Pixelation
Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: Arachne on July 12, 2007, 09:23:03 pm
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I seem to be drawing a lot of demons and monsters, so I might as well dedicate a thread to them.
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/arachne.gif)
An avatar I drew a few months back. Meant for a brighter background.
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/angel2.gif) (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/gdemon.gif)
I don't know what to do with these. The first had a lot of anatomical flaws and might still need a bit of work. I don't find it very interesting apart from the head and the "wings". The second one also needs a lot of work, and the colors are dreadful. Any suggestions?
Edit: The final(?) versions
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/angel11.gif) (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/gdemon7c.gif)
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I can't believe no one has replied to this thread yet. The dithering and colouring are both amazing, I love the ambient green highlights on the third image. Generally that second image is anatomically fine, unless you're a nitpicker, I don't think many people would notice any anatomical flaws at all. I think you should continue with it, if you feel there are anatomy issues, fix those, but please continue with it, it looks great.
The third image would make an excellent avatar or character portrait.
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Put some colour into the greys of that skull with the green backlight.
I can see why you find the mutant/plagued/whatever girl boring, and I think you should make the middle less normal.
Maybe her ribs can be sticking out through her skin? It really needs some gore to give it interest. I'd also like to see some really exaggerated veins to add to the disgusting factor.
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Maybe her ribs can be sticking out through her skin? It really needs some gore to give it interest. I'd also like to see some really exaggerated veins to add to the disgusting factor.
Good idea! :D I'll get right on it.
Generally that second image is anatomically fine, unless you're a nitpicker, I don't think many people would notice any anatomical flaws at all.
I suppose that's true. Especially if I add more gory details. :D After that, you're free to nitpick if there's anything I've missed.
Edit: Messing around with the palette some more.
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/gdemon2c.gif)
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I like that palette a lot more. It looks smoother, too. Did you eliminate some dithering? I like it, whatever you did.
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Yeah, upping the color count made it look less gritty.
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/angel3.gif)
Here we go. Gory enough? :D I'll add some more texture to the skin once I have all the wounds and the blood figured out.
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/gdemon3.gif)
Increased the contrast a little bit and tried to fix a few things about the shape of the skull and placement of the eyes that bothered me. Still needs work, I think.
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You've got some crazy mad dittering skills. I think the 2ndary light source does a lot for the demon skull.
I guess it's just a matter of how you work but I like the effect you got now having part of the skull in high detail and other parts out of focus.
I would try and keep some of that and not make the entire skull in focus.
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First of all, these are all brilliant. I love the second and third images, particularly the third because of the green ambient lighting you added. :y:
However, I don't like the gritty-looking texture you have going on the top of the skull, in your latest update. I'd suggest trying a smoother method, similar to what you did here (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/gdemon2c.gif), but less WIP-ish. You can add texture by drawing little circles and dots here and there..
Not that I would do it any better than you already have. These are just suggestions, do as you wish!
.c
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I completely disagree on removing the texture on the skull. I'd like however that the face colours and texture matched the forehead
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Here we go. Gory enough? :D I'll add some more texture to the skin once I have all the wounds and the blood figured out.
I think it looks much better, but it still isn't quite there... it's still too clean. I like the design, but I want to be disgusted by it. Really emphasise the idea that this thing is an affront to nature. Corrupt things that are usually seen as pure. Have a sickly green puss dripping from her breasts where there should be milk. Give her a network of discoloured veins throbbing with a vile liquid.
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The knee could resemble a face and the lowe rpart of the leg whose name i forgot could resemble a body.The left arm could have something resembling tumours/cancer. Right hand fingers could resemble tentacles with irregular fangs/claws. The 'mouth' spruting from the neck should have saliva
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You guys are so gross! I love it :D
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/angel4.gif)
Here are some abscesses and a mangled arm for starters. I guess I'll have to add some sickly greens to my palette.
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/gdemon4.gif)
I completely disagree on removing the texture on the skull. I'd like however that the face colours and texture matched the forehead
This is more what I was going for, which I guess is somewhere in between.
I thought making the skull-like parts more grayish would fit and that some variation would be good, but I won't mind throwing out the grays if there's no need for them.
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Green Skull:
I think the greys work well.
It doesn't inspire the same imagination in me, so I'll leave the suggestions to other people.
Freak Girl:
Be careful with those tumors; you don't want them to seem uniform.
At the moment their placement doesn't seem random enough.
