Octopus [Heavy C&C needed!]

[Swiftley]

I'm a beginner pixel artist, and I've read over many tutorials, so I thought it was time to give it a go and start posting. I'm aware of how terrible it is, so I'm looking for a lot of C&C. Looking forward to hearing some feedback, thanks!

[Candy Man Criminal]

its not very octopus-ish
you should look at some picture of octopi and try to shape it more like them
the tentacles being all different shapes and sizes is your biggest problem, after that its the fact that its not octopus shaped
the shading is a bit awkward, too
but we'll get to that later

good luck!

[Phlakes]

Yep, before you start shading or anti-aliasing, make sure the form is correct. For basically everything, especially if you're a beginner, use a reference. That's the best way to learn. The artists who are best at drawing humans have studied anatomy like you wouldn't believe.

So don't just draw it out of your head yet. It takes years to get there.

Get some good line art going, then we'll see about the shading.

[Swiftley]

I definitely see what you mean after looking over some pictures of various octopus! I've redone my outline, and general shaping. Here's the WIP without shading.

[Candy Man Criminal]

much better, but some of the tentacles are not quite bent right
you need to keep the width of them consistent throughout the tentacle, till it gets near the end

the middle right one is the best, try to base the others off of it

[Mathias]

8 tentacles, not 6.

Your tentacles are a mess. Try giving them more curvy flow, gentle gradual curves, rather than random jaggedyness. This creature is very soft and floating around underwater. Give it a soft feel.