up the hardness when necessary)

distressing:
Round Angle Low Stiffness
Round Fan Thin Bristles
Various brushes from Chris Wahl's Mega Pack (including soft scratches, soft grunge, some others)
A tool preset by Ray Frenden called Pencil: Real - 03 HB from his Inking Brush Tool Presets

Other stuff. Feel free to download and use them for stuff, but please credit if you publish it!