![sprite monkey king sprite monkey king](https://cdn.wallpapersafari.com/37/12/fGBb8h.jpg)
![sprite monkey king sprite monkey king](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RKYFo_YjhqU/WVLOUQXcYDI/AAAAAAAAFvs/M9odCZAxcRYxtkQs7ndDa2Sobwg18Oh9QCLcBGAs/s1600/hd-awp-monkey-king-for-cs-1_6.jpg)
Shovel Knight visuals generally adhere to the same restrictions as NES titles, which means a sprite shouldn’t make use of more than 4 colors (including black or transparency). You don’t want a character to be over or under-rendered in a way that feels inconsistent or they will look out of place. Creating the Pixel ModelĬrucial to the process is making sure the sprite’s size and visual style match the other characters in the world. The Hengineer would be a wrench-wielding, overall-ed hen. We all really liked the “A” concept a lot, so we used that as the starting point for the sprite. The plan to give Hengineer little “helpers” didn’t hatch, but it sure would've been cute! Later, the character’s illustrated design can be finalized based on the sprite. To create a character sprite, we don’t really need a highly-rendered piece of art, just something that can inform the pixel art. During the pixeling process, a lot can change! Details from the sketch do not always translate directly to the pixel version and vice-versa. With these ideas in mind, we started on concept sketches. We figured this passenger could be a bird, like Cooper, the Glidewing’s rooster captain. They’d imbue King Knight with special abilities such as an upgraded Shoulder Bash or a magnet to attract nearby gold when spinning around. This character would be a passenger on the Glidewing, the airship hub of King of Cards. In this instance, we needed someone to act as a one-stop-shop for King Knight’s ability upgrades. How do they fit into the world at large? Shovel Knight world at large?.How do they fit within King Knight’s adventure thematically?.What is this character’s function? What will they have to do?.When it comes time to create a new character, we’ll ask ourselves some questions: Later in development, we’ll know which NPCs we’re going to need new designs for, and start to create new art to fill out the world. Horse people everywhere act as stand-ins for NPCs! Later, they'll be replaced by final art.