Pixelation
Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: Tremulant on August 03, 2006, 04:46:55 pm
-
Maybe... I don't really care what you call it, at this point. I'm just glad to be able to pixel again. :P
(http://h1.ripway.com/tremulant/Ogredon.PNG) <--original (http://h1.ripway.com/tremulant/Ogredon4.PNG) <--Final (Me thinks...)
Other steps:
http://h1.ripway.com/tremulant/Ogredon2.PNG
http://h1.ripway.com/tremulant/Ogredon3.PNG
Yay! It's been a while since I've had fun pixelling anything, or, for that matter, had any ideas to pixel. It's something, anyway, and I'm pretty happy with the result, anatomical impossibilities aside (how does he support his head? Magic, dammit, that's how.)
Much like all of my stuff, it had many problems, some of which I can see even now, regarding depth, anatomy and general technique, but I've been staring at this for at least 3 hours now, and I think it's getting to be time for a second (or third, or fourth) opinion.
C&C would be loved.
-
Only one rear leg?
-
its magic!
since i have 0 knowledge of anything you could need crits on, ill just say that i like it :)
-
(http://www.locustleaves.com/Ogredon.PNG) (http://h1.ripway.com/tremulant/Ogredon.PNG)
I say at this stage in the game, you're not rendering enough surface, or texture, or light. You're doing a very gentle finish that's very two-dimensional, almost a drawing of a drawing of a dragon, if that makes sense. My edit has more weighted rendering, fuller usage of the -let's face it, one ramp- and more detail work. Just a different perspective.
I don't think you're making all you can make out of the palette either.
Always looking forward to your stuff, hoping for when I will no longer feel the need to edit them in any way.
edit: oh my, I mangled the grin -if it's a grin- because I didn't iterpret it at such when I edited
-
I like it but you should show the other leg and i think it's a bit overdithered. Also listen to Helm, that's what helped me most when i started out! :D
-
Only one rear leg?
Duly noted ;D
Ryumaru:Heh, good call. Thanks!
Helm: I see your point. I was going for a bit of a softer, smoother feel, but I think I way over (or under, however you look at it) did it. I'm not sure I see whereyou're coming from with the palette, though. It is only one ramp, yes, but that's all I felt I needed here. Like, I understand that having a more flexible or... obscure (for lack of a better word) palette can be useful at times, but here the red/yellow ramp covers the ground, no?
I mean, your edit looks fantastic but the colour selection seems a bit arbitrary. What's the rationale behind, say, the purple highlights? Or is it arbitrary, and you're telling me I should experiment more with my colours? I don't mean this too sound, like, sarcastic or dissmissive either (I worry that sometimes stuff like thsi comes off that way). I'm honestly just not fully getting it :)
Ptoing: Wondered about that myself... :P I was dithering an awful lot. Heh, and I know. Listening to Helm has proven invaluable in the past.
Edit for spelling/grammar/format/sex
-
its top half of its vody is huge compared to the back half. he would constantly be tumbling forward. make his spine shorter. and his legs bigger and stronger. and lengthen his tal.
-
It's not a science on my part. If you take a picture of anything you'd say is predominantly one color, like a human face - as this is closely applicable- and you eyedrop it you'll find all sorts of different hues in there that have to do with blood concentration, wear of the skin, moisture, subsurface scattering and of course, lighting conditions. Why should a red dragon -especially a pixel drawing of a dragon- be any different? Especially when you have very pronounced bones stretching skin all over, porous compexion and whatnot? Purple for the win!
EDIT: a different way to put it really is, use composite colors. Select a hue that is dominant and build towards it with complementary colors. Yellow's opposition is purple, and they both support red nice.
-
man, I always love opening up your threads. very yummie. Although I love your style that you've been using, I'm just warning that if you dont explore a little bit outside of that style, you might get stuck in a nitch. People like Splat, and even maybe Kenneth, for example, all are stuck in their own lil nitch that thay can't get out of. (with kenneth it's probably more that he chooses not to though) I'd take helms advice even if it's not what you're going for.
