AuthorTopic: [C+C] Album Cover  (Read 7503 times)

Offline Arcade Hero

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[C+C] Album Cover

on: September 23, 2015, 04:25:53 pm
Hello Pixelation community :)
I'm newbie here. So I'm here to improve my pixel-art skill.
Recently I've started making a pic for client's album cover... And now I'm stuck. I dunno how to improve it and make much better.
I'd like to get a critique and some help. Thank you!
Here is my pic+latest update:


Final version:


Thanks everyone for your help :3
« Last Edit: November 22, 2015, 10:44:18 pm by Arcade Hero »

Offline Joe

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Re: [C+C] Album Cover

Reply #1 on: September 24, 2015, 08:56:42 am
Hey Arcade Hero, welcome to Pixelation.
Just wanted to say I think the colors you've chosen and the scene you set up is a great start.
Other than minor banding your pixel tech is on point.
It really depends on where you want to take a piece like this, but here's what I would say:

The moon edge could use more AA.
The dither on the cattails is working well to blur them out of focus. I would ditch the outlines as that negates the effect, and you could use that dark blue as a buffer tone to blur the dark leaves there as well.
They're sharing a moment it seems? But the feeling isn't strong enough. If you don't want them making eye contact, improve the body language. Peoples' bodies tend to face the person they like, and lean in as the interest grows.
Maybe one heart, or the hearts over their heads. Also proximity would help the feeling, move the girl 3px left.
The moon would probably be reflecting off the water at that angle, but I agree with your choice to leave that out and would even say ditch those single pixel highlights to bring more attention to the fire.
The tips of the trees in the back could be better as the dark green. But the trunks should definitely be ditherless, one shade; they're too far from the fire. Unless you wanted them to appear closer.
I also think the two lightest skin tones could be lighter and warmer, it doesn't feel like they're getting a lot of warmth from that fire. Think of how faces glow.

Offline Arcade Hero

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Re: [C+C] Album Cover

Reply #2 on: September 24, 2015, 04:24:51 pm
Thank you so much Joe!
Your advices was very helpful :)
Little update:

I changed moon's aa, made stars brighter, fixed water reflection a little bit, made the trees in the back more darker, added dark blue color to cattails + some small changes.
I hope it's better now. But I'm not sure about the trees in the back.

Offline japie81

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Re: [C+C] Album Cover

Reply #3 on: September 24, 2015, 05:24:04 pm
This looks great, nice scene.

Maybe make the first row of water pixels the darker shade of blue, or at least break it up a bit.
(dont take my advice too serious though, i'm only a beginner)

With no zoom the girls posture makes it seem a little like she's playing air-guitar, my mind doenst make this reference as much when I zoom in.

Another thing that comes to mind; maybe raise the plants at the sides a little or lower the waterline a little, right now it seems there are plants in the foreground but they suddenly stop and theres just this straight beach area at the height of where the characters are standing. Because of the shape of the trees around the water this feels a little odd. Maybe make the waterline a little less straight or add some small plant or rock to break it up, not sure.

Also kind of reminds me of old Bob Ross video's by the way, he almost always did these kind of nature scenes with a lake and pine trees. Perhaps you could get some great ideas from those.
« Last Edit: September 24, 2015, 06:03:13 pm by japie81 »

Offline FoxhoundOH

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Re: [C+C] Album Cover

Reply #4 on: September 24, 2015, 06:15:24 pm
There seem to be a lot of very similar colors making up several elements; including background and the campfire. I understand that this is for AA purposes but since there are so many similar colors one could be substituted for another, freeing up space for a few different colors. If color count isn't a concern then disregard that. The moon appears to lack its shine; it looks well lit but does not seem to be reflecting any of that light back toward the viewer nor does it appear to be the light source for the tops of the trees. The people in the scene seem a bit too similar to the ground; unless they are wearing brown clothing of some type you might want to think about adjusting those colors a bit.

Offline Arcade Hero

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Re: [C+C] Album Cover

Reply #5 on: September 24, 2015, 07:35:00 pm
Thanks guys! I appreciate your help :)
Just a very quick update with stars and moon reflection:

Offline Julito98

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Re: [C+C] Album Cover

Reply #6 on: October 02, 2015, 08:06:05 pm
The album owner gonna love this piece man, its beautiful  ;D

Offline Arcade Hero

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Re: [C+C] Album Cover

Reply #7 on: November 07, 2015, 06:22:46 pm
The album owner gonna love this piece man, its beautiful  ;D
Thank you so much <3

I was very busy and I haven't time for this pic.
So... I want to finish it as soon as possible and show you a latest version guys!
Any help is welcome :3

Offline Decroded

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Re: [C+C] Album Cover

Reply #8 on: November 08, 2015, 12:36:41 am
Quick idea for moon thought it didn't look like part of the sky, remembering this is a light source for the scene.


