Usually, you have an idea for the character you want to make. It may be a good idea (if you're good at drawing) to draw it on paper first, to give you an idea of what it's gonna look like when you sprite it. I suggest using an existing sprite for a base. For this example, I'll be starting with Megaman.
Hey look! It's Megaman! We'll start with him as a base.
First yer gonna want to change the color scheme. I picked red and gray.
I just added a few nifty yellow marks.
Changed his helmet, made it fuller, and gave him a nifty visor. I admit that's not in 8-bit colors, (the visor is 3 by itself) but CnC has at least 256 colors, and it looks better that way. I also made a little "V" design on his chest.NOTE: Be sure not to use TOO many different colors, that looks terrible.
Added a cool thing to his helmet, he's starting to get some personality.
Just gave him sort of shoulder armor.
Then we pull it all together with a few details here and there, added those things on his hands, and changed the thing on his chest to a circle.
Finished! Cool eh? Still not convinced, let's compare them:
I'd say they look very different, kind of a wierd super MM with claw things. It may not be the best character, but it works for this lesson.
And there you have your character, cool eh? Next up is batch editing, that's the tough part.
Until then, LATA!!