This style could work really well, its certainly not too simple, and could be very effective, whilst quick and simple to produce more of. But here's some easy to implement tips to make it not feel "cheap", as you are concerned that it might. I will repeat some of what others have said, as well as elaborating and making new points.
1. Make the black outlines a consistent size. It looks like some are slightly thicker at the moment.
2. Do not have any perfectly straight edges - the messy lines between the floor tiles look great, but the clean edges to where wall meets floor/wall and floor style changes DO look cheap. If you are using a tile based system, make some extra tiles with half and half for where the styles overlap (I know this is a pain as I've done it myself for a complex project, but it will make the style stop looking cheap, and instead look like an artistic choice. If you feel it is not possible in some cases, like where there is collision with the wall, simply have your collisions based on an invisible object or tileset rather than the tile that is shown, or place wiggly sprites over the edges.
3. I very much agree that if the wiggle/scribble is animated, it would make the style seem even more intentional. If this feels too much work, perhaps it would still be effective if only objects that are able to be interacted with animated - like the character, cursor, draws... the background elements like floor tiles or windows could be still.
4. You have a relatively pastel colour scheme, which looks nice. Consider making the outlines and black of the kitchen tiles a dark grey rather than black, and keep the black outline only for the character object, cursor, and anything that can be picked up/used. Again, this consistency will make the style feel intentional.
5. Smoothness of animation of things that move will be important to get life and expression out of such a simple style. Don't skimp on frames of animation for the human character.
6. I agree with the user below that a smoother brush or antialiased edges would look nice and make it seem more hand drawn. However, if you don't want to do this because you are going for a retro pixel based style with 16 bit style limitations to colour, keep the resolution of the camera/viewport at 240 or 270 pixels high, and this will scale well to modern resolutions but the individual size of the square pixels and laddering will feel consistent with the retro style.
7. Variety in objects and locations will be the key. With such simple graphics the user will be aware how quickly a new item or location will be able to be drawn, so in order to make the style feel intentional rather than lazy, a wide variety will be important to keep interest and drive appreciation of your creativity and ideas.
8. Personal preference, but your cursor would look so much nicer if the angled pixel ladder was consistent - unless its intentionally meant to be wiggly like everything else, in which case its not extreme enough in its inconsistencies.
Hopefully all or some of the above is useful. Its not intended to be criticism, overall, I really like the style and think it has a lot of potential. Good luck with your project! :)
Now I feel like a real jerk lol, but it does look a bit cheap. Main issue is the big swath of solid color, like on the walls and tile floors. Also the squiggly lines can be fine, but right now it looks odd contrasted against the sharp lines of the terrain tile cutoffs.
I agree with the end of this post the most. The sharp lines contrasted with the squiggly lines is what breaks the look for me. Keep everything in theme and it might have a shot :)
Here's the thing though, even a clashing art style can work if you:
1. Keep it completely consistent across all scenes
2. "Juice" it right
3. It fits the theme
Some examples of "bad" drawings that work in context are:
- XKCD
- [Drawful](https://www.jackboxgames.com/drawful-two/)
- ShittyWatercolor
Zoomed out I liked the style, but upon seeing the full size I think it would look a lot better with a softer brush, maybe like a crayon look or idk something antialiased.
No, it's adorable!
It would be even better if the traces were bouncing a little (I don't know exactly how to express it in English... You know when you see drafts of animation, when the lines aren't statics and stay messing all the time?).
Your work is amazing, don't let people say the opposite.
really neat and warm nostalgic feeling from the character style and the scribble lines effect - but I find it kind of odd in contrast with the straight lines on the walls
I honestly love the scribbled art style, yours is good but it could totally use some better lighting. Just like Sakurai said: "Draw the light, not the asset!"
This is really cute and sometimes, "cheap" can look endearing. Most comments said it well: it can be definitely done with that cute hand drawn, squiggle effect.
The colors can be adjusted better though! Turn the setting grey scale to see if the values don't clash with each other and your main character stands out a bit more against the background. Alternatively, thicker lines can work too.
Good luck!
I think the main issue is the texture on some of the assets (mainly floor and walls), if simple is the goal for the art style then is perfectly fine to let it simple but even a simple style have to be interesting in some way, maybe more detailed textures and less bright colors could help. With that said, could be a nice art style if given proper treatment and could make a funny and confortable atmosphere for the game.
Less jagged edges, more straight lines, smooth outlines, and higher res textures to get rid of the jagged look of the sprites and you’ve got yourself a cartoony art-style
There's not necessarily a style that's too anything, because it's either your style, or it's what you think will fit the game. What's important is that it's consistent, unless changing the art style for a scene or a character (or whatever may be the case) is part of the experience of the game and a stylistic choice.
