Pixelation
Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: Pukahuna on December 27, 2013, 09:04:45 pm
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Hi, I'm new here, but i already post my pixel arts in another sites.
I'm working in this pixel art, i hat taken it as done, but now I see that the giant needs more detail and contrast, but I don't know how to do it, made some attempts but none looks good, if someone can help me I'll be greateful :D
That's the wip:
(http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p584/Pukahuna/anigif_zps5cfa101e.gif?t=1388177739)
And that is how it is now:
(http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/359/9/8/swim_in_lava_by_pukahuna-d6ze4ip.png)
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I remember seeing this on PixelJoint; looks pretty nice! :)
You're right that the giant could use more detail and contrast, but there are some other things that have room for improvement as well. I made a really messy edit to illustrate:
(http://i.imgur.com/lS2YpZT.png)
Here are some random thoughts to go with it:
-I added the extra contrast you were thinking of by both brightening a lot of parts and darkening others. There are still some sections I think could use more brightness because of how close to the lava they are, though.
-The lava in the giant's hands almost look like rope because of the way they're flowing, and the whole image is kind of static. Add some more motion!
-The giant's torso is basically one long tube. Try varying the width a bit to make the silhouette more interesting.
-You could stand to add something in the upper half of the canvas, it looks pretty empty as it is now.
-The palette has a lot of colors close to each other in value; you might want to reconsider which ones are actually necessary. Additionally, a secondary light-source could help the image pop more (I chose blue because it complemented the red/orange/yellow pretty well -- looking at it now, it's kind of similar to your avatar, haha :)).
-The scale of the giant is a little fuzzy. I want to think it's huge, but my brain isn't entirely convinced. Adding something to compare the giant to would help.
I'm sure there's more stuff I'm forgetting, but you're probably already bored of reading this. :blind: Hopefully this helps you a little!
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@amorphus
Thank you so much for the edit and tips, I implemented some things,looks better?
(http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p584/Pukahuna/anigif_zps6900fe75.gif?t=1388347887)
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Cool art so far! I'm wondering why the lava is behaving like spaghetti around his hands.
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People won't detect it's actually a giant if you don't give hints in your image.
To give a sense of scale, you can add any common item that will serve a scale reference for the whole picture.
A human character, an known animal, or even a physical reaction like the size of the water splash for example.
On your particular image, the physics of you lava is definitely not possible on such a scale. It looks like some slime, whereas
lava on such scale would weigh several tons : if you lift it, it would be so heavy it would disaggregate into chunks & droplets.
Take a look at how many particles & small chunks you can see in a real footage (around 5:40)
http://youtu.be/VuQrUwFn6bU?t=5m40s (the youtube integration doesn't work, sorry)
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I added some particles on lava of his hands. About the giant size, i don't know what do for comparate, I liked the idea of the bats, but is hard make then so small T_T, actually he don't need to be a giant, I just don't knew how to name it
(http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p584/Pukahuna/Gigante24_zps31a0ff4d.png)
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If your original goal was to create a portrait of a giant, then changing the subject matter because that's easier will only limit how much you can learn from this piece. Art isn't easy. it's problem solving. That's why it's interesting.
I think you need to be less careful and more willing to completely rework some things in order to more clearly illustrate what you were originally going for. Adding a few small particles around the spaghetti lava doesn't really impart the sense of scale you wanted. Watch the video tim posted for you! Rework the lava to suit that vision! Don't be afraid to totally change something. I've had to scrap a lot of good art because it didn't suit my vision for the piece.
That being said, it is your art and you can approach it however you want. But if you're coming to these boards to get help, don't be afraid to change things :y: ::) it'll feel a bit outside your comfort zone, but you will need to rework some stuff.
As far as critique goes:
if you want to make him appear bigger, I'd recommend juxtaposing something of known scale in front of the giant. Perhaps a small mining crew looking onto the splendor of large giant lava monster? And I'd really think seriously about breaking up that lava flow/scrapping it and working it in again with a much more chunky style. Think Parmesan cheese rather than spaghetti. (man I'm hungry)
And you might want to fill in the background a bit more! I liked the ideas you incorperated earlier, such as the pentagram behind it or the light behind it. Perhaps toy with that some more?
