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11
Pixel Art / Re: [C+C] Female 64 x 64 Portraits
« on: March 02, 2016, 08:15:03 pm »
the bottom 2 are drawn better, but also the bottom 2 are framed in the canvas much much better.
I might scrap the top 2 not only because the drawing errors are much more noticeable, but also because they are pretty weakly framed. The top left seems too far away and a weak pose.  The top right has a nicer pose and angle and immediately looks stronger, but the composition is still much weaker than the bottom too how the top is cut off and the chin is too close to the edge. 

That out of the way, I think the bottom two are actually done pretty well!! Stylish, sexy.  The biggest problem I have is with the colors.  This is where the bottom two look most amateurish.  The actual potential behind the nice drawing/cool hair and so forth are masked behind poor colors that fail to really show off how well you did.  It is like if a master artist draws a masterpiece that looks basically photorealistic and then takes all the colors and makes them nearly the same.  It'll look very washed out, flat and maybe even amateurish, even if you could see the immediate genius behind the lines and detail etc.




Changing your colors was really only a 3 step process.



1.) I upped contrast so it looked less washed out.  I usually do this automatically with contrast slider.  Upping contrast just made the colors pop out more from the canvas. 

2.) Then once the colors were less ghostly, I had to gamma correct.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_correction  Basically I manually adjusted how dark shadow colors were, how mid mid tones were, and how bright highlights were individually through out the whole palette, as well as thinking about how these changes should mirror the surfaces the colors apply to most.  EG, gamma adjusting the skintones is different than for the hair.  The skin colors should be flatter and more claylike- colors smoothly fade from light to shadow.  I imagined the hair of the women as pretty glossy, so this is where really bright highlights poking through the strands works.  Note, if the skin was supposed to look more wet or oily, or if the hair was less shiny, adjusting gamma for those areas would be different. 

3.) Once gamma was adjusted, I focused on changes to mostly hue, but also value here and there.  This last portion is to go for a better unified and harmonious palette and to make sure all of the hue play within the image looks as tight as can be.  For example, I made the mid hair color on the right more purple, so the highlight colors didn't clash.  But then I lightened the skin tone up in value some just because I thought it made more sense for her, and a brighter more whiter skin also seemed better to mesh with the interesting hues going on in the image, such as the orangy skin shadows and so forth.  for the woman on the right, I decided to make the skin warmer and darker because I felt it looked better with the high contrast green hair.  I also then made the hair warmer as well because my intuition said that it just fit the character more.  I find this step just takes your intuition.  There are obviously no rules saying I had to make the skin on the right whiter etc., but I just felt out this step of the process with intuition
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The actual pixeling technique COULD be tighter, less noise, better clusters and so forth.  IE, better control and attention, but it is entirely feasible in my opinion, and some things are pixeled quite well, such as the eyes in the bottom right. 

12
General Discussion / Re: Px Theme?
« on: February 26, 2016, 09:20:53 pm »
i suggest for a better aesthetic incorporating pixel pig into a new them.





13
General Discussion / Re: Pattern Recognition
« on: February 26, 2016, 08:57:44 pm »
i agree with indigo.

in addition, I suggest you work on your writing skills. 

I love that you have a desire to start discussions and voice your opinion on topics, but your writing is usually incredibly hard to follow and/or excessively bloated.  It seems like you treat your writing as just a way to spill out your thoughts exactly as they come to you.  The problem is when people ruminate on complex topics, the though process usually lacks a logic flow, organization and clarity.  It is up to the writer to make sure that by the time you actually submit your discussion topic that you have taken the time to properly organize and edit your thoughts in a way you think is best to communicate your ideas and eliminate needless details. 

You actually asked in your writing for the reader to try and see things your way, but your writing style isn't doing the reader any favors!

Some tips:

 In introducing your topic, make it as short as possible.  Paint it in black and white.  After everyone is on the same page, you can then go in greater depth.  In other words, Pose your "so what"? immediately or as soon as possible.  After the so what is established is when you can go into the hows wheres whens etc.

immediately interest the reader with a powerful, important or worthwhile introduction that relates to your topic.

Don't try to be fancy unless it somehow reinforces your ideas.

Try not to jump between ideas but rather make them transition in a logical way.

a quick way to do incorporate these ideas is to try to imagine you are trying to explain something to a 12 year old.  Can they follow?  Will they give up before figuring out what you're saying?
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I hope this helps.




14
General Discussion / Px Theme?
« on: February 26, 2016, 08:25:18 pm »
is pix ever gonna get a new theme?  current one is kinda ugly  :-\

15
General Discussion / Re: Official Pixelation Skin!
« on: February 22, 2016, 03:53:06 pm »

16
Pixel Art / Re: U-boat Girl
« on: February 22, 2016, 03:39:33 pm »
maybe have the skirt lift up a bit revealing her panties  :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

17
General Discussion / Re: finding a balance, and where pixel art stands.
« on: February 15, 2016, 06:22:05 pm »
I'm glad cyangmou described what pixel art does over other mediums, because i found previous answers a little to implicative that pixeling is more a "style" that is achieved through rote mathematical and mechanical "pixel pushing". 

This, of course, is not true, and though there are pixel artists who do treat pixel art more in this way, but I believe the best pixel artists seek to do something special within the medium.  Basically, as a separate medium, a pixel artist should develop an artistic touch or eye for the medium, similarly to how an ink artist's "touch" will derive its artistic poignancy by emphasizing or thinking critically about how they can take advantage of the unique aspects of the medium.

For example, this piece by Thu brilliantly capitalizes on the low res of the medium, an attribute which typically means implying certain details or features is often more effective than trying to fully recreate something.  10 pixels may create a super realistic ear, whereas actually trying to draw an ear may turn out ineffective.  (Being able to make a beautiful ear in 10 pixels is not just a matter of whether you can draw a beautiful ear, a fundamental artistry, but whether you can imply it in a handful of squares, and thus requires pixel artistry.)  Notice the crystals below.

Another great great aspect of low image size typical to pixel art is that every "pixel", like an "atom that makes up all matter", is given meticulous care, and is really the only digital medium that can claim this attribute.  The benefit of this attribute is of course a usually unbeaten sharpness, but also the ability to reach an unbeaten level of control, because it goes deep all the way to the most basic unit of digital art, the pixel.  Notice also the pixel clusters and how being controlled on the most basic level affects its visual quality.



This piece works as a great piece of not just art, but captivating pixel art, because it capitalizes on the medium.

It is good advice now to focus mostly on art fundamentals, but if you decide once youre a solid artist that you want to be a great pixel artist, I think it is erroneous to say that it'll take a few months to master.  I believe being a great pixel artist too is a long term endeavor.

18
Pixel Art / Re: katana
« on: February 12, 2016, 08:14:32 pm »
 :huh:

19
Or study Native American warrior garb and go for an outfit that you find that somewhat diverges from the stereotypical

20
Pixel Art / Re: Animated soldier
« on: February 04, 2016, 06:54:33 pm »
That looks GREAT!  You incorporated the additional frames very well without compromising the feel of urgency

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