Move one from a leg to the far shoulder maybe?
Needless to say, I think you're edging ever closer with this one.
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Be careful with those tumors; you don't want them to seem uniform.
Good point. I'll work on that.
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/angel5.gif)
:D
Edit:
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/angel6.gif)
More randomness. :)
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I like that background, it's creepy as, but I think it messes with the view. It seemed before she was upright, floating over the viewer, but now it seems like you're standing above her, looking down, and she's horizontal, or something, which isn't so scary.
Possibly my dirtiest/messiest crit ever, your stuff is beyond me:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13/tocky/arachne_torturess.png)
Apologies for the butchery - intended just as a quick visualisation of what I mean.
Also, be careful with the dithering on your skull demon, he's looking a bit grainy, where he ought to be smooth/slimy.
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I just figured out that there is a face on the torso of that floating freak.
Was that intentional? It looks kinda like Beaker from the muppet show.
Perhaps make it scarier?
You could bend the ribcage down so that it looks like fangs and add actual eyes to the nipples.
Parhaps add a tongue that comes out of the belly.
Regardless of it's a great design already. Where the head once was is quite disturbing.
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I like that background, it's creepy as, but I think it messes with the view. It seemed before she was upright, floating over the viewer, but now it seems like you're standing above her, looking down, and she's horizontal, or something, which isn't so scary.
Thanks, I thought a wall of monster would work, but I guess it wasn't such a great idea after all. :)
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/angel7.gif)
I just figured out that there is a face on the torso of that floating freak.
Was that intentional?
Ugh, no. I think replacing the head with a toothy maw had the opposite effect of what I wanted. You expect to see a face there somewhere, so you find what most resembles one. I tried breaking the "mouth" up a little, but I don't think that did much good.
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The smaller hole looks very strange...I'd say, fill that smaller hole and replace it with deep scratches or something like that. Just looks out of place.
New background looks good. :y:
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I think the stomach hole was much better before this most resent update. It looked like something had exploded out of it - like an alien child. Now it looks like someone has taken to it with a knife like someone would to a pumpkin on halloween, but hasn't done a very good job.
I also think the milk dripping from the breast is too understaded. Have it oozing out, not glittering there normally.
The area around her breasts is a bit crowded, and I'd suggest removing the round lump from between them, and taking some of the detail away from -her- left breast.
I like what you've done with the rest. :y:
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Wow. That background is wicked. You have incredible dithering skills, but especially in the demon head thing, it just makes it look noisy, not really textured. You really made those breasts looks quite diseased :o But I assume that's what you were going for.
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(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/angel8.gif)
OK, how about this. I added some more tooth-like protrusions and changed the shape of the hole a bit. More oozing fluids to come. :)
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Interestingly, now she has a seam that runs from her neck down to her gut. Maybe her whole chest opens up like a mouth?
the ribteeth look kind of goofy and comical, not so scary. (although less so that before when it had the beaker thing going) I would suggest that they should mimic the teeth on the tentacle/head bit, in as much as you can do that with ribs.
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Ooh... OK :D
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/angel9.gif)
Better now?
Edit: Adjusted the palette a teeny bit.
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Now it's so damn creepy!
Now the belly is the focus of the picture and then you look up past the breasts and finally see the horror that once was her head.
Dr Freud would prolly have one or two comments about this image though, it's quite disturbing mixing nudiy and crazy stuff like that and I love it.
I really like how it's partly dittered and partly (dare I say) "cell-shaded".
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Now shouldn't that be featured?
Awesome and inspiring :D
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Ooh... OK :D
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/angel9.gif)
Better now?
Edit: Adjusted the palette a teeny bit.
Excellent update.
I was thinking to myself with each new version that her groin needed something extra, but I couldn't lay a finger on what. What you came up with is perfect - it is thoroughly disgusting and completely avoids being perverse or giggle worthy. You're definitely on the home stretch now; keep it up! :y:
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(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/angel10.gif)
Bleh... I feel that I've lost a lot of contrast here by blending the warm and cold colors like this. With the way I've put these palettes together, trying to separate colors will just make those parts seem grainy compared to the rest. Maybe two identical ramps (save for hue) would have worked better. I think that's what I need to do with the other demon.
What else needs fixing now?
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Wow..that is just absolutely beautiful (or horribly grotesque, depending on how you look at it :P) I have no crits, I think you should call this one finished.
