Critique wanted if possible

[megamax124]

Hello everyone,
I have started on a game project and would like some pixel art styled graphics so i started messing around a bit.
i have made the following texture as my first one. i copied parts of the bottom and placed them along the sides (left side is mirrored)
To me it looks kinda weird but i'm not sure how to correct it. can someone give me some insight into this or even help me do it
have a nice day,
max

[Joe]

Hi, welcome.
As per this thread, go to imgur.com, upload your image, it will give you an option for bbcode (between [img] tags) paste it here. You can use the post preview to see if it worked before posting.

[megamax124]

Hi, welcome.
As per this thread, go to imgur.com, upload your image, it will give you an option for bbcode (between [img] tags) paste it here. You can use the post preview to see if it worked before posting.

thanks! first post is now updated. tips on how to improve a very welcome

[Joe]

One thing that's definitely off is the bordering gray bricks should align with the red. Your texture is maybe a little busy, I would clean up the pixels some. And for variety you should have a few darker bricks here and there, just a subtle variation.

[megamax124]

One thing that's definitely off is the bordering gray bricks should align with the red. Your texture is maybe a little busy, I would clean up the pixels some. And for variety you should have a few darker bricks here and there, just a subtle variation.

okay so how about this?:

[Glak]

Much better aligned, but not quite there.  They need the vertical separation as well.  Right now it looks like there are bricks that are gray on one side and red on the other.  They should look like separate bricks.  Also the top and bottom need to be separated into separate blocks.

[megamax124]

Much better aligned, but not quite there.  They need the vertical separation as well.  Right now it looks like there are bricks that are gray on one side and red on the other.  They should look like separate bricks.  Also the top and bottom need to be separated into separate blocks.

Here i tried adding some shadows to the gray bricks to make it look liker they come out more, is this what you meant?
Also played with the colors a bit.
(btw, is it okay to post so many pictures in one thread?)

[Pusty]

Yes it is , you are even supposed to do this ^^
I liked the colors in the previous images more but that's only my taste of coloring
In your newer version the borders are clear now but on the right side it looks like
the gray bricks are in front of the other ones (or is it just me?)

[Joe]

Okay you have 38 colors in that image. That isn't even remotely necessary, and it's clearly counterproductive.
You can easily make a clearer picture with only 8 colors.
I'm not going to clean up all these bricks, but this edit should show you what you need to know.



As I said, there is too much noise, all the highlights are doing nothing but obscuring what you're trying to convey. There is no good reason for the highlights to be anywhere but the top pixel row of each brick at this resolution.
Second, doubling up the pixels at the gray border doesn't help; you want the illusion that they're a different color but on the same plane.
Like I said, add some variety to your bricks.

[megamax124]

Okay you have 38 colors in that image. That isn't even remotely necessary, and it's clearly counterproductive.
You can easily make a clearer picture with only 8 colors.
I'm not going to clean up all these bricks, but this edit should show you what you need to know.



As I said, there is too much noise, all the highlights are doing nothing but obscuring what you're trying to convey. There is no good reason for the highlights to be anywhere but the top pixel row of each brick at this resolution.
Second, doubling up the pixels at the gray border doesn't help; you want the illusion that they're a different color but on the same plane.
Like I said, add some variety to your bricks.

Thanks a lot! I think i got it. But how did you reduce the colors back to 8-bit?