Pixelation
Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: Squirrelborg on February 25, 2007, 06:00:25 pm
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Ok, something about this just doesn't look right to me.
(http://kellybrake.com/images//wolfie.gif)
Any suggestions?
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I would say that the back to the tail is too straight and could use some curving. It seems like the front legs are bending forward, when the should be going pretty much straight down...I think you may fix this a bit by reducing the size of the paws; they should be about as big as the ears (maybe a bit bigger or smaller). This (http://homepage.mac.com/wildlifeweb/mammal/wolf/seattle/wolf28.jpg) should help for a reference.
My opinion would be to add some white here and there, and perhaps raise the contrast a bit, but it's your piece, and you seem to be getting the fur down pretty well. Keep on pixelling! :y:
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Ok, I went back and worked on it a bit.
(http://kellybrake.com/images//wolfie1.gif)
Is this better? I straightened the front legs, tried to curve the back a bit more, thickened the mane slightly, and added a few more highlights in the parts of the fur that are supposed to be light.
Thanks. :)
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i feel that this could use more of a dynamic pose.. but to improve what you have the back feet should be placed futher backwards, it looks like its about to sit down at the moment.
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The front looks rather good but its back (and possibly the colors) make it look like a German shepherd with Hip dysplasia. Try to straighten the back and to put the feet on even ground, unless this is aiming at some special pose. Also dropping the tail might make it look more natural. Something like so maybe:
(http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/9061/wolfpd4.gif)
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Ok, thanks for the advice. Yeah I'll work on that back end a bit more.
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This is where I think you should go with it. As it stands there are a few anatomical problems that stick out to me. Keep in mind that I studied no references before making the edit, so it could still be way off:
(http://h1.ripway.com/tremulant/Edits/wolfborg.PNG)
What I did: Shrunk the feet, repositioned the legs slightly, widened the chest, lowered the head (I think.. maybe by 1 pixel?), changed the belly almost entirely (unless this wolf is, like, a collie, its underbelly shouldn't be such a drastically different colour), and removed the black/dark patches on the back (personal prefernce, really, but I've never seen a wolf coloured like that :P).
The palette in this is nice, the head and neck are very nicely shaped. It's really quite nice, overall, except for the mentioned anatomical thingies. The only other thing I'd mention is to watch out for stray pixels. Pixel art (far as I understand) is first and foremost about control, and there are a number of oddly placed/stray pixels. Some of that grayish brown used on the body, for example, and the two random black pixels.
Good stuff, though. Keep it up. ;D
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The back legs are completely off. Take a look at these sketches I did, they have correct animal canine anatomy.
(http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/576/doggiesfg7.png)
Tremulants edit sort of fixes the problem, though some of the limb lengths are a bit off, especially the shins.
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hmmm i wouldn't have said the shins were far off at all. Your sketches are of grey-hound type dogs. Look how hench this wolf is:
(http://homepage.mac.com/wildlifeweb/mammal/wolf/seattle/wolf28.jpg)
Trem's edit is the best so far.
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My point was that in Tremulant's edit, the best as of now, the dog only appears to have a 3 part leg- toes, foot, and thigh, because the shins are extremely small. Unless...
(http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/9573/doggielabellegsep6.png)
Perhaps you were thinking that the shin was the foot?
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fawel, i think youve got it wrong. the part you labled foot is its shin.
or so i think, anyways.
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Ah, that's what I thought the misconception might be. A dogs "foot", the part that comes in contact with the ground, is actually only it's toes and the "balls" of your foot, the part just below the toes.
Get up and walk around on your toes, that's how a dog walks all the time. I hope no one is cinfused anymore.
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fawel is right ^^
i think the main issue here is that you've sloped the dogs back too far down so it seems like it has short legs / creates unnatural tension by difference / looks awkward.
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Eh, just goes to show you can't always work without a reference even if you think you remember what something looks like. :P
Thanks everyone. I think I'll be doing a complete redraw of this thing when I feel up to it. Been having a bit of a shoulder ache, so it might be a day or so.
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who cares about the anatomy of the foot! why is the far leg LOWER than the near one? D:
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Well, after working a bit with my trusty wolf calender on my desk in front of me I now realize just how horrifying my first attempt really was. lol
This isn't quite finished (no aa and such), but hopefully it's a bit better.
(http://kellybrake.com/images//wolfie2_2.png)
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I liked the first one's colors, even if they weren't really realistic. Good update otherwise. :y: The straightness of the front legs bothers me a bit.
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What?!! Someone actually liked my crazy color scheme? So I'm not crazy after all!!! lol
Yeah, the front legs do seem pretty straight, but I'm not quite sure how to get the proper shape at that size without making them look too fat.
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Now it is a German shepherd. :P
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Hey, someone I know has a wolfdog that people mistake for a german shepherd pretty often, so I'm not going to worry too much about that. :P
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I liked the first one's colors, even if they weren't really realistic.
I disagree. The new palette gives everything much more volume and pop. The old one looked muddy and oversaturated.
About the leg, maybe try selout or a subpixel shift?
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@Stwelin- that was a translation error when I was tracing it with my tablet.
The newest wolf look really good, for the front legs the elbow should be a bit lower, and I think it'll be great.
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(http://i17.tinypic.com/3z0rc3r.gif)
Fix for the straightyness?
Tried to break up the pipe-like leg, make it look more textured.
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(http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/7599/wolfdepthvx2.gif)
I think you are going on the right track. The next few things you should address is the "pipe-legs", as Stwelin so elegantly put, and the current lack of depth, which I tried to illustrate with my shitty edit.
If you are feeling up to making the the best it could be, you should look into making the post a bit more dynamic rather than statue-esque as it is now...I would suggest something sneaky...may a foot up...tail straight.....just opinion though: you go where ever you want with this.
This piece is improving a truck load, and great work so far! Keep pixelling!
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Okay, a little bit of an update:
(http://kellybrake.com/images//wolfie2_3.png)
Worked on that leg a bit and got rid of the weird dark lines I had in the fur around the neck. Yeah, the stance is a little boring, but I figured I'd wait until I had the basic shape right before getting into anything more extravagant.
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Looks very good. :y: