Pixelation

General => General Discussion => Topic started by: radstronomical on June 07, 2010, 03:37:35 pm

Title: Guess the Movie pixel blog
Post by: radstronomical on June 07, 2010, 03:37:35 pm
Hey guys,

I just started up a new pixel art blog wherein I'll be posting movie illustrations and having people guess the film. I'm brand new to this, still working in a very low res, but I'd love it if you'd give me some feedback, and I'd love it even more if you'd participate. Winners get personalized art from me on a postcard.

the blog is: http://themoviethegame.blogspot.com (http://themoviethegame.blogspot.com)

Thanks for your help y'allz. Keep bringing the bleeps.
Title: Re: Guess the Movie pixel blog
Post by: radstronomical on June 08, 2010, 01:07:14 am
answer to this week is posted... ! Go check it out!
Title: Re: Guess the Movie pixel blog
Post by: Anarkhya on June 08, 2010, 07:46:10 am
Hi!

Want a feedback on?
Webdesign? concept? drawings shown?
Please confirm.
Title: Re: Guess the Movie pixel blog
Post by: radstronomical on June 08, 2010, 12:40:22 pm
Everything would be nice... The design of the site is just me reworking a pre-made blog theme with my own art. The images shown are what I would most like feedback on, I suppose.
Title: Re: Guess the Movie pixel blog
Post by: Jorund on June 08, 2010, 03:12:04 pm
You should fix the background image, right now is not tiling well.
Here:
(http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/3963/28166870.gif)
Title: Re: Guess the Movie pixel blog
Post by: radstronomical on June 08, 2010, 04:53:03 pm
Ah, thanks! I always forget to correct this type of issue when i'm animating a loop, too. Done and done.

Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it!
Title: Re: Guess the Movie pixel blog
Post by: Anarkhya on June 08, 2010, 06:54:48 pm
Ok! Here we go then.

Gone to your url, First sight feeling: Ouch! I found the background very unpleasant to the eye (made me think WTF is this? ;)), the pattern you've chosen attracts the eye so much that its difficult to focus attention on the content. Please, emphasize the content not the background.

Second, after reading and watching the drawings, I got somewhat confused... The 2 images I've seen (heat and the warriors) didnt evoke pixel art at all (What exactly is Pixel Art? (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=4265.msg53073#msg53073). So, please state here how you define pixel art.
Title: Re: Guess the Movie pixel blog
Post by: radstronomical on June 09, 2010, 07:55:57 pm
For now, I've removed the background tile. Trying to loo at it objectively, I hear what you're saying.

The 2 images I've seen (heat and the warriors) didnt evoke pixel art at all (What exactly is Pixel Art? (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=4265.msg53073#msg53073). So, please state here how you define pixel art.

I think I understand what you're saying here. I'm definitely new to this (just started getting into this type of drawing within the past month or two), so I'm glad to hear this type of critique. It's interesting for me to attempt an answer.

The first sentence in the definition you linked me to is, I think, the most important one. "Pixel Art is a discipline by which images are created with pixel-level intent or precision." This is exactly what I'm doing, but at the same time I suppose it's the exact opposite. I create my images at an extremely low resolution -- to the point that being off by a single pixel changes the shape of an image, the curve of a line, the feeling expressed, or the viewer's perception. That being said, I don't limit myself to a specific colorset and i've yet to experiment with many of the techniques mentioned in the post. It may be that by blowing up the images to anywhere from twice to eight times their original resolution negates my pixel-specific work, but I prefer to think of it as simulating a low-res viewing environment.

Perhaps what I'm doing is more a simulation of pixel art than pixel art in the purest sense. I hope I'm not stepping on toes here.

Title: Re: Guess the Movie pixel blog
Post by: Anarkhya on June 10, 2010, 01:28:57 am
Quote
I'm definitely new to this (just started getting into this type of drawing within the past month or two

Ok. I dont know what led you to jump in pixel art but maybe you need strong readings (and believe me this board is THE good place for that) to educate your eyes and senses to this new world. To feel where pixel art came from and understand how it has developed over the years.

Here is an example of reading suggestion (not that easy to digest...):
Palette/Size/Tile Restictions on Contemporary Pixel Art  (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=2714.msg33369#msg33369)
about retro art and pixel art, also the entire topic is of high interest (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=8110.msg111700#msg111700)

Also I got some questions for you: Are you familiar with these concepts: AntiAliasing, shading, dithering? Meaning, have you seen examples of what is a good AA and whats not? How shading influences the quality and fidelity of a figurative drawing? How dithering can magnify or ruin a texture?

