Hey guys.
I've been trying to draw this palm tree scene from a reference I pulled off google: http://imgur.com/Rso3r70
This is my first attempt at trying to convert a high res photo (ref is pretty shitty quality) to my own pixel version, and I'm having a hard time pixeling out what the palm tree leaves ACTUALLY looks like... given the limitations inherent to pixel art.

the light source is supposed to be in front of the tree and slightly to the left.


any comments or critiques?

there wasn't enough room left for the top of the head so I increased the pixel height of the picture.

for the last walk cycle, be wary of pillow shading.

Here's an edit I made of your flower pot.


some things to note in no particular order:
- I reduced the number of colours used for everything. Notice how many colours (7+?) you used to form the gradient on your pot. I only used 3. but you can see how dithering (really messy) can help form a decent gradient even with just a few colours.
- I added a bunch of miscellaneous plant growth at soil level.
- I drew over some of the plant growth with soil to make it look like the plants are coming out of the soil, not just sitting on top of the soil.
- I made the colour of the soil more grey/brown, so it would stand out against the red/brown pot.
- I varied the direction and look of the plants heads. notice how all of your plant heads are looking up in the same direction. almost copy-paste. it's un-inspired.
- I googled "clay pot" and fixed the shading and lighting on your pot. not everything needs rim lighting. however i was too lazy to AA my edit.
- I changed the perspective on the actual pot. less of the opening is showing. this was one of my biggest gripes with your picture. the perspectives are off between the plants and the pot. in yours, you're looking down into the pot with 3D perspective, but the plants are drawn flat with no depth.

I hope this helped, keep on practicing!

Hi there, and welcome to Pixelation.
I just started pixel art a week or two ago, so I am no authority on how to create great pixel art.
But I drew your guy in my own style (60-ish px by 20-ish px), and in showing my process, perhaps you may gain something of use.



so step 1 (left -> right) was just getting the form down to a point where I was okay with how it looked, and adding the base colours to the different parts of the body. When looking at your character, I noticed the colours you chose (especially the hair) were way too saturated. notice the yellows I used for the hair are more toned back.. it hurts the eyes less.

step 2 was adding shadows (no highlights), and fixing little areas of the figure (see right leg & arm). For determining where the shadows should go, I picked an imaginary light source (top left) and added the shadows accordingly, as best I could. They arent perfect - as I don't have much knowledge in light/colour theory - but it's passable, at least in my opinion. The most important thing is to be consistent with your shadows once you've chosen the direction of your light source.

step 3, as per my style, involves outlining the character in black. I think it really makes the character pop aesthetically, and also helps separate the character from background elements for better readability.

anyway, I hope that helped a little, seeing my process. it's pretty basic I think.
Good luck in your efforts to learn pixel art!

EDIT:
I just wanted to add that good pixel art takes time. it takes even longer when you're a beginner. you have to be smart about where you're placing your pixels and really be meticulous about it. my drawing of your character probably took 45 mins.