GR#075 - Warrior - Anatomy

[Stickgag]

Hey!

So I'm interning at a games company at the moment, and the art is pixel art.

So for a few weeks I've been practising, reading up on tutorials and all that jazz, and so I decided to try and put my skills so far to use.

http://stickgag.deviantart.com/ Is my deviant art site. One of the pieces I put up there is "Nameless... for now." Mostly because I never named it. Reason I gave ya my link isn't for advertising. it's because I did a pixel version of nameless.



If you can't see it, it's also on the site there. Just right click the pic to view ti by itself.

I think it's 200x200. I edited some things from the hand drawn version as you may see or read on the site.

I need critique as it will helpe me improve at my job!

Thanks for the consideration

[mondomaniatrics]

Your composition needs work. The character looks like he's/she's tipping backward. The shading on the legs looks too cylindrical. If the wind it blowing the cape, why is the hair stiff and why is the ribbon on the spear motionless? The color is desaturated and needs more contrast.

[pistachio]

What's the style you're going for? Realistic? While faded colors do contribute to a more realistic look, that isn't all there is to it.

Looking at the original, non-pixelled version, the stronger values are of much better choice.

Underneath all those garments, the piece does not seem to have much foundation. This leads to the look of a paper-cut out in which the limbs are flat and cylindrical, and the pose is stiff. More knowledge of basic construction may be needed.

When making a serious character design, using reference is generally advised. Not necessarily strictly from reality, however. For example, a viking's costume or knight's armor from a video game might be more exaggerated and suited to your needs, or a well-designed creature that doesn't exist in reality would be a good point of reference for the same reason. Still, it's not to say I don't recommend using real things for reference, of course.

If it helps I could make an edit.

[Stickgag]

Alright then!

I'm glad you guys replied and took this very seriously!

I gotta admit I was pretty shocked by this critique, never had this much thrown at me all at once. But I did ask for all of this. When I come back to work on Tuesday, I'll definitely make some changes.

I do have to agree the shading looks too cylindrical. The fact the hair and the ribbon doesn't blow with the cape doesn't make sense now that I think about it, and I'm starting to see how 'fake' the character seems so to speak.

Not sure how I can make it look less 'paper' like. I am a newbie at this sort of thing, so my shading rather poor. If you take a closer look, I tried to use some dithering on the chest plate, but then I gave up with dithering and just did boring old shading on everything else.

There isn't a particular style I have. Seeing as the resolution on this pic was 72, and the size is 200x200, I can hardly imagine a drawing like this being 'realistic'. This is a fantasy sorta themed drawing. Also to make this more fun, you guys can make some edits if you like, I'll even allow you guys to name this character

Thanks for the advice, I'll do some work on it as soon as I can!

[coffee]

I wouldnt recommend using dithering on a surface that
You want to look metallic. What i would recommend you to Do , is
To have a peek at some materials irl and go from there.

[Elk]

There isn't a particular style I have. Seeing as the resolution on this pic was 72, and the size is 200x200, I can hardly imagine a drawing like this being 'realistic'. This is a fantasy sorta themed drawing. Also to make this more fun, you guys can make some edits if you like, I'll even allow you guys to name this character

Thanks for the advice, I'll do some work on it as soon as I can!

Alright, usually, when pixeling, I don't draw out the references because I already have a picture in my mind... so what I did here, was just drawing a concept of a contrastful and proportional Knight/Hunter to show the fundamentals, also with a skeleton on the original sprite to showcase some minor errors...

Point 1. shows that the overall sprite is leaning a little back, that doesn't quite ensure the idle state he's supposed to be in so I rotated the overall statue accordingly so it has a stable stance! As you can see, the legs were a little too long (can tell by looking at the original sprite aswell), otherwise, the fundamental skeleton you have, is quite nice! Just little changes here and there like misplacement of thorso and so on.

At 2., I placed the original sprite, to show the differences between all the changes!

And yeah, there isn't much more to it... what I did at 3a, is overpaint on the skeleton modeling the final character with the specific colors it should have, starting with a base color and later on defining the shadows...that's what we do, we work with light and darkness to define shape! That is why your sprite looked so paper-like, as you said it.
Also did I change the scarf, the wind compared to the spears little clothing, was contradicting, so I chose the non-windy version, because it would just enhance the idle stance itself.

So far for the conceptual things. The actual pixeling that should occur right at the beginning, with the concept already in mind to save time, starts now. Since we have the concept, we can set up the palette, and draw what we see henceforth! The result should be somewhat resemble the concept that is in mind... applied with the specific techniques (As for myself, I refrain to use dithering techniques, except I have no other choice, instead, I apply alot of AA with accordance so it is sharp but still smooth.)

