Pixelation

Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: Kcilc on January 09, 2011, 01:44:33 am

Title: Halp!
Post by: Kcilc on January 09, 2011, 01:44:33 am
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/Daroge/Pixelation%20Posts/Girly.gif)

So I have the time of my life trying to make faces this size. I just can't seem to get it quite right...she's supposed to have a little smile and a slightly seductive gaze. She's also supposed to look human. If anything else seems out of place please lemme know.
Title: Re: Halp!
Post by: ErekT on January 09, 2011, 09:24:36 am
(http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/ErekT_Pixel/Halp.gif)

Did a quick edit on the things that stood out to me. Remember the length from shoulder to shoulder should be about three heads. Also, pixels need to work together the best they can to communicate details such as a slight smirk/smile. Realistic shading is nice but secondary to this IMO. Your palette has at least two colors that could be merged, the pink midtones on the left arm for instance.
Title: Re: Halp!
Post by: Tourist on January 09, 2011, 06:16:44 pm
I gave the face a try.  I'm not really happy with how the mouth turned out.

(http://www.4freeimagehost.com/uploads/7e333f3bef8c.png)

Main things:
1) Add some empty space.  Pull the hair away from the forehead.   Move the ear further back to expose more the cheek and side of the head.
2) A clean eye shape.  It doesn't have to be large, eyes almost always stand out because of how our brains work.
3) Using all the values to give the profile some rounded edges.  This takes time.  I think I would recommend adjusting the shades a bit too, in particular the lighter yellow-browns, and take a second look at the ramp dark brown-brown-red-pink.
4) Highlights on the face should match the light source.  (Left and up in this case)

Eh.  I could spend days tweaking the face.

I agree with ErekT about the arms.  Also, the straight leg looks a bit short to me.

Tourist
Title: Re: Halp!
Post by: Cure on January 09, 2011, 07:25:36 pm
I think the torso slants too much like a straight diagonal rather than sloping into the lower back then straightening up towards the ribcage. as-is she looks kinda off balance and her head seems too far back for her chest.
Tourist made a great face edit so my changes to that area were pretty minor.
Where is her other arm? Try that position in the mirror and see how comfortable/possible it is.
also further elongated the humerus.

edit of Tourist's edit:
(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g209/phototekcub/halpedit.png)
Title: Re: Halp!
Post by: Mathias on January 10, 2011, 12:44:50 am
The pose is ridiculous. It immediately causes me to attempt to make excuses for it's extremeness. I don't think there's any getting around it. I fear this sprite is inherently flawed.

Cure is being WAY more realistic for human posture capabilities. Especially her right arm (our left) edit. I don't think the previous right arm position was possible, at least in a relaxed mood. And if she's supposed to be striking some "sudductive" pose, than casual is what you want, not over exertion, challenging the limits of human triple-jointed pose strikage.
Title: Re: Halp!
Post by: xegnma on January 10, 2011, 04:29:19 am
It's not beyond salvaging.
In addition to cure's edits you could shift her left leg up a bit
and change the position of her left arm so that it falls more naturally:

(http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z411/dimumurray/come_hither.png)

It's all iterative so just keep tweaking until your get it to where you want...
Title: Re: Halp!
Post by: Kcilc on January 10, 2011, 05:21:24 am
I knew something was terribly wrong with the pose! I knew the hips were completely screwed over and I needed to fix them some day, but I didn't even think about the arm and middle. Well, I did think about the arm and tried my hardest to get into her position—after failing I didn't bother fixing it, giving myself a little bit of artistic freedom.

I love the wonderful face! It's not quite the expression I want but it is positively beautiful.

@xegnma: I love what you did with her! I took it in a slightly different direction with the edits and critique that I've already been given earlier, but you caught what I was hoping to achieve with her attitude.

Thank you so much everyone for all of the help and edits and stuff! :)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/Daroge/Girly45.gif)
Here's an update trying to resolve some of the pose issues and face catastrophe and stuff. Also, she's supposed to be leaning up against a wall; I just never drew a background. It's a bit rough, but I'll wait to make sure there aren't any more triple-jointed pose strikages that I need to tame before polishing again.
Title: Re: Halp!
Post by: Cure on January 10, 2011, 05:32:27 am
I agree that the initial pose was awkward, and it's still a bit unnatural even in the latest version. What xegnma did that I think is important is (s)he gave her a reason for that quite prominent lean. It's a rather extreme lean, and without a purpose for bending over so far I think the pose will read as strange. In xegnma's edit, all of the body language makes sense, it's all interrelated and works to a common goal. In your most recent, the body language seems unrelated. one arm is on the hip, another raised high for some reason, one knee points out a little bit just because, and then that lean-

The hand on the knee just makes for a more solid, sturdy pose. Of course it isn't the only possible fix, just (probably) the easiest.
Title: Re: Halp!
Post by: Kcilc on January 10, 2011, 05:56:08 am
When I'm leaning up against a wall, this pose is very easy and natural for me. I should've been a bit more clear about what she was actually doing.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/Daroge/Girly45lean.gif)
Title: Re: Halp!
Post by: Cure on January 10, 2011, 06:06:38 am
Ohhhhh. I had assumed the wall was on the other side. This is much more sensible. Though when I try the pose I find much of my weight is focused on the elbow touching the wall, requiring it to be a bit lower in able to support the body. Perhaps not, either way the pose is now mostly justified.

face could still use a little work, eyes seem set low in comparison to the rest, in particular the nose, and she seems to have a bit of an underbite. Profile is perhaps flatter than it should be, knowing which parts should project or recede in profile is important. Chin could jut out a little, nose a tad as well, and the ear should be set farther back (which should help fix that jawline).
Title: Re: Halp!
Post by: gliding on January 10, 2011, 08:35:30 am
Here's my contribution...

(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/json10131/editofleaninggirl-1.png)

Hopefully I didn't ruin the style too much, lol. I just tried to address a few issues with the pose: moved her center of gravity a bit, made her slightly taller, and added a pole instead of a wall. I felt it might be less weird that way. I also tried to mess with her face a bit. I widened it by a few pixels to add more depth and messed with a few of the shadows. Hopefully the smirk shows a bit more this way. I also tweaked the hair a bit, although it's nothing pro.

Good luck and have fun!

EDIT: The Top-hand needs work, btw. I left it alone, but it's not ideal.
Title: Re: Halp!
Post by: Kcilc on January 14, 2011, 11:03:42 pm
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/Daroge/Girly5.gif)

Ohhhh, I can definitely see your confusion now, Cure. I hope I've fixed up the things you mentioned.

Gliding, I hope that I've fixed her weirdness now since I really really really really really don't wanna rework her from the bottom up like you have. I like what you've done with her hair and how you captured all of the facial features. I hope that I've improved her face.

Sorry for the long delay. I'm back in school and had to get myself back into my routine.
Title: Re: Halp!
Post by: Cure on January 14, 2011, 11:24:34 pm
that arch in her back still seems really unnatural. it goes completely horizontal, then almost straight vertical. I find it implausible given the position of her pelvis.
Title: Re: Halp!
Post by: Gamer36 on January 20, 2011, 07:41:05 am
that arch in her back still seems really unnatural. it goes completely horizontal, then almost straight vertical. I find it implausible given the position of her pelvis.
Totally. Why is her finger the only thing touching her head? It should be the whole hand. And that back looks really unnatural.