CaS Creations (11 originals, 1 recreation) - would like artistic feedback

[WindupSkeleton]

NOT TAKEN RECENT EDITS INTO CONSIDERATION. IGNORE AT WILL.

Cammy:

Her 1P is a nice design, filled with little details, and yet it somehow comes off as a little bland. Perhaps adding a tertiary colour would help liven things up, and maybe add a gradient to the belt? I've noticed the golden sticker which is nice, but it'd be better with some closer screenshots.
Also, the feathers on her shoulder look a little out of place. I get why they're there but they just look a bit odd.

Her 2P doesn't match her first theme at all, so I'm assuming that's the point? Either way I think it's a little heavy on the pattern. Maybe tone it down ever so slightly?

Irena:

Her 1P is fine. Nothing I can really say here; the skirt and hat save it from being generic, and the colouring is nicely done.

Her 2P is interesting. Though a lack of diamonds considering the look you were going for. The patterning on the shield/helmet looks a bit odd - Are they suppose to be blood splatters?

Maya:

White/Gold and Purple is a nice set of colours to work with, though I find the trouser patterns to be a bit garish and distracting. Other than that she's pretty solid.

Her 2P mostly needs that sword desaturising before anything else. It's nice, if not a bit bland. Reminds me of Saints Row.

Juno:

I find her 1P to be a little bit too bright. The patterns are garish and they clash, and the colourng seems inconsistant. The bright top half and then the dark leg warmers throws everything off. This is my least favourite so far.

However her 2P is my favourite. Maybe it's the subdued colours, maybe it's because I'm bored of Asian-inspired designs, maybe it's because I just love pirates?
Noticing the clever use of the chain to bind that serpent-shoulder pad into place. Very clever and lovingly subtle. I also like the use of the jacket with those sleeves, as it makes the blue tops look like one item.
Not sure I like what you've done with the bottoms though. The extra textures seem to betray the simplicity of the look. I'd suggest using other patterns to make them look weathered and faded, rather the using the pocket-sticker to make them more detailed.

Astor:

I actually really like his designs. Though I feel I shouldn't. The 1P fits the description perfectly, and the 2P SHOULD be a horrible mess of eye-damaging horror, but somehow reminds me of old-school fighting games, so I kind of love it.

Orchid:

Her 1P is generic and kind of bores me. Red/Black/Gold/Evil. It's been done before and there's nothing too different here. It's not good or bad, it just is.

Her 2P reminds me of Ultimecia... In a good way. The only thing I wanted to mention was how good that blade looked. It's a neat little design and seems to lack any clipping issues. Very cleverly done - Might I request the specifications for it?

Dyne:

I dislike him. There's nothing specific, there's no real reason, his design just doesn't gel with me. Sincerest apologies.

Vallure:

She's nice enough for a demonic character, though as I typically don't like those I can't fairly critique it. There's nothing that stands out that I can really highlight. It's a strong design but it does nothing for me.

Sodone:

I'm currently having a love/hate relationship with this design. Parts of it I like, parts of it I don't. What those parts are, I couldn't say. Honestly the only coherant thought I could manage was "His 2P reminds me of a tiger."

Moklan:

Badass pirate. Thumbs up. Love the blue/gold here.

Jet-pack future leather-fist. Can't say I like this one, it looks a little bit too 'X-Men' for my tastes. I also think you should make the leather pattern smaller, to give a more realistic feel.

Robustus:

One of the rare cases where such garishly bright colours are understandable. Though I still think it needs a bit more synergy. Love the foot-spike though.

Ninja costume is bang-on perfect. Excellent job.

 

[TsunamiBye]

Take heed to Le_Bello's advice here. Even though we have different tastes, I can agree with him.

 

[WindupSkeleton]

Take heed to Le_Bello's advice here. Even though we have different tastes, I can agree with him.

Such kindness from Pocky-Yoshi! I know we're both fans of simplicity and subtlety over anything else.

But you'll find this a lot with any review you'll get. Whereas people like Vilarcane prefer more textures and detail, I (and Pocky) believe that you should only go into detail where it's really appropriate, and sometimes simple is best.

Neither of us are as wrong or as right as the other. The best advice I can give, is merely that you take criticism into account, see how it stacks up against your original artistic ideals, and then make any changes based on that. In short, if you don't like something, don't do it, but at least understand why it's being said.

