AuthorTopic: [WIP] Alien [C&C]  (Read 2367 times)

Offline SeaFire

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[WIP] Alien [C&C]

on: July 04, 2012, 01:49:23 pm
Eh...  I haven't done non-isometric pixel art in at least a year.

I understand that this piece is poorly shaded, over dithered and has poor colors.



Credit to arachne for the line art.
« Last Edit: July 04, 2012, 01:52:21 pm by SeaFire »

Offline Ashbad

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Re: [WIP] Alien [C&C]

Reply #1 on: July 04, 2012, 02:28:44 pm
Well, since the lineart isn't yours, I'll just jump to critiquing the internal shading first.

The color choices are interesting, and overall pretty cool.  What doesn't work though is that the second lightest color is pretty close to the first lightest, and pretty far away from the third lightest.  It makes a weird cylindrical effect of the shape, so making that more averaged between the 1st and 3rd shades should fix that more.  In addition the very darkest shades are almost identical, so that two (possibly three?) colors look like just one, which isn't good.

The dithering is inconsistent.  In some places you use a perfect 50/50 pattern, in some places the dithering seems either weirdly stylized or even random, and in some places there's either really sparse patterns or no dithering at all between clusters.

The eye is what needs the most work.  Considering the style of the rest of the piece, a pixel quad as the pupil and the rest being pure white won't cut it.  Perhaps reference some "creepy eyes" on google images to get some inspiration, or just play around with making the pupil interesting and giving the iris veins?  Just some ideas.

Can't do an edit until later today, I'm on a mobile phone :(

Offline SeaFire

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Re: [WIP] Alien [C&C]

Reply #2 on: July 04, 2012, 02:33:25 pm
The dithering IS random...  I was a bit lazy there :P

It is actually 3 dark colors, and the reason they're alike is because I got 'em from a color ramp creator, so...

Offline Ashbad

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Re: [WIP] Alien [C&C]

Reply #3 on: July 04, 2012, 02:45:47 pm
The dithering IS random...  I was a bit lazy there :P

It is actually 3 dark colors, and the reason they're alike is because I got 'em from a color ramp creator, so...

Well first of all, I'd suggest you go back and try again on the dithering then, since anything done lazily will come out in poor quality compared to what you could've done had you taken more time and effort to do it.  It's not fun to critique something you didn't try your best in making.

Also, why use a color ramp creator?  You'll learn a lot about colors and color theory if you start by picking your own colors, experimenting with them, and researching what makes good combinations and the components of colors.  You don't learn much of anything if you just have your ramp auto-generated for you; perhaps that might be a good starting point at first, but at least take the time to figure out why that color ramp was gnerated like it was, how well it fits your needs, and what is wrong with it (for example, the three almost-identical colors in this ramp)