Pixelation

Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: Joseph on November 06, 2006, 04:29:31 pm

Title: horse anatomy
Post by: Joseph on November 06, 2006, 04:29:31 pm
I know something is wrong with this, but I thought id post and see what you think anyway.
(http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/2733/horseqp3.png)
Title: Re: horse anatomy
Post by: Gunne on November 06, 2006, 04:56:48 pm
Horses are supposed to have long legs :D, I think they are too short compared with the rest of the body. The tail doesn't seem to be right,  aswell for the buttock, as far I can tell. The tail looks too stiff, and I think adding a swirl in it would help, and the buttocks need to be bigger at the top. It looks ok when you change the legs, I don't really know the anatomy of a horse, but it seems to be correct.
Title: Re: horse anatomy
Post by: typeoh on November 06, 2006, 04:57:20 pm
At first I thought the horse seemed vertically squished, but then i realized that the head was the problem

The neck extends a bit too far, and the head itself should be higher up.
I think that, forming a rectangle from the top left of the head to the bottom right of the body, you should aim for a rectangle with a height 2/3 of the length (yay golden ratio)

Also, extending the legs a tad might not hurt
Title: Re: horse anatomy
Post by: Terley on November 06, 2006, 09:12:56 pm
Atm it looks more like a dog, horses have much more musclular necks, tried to fix the proportions a bit, added quick details too.

(http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/317/horsest5.png)
Title: Re: horse anatomy
Post by: VictorR on November 06, 2006, 09:29:22 pm
(http://www.horse-diseases.com/_images/horseanatomy.gif)

Try googling anatomy if your lost.
Also next time post your refrence.

(http://www.anatomyinmotion.com/vhsil.jpg)
Looks alot like yours.
Title: Re: horse anatomy
Post by: Larwick on November 06, 2006, 10:19:47 pm
Nice edit Terley (ignoring the small legs), and good references Victor... but that one looks nothing like his piece..
Title: Re: horse anatomy
Post by: Joseph on November 07, 2006, 01:27:58 am
I didnt use a reference...but I see how I messed up.  Thanks for pointing those out.
Title: Re: horse anatomy
Post by: Terley on November 07, 2006, 02:11:43 am
I used a reference, otherwise I'd just be claiming to somehow know the exact proportions of a horse (didn't think you should), still got it wrong  :lol: those legs are short aren't they... erm.. I was going for a Shetland pony.

http://www.worldofhorses.co.uk/Breeds/Images/Shetland_pony.jpg

no really I just typed in horse into alltheweb.com and used the available thumbnails as reference, didn't go into detail with the proportions but I tried.  :'(
Title: Re: horse anatomy
Post by: Dogmeat on November 08, 2006, 03:12:00 am
Nice edit Terley (ignoring the small legs), and good references Victor... but that one looks nothing like his piece..

Dude, give me a break it looks almost exactly like it, except he took the front most leg and bent it, which obviously doesn't work if you've ever seen a horse walk.
Title: Re: horse anatomy
Post by: Joseph on November 08, 2006, 05:37:52 am
update:                                   update:
(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a319/joseph_ch/pixel/unsure/horse1.png)::(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a319/joseph_ch/pixel/unsure/horse2.png)
better?
Title: Re: horse anatomy
Post by: robalan on November 08, 2006, 05:52:24 am
The feet on that don't work at all.  The front hoofs pointing towards the back of the horse, flowing tail, and arched back make it look like the horse is in the middle of a gallop, but the back legs are planted firmly on the ground.  Also, due to the shading at the tops of the legs, this horse appears to have four right legs and no left legs :huh:  So the legs have gone from stubby but decent to confusing as hell.  As for the form, it looks more like a dog than a horse at the moment.  To fix that, you might start by making the neck and tail thicker.  I don't know what to say but check the references provided and fix it.

[EDIT] You posted the new update while I was typing.  The mane helps define it as a horse somewhat, but there's too much mane.  A horse's mane only goes to the nape of its neck, not halfway down its back. [/EDIT]
[EDIT2] Oh, and why is one of the back legs attached to the horse's stomach?  That's throwing this off as well.  The back hips should be paralell. [/EDIT2]
Title: Re: horse anatomy
Post by: Joseph on November 08, 2006, 12:21:53 pm
how would I work with depth on the right legs?  I was thinking about just using the darker colors but I wasnt sure.
about the hooves, they're a bit longer than they should be and yes, I see what you mean on its placement, ill fix later today.
Title: Re: horse anatomy
Post by: Dogmeat on November 08, 2006, 04:59:40 pm
The way it is right now it reminds me of an old cave drawing where the horses looked like this. Is this your intention or are you trying to go for a more modern style?
Title: Re: horse anatomy
Post by: AdamAtomic on November 08, 2006, 05:45:40 pm
Dude, give me a break it looks almost exactly like it, except he took the front most leg and bent it, which obviously doesn't work if you've ever seen a horse walk.

There are zero similarities between the two pieces - everything is different.  The head position and shape, the leg positions, the pose, everything.

I think this is the first time I've ever seen this, but the 2 updates changed your image dramatically for the worse.  I'd return to your original, and just work on shading your form at first - the way you're shading the body and legs makes it very hard to read.  It looks like you shaded your horse based on a bunch of uniformly lit spheres or something, and then blew the specular out to the point where the REAL color of your horse makes up maybe 10% of the actual pixels used.  Horses are animals covered in SKIN - this means extreme shadows and highlights are rare at best.  I did a quick edit, trying to keep your same basic style, only pulling your highlights and shadows WAY back, they are far too extreme to be realistic or aesthetically pleasing in any way.

(http://adam.lastchancemedia.com/sprites/joseph_edit.png)

I did not change the silhouette very much at all - a few pixels on the head and stomach maybe, and I thickened the neck quite a bit.  Didn't touch the legs a bit though!

EDIT - on second glance, even my version has waaay too many highlights - but I think it should still help.
Title: Re: horse anatomy
Post by: baccaman21 on November 13, 2006, 04:07:13 pm
as a general rule of thumb with regards to anatomy and limb length you need to think (or bear in mind) the notion of the golden ratio - (Phi - [1.61]) - This applies to most things in the natural world.

with specific application to your image. (or should i say the updated one) - regarding the length of the legs. (I'm going all over the place with this so apologies)

When you consider anatomy - particularly mammilian anatomy - skeletally speaking we're all the same, but it horse or human... some bones may be fused (hips in humans for instance - or fingers in horses [becomes the hoof]) and some bones are elongated or squash dependant on the evolutionary process. If you look at a whale's skeleton - and compare it to a human skeleton (at it's most extreme example) you can find all the corresponding bones...

getting back to your image and the notion of PHI (1.61) - the golden ratio - this is a davinci thing so credit goes to him...

Hold your hand up infront of your face... check your fingers out - wiggle em a bit... now look at any finger - notice it's split into 3 sections... each section is called the 'phalange' - starting with the one with your nail on... and moving up towards the palm, each length is 1.61 bigger than the other... (generally speaking) - this contiues into the bones into the 'palm' - then up into the bones of the arm and so on... (this ia rough 'rule of thumb' - no pun intendend)

you need to apply this in your art - the horses legs are plain wrong... think in terms of Phi and measure them each and make a determined guess based on this principle... you will notice a marked improvement immediatly.

keep it up - and happy pixeling.
Title: Re: horse anatomy
Post by: baccaman21 on November 13, 2006, 04:08:30 pm
do a search for edward muybridge in google... you'll find loads of references for horses in motion....