Pixelation

Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: Gamer36 on January 07, 2011, 07:57:55 pm

Title: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: Gamer36 on January 07, 2011, 07:57:55 pm
I just made a small pixel smiley (http://i.imgur.com/vt7YH.jpg) :) and am wondering what I can do to make it better, here are a few things I've noticed already:
Mustache is a bit blocky, need to fix the AA

Yes, thats all I've noticed, PLEASE feel free to post C&C

Hope ya like it!

EDIT

Here is the png image: (http://i.imgur.com/v3CTI.png)(Tell me if I need to use gif)

And here is the base I used:(http://i.imgur.com/AaYSp.png)

And I still don't see any difference between the jpeg and png, but thats fine for me
Title: Re: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: Mathias on January 07, 2011, 08:39:45 pm
It needs arms.
Title: Re: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: Gamer36 on January 07, 2011, 09:02:40 pm
It needs arms.
The reason it doesn't have arms is cause I'm following a (template) and it doesn't have arms but I'll try to make some.
Title: Re: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: Batzy on January 07, 2011, 09:10:18 pm
this is a joke right? it's even .jpg
Title: Re: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: Gamer36 on January 07, 2011, 09:37:03 pm
this is a joke right? it's even .jpg
Why would it be a joke, and so what if it is jpg gif and png sux
Title: Re: (CLOSED)Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: adcrusher524 on January 07, 2011, 09:46:28 pm
gif and png keeps the pixels in tact, and jpeg screws all the pixels up so never save as jpg. You shouldn't give up so early you just started the thread today. :-\
Title: Re: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: Gamer36 on January 08, 2011, 09:27:28 am
gif and png keeps the pixels in tact, and jpeg screws all the pixels up so never save as jpg. You shouldn't give up so early you just started the thread today. :-\
It screws up all the pixels? Here is a png:(http://i.imgur.com/lNNO9.png) And here is a gif:(http://i.imgur.com/YPdNA.gif) And last but not least a jpeg/jpg:(http://imgur.com/vt7YH.jpg)

EDIT

OMFG!!!! I guess my old pixel program messed 'em up, but still they all look the same, there isn't anything wrong with the jpeg :-\...
Title: Re: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: Lukkas on January 08, 2011, 11:47:51 am
there isn't anything wrong with the jpeg :-\...

Comparison 1 (http://lbrandy.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/jpg_vs_png2.png)
Comparison 2 (http://tutorial9.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2008/05/gif-comparison.gif)

Did you load up your own image, already saved as jpeg, and then just re-save as png and gif? If so, that's why you don't notice a difference. The compression already happened.

jpeg uses a technique called lossy compression to reduce the file size. It's called lossy because integrity is actually lost in the process of compression. This means pixels might not be where they were before, or may change color, to reduce the complexity of the image, thereby decreasing filesize. This is bad for pixel art, or virtually anything that isn't a high-resolution photograph.

png on the other hand uses lossless compression. The algorithm attempts to reduce filesize only by using means that do not affect the fidelity of the original, raw data.
Title: Re: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: infinitegames on January 08, 2011, 07:36:54 pm
Besides the JPEG issue (seriously, smart people are telling you it's a problem, why argue?) I didn't know that he had a mustache. I thought the mustache was his mouth and the mouth was an underline/underlip part of the mouth to make it look like he was frowning and grunting in horror.
Title: Re: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: ptoing on January 08, 2011, 07:52:12 pm
Also, jpg compression adds colours. The gif/png one has 111 colours (which is a needlessly huge amount and makes me think your smiley was shrank down from a bigger version), while the jpg one has over 200 colours.

I also agree that the mustache thing is not at all obvious. I read it like infinitegames.
Title: Re: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: Gamer36 on January 10, 2011, 01:53:53 pm
there isn't anything wrong with the jpeg :-\...

Comparison 1 (http://lbrandy.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/jpg_vs_png2.png)
Comparison 2 (http://tutorial9.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2008/05/gif-comparison.gif)

Did you load up your own image, already saved as jpeg, and then just re-save as png and gif? If so, that's why you don't notice a difference. The compression already happened.

jpeg uses a technique called lossy compression to reduce the file size. It's called lossy because integrity is actually lost in the process of compression. This means pixels might not be where they were before, or may change color, to reduce the complexity of the image, thereby decreasing filesize. This is bad for pixel art, or virtually anything that isn't a high-resolution photograph.

png on the other hand uses lossless compression. The algorithm attempts to reduce filesize only by using means that do not affect the fidelity of the original, raw data.
I'm pretty sure I had a psd file (I know I had one) and I saved that as gif, png, and jpeg. And I don't see any difference. I also knew that png used lossless but I didn't pay much attention, so I'll take the psd file and save it as jpeg, png and gif and see what happens.
Title: Re: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: Gamer36 on January 10, 2011, 02:02:31 pm
Besides the JPEG issue (seriously, smart people are telling you it's a problem, why argue?) I didn't know that he had a mustache. I thought the mustache was his mouth and the mouth was an underline/underlip part of the mouth to make it look like he was frowning and grunting in horror.
"Smart people are telling you it,s a problem, why argue?" Thats like saying "Your friend your stupid, why argue?" I'm just expressing my opinion, just cause some "Smart Person" tells you something doesn't mean you have to listen.
Also, jpg compression adds colours. The gif/png one has 111 colours (which is a needlessly huge amount and makes me think your smiley was shrank down from a bigger version), while the jpg one has over 200 colours.

