Generator Pieces vs Custom Sheets

[Lenneth]

So while I slowly march towards 30 posts or whatever the requirement was to unlock the business section for commissions, I wanted to ask a question.

Making MV games is just a hobby to me but I enjoy doing it on and off. My last project went for 600-700 hours before my over ambition overloaded me into not enjoying it anymore. I learned a lot of lessons though and want to start my next one for one of my close friends who has me write stories for him as my current hobby. As a change of pace, I'd like to make some of them into games just for fun. So here is my question: Would it be cheaper to get generator pieces made or just custom sprite sheets?

For context, they are anthro characters and the only community anthro source I could find does not add anthro pieces beyond just faces. Now obviously it sounds like generator pieces would be best considering I will need multiple actors in the detective story I want to do. But if generator pieces are very expensive, I was thinking just getting the two main characters commissioned and just use the face only free generator thing that I found. Ideally I'd like generator pieces and just have the faces commissioned so that the important characters stand out.

Thanks for any replies.

 

[Mrs_Allykat]

If they're male, I would suggest the Beast Man Generator pack (linked). It's a little tricky to set up, but it gives generator parts for Leo, Lizardman, and werewolf. Outside of that, it probably would be a commission or a lot of digging.

 

[Andar]

The problem is that only very few artists make generator pieces, because they are much more difficult to make than simple sprites.

With a simple sprite, the artist can always see what is where and adapt when working on it. And it doesn't matter what goes where because the finished piece is unique anyway.

With a generator part, the artist has to follow strict guidelines on where the arm goes, where the leg goes and so on - because every generator part has to fit every other generator part to be usable.

That said, a generator part can be used for many sprites instead of just one.
So if you find an artist willing to make generator parts, it will usually be at a higher price than simple sprites - and you have to decide if you need that part on enough sprites that it would be cheaper to have it as a generator part than have that many sprites being made.

 

[Lenneth]

If they're male, I would suggest the Beast Man Generator pack (linked). It's a little tricky to set up, but it gives generator parts for Leo, Lizardman, and werewolf. Outside of that, it probably would be a commission or a lot of digging.

I missed this when browsing their seemingly endless DLC list. It seems you can still make them look pretty feminine... I'll have to try this, it might just work for NPCs. Thank you.

The problem is that only very few artists make generator pieces, because they are much more difficult to make than simple sprites.

With a simple sprite, the artist can always see what is where and adapt when working on it. And it doesn't matter what goes where because the finished piece is unique anyway.

With a generator part, the artist has to follow strict guidelines on where the arm goes, where the leg goes and so on - because every generator part has to fit every other generator part to be usable.

That said, a generator part can be used for many sprites instead of just one.
So if you find an artist willing to make generator parts, it will usually be at a higher price than simple sprites - and you have to decide if you need that part on enough sprites that it would be cheaper to have it as a generator part than have that many sprites being made.

Alright, just trying to figure out my expectations for prices. I figured it wouldn't be too much of a problem if the unique characters still shared the same base sprites and poses as the rest. Ah well so long as it's cheap enough to get the important characters sprites and faces, they look too specific for just generator pieces which is why I mentioned needing faces commissioned especially anyways. This is only for a side hobby anyways for a friend like how my last game was for my boyfriend so I'm not worried about everything looking perfect. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Lenneth]

Ah nice. While adding that beast man DLC I found out the hiddenone's actually does add beast man bodies. it was just hidden under "Facial Marks" where I didn't think to look for it. Thought it was automatic. Still, the pack has nice stuff too for variety. This makes me happy, need to keep planning out but so far it seems all I'll need is some commissioned faces.


Edit: Realized my mistake on double posting, sorry.

 

[Wavelength]

Generator pieces can clash with each other a bit, or betray your desired perspective. (Also, as @Andar mentioned, not too many artists make generator pieces).

Unless you are going for a "kit of parts" approach where you are trying to make dozens/hundreds of characters by mixing and matching from the same set of generator pieces (in which case the generator pieces make sense), you should definitely try to get custom sheets made.

 

[Lenneth]

Generator pieces can clash with each other a bit, or betray your desired perspective. (Also, as @Andar mentioned, not too many artists make generator pieces).

Unless you are going for a "kit of parts" approach where you are trying to make dozens/hundreds of characters by mixing and matching from the same set of generator pieces (in which case the generator pieces make sense), you should definitely try to get custom sheets made.

Alright, I think I see what you mean. I don't need many NPCs for this first short game anyways so the beast man DLC and hiddenone's stuff should be fine for this first game. Still in the planning stages anyways. Not going to "make it up as I go" like my last project which turned into a horrible mess. I'll definitely need custom faces and likely still custom character sprites for 2 characters anyways but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Just didn't want to end up paying for a lot of custom sheets just for NPCs. Thankfully it seems I won't have to.

 

[Wavelength]

Alright, I think I see what you mean. I don't need many NPCs for this first short game anyways so the beast man DLC and hiddenone's stuff should be fine for this first game...Just didn't want to end up paying for a lot of custom sheets just for NPCs. Thankfully it seems I won't have to.

One trick that many games use is to re-use the same NPC model for several different NPCs throughout the world (or even throughout a single town). You can also make some of your own in the character generator, if the rest of your NPCs mostly match the RTP style.

If you do feel the need to make custom sheets for NPCs because it might feel chintzy compared to the rest of your game... then wait until the very end of your dev process to do that kind of stuff. If you do reach near-completion of your game, and the rest of your game really is the masterpiece you dreamed of, then you can commission them at that point. If you realize you had to make some reasonable compromises along the way, then you'll probably be fine with re-using or generating NPC models.

 

[Lenneth]

One trick that many games use is to re-use the same NPC model for several different NPCs throughout the world (or even throughout a single town). You can also make some of your own in the character generator, if the rest of your NPCs mostly match the RTP style.

If you do feel the need to make custom sheets for NPCs because it might feel chintzy compared to the rest of your game... then wait until the very end of your dev process to do that kind of stuff. If you do reach near-completion of your game, and the rest of your game really is the masterpiece you dreamed of, then you can commission them at that point. If you realize you had to make some reasonable compromises along the way, then you'll probably be fine with re-using or generating NPC models.

Oh absolutely I did that with my first project. It's been a few years and I'd like to avoid the mistakes of my first project so this will be a smaller and more planned out project. Thanks to the DLC Mrs_Allykat pointed out and the hiddenone's resources I am perfectly happy with using the generator for NPCs. I'm just a little picky, and want the two main characters to have high quality faces and custom sprites. Depending on cost I may just get the faces and use the generator sprites since you can't see much detail on those anyways. It's just for fun, things don't have to be perfect, I just want the important characters to stand out.