Pixelation
Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: Chrispy on February 20, 2010, 09:53:09 pm
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A few firsts for me in here
First time making a progress GIF
First time making a portrait this large
First successful time dithering.
I'm just looking for anywhere that might need improvements or anything before I start posting this anywhere. I'm up for fixing just about anything. The main thing that bugs me is the shirt, but I don't know if there's something wrong with it or if I'm just crazy.
(http://i45.tinypic.com/281d7pe.gif) <-gif
(http://i49.tinypic.com/rhu82u.png) <-Final Product
I still haven't decided whether or not I'm adding a background or making it transparent, so it's just white for now. I'll change it once I decide.
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Here's the most recent.
http://i45.tinypic.com/14l4u1j.png
(http://i48.tinypic.com/20rv146.gif)
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I like this, but:
the face is flat, the nose highlight and lip highlights need rethinking;
the work on the hair's great, but a tiny bit more contrast and hinting hair strands could make it better, and don't forget the crown or crowns in your hair;
neck and chin seem off, just like the shoulder, but you just need more practice with human anatomy.
where's the lightsource?
EDIT:(http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/3719/chrispyed.png)
Can't wait to see progress on this!
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Keep in mind, I'm only 15 so my face looks younger than what you posted. I know it's only a rough edit, but I'm just letting everyone else know. I'll be sure to post my changes as soon as I'm done.
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Yep, I know, just exagerating some traits.
I suggest you find a reference for the hair, my edit's pretty rubbish in that aspect.
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Have you not got a reference? It's easier to critque if we know what you're aiming for
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My only reference is myself, and the only picture I have of myself is a couple of years old. I don't own a camera of any sort that I could take a picture of myself with.
EDIT: I forgot about the school photos, so that's going to be the best reference for now.
(http://mis.msdpt.k12.in.us/Pictures/364963.jpg)
My hair is obviously longer now, but it'll have to do.
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You painted stuff in the wrong order, sorta. You added the facial features AFTER you did the hair, and thus the full shape of the head is omitted, and you fill in the facial features in the face space that's left, in places that look consistent with the facial area isolated, but not with the whole skull at large.
I'd say redo it and paint the face before you add hair. I think that alone would help lots.
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(http://i45.tinypic.com/dwteg4.png) <-Made several changes keeping Chris's tips in mind. I'm not about to go back and redo the face and hair at this point though.
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It's strange because the expression and face are quite effective but the rendering is so so soft... I mean there are particular situations where photography can be low contrast like this sure, like soft flash but do you really want that? The effect I get is this is a school photo that goes in the yearbook and the person is scowling because he's not enjoying highschool. Like he's saying "I will do better things than this, just you wait" Is that impression of any use for you? Have you considered sharper volumes and directed light not face-on or something? I know these things mean reworking the rendering, but just as a thought to keep in mind, settle on what you want the portrait to mean before you render hair and stuff like that.
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What you just explained pretty much describes me, so that would be what I'm going for, considering it's a portrait of me.
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That's great but the implication I get from the rendering is that the person in the picture is powerless. He is conforming to the school because this is a professionally taken soft-edges school yearbook photo. That might be a honest recount of the situation but perhaps a piece of art such as this should speak from the vantage of the future, with hope. Imagine how yourself would look 10 years from now when he has achieved all these important things (I don't mean how he has changed physically, let's pretend you'll stay exactly the same in the next 10 years) and tell me how would his picture look. What functions would you use to differentiate from his self-willed visage and this third-party defined one?
On the pixel level my critique is that the selout around the hair doesn't seem to suggest anything useful. The green ramp in the background is a great opportunity to tint it when it goes to the brightest and where it goes to the darkest for some more emotional commentary (if needed),
The dithering is too uniform, there aren't any sharp points to accentuate the curves so it all comes out looking pillowshaded with a degree of separation: both fuzzy and somewhat textured by the dithers.