-
I think this is a great piece but like most said before needs some more depth and detail added. If you were thinking of not adding the details as Helm demonstrated i would advise to add another leg which would at least add some simplistic depth. Also about the weight distribution of the dragon would be fine as is if he used all four legs... If you get me... Anyways nice art.
-
woo, finally got something i can crit. :P
this might go somewhere related with helms lighting crits but oh well.
i see, in alot of your pieces, this very dithered look, you seem to dither everything you make everything blend so smoothly but doing so doesnt allow for hard edged highlights, and this also takes away interest from your picture. i think you should push the value of everything more, if your gonna keep the dithers as they are, maximize the areas you have left to put stronger highlights in. doing this will dramatically bring things into the foreground, as well as push others into the background.
also, im alittle confused of the lightsource, it seems it could either be from the top, or the top left, but you have some highlights that seem to come from light under the beastie himself.
i love the hand gestures he has and the proportions are so funny!
-
Wow - another great piece from you. But i definitely think tremulant-experimental style would be worth going into. You certainly have a way with pixels but if you try out some other styles you never know what you might create. ;)
Any way onto this piece. I think playing around with colors, as helm did, may really benefit this piece. One thing i noticed about this that hasnt already been said is the overall flow of the piece.
(http://imagehost.ensellitis.com/images/167037197.gif)
Yours is very angular (shown by the top one) and it doesnt really flow. I suggest re-doing the tail along the line of the bottom one, to get a better flow - it will also make the overall balance / pose more realistic, and not so dominant in the upper-body department.
-
Feron also raises another interesting point: if you extend the tail in that flow, it will balance the body out and make the position workable.
-
Thanks guys. I'm at work, atm, and so won't reply to comments (I will when I'm home :))
I did an update. I think I addressed some, at least, of the crits. Now I'm stuck on the tail (the form thereof), but I think I can work it out. I think I'll break for a bit, though.
-
The pose just does not work for me AT ALL, not even with the longer tail (it would have to be ridiculously long to work realistically.)
So i made this little edit. The hand can stay how it is i just rotated the lower arm a bit. Works pretty well i think.
(http://ptoing.net/edit/ogredon2edit.png)
-
:D
I think I love you.
-
The pose just does not work for me AT ALL, not even with the longer tail (it would have to be ridiculously long to work realistically.)
So i made this little edit. The hand can stay how it is i just rotated the lower arm a bit. Works pretty well i think.
(http://ptoing.net/edit/ogredon2edit.png)
lol.
Looks awesome Tremulant, but I have to agree with the above comment.
-
Damn. That update with the depth is quite fantastic looking - a real treat for my eyes. I think the walking stick edit gives the character some personality, tis quite amusing (As well as fixing the anti-gravity problem). Can't wait for more. ^__^
-
(http://www.locustleaves.com/Ogredon.PNG) (http://h1.ripway.com/tremulant/Ogredon.PNG)
I say at this stage in the game, you're not rendering enough surface, or texture, or light. You're doing a very gentle finish that's very two-dimensional, almost a drawing of a drawing of a dragon, if that makes sense. My edit has more weighted rendering, fuller usage of the -let's face it, one ramp- and more detail work. Just a different perspective.
I don't think you're making all you can make out of the palette either.
Always looking forward to your stuff, hoping for when I will no longer feel the need to edit them in any way.
edit: oh my, I mangled the grin -if it's a grin- because I didn't iterpret it at such when I edited
Imo, I wouldn't go for a Helm style on that. It looks for graffiti art style or concept art than pixel art. Since Tremulant is going for a gentle style, I'd go for that like others did. Need contrast on the tail to give a 3d appearence. Overall, it looks marvelous. Can't wait until a new update comes out.
-
Great 1 legged senile dragon =)
I think he could use some scales in his arms and neck. His face is so detailed that the body looks a little bland.
