Pixelation
Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: ErekT on May 07, 2011, 10:12:23 am
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Planned as part of a larger piece. Feel a bit stumped on the jacket shading though and am reluctant to go on until I figure out a way to do it right. What do you all think? Is the jacket shading ok? Am I dithering it to death? Any other issues? Feedback welcome :y:
(http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/ErekT_Pixel/VM-1.gif)
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Here is what I see:
The shoulder looks great.
The parallel wrinkles in the forearm (bent arm) are disrupting the sense of form, making that look flat. Give them a bit of a curve, maybe.
The torso area ... is ok, you could get away with it. What if the folds in the torso of the coat were fewer and larger to represent thicker material, and you moved the finer drape to the pants instead?
If you haven't seen it, ConceptArt.org has a drapery tutorial here: http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=14739 (http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=14739)
Tourist
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You should have less wrinkles in the coat. They don't really make much sense, either. Creases should start at spots that pinch or bunch up the fabric and fan out across the jacket. Having the creases start at the armpits and waist are common, I think.
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His shoulders are to broad.
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Thanks all. Very nice and informative tutorial there, Tourist :y: Drawing cloth has been a real horror for me sometimes. But no longer.. hopefully ::)
Better?
(http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/ErekT_Pixel/VM-2.gif)
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I think this is much better. You could pull the fold on ---> this side up under the collar or up to the shadows under the arm to see how it looks, but this is good.
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Cool! :)
I tried changing the fold: right hand image. It breaks symmetry with the other side more which is good. Not sure which I like better yet. I may have to tweak the right hand one some more before I decide.
(http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/ErekT_Pixel/VM-3.gif)
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There is so much brightness/highlights at his left shoulder, would it better if it's a bit subtle? I made this sloppy edit :)
(http://files.myfrogbag.com/0b5ctp/finalthugedit.png)
[additional edit]
I forgot to address this parts, sorry about that.
I made a fast edit on the pants to make it look slim <don't know if it serves it purpose, perhaps baggy pants is better>, then raised the right arm by 1 pixel.
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Ooooh! That's a great edit man :) I love how you cleaned up the pixel clusters and added the little red secondary light on the sleeve. Tweaked my palette too didn't ya? Dig it, thanks :y: I'll be back soon-ish with an update.
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Final update for the time-being. Thanks again for the help people, much appreciated :)
(http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/ErekT_Pixel/VM-4.gif)
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It's gotten a lot better, good job!
However, the piece looks very washed-out. Color edit:
(http://i.imgur.com/SP1Yn.png)
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Yeah it's very low contrast. I recommend you diversify the range of the palette a bit more and squeeze more roles out of the colours;
(http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z212/gastrop0d/VM-4_ed2.gif)
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(http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/3782/editoq.png)
Building off of Eyecraft's edit, if thats ok. I really like the peice, looks a bit statuesque, with the copper like skin, was that intended?
Anyways, 2 things I noticed:
1. Left side looks rather unfinished, the lower part of box one is without outline, I suggest you touch it up.
Also The border has the same issue as box number 2 (which I didn't really resolve that well.)
2. The border is perfectly flat, based on your creases above it, I'm assuming this is a looser material, Therefore the border should not be exempt from creases, so I shaded it appropriately.
Also, I noticed the blocky AA on the right border going inward and the difference in pant leg thickness, which would imply a uneven posture or some other bias, but I did not have time to edit it, I'm sure you get what I mean though.
Hope this helps! :)
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Thanks people, you all make very good points. I upped the contrast and did some general smoothing/cleanup. His right arm still needs work I think and I need to put something in his hand. Maybe just a short-barreled shotgun with some ornaments, I’m not sure.
Slim pants look better for sure. I tend to always draw baggy pants on people for some reason. I don’t know why. Never wear em myself.
@ Ovyx
I had a comic-book cover style in mind when I started it, with stark shadows and highlights and distinct details cutting through. The statuesque look wasn’t a conscious choice, but it’s a nice side-effect :)
The character himself I imagined as a professor-type gone crime lord after some misfortune turned his life on its head. The turn to crime was one of necessity, but then he discovered that Yeah, I kinda like this life :crazy: And now he runs some kind of shady business down by the docks. In retrospect he looks a bit more Chaos Engine-y than I'm comfortable with, but I don't have the heart to try and change that now.
(http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/ErekT_Pixel/VM-5.gif)
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Sweet, this is probably my Victorian girl's diabolical super-intelligent illegal casino-running step-father.
Light pixels to left and right of mouth, sitting on bg, bug me. Hair tufts I assume, but that doesn't come across more than the bugger factor they pose.
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i hope you dont mind but i had a little bit of fun playing pixel over your dude.
(http://www.spriteart.com/edit/erekt_figure1a.png)
First comes my usual disclaimer: This edit is seriously rough. The action happening in the jacket in this edit is still flat and a bit sucky on the left side. probably need to show more contact the jacket would have near the hip with some more light coloring in that area. adding some of your nice leather jacket might help make the right side feel more finished like with your arm and shoulder area.
just perhaps something to help jolt some ideas as to how you could alter some things structurally with your guy. the legs were looking a bit wonky and its a bit hard to tell where exactly his knees are at, i actually should have tried to add some detail on the pants near the crotch area so that it looks like there isnt just a black hole happening in that general area.
Just doing some small touch choice edits in areas on the hands, face and sleeve as well to demonstrate perhaps some lighting ideas, and in the face, toning down some of the near black lines you have going through the facial area.
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(http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/ErekT_Pixel/VM-6.gif)
I don't mind a bit :P Very nice illustration of how stiff leather behaves for jackets. Thanks a lot :y: I re-did the shading once more. It still needs work, right now I'm fighting the urge to go ape with the dithering again. But I think it's much more promising than the old look, which looks rather like thick velvet in comparison now.
@ Mathias:
Family photo:
(http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/ErekT_Pixel/M_VM.gif)