Jack in the box WIP (any help appreciated!)

[Gregori666]

Hi! I'm new to the forum and this is my first proper attempt at pixel art (after weeks of trying to learn as much as I could from Pixelation!). I realise that I've probably made every rookie mistake in the book, but I've looked at it so long now I can't really see where I'm going wrong anymore! Any advice or criticism is very welcome!



I used a reference for my intial sketch, which can be found here:

http://www.cel-ebration.com/WDCC-JACK-IN-BOX-I.jpg

Cheers!

Greg

[Anarkhya]

Hello!

Really nice start! Pixelly speaking, I dont have much to tell. However, IMO, your figure itself looks like a afro/ancient/cliche mask more than a jester, its a matter of facial features I think. You designed the face in a symbolical/tribal way (big rough eyes, 2D simplified attitude) that flattens too much face and personnality.

[Gregori666]

Hey thanks for replying! I totally get what you mean about the mask-like quality of the face. I tried to add a bit of depth with the shading, but obviously not enough! I was trying to follow the overall feature of the reference image, but I didn't quite manage it lol. Thanks again for your input! I will work some more on the face and see how it goes!