 

[Jess]

I came in here expecting basic creations when I read the title. But I was pleasantly surprised.​

​

Your characters have a definitive theme of pattern and clothing placement that distinguishes them from most of the random CAS you see running around and make them your own. And they're among the best creations I've seen on these forums in terms of original Create-A-Soul characters. They don't feel gimmicky with special items either, you used them in subtle and good ways.​

​

If you really want feedback the only real thing I can say is that some are definitely better than others and some look a little too cluttered with erratic patterns/colors/equipment.​

 

[Raskall95]

Wow, some really nice stuff here, I absolutely adore Orchids 2P the use of Ivy's 2P garb and Gorgon is great. You have some really unique stuff here!

The only thing that makes me kind of dislike this is some of them seem too pattern heavy, like Cammy's 2P the pattern is too much and the outfit is visually over powering.

Also if you change the colour of Juno's shoulders to make it a more realistic gold colour without it being too orange or yellow trying using a colour that's something like, 6,9,11 and it looks pretty good and looks very realistic.

That's the only thing I can critique on that's bad, you have really good gear combinations I've never thought of , such as Orchids 2P like I said, keep up the good work, and use less "In your face patterning"

Can't wait too see more! :)

 

[Idoll]

I see you did Alex from Clockwork Orange.
I've been wanting to make him for a while now.
How did you get that crotch piece on there?

 

[Jeric-S]

Oh man, Le Bello? In my thread? Gotta say I've read up on your CaS advice and it really helped out, especially with my lack of knowledge of the stickers that add texture. (Dyne 2P's torso only looks cool because there's a giant zipper right there).

Cammy

Spoiler

Perhaps adding a tertiary colour would help liven things up, and maybe add a gradient to the belt? I've noticed the golden sticker which is nice, but it'd be better with some closer screenshots.
Also, the feathers on her shoulder look a little out of place. I get why they're there but they just look a bit odd.

Her 2P doesn't match her first theme at all, so I'm assuming that's the point? Either way I think it's a little heavy on the pattern. Maybe tone it down ever so slightly?

Hmm - is there a sticker that can add a gradient? Because IIRC, if you give a pattern to the robe's belt, it has a red shine to it that messes with the entire look. I think I can do a tertiary colour, but the outfit is so simple that I'm not sure what I'd do with it. Usually I like to have three main colours for the following roles: Filling, outlines, and metallic. (It usually doesn't show, but my CaS always start out with that basic plan).
I see what you mean about the 2P pattern - I want to change it to something that still has both black and gold in it. However, I think I can change the cape/hood to only have two subtle shades of black - should make it look a bit less chaotic.

Irena

Spoiler

Her 2P is interesting. Though a lack of diamonds considering the look you were going for. The patterning on the shield/helmet looks a bit odd - Are they suppose to be blood splatters?

Huh. Either the screenshot didn't serve its purpose or I didn't make it easy enough to see. The pattern on her dress/boots has that diamond thingamajig on it - though now I might enlarge it to make it more visible. The sides of her shoulders both have diamonds on them - but I guess the shine of the metal makes them hard to see.
Blood on the helmet, huh? I sure didn't expect anyone to say that. Her helmet is split into four quadrants (if you look at it from the top). Two opposite corners are black while the other two corners are red (hence the left and right views on the screenshot). Not sure if you see what I mean. Definitely gonna try to make the diamond motif more noticeable.

Maya

Spoiler

White/Gold and Purple is a nice set of colours to work with, though I find the trouser patterns to be a bit garish and distracting. Other than that she's pretty solid.
Her 2P mostly needs that sword desaturising before anything else. It's nice, if not a bit bland. Reminds me of Saints Row.

For 1P, I think the black inside the flame stickers should be turned white, then it'd look a bit less out-of-place? I probably just left it as it was because she didn't always look like this. Here's her from sometime in April:

With 2P, I'm willing to change that when an idea comes to mind. I don't, however, want to make another samurai costume. Let's see if I can keep it modern while making it look "better". And yeah, purple lightsaber.

