First step on pixel art

[Cysai]

Hello.
I'm interested in pixel art and i really want to learn it !
So i started exercising and this is what I did :


Please give me some advice, i realy want to improve that skill.

Thank you.

[Mathias]

My firewall is blocking the domain your image is hosted at.

Use imgur.

[LarkoftheRiver]

Firstly, welcome to the forums and pixel art in general! I'm pretty new to it myself!

I really like your lineart. It is very clean and neat. I would, for coloring, start doing hueshifting! Its a technique to make your pixels more realistic, because nothing in the world shines pure white or casts a shadow of pure black or gray, its all different colors. For instance, with your heart, I would make the darker bits more of a purple tint, and maybe make the lights more hot pinkish, instead of getting lighter red. I would also add more colors to your sword, maybe add light blue for your shading. Color and contrast is a big part of pixeling.

Let me hop over to the computer and do a little edit on the heart so you can have a visual.

[Drazelic]

I'd... probably recommend the opposite of that, actually. Instead of reducing brightness and contrast, raise contrast up and make things shiny.



Also, avoid working on white backgrounds. Always try to use some color as your background if possible, because in almost every native view condition you'll be seeing the sprite on a non-pure-white background.

[Ymedron]

Drazelic, you might want to specify why you advise Cysai to make everything shiny.

I like the jar, it is rather adorable. The cork is hard to read, I recommend exaggerating it (if it's one of those old style push-in corks, make it poke out of the bottle silhouette. If it's one of those screw-on corks, you can make it almost the size of the top of the jar to clarify itself.
If it's some other kind of cork then... er...

[Drazelic]

I find that telling new pixelartists 'make it shiny' is an easier inferential step than 'raise the contrast'. Most new artists don't have a good heuristic of how much contrast is enough and when you tell them to raise the contrast they just raise it a little bit and you have to keep pushing them. At the least, making things shiny immediately conveys the message 'you need really, really, really bright spots'.

[Ymedron]

That's true, though I'm always wary of giving absolute rules when it comes to that... Depends on the artist's intent, and making everything max contrast is just as bad as not having enough contrast at all!

More contrast is obviously more fun to look at, and grabs attention as an individual piece. Just have to be careful not to ignore the surface qualities of the object.

[Cysai]

Hello. Sorry for the late.

My firewall is blocking the domain your image is hosted at.
Use imgur.

Ok, i will use it.

Firstly, welcome to the forums and pixel art in general!

Thank you !

I really like your lineart. It is very clean and neat. I would, for coloring, start doing hueshifting! Its a technique to make your pixels more realistic, because nothing in the world shines pure white or casts a shadow of pure black or gray, its all different colors. For instance, with your heart, I would make the darker bits more of a purple tint, and maybe make the lights more hot pinkish, instead of getting lighter red. I would also add more colors to your sword, maybe add light blue for your shading. Color and contrast is a big part of pixeling.

Wow, ok, i get it. I'll try to make my objects more natural.

I'd... probably recommend the opposite of that, actually. Instead of reducing brightness and contrast, raise contrast up and make things shiny.

I'll try that too.

Also, avoid working on white backgrounds. Always try to use some color as your background if possible, because in almost every native view condition you'll be seeing the sprite on a non-pure-white background.

Ok, i understand.

I like the jar, it is rather adorable. The cork is hard to read, I recommend exaggerating it (if it's one of those old style push-in corks, make it poke out of the bottle silhouette. If it's one of those screw-on corks, you can make it almost the size of the top of the jar to clarify itself.
If it's some other kind of cork then... er...

Oki. I tried, but i think the cork is too flat. And i don't really know how to improve it  .


Thank you very much everyone for your comments. I learned a lot. I will continue to practice. 

P.S: Sorry if my english is weird, i don't really speak english very well.

[PsylentKnight]

I think he meant make the cork larger vertically instead of wider. To make the cork more readable by making the silhouette clearer.

[Cysai]

I tried to draw a rock. But it's a big fail. It's look like nothing. (First test on dithering.)