The nose (especially nostril) need a lot of work from reference, you are inventing the shape and malforming it. It's something that is easily salvageable once you've gotten down how the mechanics of the nose as volumes works and abstract from there, not feeling your way around in the dark. Eyes also are a bit symbolic.
Do you want an edit?
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(http://www.locustleaves.com/dw.gif)
Had a bit of time and made one, I hope it's alright.
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I actually plan on redoing the background, or at least removing it for a bit so I can rework the portrait itself and add it on later. I should've saved the background without the portrait, but oh well. It's not hard to make a new one. When I started making this I didn't exactly think of what feel I wanted to go for. Since I'm going to rework a majority of the shading and such I might as well restart from the face like Jad said I should. I might be able to save some of the face though, I dunno. The dithering being so off is because I'm new to it, although that isn't much of an excuse considering I know it's bad from looking at it myself. I should spend more time messing with it before I post it here.
I've never really thought about the kind of feeling my work gives, I just think something and sprite it. I wouldn't know what to do to change the feeling it's giving. A couple ideas that come to mind would be adding more shine to the eyes to give him that accomplished look, as well as adding a smile or something. And changing the palette to be lighter, as well as having a different, lighter background.
Also thanks for the edit, It should be of some help when reworking it.
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I've never really thought about the kind of feeling my work gives, I just think something and sprite it. I wouldn't know what to do to change the feeling it's giving.
Do you think it's a good thing if you did?
Looking forward to your progress :)
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I do now that I am thinking about it. Also I think instead of just starting from square one, I should just make the head smaller to not look so large compared to the face.
Here's a quick edit showing what I mean.
(http://i50.tinypic.com/jr6v03.png)
Also is there a technique or something I could do to get rid of that little flat spot on the top right part of the hair? I can't figure out how to get rid of it.
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Actually if anything I think he needs more top-of-the-head, not less. The studies below are very very rough and inaccurate but they should give you an idea about what I'm talking about.
The brow doesn't have much going for it in human beings, it's not an eye or a mouth, it's not as expressive. So we tend to, as artists, make the FACE on the head too big, because that's what interests us subconsciously. But if you want to learn to draw heads let's say 'classically' at some point you need to do head construction in steps like most art book guides show and then deviate from there.
Also small crit on the eyeline
(http://www.locustleaves.com/364963.png)
(http://www.locustleaves.com/jr6v03.png)
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Thanks for the help, you've been great. I'll work on fixing the head and shading after I get some sleep, I have school tomorrow and it's late. :blind:
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(http://i47.tinypic.com/34gabnb.png)
I fixed up the shading and face a bit using Helms edit for reference. I still have some things to fix up shading wise. I haven't done much to the hair
EDIT
Fixed it up a bit
(http://i46.tinypic.com/1589pfp.png)
EDIT2: Made some final touches and added a new background.
(http://i47.tinypic.com/23usfuf.jpg)
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Congrats for the improves!
Good bg, I like the composition of values you gave it, its light adds depth to the image, even though it's formal.
You might still give it some attention, on some points Helm raised and others.
Edit in 4 steps:
(http://files.myfrogbag.com/qe1mq0/chrispy-edit.gif)
- saturate the portrait, colors are a bit flat against that bg;
- darken and redden hair. Not sure about redden, don't see from the photo what your real color is!
- important: recycle colors! I did it very grossly with the paint bucket, to hair and shirt, with some greens from bg. You get the idea. This will really unite the different parts of your pic. Do it also between hair and face colors which are separate ramps now.
- even more important: get that dithering under control! There's far too much of it, and far too systematic. I tried that quickly on the face. I think this piece needs a little of it, but this is the moment where each single pixel you add must be checked at 100 or 200%, and ditched if unnecessary! I didn't do it carefully enough: you have to check the effect on the lines, shapes, shading, and texture of the face.
This portrait really deserves the effort you did / will put in it! =)
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(http://i50.tinypic.com/mcq8ue.png)
I saturated like you said I should, but I didn't make the hair redder cuz I felt it looked more like a dark red and not a brown. I recycled the colors and brought down the color count from 42 to 32 and tried to fix up the dithering. I also added a little something to his left shoulder because it's lack of shadow bugged me.