I say this deserves to be featured. :crazy:
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I think you're right about the contrast - I think maybe just get rid of the pinks on the teeth, the parts of her mouth that aren't the tongue, and the pit of her stomach, and it'll help.
maybe shift the whole pallete a bit? Like:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13/tocky/arachne_torturess_pallete.png)
Added a bit of yellow, +brightness, +saturation.
Maybe you could add something to the background on the right, just above those teeth and below the tentacle, like a boil or something. It just seems like there should be more grey there, for symmetry.
These are all just slight niggles, though. It's really wonderful/horrible as is.
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I really think the dithering hurts this particular image - it made everyhing look grainy, it softened too much the shading, and details like the tumours and such no longer look as disgusting. :(
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Then again I think the dithering is absolutely essential to such an image. The grain helps it. Seems finished to me Arachne.
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What 8 colours can achieve eh, amazing lad, absolutely!
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Arachne's a girl in norway if I remember correctly. Be careful with women, they are strange.
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Arachne's a girl in norway if I remember correctly. Be careful with women, they are strange.
And if that doesn't put the fear of god into you, this was actually a self portrait! D:
Anywho, it looks great! I agree with Helm that this is finished.
I'd love to see a whole series of weird creatures like this.
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maybe shift the whole pallete a bit? Like:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13/tocky/arachne_torturess_pallete.png)
Added a bit of yellow, +brightness, +saturation.
It makes it look a bit like a faded photograph. It's interesting, but makes the figure stand out less, I think. :)
Arachne's a girl in norway if I remember correctly. Be careful with women, they are strange.
And if that doesn't put the fear of god into you, this was actually a self portrait! D:
Haha, I can't remember if it was, actually, but it wouldn't surprise me. ;)
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/angel11.gif)
Some minor tweaking. I darkened one of the blues a bit and modified the left leg slightly to make it look less flat.
OK, then. Just one more to go. :blind:
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It's not the part that she's a female drawing disgusting demons that terrifies me, it's the part where she only used 8 colors on this piece that makes me cry in the corner.
:huh: What the fuck Arachne. Mad props.
My only critique is that the bump thing on the (our) right leg doesn't seem like it should be there because it's got a tear on it.
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Well, it seems I thought tocky's edit was actually done by arachne, my mistake. Still, I liked the more pale colors previous wips had. It's still quite great, nonetheless.
Arachne's a girl in norway if I remember correctly. Be careful with women, they are strange.
And if that doesn't put the fear of god into you, this was actually a self portrait! D:
Fuck yeah, I'm so dating Arachne now, just to see her eating with her groin. Say Ary (can I call you ary?), do you like chinese or italian food?
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that is the most beautiful thing ive ever layed my eyes on.
good work arachne : D
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Remarkable dithering, saved for future reference! It was really fun to watch this one progress. Excellent work!
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It's not the part that she's a female drawing disgusting demons that terrifies me, it's the part where she only used 8 colors on this piece that makes me cry in the corner.
Dude, you stole the words out of my brain.
A-freaking-mazing. :yay: (<--Why is this smiley so neglected?)
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Thanks for all the kind words! :D
Fuck yeah, I'm so dating Arachne now, just to see her eating with her groin. Say Ary (can I call you ary?), do you like chinese or italian food?
I'll eat just about anything, really. :lol:
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/gdemon5.gif)
Here's how this one's coming along. I got rid of one of the greens and added some more red and yellow to the rest of the palette. Also changed the skull to look more like a human skull. I think I need to work on this a bit to get everything equally grainy or smooth. Using more colors for the face and fewer for the cranium and the shoulders is the opposite of what I ought to be doing. I think I'll add some more colors (:'() to make the skin colored parts less grainy.
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(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/angel11.gif)
Vagina Dentana Maxima!!! Just wanted to say I absolutely love this. And I agree that it DOES need the dither. Without it it would be way less grimey.
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(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/gdemon5.gif)
Here's how this one's coming along. I got rid of one of the greens and added some more red and yellow to the rest of the palette. Also changed the skull to look more like a human skull. I think I need to work on this a bit to get everything equally grainy or smooth. Using more colors for the face and fewer for the cranium and the shoulders is the opposite of what I ought to be doing. I think I'll add some more colors (:'() to make the skin colored parts less grainy.
I really think you did a better dithering job on this one than in your self-portrait ( ;D); this on has got so much texture, it's lovely. I really don't think you need any more colors, but rather some tweaks in your dithering for the shoulders and the green lighted sections.
