Pixelation

Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: newGuy on February 01, 2015, 11:40:26 am

Title: [C+C] Character Mugshot Thing
Post by: newGuy on February 01, 2015, 11:40:26 am
original post


So, I've been toying with this piece for some time now, and I'm about done with it, but I'd like some critique before.

It's supposed to be a fantasy high-ranking military character, like a general or so, in half-armor, more formal/cerimonial than actually combat-ready.

I'm not very confident about proportions and anatomy, since I never seem to get those right, and not really sure the chainmail turned great. Any input would be really appreciated.


refinement


GENERAL

Original:
(http://i.imgur.com/S4591nG.png)
Current:
(http://i.imgur.com/1qEssZN.png)

HIGH CLERIC

Original:
(http://i.imgur.com/q5hATBU.png)
Current:
(http://i.imgur.com/q5hATBU.png)

PROGRESS:

(http://i.imgur.com/S4591nG.png)


(http://i.imgur.com/e01xbP3.png)


(http://imgur.com/B4E2uX6.png)


(http://i.imgur.com/1qEssZN.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/q5hATBU.png)
Title: Re: [C+C] Character Mugshot Thing
Post by: Parkerbaby on February 01, 2015, 01:20:10 pm
I feel like you should try to 'suggest' the texture of the chainmail without drawing every little square. And maybe vary the shape of the squares, if you're going to draw all of them.
Title: Re: [C+C] Character Mugshot Thing
Post by: Wes on February 01, 2015, 01:56:23 pm
This is really cool. I love the style a lot.

My big suggestion would be to curve the chainmail. it's so STRAIGHT right now that it looks really odd with the beautiful curves of the rest of the piece.

(http://puu.sh/fkcNB/c09bba9186.png)

okay this edit is actually REALLY bad but i think you know what i mean
Title: Re: [C+C] Character Mugshot Thing
Post by: ptoing on February 01, 2015, 02:01:10 pm
First of, welcome to Pixelation

I made a partial edit of your piece:

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15588722/edits/newguyfemalewarrior.png)

Some edits on the face/head, mainly the mouth which does not read well in yours as well as lowering the top of the hair. Always be aware of where the bones/the flesh are under the hair/cloth and so one. She would have a really weird headshape given how the hair is sitting in yours.

Edits on the armour to make it look less dithery. Dither can be helpful but very seldom is good at actually showing interesting texture. In some cases it can, but it is better at blending colours or using it with close colours to get a bit of subtle texture. If you want to actually have something like damage, dents and the like, I would not use dither for that.

And then the chainmail. You can see I did stuff like breaking a piece out and also giving it a bit of volume by haveing the rings be angled differently on the side.

Also a bit of AA stuff on the collar, If you got AA colours you can use, use them. Unless of course you plan to have a bunch of palette swaps of the same character, which does not seem to be the case here from how your palette is built.

There is some good stuff here, but there is lots that could overall be improved. For example the arms/hands do not look super convincing, especially the lower arm on the right side. The way you connected it up there with the chainmail and the inner line makes it look really flat and like she is made of some thing material that is just folded over at that point. Also any volume that you are trying to suggest with the different shading and highlights on the chainmail gets killed by the texture of the chainmail itself which does not follow any contours at all.

Also, some stuff about the design is weird. For one the sheath-belt being fixed to the main belt all the way on the other side of the hips instead of closer to the sword is super impractical and would be weird while walking. For stuff like this use reference. There is plenty of pictures around of more plausible ways to wear weapon belts and the like (Game of Thrones for example as well as of course actual photos of old armour and weaponry).

The combination of chestplate/chainmail and then leather trousers looks kinda weird and not very ceremonial at all.
Sitting down a bit and having unifying design elements throughout the whole dressup would go a long way of making it look more believable. For example you could have some design element on the chestplate which then gets repeated on the belt. In short, the top and bottom of the outfit do not really mesh all too well. Also putting chainmail into your trousers like a shirt would not really work, generally it would go over the trousers a bit and form a kind of skirt. Again, looking at reference will go a long way here.

