Pixelation
Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: JackBauer24 on October 30, 2007, 08:57:55 pm
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Hey guys, jack here with more art stuff. The plane is a B-25 J bomber from WWII. This is another wip. Eventually I want to have a scene with one at an airbase during WWII. I have desided to do something less ambitious then the tank scene or the train. I have had it brought to my attention that starting smaller is a good idea. Therefore, this is it. Enjoy.
Jack
(http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e85/AgentJackBauer/B-25J-Bomber-1.png) <--WIP
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This piece suffers form the same thing your other pieces suffer from. the shading is too low contrast, and done too little. I would add a few highlight tones, and remove a few mid-tones. Your lines are pretty solid, but the shading is harming the piece greatly.
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Ok, thats awsome to hear. I know that it lacks alot. So what areas need contrast? The engines? Shading? Or is it just overall? Thanks!
Jack
(http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e85/AgentJackBauer/USArmyairbase.jpg)
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Overall. Your shading really lacks. Why the lightsource directly on top? Seems kind of unlogical to me. I say study lightsources and shading a bit more before continuing.
The colours are quite boring to look at also. You can basicly see the hull as a big long tube. Here's a very basic example of how shading on a tube often looks like:
(http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/6184/tubevd0.gif)
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So are you saying that I need more shades to convey the fact that its a tube? The thing is, those are the actual colors of the aircraft. It needs dings, scratches, etc. Aside, Im trying my best. I didnt say it was done and yeah, I have a record of getting discouraged and putting a project on hold. But I want to finish this...and so I shall. Thanks again and I appreciate you holding me accountable.
Jack
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there's no such thing as the "actual color" of something, and yes, the volumes need help.
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Thats good to hear. Can anyone demonstrate because I keep hearing that but when I try to put it into practice, I fail. If so, that would be great. I think one problem for me is that I dont have other examples of WWII pixel art to really inspire me to work harder. I will keep working on it. Thanks!
Jack
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BAD STUFF:
1 - you posted a .jpeg yet again
2 - you are working on an enormous piece yet again
3 - you have chosen not to display any perspective whatsoever...yet again
4 - you have colored it basically like a coloring book (yet again)
ADVICE:
1 - do not post .jpegs they are useless and dumb
2 - WORK SMALLER. please. pretty please? the benefits are multitudinous:
- first and foremost, it is faster and easier to experiment because you are pushing fewer pixels
- you can concentrate on basic pixeling techniques rather than just filling all that real estate
- you must relly more on light instead of outlines to describe your shapes, as outlines will get too thick at smaller sizes
3 - choose a more exciting angle for your piece. Can you imagine watching a movie about airplanes where they only showed them from above like this? BOOORING.
4 - Something that works great for me, and has worked for other people too, is to start your piece not with detailed lineart and the paint bucket tool, but with a palette of maybe 3-4 grays, and the paintbrush. and instead of drawing a schematic and filling it in, you paint the light hitting your forms. and that's it. no colors, no details yet, just the major forms. when your picture is readable and exciting with just like 4 shades of gray, then the likelihood of it looking good and exciting when its colored is much, much, much, much higher.
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1944 the loop master and the other games in the series might be helpful to look at. Look up mame if u want to play the game....
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=6772 (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=6772)
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Ok, first off I accidentally for once saved it as a bmp. 2nd, Its a mock up for a 1942-like top down game. I am trying to figure out how to make it look better. It takes me alot of time to draw the things I do. I never said I was a great pixel artist. I am...a guy who likes WWII tanks, etc and likes drawing them. I don't have to post here but I chose to because I see the awesome stuff here. Perhaps this is a forum for a grade out of my league. I am tempted to stop posting until I feel that what I am working on is worthy of the expectations of pixel artists here. Thanks for the advise though, I will try to follow through. Take care.
Jack
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Ok, first off I accidentally for once saved it as a bmp. 2nd, Its a mock up for a 1942-like top down game. I am trying to figure out how to make it look better. It takes me alot of time to draw the things I do. I never said I was a great pixel artist. I am...a guy who likes WWII tanks, etc and likes drawing them. I don't have to post here but I chose to because I see the awesome stuff here. Perhaps this is a forum for a grade out of my league. I am tempted to stop posting until I feel that what I am working on is worthy of the expectations of pixel artists here. Thanks for the advise though, I will try to follow through. Take care.
Jack
Oh dummy, we have no such 'expectations', we only have advice, and as long as we believe in our advice, we'll be claiming it, over and over again. But that's not something that is to be confused with 'expectations' :] So go easy on yourself. I enjoy seeing your stuff posted here. Keep it coming. :]
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Whoa whoa whoa Jack; you don't have to get defensive man, we're only trying to help you become better. ;) :y: You can choose to take the advice from any critique you want, because ultimately, it's your piece, you dig? But just saying--pretty much the whole point on posting stuff here is to get critiques...
(http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/6396/plaineai8.png)
A very fast, rough edit, to show how you could go about a more dynamic way of lighting, and to show a more reasonable size to work with. (I donno though, my monitor is screwy, so it might be really dark still :S)
I think if you took your uber-detailed style, and brought it down to a more manageable work area, and applied even the most basic lighting principles and other pixel-specific techniques like AA and dithering, you'll be well on your way.
Oh, and I tried to find some ww2-esque pieces:
http://pixeljoint.com/pixelart/18517.htm (http://pixeljoint.com/pixelart/18517.htm)
http://pixeljoint.com/p/3015.htm (http://pixeljoint.com/p/3015.htm)
Though I have to agree that the majority of them are cartoon versus your realistic style....and I can't seem to find/remember any good examples of good pixelled top-view planes, but sharprm's suggestion is pretty good.
Another war-y game with decent pixel are was Cannon Fodder (http://www.mobygames.com/game/cannon-fodder/screenshots)...can't think of anymore off the top of my tired head....
Good luck :y:
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Another great place if you want to do some quick research on WWII games...
http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/world-war-ii-games/offset,300/so,1d/ (http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/world-war-ii-games/offset,300/so,1d/)
It's pretty much a list of every WWII game designed since 1980. If I remember correctly, Commandos was pretty decent for inspiration and may have had some top down images of planes. Can't remember if it was pixel art, though. The first one came out in 1988.
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Cool, thanks for the link. I will look over it and see whats to be learned. Ciao!
Jack