I think this thread is just for sketches though?

Yo!
This thread is for posting whatever you worked on today.

This tells me that the only limitation for a contribution relates to the time-frame in which it was concieved or changed.

I'm embarassed about still not having finished this secret santa piece. I'm in bit of a slump, because all I ever do with it is go in and make small changes. I don't have a "game-plan" for how to proceed, so I just make corrections, even though the piece (possibly) isn't done on a conceptual level. Anyway, today I made some of those small changes, so I'm posting it.



Perhaps trying to keep up with daily updates through this thread will encourage me to try and do more significant improvements. I hope!

re:breakfast's TIGSource-y idea: "The Colored Line Art Thread" serves that purpose iirc. A better-named and more visible thread would be nice though.

See also the "casual pixel art encounters" thread. It didn't really take-off, though. Attempts to better facilitate this concept could probably be made.

I'm sorry I can't help much with specifics, but here are at least some general impressions of this piece.

The landscape and objects are good and evocative. It's an image that you can get lost in looking for details and trying to recognize familiar shapes and objects.

But, as you state, there's something a bit off about the colours. Frankly, they're dull. And though the colour scheme is varied the overall impression is bleak. Sadly, I'm missing the right vocabulary regarding colour theory and such to put into words why I feel the piece fails in this aspect. However, I do feel that it all ultimately comes down to the way that the lighting is handled. For example, you could do a lot more with contrast between bright and dark. Let the light sources leave a stronger impact. Be bold with cast shadows and brightness variations within the same hue. For example, you have an obvious, big light source in the center of the image, but it's effects are downplayed. A setting sun should produce a very bright, yellow or orange-tinged light, while the shadows are very dark and have sharp outlines.

A minor thing that is distracting to me is the white glow you've applied to the edges of some shapes, namely in the bottom left and top right. The only purpose it seems so serve is to arbitrarily make some parts of the image blurry. It's also counter to the general style that the rest of the piece is made up of.

I hope these observations are of some use to you. I'm not sure my solutions are what's really needed. Heck, maybe they are contrary to what you are trying to achieve with the piece!

Anyway, good luck! I hope to see more.

@Charlieton:
That's looking awesome! I really love the style!

Really great gifts this year! I can't wait to see the WiP's finished, a lot of them look really great.

Glad you do! I started off making a more ambitious gift, but as the deadline grow nearer I knew I had to do something a bit smaller. Even then, I went through several revisions before I ended up with this style. Anyway, I'm working on it a bit more. Hopefully it'll end up more dragon-y, too!

And my apologies to Charlieton for my tardiness in giving you your present.  I've sent it to Crow and such, but for now here is a link to your gift: http://i.imgur.com/iZBSdSY.png

Felt my heart beat as I opened up the link... YES, I'm so glad you got me a flashy tropical bird! Sweet, glossy body + cool bug.

I'd like to see the face carry some more expression. You've got some free space there, and now she's mostly looking indifferent (if anything at all). It doesn't connect in any way to the implied emotion of the content of her speech.

As for technique, there are some 45 degree angle lines that look very strange. These are notably disruptive on the right arm and left thigh.

Good colours, though shading could use some more contrast.