Fuck yeah, I'm so dating Arachne now, just to see her eating with her groin. Say Ary (can I call you ary?), do you like chinese or italian food?
I'll eat just about anything, really. :lol:
Fantastic. So at which hour shall I pick you up and go to dinner at the Linger Lodge (http://www.lingerlodgeresort.com/restaurant.htm) then?
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Thanks, ptoing. :)
Fantastic. So at which hour shall I pick you up and go to dinner at the Linger Lodge (http://www.lingerlodgeresort.com/restaurant.htm) then?
Ahaha, that's perfect! :D
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/gdemon6.gif)
OK, there it is. The green areas look a bit odd to me, but I think that might be because the transition between the green and purple is fairly sharp. I added some patches of gray on the cranium and the shoulders to make them look smoother, while still keeping the distinction between the face and the rest. Made it look kind of dirty, not sure if that's a bad thing.
Oh, here's (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/angelprg.gif) an animated gif showing the progress of the angel in a bit more detail, if anyone finds that useful. :)
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Arachne, I am in love with the latest piece. I look hard at it to try to spot some sort of error or give you further ideas but I'm pretty stumped. Better than I could do, and worthy of study. Perhaps the only thing that comes to mind is that you should break up the dither patterns with some solid groups of color here and there (you do this, but a bit more) which isn't more realistic, but perhaps a useful rendering technique to call the eye of the viewer towards these places. I would put a small flat highlight on the skull for example, and such. Really nitpicking, I can't find any faults.
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jaw droppingly beautiful dithering, not a single pixel misplaced imo. there does seem to be something kinda wierd going on with those few cracks on the skull at the top left, but i cant really put my finger on it and its realy not of too much concern anyway.
im jealous.
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I agree with Helm, some un-dithered areas could really improve this. Especially on the skull, you'd expect a few areas to were smoothed down, and they'd certainly make it more interesting to the eye, i reckon.
Wonderful work on the err, lady, as well. I think the uniformly patterned look due to dithering works there, it serves to immitate the grimey overlays used on horror-film posters so often, i think. It's been good to see it progress, as well. Where i thought the woman started out as an anatomically incorrect blob, it works really well now, you really added definition where it was needed. I like the thickness of the stomach-skin, it immediately makes the entire piece more believable.
I'm going to try doing an overpaint of the skull. Depending on how that turns out, i might post it later!
edit:
(http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m161/mightypea/NOT%20MINE/gdemon6_pea_edit.gif)
Just to give you an idea, ofcourse. I also moved the shoulder some, see what you think about it.
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Thanks, guys! :D
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/gdemon7.gif)
How's this? Hadn't really paid much attention to the shoulders in the initial sketch since it was just a portrait I didn't intend to color, but it should look a bit more realistic now. :)
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Looking nice.
Have a couple of crits though:
1. The transition from green to purple on the lower neck looks a bit messy.
2. The mouth pinsers look uneven in size.
3. The area around the right eye is shaped differently to that around the left.
4. I don't really understand what's going on inside the neck, but whatever is looks off centre.
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(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/gdemon7b.gif)
Looking nice.
Have a couple of crits though:
1. The transition from green to purple on the lower neck looks a bit messy.
2. The mouth pinsers look uneven in size.
3. The area around the right eye is shaped differently to that around the left.
4. I don't really understand what's going on inside the neck, but whatever is looks off centre.
1. Oops :D
2. They are. I thought making them uneven would make them look more like a deformity.
3. OK, I think it should look better now, unless I need to do something about the position of the eye as well.
4. It's the larynx. Not sure how much of human anatomy is still valid here, but since it's positioned in front of the esophagus, I thought that would make it off-center?
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Arachne there really good and i was wondering if any time in the near future you would make a dithering tutorial? ???
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Why not try making an image with advanced dithering like that on your own, perhaps using Arachnes work as a reference? :)
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Hm, most of the time I just seem to place pixels while looking at the image at 1x to see if what I do looks good. There are certain patterns I follow, I suppose, but not sure how to translate that into anything useful.
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/gdemon7c.gif)
I'm done with all the minor updates now, I hope. I need to stop drawing late at night. :blind:
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Very nice! The new blotches look really cool
I like the part where you used a darker shade on the cavities than on the background to draw attention to them, adds extra depth to the body (which already displays lots). Hadn't seen that trick yet :)