The collar also has a weird slant to it and the shoulderguard on the right looks a lot smaller than the one on the left, but not enough to look intentional.

OK, this was quite a wordy critique, I hope it helps. I think it has potential if you spent some more time on it. Keep it up.
Also for a ceremonial armour you would probably want to have no wear at all (dither stuff you have on the chestplate) since it would not have seen combat.
Title: Re: [C+C] Character Mugshot Thing
Post by: Tourist on February 02, 2015, 01:38:21 am
Recolor of Ptoing's edit.  That purple background is throwing off your color balance.

(http://www.4freeimagehost.com/uploads/f12229095440.png)

Hope this helps,
Tourist
Title: Re: [C+C] Character Mugshot Thing
Post by: newGuy on February 02, 2015, 03:44:34 am
Thanks everyone for the input!

Here's my edit:

(http://i.imgur.com/e01xbP3.png)

I decided to go with a more ring-like look to the chainmail links, kind of like Ptoing did, instead of those weird looking square scales. I'm still unhappy with how the arms look though. Also made it so the chainmail covered the top portion of the leather pants.

Changed the belt so that it looks more practical and closer to real sword belts and added a few golden details so it matches the collar a bit more, and placed a tasset-like thing on the hip opposed to the sheath.

I Also fixed a couple of things with the face and the hair as suggested, and tweaked the proportions here and there.

What do you guys think?

@Tourist: I didn't get to change the palette, but I really like how the skin tones turned out in your edit, I'm gonna give it a go in my next revision, thanks!
Title: Re: [C+C] Character Mugshot Thing
Post by: wolfenoctis on February 02, 2015, 06:25:24 am
Just a few quick thoughts on the pose/anatomy and a suggestion for the chainmail:
(http://i.imgur.com/zj4XDzK.png)
Title: Re: [C+C] Character Mugshot Thing
Post by: AlcopopStar on February 02, 2015, 08:22:37 am
I think wolfe's edits pushes the image towards slightly more traditional fantasy proportions (lithe)and i'm not sure it's as interesting as the slightly bulkier figure newguy already has.

That said wolfe's chainmail is a lot less busy and more appalling. And while I think the head, shoulders and torso on the current piece are working reasonably well, the current arms need a complete rework, they are tiny. I would say somewhere in between the current ones and wolfes edit. Which as said, is a good figure, but I think looking slightly to long and lithe for what I think your going for.

Great piece all up, looking forward to more in this style.
Title: Re: [C+C] Character Mugshot Thing
Post by: wzl on February 02, 2015, 08:23:43 am
wow, nice work on the chainmail there. looks great.

One thing that cought my attention is the even distribution of highlights along the arms. I think that is something which contributes to the arms feeling off.
Looking at wolfenoctis edit, the pose definitely reads better though, so thats something to consider.
Title: Re: [C+C] Character Mugshot Thing
Post by: newGuy on February 02, 2015, 05:12:02 pm
Thanks again, people.  ;D

Here's what I've got this time around:

(http://imgur.com/B4E2uX6.png)

So, colorwise, I messed with the palette a bit so that the skin tones lean more toward yellow/red, rather that the purple/blue-ish ones I had before. Also saturated the whole piece a little and gave it a darker outline.

As far as the arms go, I upscaled them to (what I think are) more believable proportions, and tried to make it so that her pose wasn't so symmetrical and boring. I'm still struggling with the shape/size/gesture of the hands though, so any feedback on that would be great.

Also redid the chainmail on the arms as a whole, think they're way less messy now. I like the dittered look of wolfenotic's version, but I'm not sure it goes well with the style of the rest of the piece, so I left it ringy as per Ptoing's suggestion.

@AlcopopStar, you are right, I was really going for a more muscular build for this character. I think it fits her best, being a high-raking warrior and such.

Hope I'm making progress. Looking forward to more critique!
Title: Re: [C+C] Character Mugshot Thing
Post by: Johasu on February 02, 2015, 05:19:32 pm
Looking good.
I really agree with wolfenoctis's suggestion about pose.  She seems like the angle of her legs would have her very off balance especially with that heavy armor on.
Title: Re: [C+C] Character Mugshot Thing
Post by: wzl on February 02, 2015, 05:28:42 pm
I think it fits her best, being a high-raking warrior and such.

