Pixelation
Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: Danik on August 22, 2007, 10:15:46 pm
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Im struggling with making trees and bushes.
Probably a stupid question but whats the best way to understand how to pixelate small detail? Should I draw from reference or just experiment?
I cant make the leaves on this bush to look right. It just looks... random. ???
I want to make it look like the vegetation in Secret of Mana 2, that game has such great graphics. But when I look at it up close I cant make any sense of it.
Would you suggest I start with smaller images?
Any help on this is appreciated.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v723/morbid30/pixels/buske.gif) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v723/morbid30/pixels/buske2.gif)
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The first thing I'd work on is the structure and silhouette of the tree/bush. Right now it looks kind of like a green rock. Any amount of amazing detail won't save an object that you can't distinguish in the first place.
Reference is key, both from life and pixel art... so take a look at some trees and bushes and see what kind of shape appeals to you. Tsugumo's "how to be a pixel artist" tutorial explains how to achieve what you are looking for as far as pixel detailing and uses a lot of reference from Secret of Mana 2.
Best of luck.
Fry
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A good way to practice working on basic forms and readability is to work with just a few shades of gray first, rather than a full palette of colors. Right now, color is def not your problem; it is form and value. Limiting yourself to say 25%, 50%, and 75% gray will help you work out the basics of making a leafy shape with proper lighting. When the structure looks good, you can start adding color to it!
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Thank you for the crits.
I did this grayscale version based on your advice:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v723/morbid30/pixels/buskeBW2.gif)
Im not happy with the texture on the light side but I think its much better than before. What do you think?
In color:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v723/morbid30/pixels/buskeC.gif)
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a lot better. don't forget your shades. your highlights and midtones are good, but it really lacks the depth that shadows will bring.
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Yes, it's pretty flat at the moment. (the color version)
Would you suggest I add a 4th color or darken the darkest one?
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It looks nice so far. One last thing to spice it up is consider adding contrast to it. I would darken that darkest shade close to black or black itself. Here's an edit I did to help you out. You don't have to take my word for it, it's just some tips. Notice you add some blues in the darkest shadow to make the shading more interesting.
(http://www.filespace.org/andyspixels/bushedit.png)
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Thanks Andy.
I did try to increase the contrast and I added a few shades inbetween.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v723/morbid30/pixels/buske3_hue3.gif)
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nice job, it kicks ass.
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Great, thanks! :y:
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I have been trying to come up with some nice looking grass tiles.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v723/morbid30/pixels/grs9.gif) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v723/morbid30/pixels/grs7.gif) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v723/morbid30/pixels/grs6.gif)
Heres what it looks like with the bush.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v723/morbid30/pixels/grs9medbuske.gif)
I think I need to give the bush a shadow to blend it in.
But it blends in too much on the light side so Ill have to separate it there somehow...
Update:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v723/morbid30/pixels/grs9medbuske2.gif)
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(http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/1019/groldth8.gif)
Admittedly, I didn't work the grass as much as I should, but should illustrate a couple things you can do to improve. The palette could use a little optimizing after I butchered it, too.
One thing to note, don't let the grass distract from your main focus. On the grass avoid using shades that have values equal with your brightest values on the bush. Otherwise they end up competing with each other and you get a super-bright thingy that hurts your eyes.
You'll notice I did use brighter shades on the grass nearer to the bush, but I avoid using the brightest shade you have on the bush, settling for the next closest. To polish it off I might've added a couple more blades leading away from the bush
I edited your bush to get rid of the dark black pixels on the lightest side. By keeping them on the darker side I think the image pops more and better separates the dark/light areas. I felt your old version had a paper cutout feel to it. I also toned down the overall contrast by bringing the darkest black forward a couple shades.
Keep it up, there's been lots of improvement so far and you have plenty more to improve if you want. The grass to me is a weak point right now. You've picked the nicest of the 3, but it needs some touching up and some attention given to the pixels. It's too scribbly right now
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Thanks a lot crab2selout! I tried to follow your advice. I can't get the grass to look right, it's still pretty sketchy. But toning it down worked much better.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v723/morbid30/pixels/grs10medbuske2.gif)
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Here is a quick mockup to show of the path tiles I made today.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v723/morbid30/pixels/stigmockup.gif)