[WIP] Helicopter

[BadMoodTaylor]

First attempt at a helicopter. Wanted to get some feedback and make any changes needed before adding the blade.

[Ashedragon]

It's kind of flat. I imagine this has a little to do with how little contrast exists between the far-too-many colours in the image. A lot of said colours seem rather superfluous. And also because of the way the colours are used, there is a lack of definition and form. That, combined with all of the banding going on, just reads very poorly.

I'm not a professional by any stretch of the imagination, b-but I hope this helps...

[BadMoodTaylor]

It's kind of flat. I imagine this has a little to do with how little contrast exists between the far-too-many colours in the image. A lot of said colours seem rather superfluous. And also because of the way the colours are used, there is a lack of definition and form. That, combined with all of the banding going on, just reads very poorly.

I'm not a professional by any stretch of the imagination, b-but I hope this helps...

Honestly, that didn't help much. 

Maybe I used too many colors that don't contrast enough? I could try adjusting that. Other than that though, I didn't see anything specific pointed out.

[MysteryMeat]

Try to reduce your black outlines, when you're trying to make a piece look rendered like this having those can hold it back by making everything look cartoony, and it can clash with the art to have it that way.

[BadMoodTaylor]

Some of the other assets I've done that wil go in this game I've use black outline and could probably say are somewhat cartoony:



Still think I should try it without the outline? I guess I should have mentioned that 'cartoony' is acceptable for me here.

I tried to get away from the black outline when I started but some people suggested I use it. So am a little confused—is it best to use outline if going for cartoony but not use it otherwise? Then again using them in games so doesn't blend with background is a different case.

Thanks

[MysteryMeat]

Ah, in that case I'd say focus more on making it cartoony then actually.
Reduce how many colors you're using and try for a more cell-shaded look, maybe go for more pastel colors.
Ideally the art style should remain consistant between everything.

[BadMoodTaylor]

Original:

Color & Shading redo:

2 color variations based on the redo:


So based on @MysterMeat and @AsheDragon comments (thanks) I completely started over on color and shading.  I dropped from 8 colors to 5 and picked a more pastel palette.  Tried to stay away from banding.

Not sure if I like the original or redo more. I [cheated and] played with the brightness/contrast settings to try and tell if it is the palette or shading that I like/don't like.  I see some details to try changing but at this point if I had to pick one of the four to go from I'm not sure which one I would choose.  So will sit on it for a little while...

Any comments will be helpful!

[MysteryMeat]

Here, I reworked it a bunch and reduced the colors a bit to be more cartoony.
Notable changes includethe cockpit and the tailfin, the former of which should be a bubble in the front and the latter of which was changed to include room for the directional rotor. I also added an air intake, stripe, and the rotors, because it was easy and why not.



There's other improvements that can be made here, this was just a quick thing I did, but hopefully it helps.

[BadMoodTaylor]

Thank you for the rework! It gives me a lot to think about—feel like I was making it more complicated than necessary.

[BadMoodTaylor]

Here, I reworked it a bunch and reduced the colors a bit to be more cartoony.
Notable changes includethe cockpit and the tailfin, the former of which should be a bubble in the front and the latter of which was changed to include room for the directional rotor. I also added an air intake, stripe, and the rotors, because it was easy and why not.



There's other improvements that can be made here, this was just a quick thing I did, but hopefully it helps.

Is the white(ish) stripe through the middle supposed to be light reflection or a stylish pattern?