Juno:

Spoiler

I find her 1P to be a little bit too bright. The patterns are garish and they clash, and the colourng seems inconsistant. The bright top half and then the dark leg warmers throws everything off. This is my least favourite so far.

However her 2P is my favourite. Maybe it's the subdued colours, maybe it's because I'm bored of Asian-inspired designs, maybe it's because I just love pirates?
Noticing the clever use of the chain to bind that serpent-shoulder pad into place. Very clever and lovingly subtle. I also like the use of the jacket with those sleeves, <b>as it makes the blue tops look like one item.</b>
Not sure I like what you've done with the bottoms though. The extra textures seem to betray the simplicity of the look. I'd suggest using other patterns to make them look weathered and faded, rather the using the pocket-sticker to make them more detailed.

I see what you mean about the 1P. I wanted to give her armoured boots instead, to match the top half, but I couldn't find any that were suitable for the costume (Silver Knight grieves kind of work, but they're too bulky). I'll give it another shot, see what I can come up with.
YES! Glad someone else mentioned that the sleeves and shirt look like the same thing. That's what I was going for.
And hmm - I wanted to add blue to the chaps, but it wouldn't make sense unless they looked like they were a different material on the same object. Kind of looking at Cervantes' pirate pants, I figured, "Yo, let's give her a giant pocket." I'll see what else can be done about incorporating blue into the chaps, or maybe if a boot/stocking combination can look even better than what I've got.

Astor:

Spoiler

I actually really like his designs. Though I feel I shouldn't. The 1P fits the description perfectly, and the 2P SHOULD be a horrible mess of eye-damaging horror, but somehow reminds me of old-school fighting games, so I kind of love it.

Old school fighting games, huh? Like, when everyone had crazy bright colours? Huh. Wouldn't put him among the Darkstalkers cast, but the colours kind of fit the part.

Orchid:

Spoiler

Her 1P is generic and kind of bores me. Red/Black/Gold/Evil. It's been done before and there's nothing too different here. It's not good or bad, it just is.

Her 2P reminds me of Ultimecia... In a good way. The only thing I wanted to mention was how good that blade looked. It's a neat little design and seems to lack any clipping issues. Very cleverly done - Might I request the specifications for it?

For her 1P - her Soul Edge arm (which I want to incorporate no matter what) pretty much threw me into a red colour scheme. But maybe it'll actually look better if the colours conflicted? Like, Pyrrha just as she first got the arm. I can make Orchid appear to be another unwilling wielder of Soul Edge. I'll play around with some colours, see if anything makes me smile.

2P - the horns had clipping issues with the back of her hand until I added the ornament on top of it. I'll hook you up with the object coordinates when I get the chance.

Dyne/Vallure

Spoiler

I dislike him. There's nothing specific, there's no real reason, his design just doesn't gel with me. Sincerest apologies.

Hah, for real? Ah well, to each his own, I guess. I made his 1P about a month after the game came out and it was the first time I actually combined stickers onto a shirt with an irregular texture to give a certain look to something, so that one has a place in my heart. The 2P is new, as you can see with the DLC stuff, but all I really, really wanted to do was use the DLC helmet with a red halo in it.

Vallure:
She's nice enough for a demonic character, though as I typically don't like those I can't fairly critique it. There's nothing that stands out that I can really highlight. It's a strong design but it does nothing for me.

I've been thinking of redesigning Vallure (specifically 1P) but I'm so afraid of losing the character I originally had. I actually wrote down the 1P formula in case I end up deleting her (though it was also for a request someone made on GFAQs). If I do change her in a big way, I'll post it here.

Sodane/Moklan/Robustus

Spoiler

I'm currently having a love/hate relationship with this design. Parts of it I like, parts of it I don't. What those parts are, I couldn't say. Honestly the only coherant thought I could manage was "His 2P reminds me of a tiger."

Huh. Well pretty much everything Sodane is was built to compliment his giant arm. (well, his 1P design started without the arm, but things changed). His 2P was built around the fact that a lot of my characters stick to two main colours a bit too much, so I decided to jumble things up a bit. I think I can see the tiger thing.

Moklan: Badass pirate. Thumbs up. Love the blue/gold here.
Jet-pack future leather-fist. Can't say I like this one, it looks a little bit too 'X-Men' for my tastes. I also think you should make the leather pattern smaller, to give a more realistic feel.