Sorry i couldn't resist
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12237727/Sprites/wotp/newguy_rakingwarrior.png)

On a more serious note: right now i'm not sure what her legs are doing.
Her upper body suggest her orientation towards the right and front.
If you cover her body waist upwards with your hand and look at the legs it seems like she's leaning against a table that's on the right behind her. All in all it looks like a very unstable pose to assume, especially for a warrior.

i'd suggest to have the feet around shoulder-width apart, and maybe give the waist a slight angle to imply a bit of her feminity (if she's even a kind of girl that would do that in the first place, being a warrior and all)
Title: Re: [C+C] Character Mugshot Thing
Post by: PsylentKnight on February 02, 2015, 09:00:44 pm
To be honest, I personally like just about everything better in the first version (especially the more desaturated, purpler/cooler colors) except the chain mail. Just my two cents.
Title: Re: [C+C] Character Mugshot Thing
Post by: newGuy on February 02, 2015, 09:37:14 pm
Sorry i couldn't resist
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12237727/Sprites/wotp/newguy_rakingwarrior.png)

Heheh, better watch my spelling. :P

So, here's where I stand:

(http://i.imgur.com/1qEssZN.png)

Not much has changed. Adjusted the placement of her left leg so that she looks more balanced, and tweaked the color of the armor a bit.

I'm real close to calling this done. Further input is still very much welcome, though.

On a semi-related note...

(http://i.imgur.com/q5hATBU.png)

Just started working on a High Cleric character in the same setting. Still pretty much a draft, but I wanted to get early feedback on him before I start refining any further, lest I have to redo a bunch of anatomy and pose like I had with the General.

Thanks for all the help so far, looking forward to more comments!

P.S. @PsylentKnight: What do you feel was better about the original version? I understand the palette gave a completely different tone to the piece, but I believe that's more about personal preference than anything else. However, I really felt like her anatomy (specially the head shape and the arms' length) and her design (belt and sword belt-wise, mainly) were actually improved with each iteration. I'd really like to hear why you feel it got worse.
Title: Re: [C+C] Character Mugshot Thing
Post by: Decroded on February 03, 2015, 01:17:43 am
its hard to see this on my phone but I like ur style of character and at the pixel level.
I feel like the girl could use some more cohesion in colours like armour trims could be gold to match the collar.
maybe gold on silver with engraved details instead of silver on flat red?
seems like the red is a bit hardcore.

Title: Re: [C+C] Character Mugshot Thing
Post by: hawken on February 03, 2015, 02:01:27 am
are you using a fixed palette or are any colours ok for C + C?
Title: Re: [C+C] Character Mugshot Thing
Post by: newGuy on February 03, 2015, 02:33:45 am
Alright, threw together some quick palette swaps based on what Decroded said, and a couple extra ones for good measure.

(http://i.imgur.com/VEJokv9.png)

I'm tempted to say I still prefer the colors I already had. What do you guys think?

Also, @hawken, I'm not using any particular palette. I started off with DawnBringer's 32 color palette (http://www.pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=16247):

(http://hem.bredband.net/ricfha/pic/db32_v1_pal64x32.png)

But I tweaked the colors so much I doubt I'd find more than 2 or so of the original ones in my pieces. Also, after resampling the colors a lot, I probably left some stray tones here and there, haven't really checked yet. :P

So, yeah, as far as colors are concerned, anything goes.
Title: Re: [C+C] Character Mugshot Thing
Post by: Candy Man Criminal on February 05, 2015, 03:44:37 pm
Just a few quick thoughts on the pose/anatomy and a suggestion for the chainmail:
(http://i.imgur.com/zj4XDzK.png)

as a mailer this is the most accurate depiction of chainmail here
please do try to shrink them giant rings

as far as the palette swaps go i like the red with silver and red with gold
just something about it, cant really explain it