Some Game Intro Characters

[Drone]

Hi guys,

That's my first post here. A friend of mine and I are making a game demo in an attempt to get into the Games Industry. I am currently working on the characters in both Hi-Poly and Low-Poly versions -- the first ones for the Intro/Outro, the second ones for in-game use. We decided to use cartoonish stylisation for the Characters, but this is the first time I am doing such a thing, and am a bit confused.

This is the main character of the game (the game is not a FPS):
http://drone.free-host.com/pics/Monty_08.jpg

These are two early WIPs of some of his opponents (Germans). BTW, the action takes place in the Egyptian Western Desert, about 1936-37:
http://drone.free-host.com/pics/Gerry_01.jpg
http://drone.free-host.com/pics/Gerry_02.jpg
http://drone.free-host.com/pics/Gerry_03.jpg
http://drone.free-host.com/pics/Gerry_06.jpg

There will be at least 5 more German characters and lots of environment and vehicles.

I'd like to ask you the following:
As you can see, there is a different degree of cartoonisation of the first character and the second two. In your opinion, which approach of the two is better (if any)? Any help will be very, very appreciated! I posted them on the CGTalk, but it seems the noise-to-signal ratio there has gone South these days.

Thanks very much in advance!
Best,
Drone

[ColdCutPi]

Hmmm, ok your stuff is going in the right direction, but it has the feel of a couple of amateur guys trying to get a job in the industry. It tells me exactly where you are at in an instant. Both of your characters look the same, the differences between them are minimal in terms of style. The key is to push everything to the extreme in one and only ONE direction. Ask yourself; "are these guys evil (or heroic), or comic" (stick with these 2 at your level) and proceed as decided. Think in terms of stereotypes, if the character is English, take all of the stereotypes you can think of and push them as far as you can go, same with the Germans. You get what I mean?

[Drone]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I have a couple of stereotypical German characters in the making, i wanted to have some difference between them, hence came out with these guys first. What interests me most is what mistakes can you find in the existing images, i.e. proportions, facial features, etc. Neither my partner nor I are actually amateurs -- I am working as a 3D Animator for 4 1/2 years now, he is a member of the best Virtual Reality/Advanced Interface research workgroup in Europe. The trick is, this is the first time I am making cartoonish characters and am a bit lost in the actual technicallity and details of the process: facial and body proportions, level of "smoothing down" the distinct realistic features, etc.

Thanks once again!
Best,
Drone

[Drone]

Come on guys, almost 200 hits and no response? Just ain't fair, you know:D

[Scrubbin Bubbles]

The german doesn't look evil. If hes a bad guy, I'm not very scared. He looks like a safari guy. Seems like he should be more angular, with hard edges. The color palette is a bit warm for a baddie. I understand the colors are limited by historical reality, but it's just not very scary.

[Howdy]

I think the british guy is attractive. Perfect for a FPS. ;)

I like the style of the first german. The smooth version loses some of the cartoonish aspect.

I played a game that had characters similar to these. They are fine.