Pixelation

Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: Souly on November 20, 2008, 10:21:06 pm

Title: Skulltree
Post by: Souly on November 20, 2008, 10:21:06 pm
Thanks to Indigo for the help so far.
Was in the middle of posting this and then started working on it some more.
(http://i37.tinypic.com/rli3qh.gif)

(http://i36.tinypic.com/wani91.gif)
This is the old version.
Title: Re: Skulltree
Post by: Ryumaru on November 21, 2008, 03:04:15 am
You've got good representation of forms in the roots, but not so much the trunk. Think about planes and how you can push things into shadow and bring things forward with highlights.
edit:
Maybe this will help you out. In my opinion form must ALWAYS come before texture. Implying texture through smaller forms is much more convincing than attempting to actually "draw" texture.
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg310/Chriskhaos/ChrisKhaos%20pixel%20folio/rli3qh.gif)
You have a nice palette, but don't be afraid to mix ramps and to tweak them so I work well together. I could have done a better job here, but it gets the idea across.
Title: Re: Skulltree
Post by: Souly on November 21, 2008, 04:48:21 am
I already went through that crap... I thought I finally had it.
I reshaded the whole thing three times now, then threw the old texture over top and then changed the lighting accordingly, though it is messy as hell I'll admit.
(http://i33.tinypic.com/29zrmt0.gif)->(http://i37.tinypic.com/2dwazyo.gif)->(http://i34.tinypic.com/f4mb2a.gif)
I'm not going to lie I've come quite fond of how the bark is looking.
Wanted the whole flow of the tree to run from the top to the bottom, dunno if that was achieved or not.

Anyways I did the new update before reading your comment hopefully it clears anything up..
I'm really just cleaning it up as I go now, though I still need to get started on the leaves.
Title: Re: Skulltree
Post by: Souly on November 21, 2008, 05:25:47 pm
(http://i33.tinypic.com/11kzk41.gif)
Refined it some more, tried adding background.

Sorry if it seems like I'm dodging your edit and critique there Ryu, I'm just fond of it how it is.
I will be sure to map out the volumes more before I do my next piece, I just really don't feel like re-shading this one again.
Title: Re: Skulltree
Post by: AlexWeldon on November 21, 2008, 05:33:39 pm
I think it looks great, except for the thin swirly lines in the eyes. Everything else is so big and bold, these fine lines clash. I would either make them heavier, or remove them entirely.
Title: Re: Skulltree
Post by: Madre on November 21, 2008, 05:36:18 pm
tree>> light souce (center)
rock >> light sorce (left)

why?



other thing is the rocks lines...
the angle line should be change with the diferents rocks faces
Title: Re: Skulltree
Post by: Souly on November 21, 2008, 07:25:16 pm
tree>> light souce (center)
rock >> light sorce (left)

why?



other thing is the rocks lines...
the angle line should be change with the diferents rocks faces
The lightsource is to the left and more front.
I wanted the rock to be smooth and round.

(http://i34.tinypic.com/21azs42.gif)
Does this help the lightsource problem?
Title: Re: Skulltree
Post by: Kazuya Mochu on November 21, 2008, 07:58:43 pm
you should blend the middle bit that does the nose hole with the ones imediatly at its side, or at least make it more pointy. right now its too close to a simplified version of female genitalia.
Title: Re: Skulltree
Post by: Souly on November 21, 2008, 08:14:58 pm
Yea I keep seeing either a vagina or a squid. O.o

(http://i37.tinypic.com/14v5umr.gif)->(http://i36.tinypic.com/2sb7fax.gif)
Hopefully that clears that up and reads more like a skull.
Title: Re: Skulltree
Post by: Dogmeat on November 21, 2008, 08:25:20 pm
Quick and really dirty dogmeat edit:

(http://www.mindcrank.com/treeedit.gif)

I thought the lighting was way off, and it made this character look very flat and didn't help bring out the gnarled features very well. All i've done here was added some shadowing and brought the leafy parts out to the forefront just a little.

Great char, just needs lighting work :)

Hope this helps you.
Title: Re: Skulltree
Post by: huZba on November 21, 2008, 08:40:19 pm
That's a pretty nice edit dogmeat and i second the direction it's taking. What this needs now is some more atmosphere. It's raining, but i can't feel the humidity in the air and the colors aren't overcast weather enough. There's a bit of that feeling there, just not enough. There's some depth issue too which is not present in Ryumaru's edit. The way the full range of the palette is applied on all the roots makes it flat. Try omitting shades from either end of the ramp to gain some depth.

