Pixelation

Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: freespyryt on March 13, 2010, 10:20:05 pm

Title: [WIP] [Nudity?] Marionette
Post by: freespyryt on March 13, 2010, 10:20:05 pm
Soo I got inspired and I wanted to keep going with the idea. So here's the reference picture I drew and I'm working with

Reference Pic (http://i43.tinypic.com/10qi8w7.jpg)

I used a wooden model to get the body style down, and tried to keep proportions in mind with it, although I'm aware that her head is a little bigger than is proportionate. That was deliberate. She's meant to be a marionette puppet, not a human, just so you know.  :P I don't want there to be any confusion as to what she's supposed to be. She's also supposed to be made from wood and of course have the puppet-y hair. This is another new endeavor for me, and it hasn't turned out quite as nice as I'd hoped, but I think it looks pretty good for starting out. I made two versions, one with distinct hair strand lines, the other without. Also, in the one with the blobbing on the hair, I changed the chin a little bit, and the mouth. Comments and honest critiques are much appreciated, and indeed welcomed.

Lines: (http://i44.tinypic.com/30kwn6f.png)
No lines: (http://i40.tinypic.com/6en2mc.png)

Please be honest and even harsh..I want to get this right! :)
Title: Re: [WIP] [Nudity?] Marionette
Post by: EvilEye on March 15, 2010, 04:50:16 am
Looks to me like you could improve the order in which you do things.

I can tell just by looking at your picture that you did the outline first, then filled it with the base color. Then you put down the darkest shadow first, then the lighter shadows, and finally added the highlights last, thus having boxed yourself in a small area ( with the highlights that is ).

There is a much better way to do this. It's as follows:

0. Just choose 3-4 colors to start off with. Darkest / lighter / even lighter / lightest. You can make the in-betweens later.
1. Get your basic shape down, the simpler the better. You can use outlines or blobs of color. Blobs of color are easier for pixeling in my experience. Use a darker shade for this.
2. Take your basic shape and add some definition so you can make sure you got the look you want. You can do this with a darker color if you want.
3. Start adding highlights with the lightest color for even more definition.
4. Now tone down the highlights with the second lightest color, clean up the image.
5. NOW you can add things like the strings and outlines if you want. If you add them before this you will just confuse yourself.

The advantage of all this is that you get the basic look you want in the first stages, only adding the fine detail at the very last stages.

Example:

(http://www.anti-soft.com/graphics/pixelation/example9999.png)

Progression:

(http://www.anti-soft.com/graphics/pixelation/example9999.gif)
Title: Re: [WIP] [Nudity?] Marionette
Post by: freespyryt on March 16, 2010, 01:25:13 am
Thank you! You're exactly right on my method, and I'll be interested to try yours. It seems to work pretty well, and i'll be really interested to see how it works with any of my further projects. I appreciate the input a lot, thanks!