(http://i.imgur.com/VtuKicx.png)
Go ahead and open this up in paint.net. Because as I said the units were still blurred I just took one and copied it to another image.
I cleared it up and the first thing I did was, I changed the background, you shouldn't work on such a dark background because it will change your perspective of colors.
Step two is I googled a reference image of a peasant, because it seemed like a good starting point.
(http://www.english-online.at/history/middle-ages/middle-age-peasants.jpg)
I chose a natural color for his clothes and using it I gave him a more natural pose. I deleted a few pixels from the arms and I played around with the head and eyes.
Your colors are saturated up to 100% and that gives them an unnatural look, so try to desaturate them a bit. I played around with different clothes parts and gave him a skirt and a hat of the same color. I decided that a sword isn't a peasant thing and gave him a hoe (though this is just my preference and not important).
As you can see I used a total of five colors for the guy not counting his weapon and it looks nice but it's simple (by the way it's a good idea to keep a color palette on the side).
So here is another important PW rule: "keep it simple silly" (KISS).
Now what I would like you to do is play around with different colors and unit positions, maybe give them a little running pose. Leave the big cthulu for now and come back to it when you are feeling confident in creating smaller dudes and 25px dudes, because they will be the base of your army and are the best starting point.
Edit: By the way here is how I work in Paint.net:
(http://i.imgur.com/XPgj9Au.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/P32vWYQ.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/4l8pHZq.png)
Now, what I put in the spoiler is the updated piratopian army, I made it before making the samurai army and its look effected my decisions somewhat. Such as the shading on the arms I felt was to much which is why I made the arms the same color for my samurai and ashigaru. Its not done and I stopped working on it when I started work on the other army shown above, or on the other page...I dono where this post will end up after all.
From what I know, imgur is't corrupting images. At least it didn't done that with my images. For example:
(http://i.imgur.com/gzTMK1h.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/g4iMvrH.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/h2jnBFR.png)
The Spritesheet begins! Spoilered are some fun tests for the army's style. Basically, the concept is the robots just fling themselves at people--literally.
Phase I: Individual robots, chilling, attacking, being wounded. <-- Where I'm at now obvo.
Phase II: A modular robot horde. My inspiration for this comes from this stage of Castle Crashers:
(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kHmnmBSVfJc/maxresdefault.jpg)
... So, there'll be some segments several robots in length and several deep--the trick here is that instead of making dozens of robots, Ill simply be using silhouettes for those not in the rank nearest us (the viewer) to give an impression of a many ranks deep column.
Phase III: Specials. They're not great with guns. Flailing limbs and poor motor control means the best they can do is wave around their guns while emptying the clip... Which they'll do here. Perhaps a Tankbot kind of unit. Those are my only two ideas right now, but ill work in a third.
(http://imgur.com/EVdjECy.png)
Like I said, just a couple of fun tests, but they'll be a lot of whacky movement, flailing, falling, and throwing themselves around. Thoughts?
@Urist
You don't have to create all the poses, most of us actually don't till we actually use them in battle, however it's good to have at least a walking and idle poses.
@Greatness
The thief is nice, however the shub-niggurath, could use some more defining details that make it look like a creature not a building, the shogguth as well. While the king could use a more human and flowing pose
Example:
(http://i.imgur.com/havkE3O.png)
(http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/quake/images/2/24/Shub-Niggurath.PNG/revision/latest?cb=20120401145518)
Looks pretty similar, but I guess I could make it bigger. I'm not sure how to define the Shoggoth more, as it's described as "It was a terrible, indescribable thing vaster than any subway train — a shapeless congeries of protoplasmic bubbles, faintly self-luminous, and with myriads of temporary eyes forming and un-forming as pustules of greenish light all over the tunnel-filling front that bore down upon us, crushing the frantic penguins and slithering over the glistening floor that it and its kind had swept so evilly free of all litter", so if you could give a suggestion to make it more like that, I would appreciate it. I will gladly admit that Hastur needs a bit more work for his robe.
(http://i.imgur.com/k72QtTL.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/IYZFoJu.png)
The Thoruka have a natural connection to another dimension.
They see that dimension as their deity and absorb the mysterious energy leaking from it into their blood cells.
It can also be transferred into crystals, which they grow on large crystal farms.
The grayish metal can block and thus easily control the flow of the energy, making it usable for numerous things.
Most Thoruka wear armors out of that metal to avoid accidentally leaking energy into the surroundings.
Experienced individuals, however, can use the energy directly to form and shoot bolts of energy, move things around and even float above ground.
Some masters even manage to directly access the other dimension, using it for communication, long-distance travel, and other powerful things.
I've never been good with perspective and shading and all that stuff, neither am I planning to become a master pixel artist :P
I will be adding more stuff over time.
(http://i.imgur.com/sTe50nw.png)
edit: They are supposed to be tall, considering that they've been inspired by Endermen ;)
(double post)
So I've been thinking about maps for PW and decided that maybe I should kickstart map makers on bay 12. I thought the best way would be to start a map collaboration. If anyone is interested, I would like to repair this map:
(http://i.imgur.com/GFpVejT.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/myn6dXs.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/MvUfYj2.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/qq6HWxA.png)
Is this match going to be a FFA or team vs team? Will it be open for new players? Any turn order for teams or how many turns should be skipped between player's turns? Will be any rule to skip turns of people who declared their turns (or should post them by turn order) but stalling their move?
Free for all, I don't want to limit anyone with teams.
It's always going to be open for new players.
Since it's a free for all, there is no defined turn order. Instead, you must wait for at least two other people to declare(and finish their turn) before you can declare again. If no one has posted within three days, you can declare again anyway.
If you declare, you must finish your turn within 12 hrs or your declare is voided.
Only declare if you mean to finish your turn. It's particularly rude to declare and hop off for the night, forcing other people in different timezones to have to wait another day.
EDIT: The army I will be using
(https://i.imgur.com/BFviCFN.png)
Small, replicator-like robots who consume metal to duplicate themselves. One or two are fairly easy to dispatch. However, as the name implies, they can interlock to form larger, more dangerous robots, ranging from simple dronecraft to laser-firing giant robots.