Ricardo´s Art Journey

[Fedodika]

well rick I always admire your ability to follow through with a project, and have a vision for things. That being said, i'm gonna be as real with you as i can in this critique of your work you've just posted. In sum total, think the characters you have are headed in the right direction, but are not very cool, for a number of reasons. They are lacking stylization, shape language, designed anatomy, and that little edge of fantasy and sex appeal that fighting games tend to run with:

http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/attachme...%20(1).jpg
So this guy looks like the local barista at my coffee shop; if he's supposed to be this homeless drunk, really push that you know, don't make him look slightly middle class and hipstery. Make him look scraggly and like, oh its obvious hes a drunk.

http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/attachme...%20(2).jpg
This dude is apparently a teacher, and yes he does look like a teacher, from like your local childrens karate dojo down the street. I mean, if i were making a fighting game, that wouldnt strike me as the coolest design visually for that character type. If i were thinking a teacher, maybe he'd be more white haired, more wise looking. Give him an edge, maybe he's possessed, there's something wrong with him, show it visually, make it cool and memorable. vaguely reminds me of akuma, but why is akuma cool? He's a fucking demon with fucking beads and hes fucking evil with savage musculature. This guy seems soft in comparison.

http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/attachme...%20(7).jpg
This guys almost cool, but he could use some design love and care to bump the shapes of his hands and clothes. Why is he wearing a fitted shirt thats baggy? Give him a tight shirt that shows his musculature, amplify the solidness of the biceps. His boots are generic and the cloth spilling over is not attractive looking. his vest looks tight but casts a long shadow, how does that work? His hands could use some shape attention, look at how streetfighter or someone like Joe Mad draws fist, and make them stylized and cool like that :)

http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/attachme...20(12).jpg
This chick is another coffee shop hippy person only she has a hood and a stick. Her face is plain Jane, not sexy, and she could benefit from a character type face. Make her "look mysterious" in the eyes, maybe look up gypsy woman and empasize that type of jewelry, patterning on the clothes etc. find the most "mysterious" face you can and make that her face, not some average brunettes face. But yea some excessive jewelry would enchance her design, as well as making the flowiness of her clothes much more dramatic and  beautiful designs.

http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/attachme...20(11).jpg
This chick is like one of those dumpy bodied cosplayers who are trying to look sexy but dont have the body type for the character they're going after, here's some examples

http://cdn.ebaumsworld.com/mediaFiles/pi...515122.jpg
https://pre00.deviantart.net/a67d/th/pre...bjc7fc.jpg

Maybe that will impress upon you the significance of the anatomy and face of the character itself. imagine if that cammy cosplayer was the original body/face type for cammy. Prolly wouldnt fly would it? Your girl here looks like a school teacher, she has no muscle definition or curves and her outfit in theory could work, but just on a sexier body type.

http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/attachme...%20(8).jpg
This chick has an attractive face but her body again is just like this girl who eats at a chicken restaurant 6 days a week and goes to a youth group. like sure, she has a thigh gap, but i'd imagine much more than her boobs jiggling if she was running. She'd probably work up a sweat running a few feet, and her shape is just remarkable average, not very sexy or tough imo.

http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/attachme...%20(9).jpg
This dudes outfit is cool, but his face type is generic and doesnt fit a fighting character type. His hairline appears to be receeding, which doesnt help and im not sure about the chops, the just look ugly. Maybe if you made his afro tighter and more a sophisticated shape, and made the chops stylized that could help a great deal. also find a tough face type like Samuel L jackson or something, give him some personality you know.

http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/attachme...%20(6).jpg
This one is probably your most succesful design, maybe add a few details to make him not look like a rich italian tourist lol.

http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/attachme...%20(5).jpg
Im not loving this pose, and i think his body type is the same mistake you made on the other bulky ones, it just doesnt feel dangerous. I mean its believable you know, he seems like a metalhead who drinks lots of beer. Ultimately you're gonna need to find more appealing shapes for his stomach, shoulders, arms, back since he's shirtless, thats where the core of his design is. Maybe go overboard with the tattoos, make his face meaner, push it like some Diablo character. 

http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/attachme...%20(4).jpg
She looks like a slightly exotic King of the Hill character. Kinda reminds me of like a waitress as a rodeo style bar or a southern US grill. Just not very cool, if you wanted to help it maybe tie her shirt way higher, show some abs and cleavage. Her skirt is way to modest maybe lower the boots and wear some higher socks that are sexy and appealing. Tattoos would be cool too

http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/attachme...%20(3).jpg
Did you forget his other arm? This guy is very generic, not really sure what to say

http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/attachme...20(14).jpg
This girl again, believable face, stomach and proportions, are they cool? nope, skinny that waist up, big thighs, big boobs, stylize the face make it exotic. She looks like a sorority girl wearing those clothes, make her look out of this world!

http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/attachme...20(13).jpg
Her outfit like a mix of things and im not sure what it's going for, but idk why she has a vizor on. her clothes are so casual, it looks like shes going out to dinner but forgot the top two buttons on her shirt.

http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/attachme...20(10).jpg
This guy has the most fighting game vibe to him; I'd say look at some of Fenghua Zhong's work and get in some design elements he'd use for patterning or make the face more sinister and fantasy like. Again, stylize the crap out of the anatomy shapes, its EVERYTHING in a character design.

I guess my main point here is that just grabbing random people off the street doesnt make a cool fighting game. You gotta idealize everything, and if you dont it just looks bland. I'd try to take one character, draw him in 10 different styles, like 10 wildly different artists you know of. See the things you'd do differently. Study exaggerated artists like steven silver or Joe Mad, or J. Scott Campbell for sexy and appealing shapes. try to replicate their styles until you get it under your thumb then do your own thing. Best wishes my dude, i hope anything i said helps