What's this tree like btw? Is it walking around or has it been on the rock always? It would sit better on the rock if there were some other plants keeping company.
Title: Re: Skulltree
Post by: Souly on November 21, 2008, 08:49:00 pm
I realized alot of these edits are hard to see the difference.
So I compiled them.
(http://i35.tinypic.com/r04710.gif)

Okay I made the trunk a bit rounder like you suggested dogmeat, though not so dramatically.
(http://i37.tinypic.com/mcayat.gif)

I tried a mossy and more rooty approach earlier, though it was fail and wayyyy too much so I left it out, I was going to try it again soon.
(http://i37.tinypic.com/j8isr9.gif)
Title: Re: Skulltree
Post by: Dogmeat on November 21, 2008, 08:58:43 pm
Starting to look better, but I really think that the lighting should be more dramatic, to give the feeling huZba was hinting at. I feel that this piece has a ton of potential to be hallmark, if you work it, I will devote whatever time and help you in whatever way I can, i'd love to see a finished, polished version of this :)

Another thing I thought about was instead of having a really dark blackish color on the gnarled part of the tree, use a dark green or purple instead, and ramp up to your current palette.

Another thing, if you somehow incorporated atmosphere ( raining ) in front of the tree, in some way, it would really add a lot of depth to the background and the focus of the piece.

Keep it up!
Title: Re: Skulltree
Post by: Souly on November 21, 2008, 09:11:04 pm
Dogmeat do you got an MSN?
If so PM me it.  :)

(http://i35.tinypic.com/2d92wyc.gif)
My attempt at making foreground raindrops.
Title: Re: Skulltree
Post by: Destiny on November 21, 2008, 10:19:56 pm
On a few of the roots the light source is coming from the center.
Title: Re: Skulltree
Post by: Madre on November 21, 2008, 10:26:00 pm
Does this help the lightsource problem?
looks beter

On a few of the roots the light source is coming from the center.
:huh: so what?


other thing,
 i guess you are using a wrong palette color

about the stone shiding...maybe this help you

(http://i35.tinypic.com/15wiiqc.png)
Title: Re: Skulltree
Post by: skamocore on November 22, 2008, 01:09:00 am
Love the idea, this could turn out great  ;D

Right now, I wouldn't say this has much of an expression...It kind of looks a bit like ÒoÓ, but not quite.

Is there a reason why you've cropped it the way you have? I think it would be nicer seeing more of the tree. At the moment, it's not immediately obvious that it's a tree. It takes a few seconds to register that it is actually supposed to be a tree.

I don't like the foreground raindrops...they do nothing for the piece and make it look as though you've accidentally gone over those pants with an eraser tool. What you could do instead is add more depth to the bg...possibly a hint of an horizon and/or silhouettes of other trees or rocks in the bg.

Ryu had some good advice on mixing ramps. Because of your seperate palettes, the rock doesn't seem to really fit in the scene. Also, you could try making a yellow from the tree a more yellow-green colour and use that instead as the leaf highlight

Just a suggestion: maybe you could add some small bugs or something around the tree. Could add some more life to the scene and give the tree a bit more character.

Also, Maybe darken the scene to give it more of a stormy vibe.
Title: Re: Skulltree
Post by: I Am Uh on November 22, 2008, 09:52:41 am
I really like this. Though the eyes look really jagged to me, there are tons and tons of stray colors and pixels in unneeded places. It would be quite easy to just go in and edit it all out, it would look 10 times better. Maybe you're going to go in and polish it later, these are just nit picks.
(http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/4915/2d92wyc5726715099iazatv9.gif)
Also the foreground raindrops look a lot like beams of light. I think maybe adding more or shortening them would help.
The leafs on the tree look like an Afro at the moment, some large branches going from the top of the skull into it would look better. (IMO)
Title: Re: Skulltree
Post by: Redshrike on November 22, 2008, 05:28:58 pm
As Dogmeat said, this piece would really benefit from more dramatic lighting.  You've got a really cool subject with nice details, but at the moment it looks flat.  This is because every part of it seems to be just about equally lit, like it has a spotlight facing directly towards it, if you know what I mean.  That can make even the coolest pics look boring, or at least not nearly as exciting as they should.