Cybernetic Defense Pixel character critique

[DatPixelArtistTho]

This is just some cybernetic melee based character I started making because I wanted to see if I could create a character that looks interesting. I wanted to get advice from pixel art veterans.

[drain.]

Your objects lack shape and shading. Establish a light source and shade according to where the light is coming from. Right now, everything looks flat and dull.

[DatPixelArtistTho]

Here is a try at shading, I know its bad but its pretty late here and I wanted to get a head start on it before I hit the hay. The lighting is just coming from a weird angle and I'm going to change it tomorrow

[MysteryMeat]

Oh hey, Cyber-Matt from two best friends play





heh
joke aside though,work on the legs. They look really weird and need some proper shading to make them look proper cybertronic.

[DatPixelArtistTho]

I don't feel like I'm getting the "cyber legs" to look right. They just look like metal detectors on the sides of leg nubs. I'm going for something like this :



This is an edit using a different version of legs, none of these are "large scale" changes because I'm doing this at 1a.m. and I don't have the energy.

[drain.]

You could work on your colours. Give them more contrast to better distinguish the shades, because right now, they're far too close too each other to be making a difference. Your shading seems to be fine, you seem to have a good grip on staying consistent with your light-source.

Also, it should be noted that you shouldn't uploading your pixel art in zoomed format, as Pixelation has a built-in zoom function in it's forums.

[MysteryMeat]

as a general rule, there should be a five-point difference between shades in pixelart for soft-shading and a ten-or-more-point difference for hard shading. That's usually what I work off of, in part as a way to easily cope with my colorblindness and still get lookable art out of it.

[DatPixelArtistTho]

Here's a version with more contrast between shades. I've uploaded it in its original size. keep in mind that this is going to be animated

[ShowMeYourMoe]

At the resolution your working at, it could probably be acceptable to go without shading, but I think getting rid of the outline may be a good decision. I'd also suggest you try to have a more contrasting color scheme to seperate certain parts of his body, like making the blue pop against the grey metal.