[C+C] Photo into pixel art

[LisandraTD]

Hey!
I am kinda new to pixel art, but i am having lots of fun! Maybe I could even go pro if I can improve enough, because I have seen so much great works here.
Soooooo I have been practicing using real photos to try and see how it would turn out if I made then into pixel arts.
Today I wanted to make something green, so I searched the web for a photo

This is the reference (it's under spoiler so it won't use too much post space)
Spoiler

(this cactus is so cute  )

And this is the finished product


And the one above is the updated version after IrresponsibleFreelancer's help! Thanks!

[IrresponsibleFreelancer]

The first thing is the light, you did it from the right when in the ref its a rim light cuz its from the back.  Second is that the spines on the cactus follow a spiral pattern and the way you portrayed it is rather sporadic.  Finally the spines get closer to orange not light green as they near the bottom.  Other than that nice job portraying something so detailed in so few pixels.  Keep it up and like you said youre a pro.
  quick edit although its not a very good edit (ill leave the rest up to decroded)

[IrresponsibleFreelancer]

Sorry i also forgot to note that the pot was too shiny in the pixelling whereas in the ref it was very matte and shineless.  I might be wrong but i believe you may have been looking at ref from up close therefore some of the colours are a bit to much what you'd think rather than what is really there.  for example the shadows on the flowers are much more red.

[LisandraTD]

Wow. I was afraid to lose too much information on the green if i did the lighter parts in an exact spiral. But your edit is amazing.
The flower part looks smoother too.
Oh, I like to challenge myself trying to turn complex things into pixel art, because I love the fact of how a single pixel can hold so much information when right placed.

I am making a bigger piece too! a photo of the Big Ben. Maybe I will post it next when done with the building part, then I can start the surroundins while getting feedback on the building.

About your tip, I will try to make my cactus look better then I'll post an update!

Thanks, IrresponsibleFreelancer!

[IrresponsibleFreelancer]

Please do keep posting id love to see more of your work, no problem for the crit it was fun.

[LisandraTD]

I tried the AA to smooth the curves like you did, but took me longer than I expected to produce the same effect as yours... Since I couldnt realize it at first.
And I tried hard not to get too influenced by your edit (like copying it unintencionaly if i stared too long, same for the colours you chose)
And this is the result..

.. and i quite like, thank you

[IrresponsibleFreelancer]

Looks great nice job, one more thing is that something that i find has a nice effect is on the spines that stick off the surface of the cactus to make it look more intentional as in make them darker and a bit more saturated (this effects only works with the white background).  Finally the pot careful it doesnt look like its blurred on the edges cuz its got a funny kind of effect on it with the AA, as you may note the pot still has a clear silhouette.  But that flower is freakin amazing the colors are flawless amazing edit like so few pixels jeez thats awesome.  Anyways very well done.

[Decroded]

fyi if ur planning more pieces its probably better to have separate threads for each piece.
You'll end up with better crit and less confusion than if u have too many pieces spread across many pages of advice.
u can always link to previous threads at in the OP if u want to make a trail.

[LisandraTD]

I just didn't want to get much attation since I just arrived at the forum.
I will be doing it on a new post then.
Thanks, Decroded.