Last but not least, what I used to create this, was simply my Tablet and Photoshop... the latter is not really required to create an output better than the actual shrinked concept.

I hope this helped somewhat... If you have any more questions, just shoot


Last advice I give, have the guts for brutal change, try abstract colorcombinations and create depth!

[Stickgag]

I just want to say thank you to all of your advice!

You have a very good point Elk, and your right. I usually don't start with a reference as I allow my imagination to provide. I tend to draw legs a bit too long, proportion has never really been my cup of tea. From what I've been reading, I should definitely be studying some irl stuff for reference if I'm to really get into pixel art.

My shading definitely needs work as well. I've learned in pixel art that highlighting can be just as important as shadowing, so I'll immediately start working on that.

You guys were right about the scarf... not sure why I made it blow in the wind whilst everythign else is still. Guess it's a habit of mine when I do cloak/cape/scarf stuff like this.

Just letting you guys know I am using Photoshop and a tablet.

Lastly I'd just liek to ask if theres any tutorials or tips you guys can provide. I have been reading on a fairly large list of different tutorials for isometrics, shading, dithering, just pixel art in general, but if you guys know of any sites/tutorials that helped you start or just generally really good for beginners like myself, that'd be awesome!

btw great concept art, has way more character than mine. I'm not going to limit my stuff too much just because I'm going to pixel art it.

But everyone else thank you for the tips! I'll definitley put these into use, and if I have any future pixel art work, I'll definitely post it here for advice

[Stickgag]

I roughly redid it trying to follow everyone's advice. Because it's 'roughly' done, it isn't TRUE pixel art, now is it? I will actually put effort into it when I know I'm on the right track.

Heres the original for comparison.

I changed the cape. Removed the dithering. Tried to make the values stronger, but adding more highlights and shading. Changed the length of the leg. That is unfortunately all I was able to do, and I still feel something is off there. I just wish I wasn't so blind to these kind of things.

Just let me know if I've either fixed my mistakes, or produced more. Thanks in advance!

PS The highlight on the chestplate is too big. I know. But anything else?

[Elk]

It will always be pixelart, right from the start, as long as you use no brushes and filters and whatever effects there might be... if you do it with the pencil dool with whatever size it might be and a solid color, it is pixelart !

[Stickgag]

Haha Elk I showed everyone at the office what you posted and everyone was in awe XD

When I looked at that post, at first i figured... screw it he pretty much made it 200% better. But then all that work would have been for nothing, espiecially your work.

Plus I always wanted to be a game designer, and at some point be able to draw out my ideas, and have someone twice as better as I am draw it out conceptually and make it look way nicer. It was a good boost of motivation!

I'm in this office for 3 months. By the time I'm done, I hope I'll be an experienced pixel artist at the very least XD

[Batzy]

I'm in this office for 3 months. By the time I'm done, I hope I'll be an experienced pixel artist at the very least XD

I know your feelings... been with these crazy minded people of pixelation 3 yea... no almost 4 years now actively and still feeling like sh*t with these pixels/generally in all forms of art just recently i've felt i'm on a right track with these... hope you hang on here long enough to master this maniac form of art.

[Elk]

Pixelart or art in general, is an attitude...a lifestyle! Don't limit it to just these 3 months! For me its just a matter of training the eye so you see things differently...you SEE them...and at the same time you already made the picture in your head!

As proper pixelartist, you could even make a nice picture with a nice arrangement of different fruits. Everyone is always thinking that pixelart only relates pixels, but it helps you tremendously in all fields! As for myself, I got into pixelart 10 years ago when I interacted with the matter, playing online games (I know theres earlier mediums) but that is now my speciality, marketing/psychological-wise, the building of game mechanics involving ideas, networks/systems, the very core of game fundamentals! (Let's go as far, and compare it with martial arts!...)

[Stickgag]

Pixel art is already teaching me things I'd only ever individually learn. It's like I'm learning all these different things at once!

These 3 months are purely for practise. By the end of those, I may even actually contribute to the company and their games! After that, I can be actually confident in my skills, and from then on I just keep doing pixels and have fun! Right now it's pretty frustrating and I still have so much more to learn. But it's incredibly rewarding and I feel way more accomplished spending hours on one work with pixels, then just sketching or digital painting XD No shortcuts, just pure pixel by pixel, feels good.

So in the future, any work I've created and am unsure of, I'll definitely post it here for advice!