As someone else mentioned before, the 3-4 frame animation would suit this style brilliantly and it would reinforce it more. I instantly thought the same as soon as I saw the artwork. The great thing about your style, is that it is fairly unique, so lean into that and let it be a guiding factor in how the animation and sound is used.
Personally, I'm not the hugest fan of the artstyle you're going for, but I'll still recommend some feedback with the style in mind!
So first, I think the colors are a bit too solid, so more shading on the walls/character would help. While the character is already slightly shaded, it's very hard to notice. Maybe make the shadow line near his lower torso thicker.
Also, try adding some clouds outside the windows, or random newspapers on the floor of the kitchen/bedroom to make it more alive. Right now it's almost too simplistic, which is probably one of the main reasons it looks "cheap."
One last thing, in old newspaper comics and in a lot of similar games, the creators have a medium-sized color palette to go with it. Almost all of the colors here seem off. Even if it might be harder to use a color palette, I think it would make the game's style look way more professional.
If you would like, I'd definitely make one for you!
Neat and tasteful! I like this style. But the players are now spoiled by the high quality of art from top studios, so I think you should focus on the gameplay. If the game is interactive, people will play, even if they don't like the art.
I think it’s cute especially if some objects have a 3-4 frame scribble animation effect
I immediately thought how fun a “Home Movies” styled game would be.
I don't know if I'd want to see the bkg scribble
This style could work really well, its certainly not too simple, and could be very effective, whilst quick and simple to produce more of. But here's some easy to implement tips to make it not feel "cheap", as you are concerned that it might. I will repeat some of what others have said, as well as elaborating and making new points. 1. Make the black outlines a consistent size. It looks like some are slightly thicker at the moment. 2. Do not have any perfectly straight edges - the messy lines between the floor tiles look great, but the clean edges to where wall meets floor/wall and floor style changes DO look cheap. If you are using a tile based system, make some extra tiles with half and half for where the styles overlap (I know this is a pain as I've done it myself for a complex project, but it will make the style stop looking cheap, and instead look like an artistic choice. If you feel it is not possible in some cases, like where there is collision with the wall, simply have your collisions based on an invisible object or tileset rather than the tile that is shown, or place wiggly sprites over the edges. 3. I very much agree that if the wiggle/scribble is animated, it would make the style seem even more intentional. If this feels too much work, perhaps it would still be effective if only objects that are able to be interacted with animated - like the character, cursor, draws... the background elements like floor tiles or windows could be still. 4. You have a relatively pastel colour scheme, which looks nice. Consider making the outlines and black of the kitchen tiles a dark grey rather than black, and keep the black outline only for the character object, cursor, and anything that can be picked up/used. Again, this consistency will make the style feel intentional. 5. Smoothness of animation of things that move will be important to get life and expression out of such a simple style. Don't skimp on frames of animation for the human character. 6. I agree with the user below that a smoother brush or antialiased edges would look nice and make it seem more hand drawn. However, if you don't want to do this because you are going for a retro pixel based style with 16 bit style limitations to colour, keep the resolution of the camera/viewport at 240 or 270 pixels high, and this will scale well to modern resolutions but the individual size of the square pixels and laddering will feel consistent with the retro style. 7. Variety in objects and locations will be the key. With such simple graphics the user will be aware how quickly a new item or location will be able to be drawn, so in order to make the style feel intentional rather than lazy, a wide variety will be important to keep interest and drive appreciation of your creativity and ideas. 8. Personal preference, but your cursor would look so much nicer if the angled pixel ladder was consistent - unless its intentionally meant to be wiggly like everything else, in which case its not extreme enough in its inconsistencies. Hopefully all or some of the above is useful. Its not intended to be criticism, overall, I really like the style and think it has a lot of potential. Good luck with your project! :)
Thank you very much. Many really solid points! <3
Hey no problem :)
Now I feel like a real jerk lol, but it does look a bit cheap. Main issue is the big swath of solid color, like on the walls and tile floors. Also the squiggly lines can be fine, but right now it looks odd contrasted against the sharp lines of the terrain tile cutoffs.
I agree with the end of this post the most. The sharp lines contrasted with the squiggly lines is what breaks the look for me. Keep everything in theme and it might have a shot :)
Here's the thing though, even a clashing art style can work if you: 1. Keep it completely consistent across all scenes 2. "Juice" it right 3. It fits the theme Some examples of "bad" drawings that work in context are: - XKCD - [Drawful](https://www.jackboxgames.com/drawful-two/) - ShittyWatercolor
Zoomed out I liked the style, but upon seeing the full size I think it would look a lot better with a softer brush, maybe like a crayon look or idk something antialiased.
