Jinn, the Dragonclaw

[philippejugnet]

not going to finish my last piece, I just went mad and did anything to do with wrath and death...
btw, I have nooo idea on what to add to the background, any suggestions?
it's a WIP.

[Ryumaru]

Why do you choose pixel art as a medium?

[philippejugnet]

Why do you choose pixel art as a medium?

you think I shoudn't? you think my style doesnt fit PA right? :/
edit:
because I like to work with simple programs such as paint, and I think it's more i nteresting and clean.

[HarveyDentMustDie]

because I like to work with simple programs such as paint, and I think it's more interesting and clean.

That is just an excuse. If you are good in what you are doing, any program can be good and simple, you just need to try.

[jams0988]

you think I shoudn't? you think my style doesnt fit PA right? :/
edit:
because I like to work with simple programs such as paint, and I think it's more i nteresting and clean.

It's not that your work doesn't fit the style of pixel art...it's just that until a "pixel art" piece like the one you just posted is finished and polished, it's more oekaki than pixel art, you know? Not that that bothers me. I like your work either way...have you ever tried using Photoshop or anything, though? It seems like you'd get cleaner looking results using a program like that than with paint.

That is just an excuse. If you are good in what you are doing, any program can be good and simple, you just need to try.

I'm not sure how that's an "excuse." He said he works in this medium because he enjoys it. Is that something he needs to defend?
I don't understand why he's not using Photoshop or Open Canvas or Sai or the like, but he's not insulting me by using a more basic program. I kind of like the oekaki style myself, so I can't say I totally misunderstand him either, hahah. Maybe he likes the binary control pixel art programs provide? Even if he doesn't refine most of his pieces, he has the option to if he ever feels like it...also, using these sorts of opaque, totally hard brushes must be great painting practice. You can't mess around with Photoshop's filters, layers, and brush types to get the effect you're looking for. You can't blend colors together to find the correct color you're looking for. Using this sort of program forces you to think HARD about the colors you're putting down. A lot of the better artists on here make some pretty fantastic and imaginative color choices, and I think part of the reason they can do that is because their medium forces them to be good at that sort of thing.

My two cents!

[philippejugnet]

because I like to work with simple programs such as paint, and I think it's more interesting and clean.

That is just an excuse. If you are good in what you are doing, any program can be good and simple, you just need to try.

I like to use paint because it's simple, there is no sense in your sentence.
Thanks guys, next update tomorrow, gonna re-do her bottom part.

[Elk]

Why do you choose pixel art as a medium?

because people like us are insane !

what is required though, are the guts to finish what you started... and thats what philippe is learning currently... but hes starting too many new pieces... to get a full vision of his detail it needs more time so he actually can stamp them as "Done"

[PixelPiledriver]

I have nooo idea on what to add to the background, any suggestions?

In most cases the backdrop should support the image.
There are several ways that it can do this.
- describe a location based on terrain
- set a time of day
- contain props that suggest, culture, story, future actions
- push objs forward or pull them back in space
- etc

A simple thing that it can do is "frame" the "action".
Show us where to look.
What is important.
What is not.

Its ok to be messy.
But try to use it more to your advantage.
Use the mess to emphasize what you want us to know.

you think my style doesnt fit PA right?

Process is the order of steps in which you take to finish a piece of art.
You appear to have one process thru out all of your pieces.
In many ways process leads directly to style.

Process1: I don't really do this ever. But it can be useful sometimes.
- Draw a rough line art in pencil on paper
- Use a light table to make a clean pen trace
- Scan image, adjust contrast
- Paint in 2 tone lighting
- Add simple color palette
- Blend colors and surfaces
- Add small details and adv lighting
- Retrace line adding various quality
- Finished!

Process2: This is my most common way of drawing. I also use many modifications of these steps
- Rough solid shapes all in white on computer
- Color replace in 1 shade of grey for surfaces
- Erase out details and inner lines
- Color replace with palette
- Add colored details and lighting
- Auto generate line
- Color replace line in areas to context color it contains
- Finished!

Process3: It's fun to draw even if I don't know what I'm going to draw yet, so I just figure it out as I go along
- Draw some blobs with no real plan
- Throw in some colors that look good
- Find some interesting parts of the image
- Work out some details here and there
- Add more random forms and detail them after deciding what they are
- Finished!

Process4: Sometimes I'm too tired to think!
- Whatever!
- Finished!

There many other ways of starting an image.
Each of these processes feels different as you create something, and creates a different result on top the natural way that you draw.
Typically having a clear plan, and order of steps will result in a better image in less time.
Create many processes of your own and use them to your advantage depending on what you want to do.

[philippejugnet]

WOW. Ty so much for your edit and time once more and detailed critique.
UPDATE:

[Beetleking22]

Thats pretty nice! I hope you spend more time with this.