It's still impressive and you're doing great! I just want to make sure you don't shy away from challenges, because that's how we get better.
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(http://i.imgur.com/viTHyzC.png)
Yeah working on what shrike said. Don't be afraid to rework some stuff. I think if you had a foreground element it would really help determine the scale. It sucks that you might have to go over the fully rendered lava, but just try it in a new layer or something.
The brown area that I made on the giant thing near the miners is just a representation of the light from there helmets.
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I loved this edit, I tried to make the miners the background to see if it was cool, but how they are far the warrior don't look so huge as your edit T_T
I took so many hours to make this lava ;-; ... Even though I took, I think pixel art would be empty, you have any suggestions for places for the miners who don't go over the lava?
Here's my try ;-;
(http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p584/Pukahuna/Gigante25_zps7818fed3.png)
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Edit:
Try 2
(http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p584/Pukahuna/Gigante26_zpsb7dee550.png)
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Lava is a extremly viscous fluid, it simply doesn't flow like that. In its consistency it is closer to gum or tar than water. Smaller drops like that will only happen with heavy movement such as explosions.
(http://www.democratic-republicans.us/images/lava-flow-sea.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/3qwSRJ4.png)
The water is equally problematic, since it very low viscosity, e.g. if that is really a giant the water would shape barely visible lines. (Unless it is a waterfall or something.)
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Mr. Fahrenheit, liking the edit you did, besides the decidedly central placement of the miners.
I think the reason a foreground juxtaposition is more visually appealing is it forces you to notice something smaller before you fully see the large giant, where a background-oriented group of miners could easily be missed. It's also a bit more dynamic as everything so far seems to be middleground, and the picture lacks depth. Again, it's a shame to scrap good art for the sake of the piece, but now you've learned something about workflow :) it's a constant struggle for me to avoid detailing until I'm absolutely sure I'm sold on the composition and content of an image, because detail is what I love. But in the end, if I'm careful with where and how I place objects in my picture, it ends up looking much better than if I go ahead with detail before I'm really sure what I want in the photo.
My advice to you is to make a brave choice and do something similar as Mr. Fahrenheit, perhaps a bit less drastic- to be seen in the bottom left corner, perhaps. But visually I think it's helpful if the platform the miners would be on interrupts the giant in some way.
Whether you choose to stick with the miner idea or not, I think your image, although looking nice, lacks depth. And I believe you need some foreground and deep background presence to give the viewer a better sense of scale. Miners in the foreground is just one way of doing that.
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I changed the spaghetti lava, I'll keep the miners in the lower right corner, I did this pixel just because the lava, i can't get over it ;-;
(http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p584/Pukahuna/Gigante27_zps1345705e.png)
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You lack a good range in value in your browns. Lava is a fairly bright light source, so I would expect the that certain surfaces on the Giant would be fairly bright. I don't think the blue light source makes any sense either. It will be hard enough making this with a light source that surrounds the figure, why add another one ?
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Why lava spills only over his hands and not any other part of his body. Is he rising form lava (in that case lava should be dripping from different parts of his body,something like Amorphous edit), or standing and going with his hands trough lava (in that case lava should go over his palms and dripping from his fingers)? Either way current lava streams are illogical.
I agree with Jim16, you should remove blue light and add more "lava" light on Giant.
I also agree with Mr. Fahrenheit
I think if you had a foreground element it would really help determine the scale.
and maybe you should add some not very bright background in the distant, cause after all that's a cave filled with lava, and stones would reflect some light. This way you will gain depth of view.
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I think if you made the stalactites a different size it would help also. Stalactites as far as I know dont ever grow that large. Unless they are in the foreground, in which case I would made them black, you should make them smaller and possibly more numerous.
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This looks like it'll be awesome when its finished. I think there needs to be some highlights on the underside of his armor and his chin that match the color of the lava. I really like the people in the corner, they really help with making the giant's size more apparent.