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Just a quick edit...
(http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/2433/watl.png)
From a psychological perspective now...why chose a background like that? (Green and stuff)
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That seems more like a caricature than a portrait. Mainly because of the exaggerated jaw. I think it would help if you made a list of changes I should make to it, just so I know what you want me to fix.
Also the green background was just an idea that came to mind that I thought would look cool.
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I don't really think so - if you view it next to your a bit idealized portrait of yourself it might seem like a caricature, but it's actually pretty close to the original. Mind you, it also looks pretty so don't go thinking I'm saying you don't look good, haha : D
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I had to do something because what you are doing, is drawing yourself in a physical way which you are not, and as Jad said, idealizing.
If you posted a more recent picture, we could help you a little more, but I think I'm not far off with my edit since the face doesn't change much over some years (atleast you lost a ton of weigth)
Your eyes arn't even green so I don't know what's going on...
In the all above edits, your hair can't even be like this, because you have a barely visible receding hairline...
IF you were intending to made an ideal portrait, a reflection of your life, then you would not pick merely stuff that "looks" cool, hence my question "why did you pick green"
And for your counteradvice saying that it would help more if I made a list...I think no list can tell as much as an edit, by all means.
And as side note, I am not defending my edit nor intending to be insultive
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My eyes are indeed green, though not as green as shown in the pixel art. It might just be the lighting or something that made that picture not show it. That picture was taken in the beginning of '09. I have let my hair grow out more and have lost the tan I had as well as lost some of my baby fat. I'll try to see if I can get a more up to date picture sometime soon, but as of now I don't have a camera or camera phone.
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Ah, thought the pic was taken "a couple of years ago" ;)....
Notice how you have alot more tan in your version than in mine :)?
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I was referring to a different pic, I should've cleared that up.
Also I did notice, I should mess with my palette some more. I'd have some more edits up on here if I wasn't so busy.
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Your face is beautifully volumetric in the photo. It seems like you want to flatten and round things out in your art. Elk's edit really does capture you better! Even though it makes your face squished vertically and tipped to the side, it's the eyes, you have a strong flat border at the top of your eyes which I think is your determining characteristic.
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I agree too that Elk's edit is highly interesting.
Of course I can't judge how your face has changed since, but it also has better light and volume which should apply regardless of any change (they were there too in Helm's edit).
I'm aware these are really difficult to achieve anyway, but worth trying!
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After looking in the mirror several times and having family and friends making comparisons, we decided that my school photo is a bad picture of me and I need to get a camera so I can give you guys a new one. There are errors in mine that I do need to change, mainly in the hair and eyes. I will try to get you guys a better picture sometime today maybe and will make edits when I have the time. I'll use Elks edit to fix the eyes and much of the shading, though.
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(http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/2120/chrispyed2.png)
Gave another shot, I have nothing to add in terms of criticism.
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Alright yeah apparently my family got confused about which image was which, so they said Elks edit looks more like me. I'll try to get a new picture up sometime soon, no one I know owns a camera. :blind:
EDIT: I finally got some time to edit it. I got frustrated with the hair and stopped working on it, I'll go back to it later once I've had some time away from it.
(http://i49.tinypic.com/5z44g6.png)
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Alright before more crits (from me at least) either upload a newest picture or tell me you're committing to getting the likness off of the one you've posted in this thread :)
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You mean picture as in a photo of me? Yeah I can't ever get a hold of a camera to be able to take a picture of me with. Next time I see my girlfriend I'll have her take a picture with her phone, but I dunno when that'll be.
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alright so keeping to the reference, so far the nose is much better modeled and pixelled but... it's a bit too big for the face. You can either resize the nose or the whole head, heh, whichever breaks your heart less. The nose is too close to the mouth. The eyes need a bit more sculpting (but not too much). The neck is invented, follow your reference there more.
