3 1-bit videogame monsters!

[Pju Pju]

So I'm new to the forum Thought I'd start by just learning to put pixels in the right place and do something which I can complete.



What I'm going for is a 2-bit videogame ghost and I think I did quite a good job. I left out pixels at some places to get a feeling of smooth lines and translucency and pictured the motion of the character to be just before the attack on the player. Think sidescroller with ghost appearing from a background layer 

It's zoomed in to 2x as that would be the resolution I picture it in my imaginary little game and the tail is solid to make it seem darker as if it was pointed backwards in accordance to it's shape.

So what do you think, did I accomplish my goal or is there something I could improve before I move on?

[Evan]

Well welcome to the forums!

The first thing I have to say is: this is a nice first piece.

The other thing I have to say is that this is very hard to crit. It's just a 2-bit ghost, and while it is a nice first attempt at pixel-pushing, it's really not something that is completely critique-able.

But on I go...

The first thing I notice is that the tail is sort of blunt. You might want to either shorten the tail or make it pointier, since that is probably the look you're going for.

Secondly, you should probably change the head. For some reason, I'm not diggin' the empty spaces, at least not on the head. Maybe fill that in and see how it works.

That's about it for now. I'm a bit bored, so  I'll see if I can whip up a quick edit for fun and reference, but I'm not promising anything.

EDIT: I gave it a go. I also animated a simple idling frame.



Heh.

And once again, welcome to pixelopolis.

[Pju Pju]

Thanks for the tips I added a pixel to the head which made the head look better and fixed the tail so it became more pointy as that was the look I was going for After that I widened the chest which added some depth and the ghost now is alot more like what I was going for. Thanks!

[ptoing]

You are going the right way, looks better now.

Btw, this is 1-bit not 2. 1-bit is 2 colours, 2-bit is 4 colours, 3-bit is 8 colours and so on to the power of 2.

[Mercury Rising]

Oh, never knew that.  As for the ghost I know how you wanted to keep the head small yet I really don’t like the eye pixel against the head wall.  So what I did was just make it a white ghost... I know how original!
Hmm makes me want to watch Ghost Busters...

[Pju Pju]

Hey, that was quite a difference! In a good way of course 

I think that the black ghost seems to be angry, with your white ghost he seems more like he's a friendly ghost that pop ups to give you helpers along the way

I believe making a ghost white like you did offer a different approach based on what character you are going for and you could probably mix the white/black ratio for different frames and different ghosts. I do however also believe that the outline I have works great for black as intended which gives it the feelings I was going for, altough I'm sure those feelings can be enhanced

Going with the idea of white you gave me I've now got several nice ideas on how to design for a different character so I'm off to pixeling

Phew I was wondering what to pixel next, thanks!

[Mercury Rising]

Erm I have noticed this in many of your posts... Tone down the smilies... Please.
As for what to pixel next do what I do,
-Tie items that you could pixel to your fan blades
-Turn the fan on high
-Lay on your bed/floor/sofa/ect
-Whichever lands closest to your head, you pixel
-If it hits your head, take a nap, then pixel it.
(The nap really helps, espcialy when I pixeled that bowling ball...)   

[Pju Pju]

Hehe, nice idea on ideas. I however tend to wait until I get the feeling of 'I have to pixel this' but I'll remember the tip.

After experimenting with different combinations of white/black I made a white hovering ghost creature and a mummy sneaking around. I can definitly feel how I'm getting better at this so more of that wonderful c+c guys, all advice welcome. One day I'll be ready for colors.


 
*must... post... smiley...*

[CrematedPumpkin]

Resist the urge! Anyway, the new additions are looking really good. I like the middle one the most. I can't really crit on this, mainly because I've never done 1 bit before, but I know I like them. Great job

[Xion]

The only thing I can think of is to change the mummy's head. It's too obviously a copy of the ghost's head. Aside from that, I like them all.