I’m basing my stuff off vector art and 2D stuff these days
As I have trouble basing off real objects
I am trying to make it for Top-Down/RPG view, but not sure how
I think you have a fine shape for broccoli (kinda looks like a tree) It doesn’t quite make sense to have broccoli this big in an RPG, but if you are looking to have giant broccoli it still needs more landmarks like branching out and little sports on the surface of these round dome shapes.
If you want to base your art on real objects here is one closer to real image reference from googles images for Broccoli. Just looking at your version I feel as though the colors don’t scream broccoli. Coming back after a minute or two to look at pixel art can help you see some flaws with it.
Comparing the color palette created by Aseprite from your reference and this image (2nd cartoon, 1st realistic) you can see that Broccoli has more yellow in certain areas. Again desaturating the reference can help with finding the right values for your color palette.
I noticed you mentioned you were unsure about how to make a top-down view and one of the big points here is that you get to see a little more of the top of objects. One example would be the Legend of Zelda Minish Cap(Such a fun game btw.) You can see that almost all the objects have tops with layers(such as the mushroom stalk) that lie underneath the tops and sides of the higher object (mushroom cap in this case).
Here is a small object to show what I mean, it’s just a circle and highlight (using a bigger brush) with a small base stretching down underneath.
As a bonus, I created a tree resembling broccoli using your sprite as a base. I utilized the + and - signs to increase brush sizes for the leaves, making them easier to create. As you can see since there isn’t that much contrast it looks somewhat flat but could make a nice top-down tree if the top were extended into a block shape(similar to the Minish Cap Trees.)
I based off a bit of SLYNYRD’s method
End result is a tree with a green trunk…unfortunately doesn’t look/feel like a giant vegetable