Amaterasu

[Amon]

Hello.  Heard somewhere this was "the place to be" for pixel art, so I thought I might hang around.  I haven't been doing pixel art for very long, but looking around here and seeing all these crazy pieces of art has got me into it.

Currently seeking some critique on this here:



Started off just playing around but then I started getting into it, and I thought getting a second or third opinion would help make it better.  What do you think?

[robotriot]

Hello and welcome, nice sprite you've got there! I've got two suggestions: try selout, the outline seems a bit harsh at the moment, especially on the creature's back. Also, you've got some shades that are really close together, either ditch those or increase the contrast to make the fur's texture stand out more.

[Toby]

I'm going to echo what robotriot said.

Amaterasus back could either do with a bit of selout, or you could just make it smoother by fixing the jaggy line. In addition, the flary fluff on his front leg is also a bit messy, you might want to consider simplifying it a bit in order for it to stand out more. The farther front leg could also be pushed back slightly. I also doubt that all those light blues shades you used are necessary since they're pretty unnoticeable.

But I like the pose and the feeling of ferosity that the sprite portrays I took the liberty of doing a version based on what you've done.

[snake]

You've put yourelf in a rather tricky situation Amon.

One one hand you've got a shaded wolf that would look nice fixed up with some selout and shadows. However, on the other hand, you've made something out of Okami. A game who's style is based off old Japanese Wash painting (Sumi-e). This style makes extreme variations in borderthickness and has little or no shadows that sometimes blend with the outline.

If this is what you're aiming at, then there's a risk of making it look messy. I guess you'll just have to choose what you want to aim for.

Here's an edit in the the Okami style:



I've also done a few adjustments to the anatomy. The face looks a little stretched to me, and I relocated the pattern a bit. The back legs don't usually bend forward in a snarl, so I put one of them back as a test.

I really like the original picture, so I'm looking forward to see what you can do with this. Keep it up!

[Amon]

New Amaterasu (Sans flaming ring)

Thanks for the feedback.  Took your advice and it came out much better.  Puts the old one to shame, really.  I know the game's style is all about the brushstroke, but just for fun I did it with the usual shading.  I went and made the little fluff on his forarm and tail bigger and added more detail, and changed the mouth and head alittle.  Redid the paws and leg placement as well.  One thing I did get was selout.  What is that exactly?

This was the render I was going off of, only I couldn't see the front left leg because I was actually looking at it in a sig, not the whole image.

[Mirre]

Selout means selective outlining, i.e. replacing the black outlines on some places with a lighter tone, look at Toby's version for an example. That's some good selout. Look at how he's kept the black otlines where shadows fall, and replaced it with a blue colour where the light hits the figure. That makes the outlines blend in more with the rest of the piece.

Also, I really think you improved alot from the old version to the new. The front paws look a little bit odd though, almost as if it is standing on it's toes or as if they're swollen. Try making in flatter with a pixel or so, or making them longer.