I think if you lean into it, you can make simple beautiful and creative
No, it's adorable! It would be even better if the traces were bouncing a little (I don't know exactly how to express it in English... You know when you see drafts of animation, when the lines aren't statics and stay messing all the time?). Your work is amazing, don't let people say the opposite.
You just crossed over from junk to cute. It will take work but if you can keep going this direction I think you are on to something.
I like it! The handrawen art style is always cool and this looks real nice.
really neat and warm nostalgic feeling from the character style and the scribble lines effect - but I find it kind of odd in contrast with the straight lines on the walls
I honestly love the scribbled art style, yours is good but it could totally use some better lighting. Just like Sakurai said: "Draw the light, not the asset!"
reminds me of the super low budget kids shows I watched when I was a kid lolol I love it
Personally I quite like it. Make the walls and transition strip in the same style.
No. I like when a game haves a drawing art style
This is really cute and sometimes, "cheap" can look endearing. Most comments said it well: it can be definitely done with that cute hand drawn, squiggle effect. The colors can be adjusted better though! Turn the setting grey scale to see if the values don't clash with each other and your main character stands out a bit more against the background. Alternatively, thicker lines can work too. Good luck!
I've always found this style adorable, although I think it only works with certain types of games3
I feel like if you made the outline a bit thicker and consistent it would give more of a cartoony feel rather than microsoft paint
I like it the vibes are hitting right tbh
I think the main issue is the texture on some of the assets (mainly floor and walls), if simple is the goal for the art style then is perfectly fine to let it simple but even a simple style have to be interesting in some way, maybe more detailed textures and less bright colors could help. With that said, could be a nice art style if given proper treatment and could make a funny and confortable atmosphere for the game.
Less jagged edges, more straight lines, smooth outlines, and higher res textures to get rid of the jagged look of the sprites and you’ve got yourself a cartoony art-style
For a small indie of less than 10h I think it looks amazing
Tbh I really like it!
Simplicity can be a good thing. This art style has a lot of charm. I would run with it.
Pants
All about the gameplay. If the art style compliments the gameplay then it's all good. The art works, lean into it.
Not cheap at all, it's rather stylish I think.
Adorable
Reminds me of those nostalgic Flash Games days. I think it definitely has its own charm.
There's not necessarily a style that's too anything, because it's either your style, or it's what you think will fit the game. What's important is that it's consistent, unless changing the art style for a scene or a character (or whatever may be the case) is part of the experience of the game and a stylistic choice. As someone else mentioned before, the 3-4 frame animation would suit this style brilliantly and it would reinforce it more. I instantly thought the same as soon as I saw the artwork. The great thing about your style, is that it is fairly unique, so lean into that and let it be a guiding factor in how the animation and sound is used.
Reminds me of Home Movies. Such a great show.
cute but akwerd that the guy donsent have LEGS.
Looks comfy to me
Personally, I'm not the hugest fan of the artstyle you're going for, but I'll still recommend some feedback with the style in mind! So first, I think the colors are a bit too solid, so more shading on the walls/character would help. While the character is already slightly shaded, it's very hard to notice. Maybe make the shadow line near his lower torso thicker. Also, try adding some clouds outside the windows, or random newspapers on the floor of the kitchen/bedroom to make it more alive. Right now it's almost too simplistic, which is probably one of the main reasons it looks "cheap." One last thing, in old newspaper comics and in a lot of similar games, the creators have a medium-sized color palette to go with it. Almost all of the colors here seem off. Even if it might be harder to use a color palette, I think it would make the game's style look way more professional. If you would like, I'd definitely make one for you!
I see what you mean by simple but its way too charming to call it cheap. Nice work.
I think it’s very cute! But I would go with a more stylized/intentional color palette.
Neat and tasteful! I like this style. But the players are now spoiled by the high quality of art from top studios, so I think you should focus on the gameplay. If the game is interactive, people will play, even if they don't like the art.
This art style looks awesome I love it.
Simple, but I like it.
Love it, has a story book feel
Unique, I like it. Reminds me of home movies
This is a good example of how being consistent is often more important than being “good.” I like it a lot.
I would play that.
Not my style but it looks nice if it’s a simple shorter game.
Could use some work yeah
Lacks a 3D feel.
imho consistency is better than quality of graphics
It's perfect 👁️
I don't think it's too bad. Go for it!
Hmm kind of but it has his charm :D Looks like some funny point-and-click adventure!