I wont force you to inject yourself Pixel history but I definitely recommand lurking here to gather infos.

Title: Re: Guess the Movie pixel blog
Post by: radstronomical on June 14, 2010, 11:34:35 pm
Thanks! I did check out those posts a little bit and I am already a little bit familiar with these concepts (I was a digital media major with a focus in animation in school and have always been interested in art), just less so in the pixel art context. Even so, I tried to take this illustration:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1YHCm9Br-lA/TA7518xQ3pI/AAAAAAAAGTo/jM8qXhyWauM/s1600/diltmeier.png

and make him into a standing sprite. It's not great, but: http://lh3.ggpht.com/_1YHCm9Br-lA/TBGiL64OFWI/AAAAAAAAGUM/_Pygl77RfTw/diltmeierStand.png

I'm still not really restricting myself, but i did experiment a little bit with dithering to soften up some of the shading... Any good?

And while I'm here, I'll mention that there's a new post up on the blog: http://themoviethegame.blogspot.com/ for anybody who's interested.
Title: Re: Guess the Movie pixel blog
Post by: Anarkhya on June 15, 2010, 12:21:18 am
Well, honestly, the 400*400 illustration you linked is not my taste and is pretty far from being serious pixel art (Painful aliasing, dirty shapes, no shading). It has the feeling of a wanna-be-pixel piece but with no real consideration for the medium. It could have been nice if vectorized but currently Its just a very rushed and pointless pixel result. btw, where did this come from?

On the contrary, the sprite you've created, evokes a pixel attitude, and show, at least, that some pixel knowledge is going on.
The palette still, IMO, need to be cut, giving the details I see, 16 colors should be a real max. Also, Think about using png indexed, as png 32bits is unnecessary when doing pixels.
Title: Re: Guess the Movie pixel blog
Post by: radstronomical on June 15, 2010, 02:40:16 am
the 400x400 was a doodle I did while at work. I understand what you're saying about the rough shapes -- I didn't go back in and try to fix them at all cause I was really just messing around at the outset. The aliasing, though, I enjoy. I guess where you're taking the idea of very small pixel pieces and furthering it as a method to achieve detail and smoothness, I'm more trying to nod to the things that moved me as a child -- rough simple illustrations like the one in this article, from crash 'n the boys: http://kotaku.com/5359270/nintendo-weekly-download-update-issues-a-street-challenge

Granted, I also want to explore the use of this art on a small scale as you do, and i'm sure the techniques you all use will be invaluable for me as I start to get into sprite animation for my own games.

Thanks for your continued feedback! I hope I don't sound like I'm brushing off what you're saying or like I'm being defensive -- I think I'm just very new to this world.
Title: Re: Guess the Movie pixel blog
Post by: Anarkhya on June 15, 2010, 12:45:35 pm
aha, considering the aliasing field, I understand you think that aliasing have to be there for your nostagia to function.

It may be a fake memory attraction, well speaking from my child experience (precisely, pixelled games from late 1980's to mid 90's, Nes, SuperNes and Amiga systems), aliasing has always been an ugly thing that indicates bad done jobs or early PC monitors and so dont appeal my nostalgia.

As for the street gangs-nekketsu thing you linked, this is probably a zoomed pic so aliasing may be an unwanted resize result...

I'm interested in this discussion about Pixel art representation, so please hang on!
Regarding your attitude, you sound volunteer and sane so dont worry! ;)
Title: Re: Guess the Movie pixel blog
Post by: radstronomical on June 15, 2010, 06:44:35 pm
Nah, that image actually takes up the whole screen area in the intro to that game. that's just the way the illustration is. And yeah, it's definitely just a nostalgia thing -- I understand your not being into it. But i like the idea of trying to make something hard soft with the shaping of the line and the color choice made for line vs. color rather than doing it with antialiasing. Obviously using both of those things could achieve a smoother and more refined result, but to me these aliased images are like a song with tape hiss on the track. It's rough, but there's also something quaint about it.
Title: Re: Guess the Movie pixel blog
Post by: Anarkhya on June 15, 2010, 10:12:19 pm
...So we agree to disagree on how our desires define our viewer experience. I got the point.