You're coming a long way with this but you have to be braver still :)
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(http://i50.tinypic.com/2mr5c8l.png)
Still having trouble with the hair there. I wish I had a better reference for you guys so you knew what my hair looked like, it must be frustrating trying to help with something without a good reference.
EDIT: Made some changes to the hair
(http://i49.tinypic.com/e7nsp1.png)
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Make it more like strands, like, have them be hurdles of lines instead of a smooth surface. It makes your hair look liek a pillow.
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Make it more like strands, like, have them be hurdles of lines instead of a smooth surface. It makes your hair look liek a pillow.
In all honesty, I don't think that's needed. Just disregard the actual line between hair and face and it all comes together fine - I think it's the line between hair and face that needs to be tweaked a little O:! Hair needs to cast more distinct shadow upon the face and contrast needs to be lessened so it all doesn't look so burnt
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I was actually just working on adjusting the colors when you posted that :lol:
(http://i45.tinypic.com/14l4u1j.png)
EDIT: Got a new reference pic, although it's not a good pic. It's more accurate than the last one.
(http://i49.tinypic.com/5cm641.jpg)
EDIT2: Made my head smaller because my previous head was as big as jimmy neutrons :blind:
(http://i49.tinypic.com/2uoouti.png)
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You really do look nicer =) And cuter!
The result is nice too now..
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Okay if you're going to go with the new reference photo, the face needs to be elongated. Do you see it?
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The angle is a bit different and the light very different, but yes, there are important features in this photo which are not in your pixel.
Mostly, the cheekbone-cheek-chin line.
Also more neck.
And just redo the whole hair!
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(http://i50.tinypic.com/dncz8k.png)
Boop
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You look a lot better ;D
You could add just a faint bit of shading to your nearer cheek under the cheekbone - as far as I can tell your face is no longer as round.
Also, your nose looks like it's dripping down your face. The nose bridge doesn't have enough volume to it.
Super minor, but there's a little jagginess to your nearer eye between the pupil and lower eyelid.
Amazing progress. Can't wait to see it finished!
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(http://i45.tinypic.com/mmvgpk.png)
Made a few changes, I think I fixed the jaggedness on the eye, not sure.
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Lots of really solid improvements. An edit of various things, compare with your version to see
(http://www.locustleaves.com/mmvgpk2.png) (http://i45.tinypic.com/mmvgpk.png)
This is a really educational thread on how to go from vague anime-style to a more concrete and constructed 'realistic' portrait.
The hair really needs reworking with theory in the mind though.
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(http://i50.tinypic.com/14x136c.png) Played around with the hair a bit. I tried to make it look more realistic and less like a solid ball with hair texture on it.
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the few dark pixels you have around the edge of the hair still makes it look flat - it's not because it's not shaded well, but because it takes contrast too far - when you compare the value range of the hair on the head to the edge, err. How do I explain it.
Because edge of hair is so dark, it makes the rest of the hair look flat - it tricks the eyes to not see the shading and highlights of the rest of the hair because the brain averages stuff and blah blah.
Smooth that stuff up anyways, there's not reason for the edge of the hair to be so contrasty. You haven't painted that kind of 'outline' on, say, the bottom of the chin, so there's really no need to apply that tech to the hair either.
Except for that, though, hot texture you've got going on. You're good at this.
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Not quite sure what you were telling me to do, but I reduced the contrast on the hair shadow. I only changed 1 shade, but it came out nice.
(http://i47.tinypic.com/mhaueh.png)
EDIT
(http://i50.tinypic.com/1z2ftxf.png)
Made a few more various changes.
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yes, that's what I meant.
I also think there's some discrepancy between the edge of the hair and the 'surface' of the hair. the surface implies strands of hair that behaves in one distinct way, the edge implies other kinds of strands/hair bunches
bring them together! Or, try. It's hard, this stuff <3
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(http://i47.tinypic.com/2utiv4k.png)
uhh, I think I got it.
EDIT: Considering this topic seems to have died down a bit, I'd like to thank all of you for your help and support before this completely goes down the gutter. Thankies