First of all, I really like your progress. You seem to be understanding what is Heroes 2 graphic style, and you will most probably be able to create decent H2-ish assets after a little practice.
Here are some notes.
First of all, it's the creature gamma. As you may notice, in Heroes 2 there is approximately 2 main colors and 2-4 decorative colors for each faction. An example of Barbarian:
Main colors: Green + Brown + Grey in some amount; Orange comes as relative to Yellow and Brown.
Decorative colors: Red (for eyes; relative to Orange and Yellow), Yellow; Turquoise comes as relative to Grey, not a very close relation but it seems to be fitting just fine.
The trick is that all these colors fit to each other quite nicely and provide enough variety so the lineup doesn't look copied.
The outline doesn't have to be black: it simply replicates the neighbouring color, but it is considerably darker.
In the case of the Dervish faction the colors also should be distributed in a peculiar way.
I must admit that simply composing a faction of neutrals will not make the cut. We can see a total mash-up in the gamma as well as creature concepts. But still, we can make very careful adjustments so no one will notice them but will start recognizing the faction as whole.
I suppose the Dervish colors to follow these rules:
Main colors: Yellow, Grey, Brown as relative to Yellow
Decorative colors: Blue (used for Genie and blades), ???
Unique Green color for un-upgraded Medusa still can exist as an exception (like in the Wizard's lineup where we have the blue Giant and black Titan). The upgraded Medusa (Medusa Queen) should be brownish to satisfy the main gamma.
However, the Red color (a relative to Yellow and Orange) does not look very good for the Anubite in the current lineup because we have Yellow and Brown instead. Most probably, the Anubite's dress color will be changed. The red color comes from Anubite's prototype in Might and Magic VI. The Scorpion's yellow color also doesn't satisfy because the Scorpion is placed near the Nomad who is already Yellow. So that the Scorpion main color is also likely to be changed to something brownish or grey. We need more variety in this case.
In the case of the current Acolyte, we have got a real lot of colors which currently don't complement to the chosen faction main gamma.
- The Purple color should be
removed. It doesn't go well with the rest of the lineup colors, because it fits much more for the Necromancer (as a relative to Blue and Red).
- The White color is
questionable, because there are not any creatures which actually fit this color. First I thought to use White as a dress for un-upgraded Anubite, but then I came up with an idea of H2-styled upgrade system for creatures. I think that the dress should be more grey-ish or brownish. The current beige color is likely to be changed to a more radical brown. Still, we need to make sure that the first three levels will look good near each other: Rogue, Acolyte, Nomad. The Rogue's weapon color can be changed to Blue like the Nomad has, so the Acolyte is likely to become something in between.
- The beard color should
stay as is, and the skin should be a darker brown.
- The destiny of the red belt is
unknown. Probably, it can be Blue instead of Red, to satisfy the decorative color.
Second, we must keep in mind the creature proportions.Your current version is more like the standard human proportions (7 heads for the full-height).
Heroes 2 proportions are a bit different:
Moreover, the current Acolyte is too narrow to fit the other creatures:
so that it will be necessary to consider widening it a little. Still it's a journeyman spellcaster with sandals and all that, but it must look strong enough for level 2.
Third, we don't animate creatures for v0.8 beta.We simply don't have time for that, but if you will have a desire to do so, it will be appreciated. Animating creatures with properly done color transitions may take a real lot of time, because each frame must be more or less good-looking if taken separately from the frame pack.
Fourth, some conceptual improvements could also be good.A more discernible turban or hat, a more confident arm which grips the staff, and maybe even a staff position adjustment would come in handy very much.
