[C+C] Moontains

[zoekmath]

Hey guys, I've been working some hours on a pixel art landscape. I need your opinion:

Is the palette right? And the shading?
I did this without any reference image, it's 100% mine.
Please let me know what you think and how should I improve.

Edit: Protected the image.

Edit: I don't think it matters much, but I've changed a few things.


Edit:

-Changed the sky
-Changed the image's width
-Added a bone dragon and a campment with a soldier
-Added, moved and removed some mountains
-Removed the gradient.

I didn't add any extra lightning, sorry but I don't think it would fit the image's purpose right now.
The soldier abandoned his army and is living his life on the mountains, but when he camped he encountered a bone dragon. He turned off the fire and hid behind the pillar.

Should I do the image taller?

[0xDB]

Perhaps add some rim/ridge lighting where the moonlight hits the contours of those rock formations instead of keeping a black outline.

[zoekmath]

Like this?

Edit: Protected the image

[0xDB]

Like this? edit: originally quoted "unprotected" image removed by 0xDB as per zoekmath's request

Had something much more bold in mind, here's a sloppy non-pixel-art edit for illustration:

[zoekmath]

Hmm, I don't know. I think that doesn't match my style.

[Mathias]

Why did you apply the random gradient?
How is anyone supposed to make an edit or comment on your palette/shading now?
You're only shooting yourself in the foot.

As for 0xDB's edit, he clearly has a good point about rim-lighting. How would you describe your style? I'm unsure how adding interesting lighting effects would violate it.
Your originally posted drawing, from what I can see under the gradient, is immensely flat and boring. The rim-lighting does help.


The moon is awkwardly non-circular. And I've never seen even a full moon cause such a drastic light aura, so I'm not sure what's going on there.

More importantly though, the image doesn't seem to have any purpose or focus. All I really seem to be looking at is a moon.
The strange rock formations are crowded into the canvas with little thought of overall composition. Feels claustrophobic, not grand and vast, which is an impression landscape art does well to give viewers.

Why not try dropping the horizon line down, minimizing the foreground elements crowding our view, and adding an interesting focal point such as a figure looking out over the landscape.

[zoekmath]

Well, I'm not gonna lie. I did this just to practice my rock shading. I applied the gradient to sell it. Maybe I did wrong in planning to sell it, but what's done is done.
Your critique has been useful, I'll try to do a new drawing as it'll be easier to apply what you said on a new one xD.
But well, this was my first landscape, I regret selling it but I'm not gonna remove it.
I guess my style is boring, but well, I hope I can change it.
About the purpose, I guess it has none because it was just a practice. I planned on adding one, but I thought that would ruin a little bit the landscape, but I was wrong again xD. The moon has such aura because I wanted to do something surrealistic and nice to see.
Thanks for this critique, guess doing a landscape is thougher than I thought.

[MysteryMeat]

Don't over-rely on style to sell, it's an important part of making your product unique but it's not the thing that'll sell it.
Try to keep gradients off of pixelart unless you KNOW it'll work, for the most part you want to put in the time to hand-apply those kinds of effects so it doesnt break the cohesion of the final product.

Putting more traditional art effects on pixelart? It's like giving a normal drawing aliased lines, it'll look less good than if you used the techniques built for that kind of drawing.

As for critique on the original image, I'd say try to vary your colors a bit more. Give some purples and edge lighting in there, really SELL the atmosphere of the night that way. The background is hard to tell apart from the foreground too, I recommend reducing detail there or fading it out some more to draw focus back towards the front bits.

[zoekmath]

I put the gradients to make sure nobody steals the art. The original one doesn't have it.
I'm actually working on what Mathias said, I'll recover this art.
And I'll apply the ideas you gave me.

[surt]

From the Rules:

In Pixelation, when you post a piece of artwork, you are agreeing to have your work potentially edited.

How are people going to help you if you won't let them edit it? If you don't want feedback on you piece then why did you post it?

I put the gradients to make sure nobody steals the art.

Of all the great art in the world you think the art thieves have a particular desire for beginner pixel art?