« Last Edit: November 08, 2015, 03:56:46 am by Decroded »

Offline Arcade Hero

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Re: [C+C] Album Cover

Reply #9 on: November 16, 2015, 07:35:35 pm
Quick idea for moon thought it didn't look like part of the sky, remembering this is a light source for the scene.

Thank you so much! I really like your idea. And you're right :)
But I don't like blue moon here. I dunno why.

Update(gif included)!

I need to finish it very soon. Any feedback is welcome :3

Offline BatElite

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Re: [C+C] Album Cover

Reply #10 on: November 16, 2015, 08:37:17 pm
The biggest reason that Decroded's moon works better than yours is that it blends into the sky. Its darkest colour is the background colour of the sky, and its shape is partly implied rather than explicitly shown. Your moon "sits" on the sky.

Otherwise, this looks very good. I suggest breaking up the symmetry a bit more. Especially the light the bonfire casts at the bottom and maybe the lighter mountains.
Quote from: Cure
Well you tried your best.

Offline Arcade Hero

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Re: [C+C] Album Cover

Reply #11 on: November 17, 2015, 09:55:56 am
The biggest reason that Decroded's moon works better than yours is that it blends into the sky. Its darkest colour is the background colour of the sky, and its shape is partly implied rather than explicitly shown. Your moon "sits" on the sky.

Otherwise, this looks very good. I suggest breaking up the symmetry a bit more. Especially the light the bonfire casts at the bottom and maybe the lighter mountains.
Thank you <3
Another little update :P

Offline eishiya

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Re: [C+C] Album Cover

Reply #12 on: November 17, 2015, 03:20:53 pm
With the moon now having a definite light source from the side rather than "from the front and maybe just unevenly coloured", I guess it's time to point out a physics derp: If the moon is lit from above the horizon, that means the sun is above the horizon, which in turn means it's day time xP Maybe you could v-flip the moon to make the light be coming from below, to avoid redrawing it?

Your large transition cluster worked well for the low-contrast moon, possibly-front-lit, but it doesn't look quite right with this lighting. The moon has no atmosphere and its surface texture is relatively flat compared to its size, so the light-dark transition is quite quirk, with only some craters to make it softer. Decroded's example has the transition done quite well, while even keeping some dark-side detail (the main problem with it was that the shape of the transition made the Moon look flat compared to yours). I think your super-blue transition cluster should be darkened, and a narrower blue band should be added between it and the lit part. The craters on the lit side should have lower contrast, probably.
A smaller but gentler transition would solve the other problem created by your colour change: the moon is now the most contrasting thing in the image, and completely distracts from the rest of it.

Offline Arcade Hero

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Re: [C+C] Album Cover

Reply #13 on: November 22, 2015, 10:42:47 pm
With the moon now having a definite light source from the side rather than "from the front and maybe just unevenly coloured", I guess it's time to point out a physics derp: If the moon is lit from above the horizon, that means the sun is above the horizon, which in turn means it's day time xP Maybe you could v-flip the moon to make the light be coming from below, to avoid redrawing it?

Your large transition cluster worked well for the low-contrast moon, possibly-front-lit, but it doesn't look quite right with this lighting. The moon has no atmosphere and its surface texture is relatively flat compared to its size, so the light-dark transition is quite quirk, with only some craters to make it softer. Decroded's example has the transition done quite well, while even keeping some dark-side detail (the main problem with it was that the shape of the transition made the Moon look flat compared to yours). I think your super-blue transition cluster should be darkened, and a narrower blue band should be added between it and the lit part. The craters on the lit side should have lower contrast, probably.
A smaller but gentler transition would solve the other problem created by your colour change: the moon is now the most contrasting thing in the image, and completely distracts from the rest of it.
Wow! Thanks a lot eishiya. What a beautiful tips! I'll keep it in mind next time.

Hey! Thanks everyone for your help <3
I haven’t had much time to finish it so I think it's better to stop now, choose the best version and move on to the next pieces :)

My choice:

Offline eishiya

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Re: [C+C] Album Cover

Reply #14 on: November 22, 2015, 11:28:11 pm
I agree with your choice. The thing I wish you'd kept from the newest edit is the ground texture (but not the colours) around the fire.

Offline wzl

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Re: [C+C] Album Cover

Reply #15 on: November 25, 2015, 07:01:10 am
just stumbled randomly upon this on pj. i thought the similarity is striking

http://pixeljoint.com/pixelart/99443.htm

Offline Gil

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Re: [C+C] Album Cover

Reply #16 on: November 25, 2015, 09:26:44 am
Haha, awesome. I like Arcade Hero's composition better with the water towards the horizon.