Hello All,
I’ve been quite reluctant to post this as its nothing compared to what I’ve seen others create, but despite that i’m quite proud of it so far.
Some background, i’m 30 and decided to teach myself C#, 2D Art and Animation 3 weeks ago, never too late to start i guess.
This is the result a game like Golden Axe that is nowhere near complete. Please be ruthless as i will never learn otherwise.
Let me know what you think and thank you for your time.
OK 
Shown as individual assets - everything above looks kinda crappy on its own.
The environment shows a lack of natural chaos in the scene. Everything looks too straight and linear/horizontal, and the color composition is bland. Too clean even. Most dark staining from trash and a lack of cleaning forms up in the corners and where certain objects join together. Where the buildings meet the ground there should be subtly more muck and grime and dirt instead of less.
The bricks on the side of the building and the stucco / plaster look alright, though its quite obvious these came from photos. Consider adding more random stuff, and break up the linearity of all the horizontal lines. Also - not quite sure, but I think the top line of the right house (that forms a triangle on the side of the house) is out of perspective.
Consider also over exaggerating some smaller details. The details on the door, the hanging lamps, the grass, and increase the brick pattern size on the ground in my opinion would improve the overall aesthetic of the scene.
Some cool lighting coming from the lamps and windows would improve the look and also having the main character have some type of light source would be interesting.
And red glowing eyes for that demon creature! definitely would look freaky with a over exaggerated motion blur effect like a trail render effect. Something that is very exaggerated.
Adding in some subtle contrasting color would also improve the scene, though you might get this from a saturated yellow/orange lighting setup.
The characters are pretty ugly, though - imo when seeing them in movement in the video I accepted them as game characters. The jointing is very evident and makes them look very puppet like. Consider adding some extra animated parts and pieces, to mask/distract from this jointed animated look.
A real cool serpentine like spiked tail would look pretty cool on that demon, though would add to the animation development time. If these demons will have multiple types of attacks, consider adding a tail with a barbed poisonous tip.
Lastly - the back leg for the main character is too small. I would make it nearly the same size as the front leg, and instead of shorter make it bent like he is in a battle stance. Pull up some reference of warriors/barbarians and borrow a cool idle pose for your character. Also if the perspective for the upper body is going to match the lower body and the rest of the scene, his upper (far) shoulder should be higher, even if he is leaning forward in a battle stance.
First, good on you for sharing your work and inviting comments and critiques! It’s an important step to be able to share yourself and handle the responses. Just be careful you don’t embrace the feeling of accomplishment that comes with it too much, as it can be a distraction from actually working on your game (trust me on this one… I know from experience).
As in all things, I agree implicitly with @theANMATOR2b on your characters. Polish them up, and go a bit crazy with their design. More contrasting colors to help the different parts pop, and a bit of stylizing to give the game a sense of its own character.
Since he covered the characters and environment already, I’ll address the trailer.
Keep working! Continue to show us your progress!
First of all, good decision. I started later than most also, but it’s possible to learn quite fast if you invest time and effort into it.
I think @Schneider21 and @theANMATOR2b have already covered the trailer and overall look of the game. So aside from reiterating that you shouldn’t be afraid of color and contrast (look at Witcher 3, amazing characters and environments even if they are “just” soldiers etc…) and just say that the perspective you are working with is difficult in and of itself, I will just add a few of my own experiences.
I don’t know if this game is for learning only, or if you intend to release it for free or for pay. But I’ve personally found it beneficial to make very small games first. For instance, I started with a Tetris clone to allow for more focus on programming, graphically the game is what it is not much effort is needed. Then I’ve made a Space Invaders clone, where I focused more on graphics, but at the same time also on programming. I’ve made card games and smaller proofs of concepts etc. None of which I have released. These things have taught me many things directly related to programming and making graphics, but the most important take away is the importance of working on a project where the “boundaries” can be easily determined and where it is possible to set a fixed deadline and actually reach it. It’s not difficult to start something new and fresh, the difficulty lies in finishing things completely, overcoming issues when the novelty of a new project has worn off, making the UI work for people who are new to the game and so on.
You say Golden Axe, I ask how many levels, how many weapons, enemies, characters, how will you make music, sounds etc. Deciding on these things early on, even if they are preliminary decisions and may change over the course of development, they mean they you have something to strive towards and also that you’ve set a lower bar for what you must accomplish at the least. Making these decisions early on also buys you time to consider how it will all come to pass, and maybe even see issues before they arise. Essentially, make something that can be finished in a reasonable amount of time given the size of the team (in your case I assume you make everything yourself).
These are the things I’ve learnt, so even if I have yet to release something (almost there 
) hopefully these are still somewhat useful as pointers from someone who has worked on a few projects that were finished. 
Also, never be afraid to ask questions, send me questions if you have any - I can at least try to offer some help.
Thank you everyone for being so honest, sometimes family tell you it looks great when really it doesn’t. I’ve taken what you have said on board and put together a small showcase so you can see where i am currently at. See below. (no more rock music haha)
The project will be free when its finished and i am determined to finish it. I have learnt so much already but i admit i am struggling with the art, i want something gritty and semi realistic but i really don’t know how to go about it, I’ve checked online but can’t seem to find anything that can help me with 2D side view drawing.
On that note i HATE the buildings and i think this circles back to not knowing exactly what style i’m going for, you are right it does look a bit bland and straight.
I’ve got a few problems with coding the AI that i can’t seem to fix but i’m sure ill get my head around it. The enemy currently track the player by comparing the transforms but i’m pretty certain this is the wrong way to go about it. I’m sure i’ll figure it out in time.
Again thank you everyone for the comments, i’m going to keep rereading them and going over how to improve what I’ve created.
Toccs