Pretty much, yeah, badass pirate was my goal.
His 2P is definitely just me experimenting. Didn't even realize the fist was made of leather until now (must've thrown that part while I was half-asleep or something). It should've been metallic.

Robustus: One of the rare cases where such garishly bright colours are understandable. Though I still think it needs a bit more synergy. Love the foot-spike though.
Ninja costume is bang-on perfect. Excellent job.
Synergy, huh? Not quite sure what that means, but since you happen to like him, here's his design from early April:

Whew! That was a lot of writing there. I thank Le Bello for the extensive detail in the information given. Gives me a lot to work with.

 

[Jeric-S]

I came in here expecting basic creations when I read the title. But I was pleasantly surprised.​

​

Your characters have a definitive theme of pattern and clothing placement that distinguishes them from most of the random CAS you see running around and make them your own. And they're among the best creations I've seen on these forums in terms of original Create-A-Soul characters. They don't feel gimmicky with special items either, you used them in subtle and good ways.​

​

If you really want feedback the only real thing I can say is that some are definitely better than others and some look a little too cluttered with erratic patterns/colors/equipment.​

Oh wow, you're makin' me blush! Hah! Well, I guess my efforts paid off, then. I try to make them interesting, but not too crazy - like, with most of them (y'know, the non-Robustus, non-Astor 2P ones) I try to make sure they'd fit in with the rest of the Soulcalibur cast. I think Mitsurugi's 1P has the perfect level of detail and polish.

Wow, some really nice stuff here, I absolutely adore Orchids 2P the use of Ivy's 2P garb and Gorgon is great. You have some really unique stuff here!

The only thing that makes me kind of dislike this is some of them seem too pattern heavy, like Cammy's 2P the pattern is too much and the outfit is visually over powering.

Also if you change the colour of Juno's shoulders to make it a more realistic gold colour without it being too orange or yellow trying using a colour that's something like, 6,9,11 and it looks pretty good and looks very realistic.

That's the only thing I can critique on that's bad, you have really good gear combinations I've never thought of , such as Orchids 2P like I said, keep up the good work, and use less "In your face patterning"

Can't wait too see more! :)

I am very proud of how Orchid 2P ended up. Had no idea it was gonna go in that direction. I think it's like, a consensus, that Cammy's 2P is too strong on the black/yellow pattern. Not sure if I'd give Juno realistic metallic colours, but I do feel that her armour's textures/colours can be better.

I see you did Alex from Clockwork Orange.
I've been wanting to make him for a while now.
How did you get that crotch piece on there?

Errr, wrong topic?

 

[Idoll]

Errr, wrong topic?

Wow... you're so right... -_-
Don't I feel dumb.
I blame it on my browser or mouse because I was sure I clicked the right page...
My deepest apologies.

 

[Jeric-S]

Wow... you're so right... -_-
Don't I feel dumb.
I blame it on my browser or mouse because I was sure I clicked the right page...
My deepest apologies.

Hah, it's all good, don't worry about it.

Anyway, for Le Bello, here's the coordinates for Orchid's arm blade.

Everything's base location is the right hand.
Feathers of Strength
H/V/B = 16/8/-25
W/L/D = -40/-40/50
V/H/A = -85/-180/0

Horn 1
H/V/B = 0/50/-16
W/L/D = 50/50/-50
V/H/A = -5/0/0

Horn 2
Same thing, except Angle is -180

 

[Jeric-S]

Made edits to Juno and Cammy based on recent feedback.

Spoiler

Juno 2P: Chaps pattern change, stickers have been changed. The red spot is supposed to look like a patch.
Juno 1P: Given different boots - armour material slightly changed to a metallic orange
Cammy 2P: Patterns on suit and cape changed for subtlety

I also whipped up this guy in a few minutes since I hadn't used the skeleton suit yet. He's nothing special, but it was worth experimenting with. Forgot to take a screencap of his thumbnail.

Spoiler

Skelzor II

 

[Idoll]

Made edits to Juno and Cammy based on recent feedback.

I also whipped up this guy in a few minutes since I hadn't used the skeleton suit yet. He's nothing special, but it was worth experimenting with. Forgot to take a screencap of his thumbnail.

