Capcom VS SNK styled sprite study: Graves

For this project, I conceptualized an OC to fit the type of character I wanted to make. His name is Graves, and his left arm mutated into a spiral of interlocking arms with a mind of its own. The arm being possessed led to a particularly unique approach to his attacks, where the arm is leading the motion, attacking rapidly and violently, while Graves is haplessly pulled along as he tries and fails to restrain it.

From there, I experimented with the visual styles of 3 different sprite based fighting games: Capcom VS SNK, Street Fighter 3, and The King of Fighter XIII. After doing studies on all of these styles, I had settled on doing the one based on CvS, largely to work along with the limited period of time I had to work with.

From there, I experimented with a color scheme for the character before figuring out a process I wanted to work with for this project, starting with very rough stick figures, then moving into blocking out linework with colored shapes, and then finishing with a final pass

I had created 3 animations for this project: An idle loop, a light attack where Graves manages to catch the arm mid attack, and a grab attack where he can't control the arm in time. I'm very satisfied with the final product here.