I also agree that the mustache thing is not at all obvious. I read it like infinitegames.
It was not shrunken down, it is supposed to be gradient, I don't get what your guys problem is with so many colors... And I came here to C AND C (Critique and Comments) not just critique, so please tell me how I can fix the mustache
Title: Re: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: Phlakes on January 10, 2011, 10:53:53 pm
"Smart people are telling you it,s a problem, why argue?" Thats like saying "Your friend your stupid, why argue?" I'm just expressing my opinion, just cause some "Smart Person" tells you something doesn't mean you have to listen.

It was not shrunken down, it is supposed to be gradient, I don't get what your guys problem is with so many colors... And I came here to C AND C (Critique and Comments) not just critique, so please tell me how I can fix the mustache

First, most of these people have had years of experience, and a good amount of them are professional. It's like getting a suggestion from a university professor. If your asking for critiques and comments, leave your pride and self-righteousness at the home page and be ready to change what you do.

Second, look at almost every thread in this section. I can guarantee that each sprite of a similar size to yours has less than 100 colors, in fact most of them probably have less than 20. You should probably read this- http://www.petesqbsite.com/sections/tutorials/tuts/tsugumo/chapter6.htm and the rest of the tutorials on that site. And for a quick suggestion, try making the sprite again limiting yourself to 8 colors. Then, add just enough AA to make it clean. I'm talking from experience, too. I used to just whip out a new color whenever I was shading a different region, but once I limited myself, everything I made looked better. Everything.
Title: Re: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: PypeBros on January 11, 2011, 05:32:13 pm
"Smart people are telling you it,s a problem, why argue?" Thats like saying "Your friend your stupid, why argue?" I'm just expressing my opinion, just cause some "Smart Person" tells you something doesn't mean you have to listen.

It was not shrunken down, it is supposed to be gradient, I don't get what your guys problem is with so many colors...

First, most of these people have had years of experience, and a good amount of them are professional. It's like getting a suggestion from a university professor. If your asking for critiques and comments, leave your pride and self-righteousness at the home page and be ready to change what you do.
Experience put apart, you have asked for C&C in a pixelart forum. That assume you want to do pixel art. That is, push to the ultimate tuning of individual pixel and color values. alpha-blended layers, automatic-generated gradients go against that ultimate control. It's like going to a rock band and ask them to help you improve your interpretation of Vivaldi on the violin ...

Quote
And I came here to C AND C (Critique and Comments) not just critique, so please tell me how I can fix the mustache
Try to move the whole mouth away and focus on the stache. the "blockiness" likely due to that horizontal stache bottom underlined by an underlined mouth. removing the mouth should help you emphasize the stache's curviness.
Title: Re: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: Helm on January 11, 2011, 06:25:29 pm
man, this is hard

(http://locustleaves.com/v3CTI2.png)

here's one attempt.

The only way for the mustache to work, for me, is if there's a nose implication. Otherwise the smiley looks like it has two mouths.
Title: Re: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: ptoing on January 11, 2011, 11:06:38 pm
Played a bit with Helms. Pringles dude has no nose, so I guess it could work here as well. It kinda reads.

(http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15588722/edits/smiley.png)
Title: Re: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: Jim16 on January 12, 2011, 07:03:14 pm
That to me looks like this emote but with his mouth open ^-^. Helms reads a lot better as a moustache.
Title: Re: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: PypeBros on January 12, 2011, 09:07:01 pm
Played a bit with Helms. Pringles dude has no nose, so I guess it could work here as well. It kinda reads.
(http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15588722/edits/smiley.png)

I'd even go
(http://139.165.223.2/~martin/scene/stache-smiley.png)
Non-black stache could read better ...
Title: Re: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: Gamer36 on January 19, 2011, 02:46:41 pm
Just to make it clear, this is going for a certain "look" witch is the following:(http://i.imgur.com/TbNyr.png) all your "half" eyes aren't suitable for the "style" that I'm going for. And I need a mouth, otherwise it looks weird
Title: Re: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: Helm on January 19, 2011, 03:02:07 pm
This is a critique forum. You get critique and you put it to use and you get better. You don't have to like the edits you're getting, but please appreciate them.
Title: Re: Smiley Pixel Art!
Post by: Gamer36 on January 19, 2011, 03:35:11 pm
This is a critique forum. You get critique and you put it to use and you get better. You don't have to like the edits you're getting, but please appreciate them.
I DO appreciate them, sorry if it didn't seem like it.