Spoiler

Skelzor II

I really like this guy.
I did the same thing with the eyeballs on a cowboy skeleton I made, but using earings vertically.
You should make more skeletons, they look really nice.
Could I request a flamboyant one? :3

 

[Jeric-S]

I really like this guy.
I did the same thing with the eyeballs on a cowboy skeleton I made, but using earings vertically.
You should make more skeletons, they look really nice.
Could I request a flamboyant one? :3

Earrings, huh? I oughta try that. Not a huge fan of how the skeletons only work with the armour segments, but heh, I'll make do. Flamboyant? Hmmm. Might be something new to work with, seeing as I immediately went for "zomg dark and edgy". I'll check that idea out sometime tomorrow, will be out of the house in a little while.

 

[WindupSkeleton]

Reminding myself to comment later. Consider this reserved!

 

[Jeric-S]

Made a new character, replacing Mitsuru's slots. She's still a work in progress, but considering I made her on a whim and within an hour, I'm pretty happy with her so far.
She's kind of a recreation, but I allowed myself more artistic freedom than I did with Mitsuru. She is based on Lianshi from Dynasty Warriors 7. Ironic how I deleted Mitsuru only to replace her with another recreation.

Spoiler

In Dynasty Warriors, she fights with a crossbow, so I made her that, thanks completely to Le Bello's thread of CaS tips. I angled it to match up with Cervantes' gun, and it looks great when she fires it off. Despite how funny it appears, and how seriously I take my CaS, I'm going to leave it there.

Her second costume is based on her sexy nurse outfit (which I shamelessly purchased for a dollar in Dynasty Warriors NEXT). I couldn't imitate the coat (tried with Baihu Coat but wasn't feeling it) so I just did everything except for the coat.

Heading out now, will check for feedback and have giddy laughter in a couple hours.

 

[Idoll]

Made a new character, replacing Mitsuru's slots. She's still a work in progress, but considering I made her on a whim and within an hour, I'm pretty happy with her so far.
She's kind of a recreation, but I allowed myself more artistic freedom than I did with Mitsuru. She is based on Lianshi from Dynasty Warriors 7. Ironic how I deleted Mitsuru only to replace her with another recreation.

Spoiler

In Dynasty Warriors, she fights with a crossbow, so I made her that, thanks completely to Le Bello's thread of CaS tips. I angled it to match up with Cervantes' gun, and it looks great when she fires it off. Despite how funny it appears, and how seriously I take my CaS, I'm going to leave it there.

Her second costume is based on her sexy nurse outfit (which I shamelessly purchased for a dollar in Dynasty Warriors NEXT). I couldn't imitate the coat (tried with Baihu Coat but wasn't feeling it) so I just did everything except for the coat.

Heading out now, will check for feedback and have giddy laughter in a couple hours.

I really like those, especially the 2P.
It has a Very sexy vintage mafia feel, very sexy indeed.
I may have to make one more request onto you and ask for a vintage mafia noire girl please. <3

 

[Jeric-S]

I really like those, especially the 2P.
It has a Very sexy vintage mafia feel, very sexy indeed.
I may have to make one more request onto you and ask for a vintage mafia noire girl please. <3

Glad to hear it. I'll work on that later tonight (I'm at a friend's house right now) or sometime tomorrow, including a bubbly skeleton warrior.

 

[Jess]

The crossbow thing is a bad idea imo. While it's good for screenshots, it's not her weapon, so using it in battle or in screenshots w her weapon just looks awful. Both of her outfits are nice though.​

 

[KittenpasteCo]

Skellzor II looks great. :D I've been trying to cobble together an outfit for my skeleton that I DIDN'T hate - I think you've given me the look I should go for. ;3

 

[Jeric-S]

The crossbow thing is a bad idea imo. While it's good for screenshots, it's not her weapon, so using it in battle or in screenshots w her weapon just looks awful. Both of her outfits are nice though.​

Yeah as I said - it's something I normally wouldn't keep, but hell, I do what I want. /rebel. >_<

Skellzor II looks great. :D I've been trying to cobble together an outfit for my skeleton that I DIDN'T hate - I think you've given me the look I should go for. ;3

Mm, glad I gave you an idea. The skeleton looks pretty good with Cervantes' Sea King armour, too.