For my Space Invaders assets, I didn’t want to do a ship as the main character as I feel as though I could not apply the knowledge of colour theory and shape language I had learnt in the lecture.
Therefore, I decided to create a space monkey with an arm gun. Because why not?
I chose this image as my reference as I thought it was the classic gorilla position and perfect to be expanded upon.
I wanted to do a concept art before I went into creating the pixel art as it gave me an idea of what to do and how the character looks, rather than just jumping straight into the pixelated version.
The red on his visor, gun and jetpack represent danger and could subconsciously tell the viewer that he is extremely powerful. Whilst the white, contrary to the red, could tell the viewer that he is innocent to some degree and caring. This contrast is needed so the viewer doesn’t associate him with being a villain.
My character is mainly made up of circles, which helps convey that he is a good guy who shouldn’t be feared by those who aren’t his enemies. The square shape of his gun represents that he is strong and potentially dangerous.
To improve my design, perhaps a triangle element to show danger would be appropriate. Although that could oversaturate the piece and confuse the viewer on how to interoperate the character on a first glance as the shapes often tell the viewer subconsciously about the character.
This is the silhouette of my character. I think it is recognisable, although to improve it, his position could be much more dynamic. For example, he could be standing up and batting his chest with his left arm, whilst still aiming his gun.
I then created him in a pixel art style, to be used as a sprite in my game. He shoots bananas out of his arm gun because, well, he’s a monkey.
For the enemy, I used lots of triangle shapes and red to symbolise danger and that he is in fact an enemy and a threat.
I think making a character concept before the pixel art was very successful as it gave me a clear vision on what the character is and I could use the design as reference when drawing my pixel art.