Pixel Art – NPCs & Enemies – Xane El Deen Rashad

Introduction

In designing the NPCs and enemies of my game, I decided to use the medium of pixel art. This was so I could make potential character portraits for the game, potential sprites for the gameplay, and to garner a better understanding and knowledge on how to make pixel art. I used Aseprite to design these characters (and many other designs) and through creating these characters I bettered my skills at that particular program.

NPCs

I first decided to make NPC portraits, specifically of three. Firstly, the Merchant character, who is an affable, if somewhat sketchy man who sells the Mercenary all kinds of items throughout the game. Secondly, the Cleric character, who is a wise and stoic man of God. And lastly, the Occultist character who is an old and mysterious magician. In going about designing the faces, I decided to use some references for the faces, specifically some of my friends from Egypt for two reasons. Firstly, I knew they would agree to it without needing much of any convincing. Secondly, and more importantly, they would be better representatives of the ethnic groups of the region my game is based on, as a result I used my Egyptian friends.

Merchant

For this I cannot supply the reference image as my friend didn’t consent to his face being used on this public website. For this character, I decided to make my friend appear older and a bit more disheveled, so that the Merchant really encapsulated a dubious mediaeval merchant of the time and era. I gave him a purple head wrapping, as purple is a colour often associated with wealth, and it seemed fitting for such a character to dawn such flashy attire. It was also necessary that he would wear a turban given (again) the time period, but also the climate and the range of settings he would be appearing in made a turban make sense logically. Turbans and head wrappings are good for retaining water and not overheating, but they can also be used for the opposite at night, working like scarves. Thus it made sense that a travelling merchant would wear one. I think I succeeded in my goals with this character design.

Cleric

The reference image is available below. For this NPC I made many changes from the original reference. I off-centered his nose to give him a slightly uneven appearance, as to make him have some sense of realism, and not to be a perfectly symmetrical face. I gave him a beard as well as larger eyebags to accentuate the character’s age and wisdom. The turban was based off turban designs I have seen in old Islamic artwork of scholars and philosophers. The cloak he’s wearing is based off modern Arab cloaks, although I changed the often yellow lining with a light green, which is meant to relate to the symbol of the piety skill tree which uses a green-turquoise colour, given that this character is related to the piety skill tree. Overall I’m pleased with how this design turned out, the character looks peacable but he also maintains a stern expression which can turn to either a kind smile or a frightening scowl.

The reference image is available for this one.

Occultist

For this design I decided to use my own face as the reference. This particular NPC was more influenced by Ottomans and Sufi mystics more than Arabs or North Africans. The hat was based off a dervish’s as their hats may be used in certain mystical rituals I have read about when doing research on the occult. The facial hair was more based on Turkish and Ottoman style facial hair seen in the 16th to early 20th centuries. The outer garment with the symbols was inspired by the talismanic objects I’ve seen such magic shirts. I also added a grey eye to imply that he has gone blind in one eye, to add an extra layer of mysteriousness to this character. I also made him look old as if to imply he has had a hard life and that practicing the occult sciences has aged him beyond his years. Overall, I believe this character looks like the enigmatic and intriguing sorcerer I sought out to design.

A lot of these designs were influenced by Islamic artworks. Particularly by the ones seen in the Museum of Islamic Art. There is one carpet design in particular that I took heavy inspiration from when drawing these characters and how they would appear. As well as inspiration from a myriad of other Islamic artworks.

Hostile Characters

I was able to design four enemies for the game. Three normal enemies and one early game boss.

Enemies

The first enemy I designed was a cobra snake, based on the Egyptian Cobra. This was a very straightforward design, it was simply a snake of the desert. It was almost intuitive to design.

The second enemy I designed was the white nomad, which was based on Bedouin warriors. I more specifically based this design off the rejected design for my protagonist, with some minor changes. I removed the bow and gave him a small curved sword. I also removed the armour and made him simply dressed in fabric, in order to differentiate him from the armoured protagonist. This warrior would be found in the deserts and by the oases.

The third enemy I designed was the thief. This thief was based on preconceptions I already had regarding how a thief dresses, in all black, using smalll daggers. This thief carries several small daggers and is dressed in a black gown with a black head-covering. I also gave them sashes as that was a common way of keeping clothing together in the medieaval world. I believe it would fit well in a city setting, maybe lurking within an alleyway or on a rooftop.

Boss:

For the boss I decided to make the boss of the first level. His minions would mostly consist of the thief enemy showcased earlier, thus I realized I had to make him reflect his subordinates. I gave him a brighter sash, to signify that he was of a slightly higher rank, and I gave him flashier trousers as well as several belts instead of the one bandolier his henchmen dawned. I also made him taller and look more dynamic than his simpler bretheren. He also carried two swords instead of just throwing small daggers around, given that he is supposed to be an aggressive boss.

Overall I’m pleased with the designs I came up with for these enemies, I believe they all characterize each enemy well and are justified designs given the era and location this game is based on.

Conclusion

In creating these designs I was able to garner a better understanding of how to use Aseprite. I was also able to think more critically about the kinds of garments and cosmetics people of this era and location would dawn. Overall, I learned a lot and improved my skills, while simultaneously improving my GDD.