-
Wow, the new update is awesome tremulant :o no crits is perfect XD
Only i not like much the position of the dragons and the legs i think will be need more big, etc.. If you view the muscle on his leg is good only make a little big, but the foot zone etc.. is too much fine. I thin with this and with more bigs foots is good.
EDIT : PLAYING WITH HUES : http://img421.imageshack.us/img421/196/payinghueswb3.png
-
Id argue in favor of the purple in helm's edit, and id also suggest changing your shadow color to a blue-green, but thats probably because i dont think anything is finished without at least 2 secondary colors represented, preferably all 3
-
I really like Matriax's blue version - it just seems so much more deeper and solid.
-
The detail is beautiful whether or not it's flat. I love this piece. Definite fav if you're posting it on PJ.
-
hey
Great improvement :).
I just wanted to say that at my first peek at ptoing's edit, I thought it was a really odd finger. But after reading below I learnt it was actually a walking stick, and after taking a closer look, it seems okay. I think it was just cause the color of the walking stick is the same as the dragon's skin :-\.
cyas
-
Looks amazing, the new version especially. Plus, I have rather a soft spot for dragons.
As for the 'magic anti-gravity dragon' syndrome, the only suggestion I can think of is maybe have the rear back leg stretching out, so the foot would contact the floor around about the shoulder/elbow area? Either that or give him a really heavy back-pack :P
-
Another update, and I think it's coming quite nicely. Changed up the palette, threw in the cane (thankees,
Dhaos PTOING, whether you were serious or not :D) and went back to the old tail (figured it was ok with the cane, plus I just... like it better so *nyah*).
*Edit*:
Sorry, ptoing. Dhaos used to edit a lot of my stuff, and that was an embarassing reflex. Thanks, p-t-o-i-n-g, for the cane.
-
It was ptoing who made the cane.
Stunning - woulda been nice to have extended this, but ohwell. Great job on the new coloring, really awesome. My favourite from you so far methinks.
-
Definetely stunning, the colours are improved yet again. I think he looks more orange than red now (overall), but that's no problem i don't think.
Personally i prefered the second tail... seemed much more suited and 'solid' looking. But mowel. :P
Only just noticed the other foot :o, i think it'd look better if the farthest leg was farther forward than the closer one, rather than behind... but if you add the knee i'm sure it'd look better neways ;)
~Lalalaaa.
-
that new pallette is sextacular.
-
Could you change the color of the cane? I can't help but see it as an extra long finger.
-
Updated again. Thanks for all the help, guys. I think I'm calling it done, unless there are any glaring problems (also, I might, if I feel like it later, add a background, some other characters, and make it a full scene).
Special thanks to Helm for shoving me, again, outside my usual borders, and ptoing for the cane idea, which saved me a lot of trouble, like.. y'know.. making the anatomy actually work ;D
Updated: The cane was lightened (still look like a finger? maybe.. opinions'd cool), the background leg was added, some miscellaneous stuff was done.
Thanks again, guys. Your crits are invaluable; always a massive help. :D
edit: spelling.
-
Looks great... but i think the little snippet of leg/knee/foot makes that area seem flat. To me the closest knee is pointing away from him slightly, and therefore when i dont see his other leg doing the same, but following the closest leg, it seems quite odd. To me at least. Heheh.
-
Hahahahaha, awsome. I was just joking about the cane, but it definately gives him more character. New new palette is top notch. Good stuff. :D
-
(http://www.locustleaves.com/Ogredon5.png) (http://h1.ripway.com/tremulant/Ogredon4.PNG)
maybe this is a good idea to apply to the whole sprite? Light-dependant outlines and a less dithery direct overhead light on the back.
I tried putting in pure white for the brightest color. Maybe you'll like.
-
as a piece like this, i think the pure white works, though ive recently started trying to keep purest white out because you almost never see pure white and also it makes the actual lights (fire, etc) look brighter if it's only used there
this looks great, love the progress of it, and the cane :P