[WIP][C&C] School Girl Sprite

[Seiseki]

Hi!
I've recently become really hooked on pixel art.
I went from being less than mediocre on it, to actually learning a few techniques. I've never been good at shading or proportions
but these last months I've learned so much just by looking at pixel art.

And it all started with Minecraft Tilesets.

I've been trying to learn techniques just by using logic. Like what if I tone down this outline, or if I add some noise here..
It also helps to having read a bit about color theory and not just using the same hue/saturation.

But naturally I want to learn more.

So here's a sprite I made, mostly for fun. The first versions looked nothing like that and it took a while until I had acceptable proportions.

But I'm still having problems with drawing the mouth. For this style/resolution it might not be needed, but it's still nice to know how.
The eyes actually turned out pretty decent, but ears, nose and mouth is what I always struggle. Especially at this resolution.
The skirt doesn't look that good either.

[pistachio]

Hey! Welcome to Pixelation.

You seem to have a good grasp at this for a semi-beginner, but first, just a tip, it's not really necessary to post your work at 2x scale. The forum has a zoom feature if we want to look at it up close.

From what I can see, though, you don't seem to have a good grasp at your lightsource. (I'm guessing overhead?) The palette is lacking contrast, and is generally washed out. You have several colors you don't really need; one ramp for each object. Outlines leftover from the first draft are still visible, just colored. Numerous areas have a good deal of banding and, every now and again, pillow-shading. In short, it's where, instead of a proper lightsource being chosen, lighter colors just radiate out from the center. Avoid it at all costs (which is what your avatar doesn't seem to be doing).

I think this tutorial should help you. Even if you've read it before, looking through it in detail may let more information sink in. Might wanna look up the terms I pointed out in particular, but reading the entire thing is even better.

Here's an edit, mainly addressing palette conservation, readability, and the aforementioned problems. Sorry for the eyes, I couldn't find a way to avoid the cross-eyed stare.

[Seiseki]

Wow, thanks that was quite informative.
Something that has been bothering me for a while is that all my work seems to look more or less washed out..
I know I have a habit of de-saturating shadows quite a bit and also using bright outlines.

What you said about pillow shading was spot on..
So I tried to touch it up a bit.

(right one just for lulz) 


As for the school girl, your version looks very awesome.
Although she looks a bit like a zombie due to the eyes, or the right eye in particular
But yeah, I see your point very clearly.
My version relies heavily on outlines, while yours uses colors and shades to separate limbs and such.
The strong yet selective outline also does a fine job of adding much needed contrast.
At first I wasn't sure about having the highlights in just a single color, but I think it's growing on me, it's sharper and more effective.

(It's funny how much easier it is to criticize/analyze someone else's work )

[pistachio]

You have gotten just a bit better in terms of pixel-tech, but next time when lighting your sprites try to think of the basic shapes they're consisted of. For example, the top of your sprite's head is a sphere, so it would be shaded accordingly.

Anyhow, quick edit, just lighting. Stripped the palette down to its basic colors, which is probably a good way to go about it. It lets you think about contrast and lighting--more easily, at least--before all else.

[Seiseki]

wow, I really need to learn to use less colors..

I always tend to add more and more colors to the palette.
And for some reason I always avoid bright highlights and dark shadows, which in combination makes the art look dull and too smooth and undefined.

Thanks, I feel like I'm really learning stuff here

edit: I also think the reason I end up with too much banding/pillow shading is because I always think that a darker shade have to be next to a slightly less darker shade. And that a highlight can't be next to a really dark shade.. Which I now realize is just making every color fade into the next and removes sharpness and shape..

Also, a selout is supposed to follow the light source right? Like you did on top of his head.
And another question: I always tend to want to use AA on the outlines by making the edges brighter, but I've read that you're supposed to do the opposite, and I see you've done that on top of his head too.

[Koyot1222]

i was thinking that maby thers some way to improve perfect pistachio edit
Ive made something like that:

Probably ive just fixed eyes problem...

[Seiseki]

Woho, new cthulhu sprite!

edit:

Yet another edit, the previous versions look horrible by comparison..

edit2:

I had to add wings, and now he's sleeping, maybe I'll put him in a bed and animate him in the future..
Oh and the bath towel became a pair of boxer shorts

i was thinking that maby thers some way to improve perfect pistachio edit
Ive made something like that:

Probably ive just fixed eyes problem...

Looks kinda evil now