[WIP][C+C] My first pixel art project

[PartyFish]

Hey everyone 

I've always loved pixel art and I just recently discovered this awesome page that I'm in love with. I've been drawing some very simple sprites before, but now I wanted to start something a bit bigger.

I am currently working on a bachelor in games programming but I'm struggeling alot to keep up, and I have a girlfriend I need to tend to, so I don't have very much time for drawing. My motivation is usually low but I hoped if I could get some feedback and help from other people, that could change

My big dream is to live of making games either as a programmer or an artist (or both). So I started this project that I'm hoping I can keep developing into something that would eventually get released.

So here it is



I still need a background which I think I want to be to be very... forrestry I'm also going to try to get the girl sitting instead of standing and maybe some more details on the foreground

Thanks for checking out this thread

[MysteryMeat]

Here's a tip that's helped me quite a bit: plan around a lack of motivation. You will more often not have itthan you will, set up a scheduled time to do gamework and ADHERE to it so you can build it to a habit.
As for the piece, try to avoid gradients in pixelated unless it's an in-game effect, it messes with the cohesiveness of the art style.

[Mathias]

PRATYFISH I LIKE YOUR MONIKER NAME I SUGGEST GETTING RID OF THE GIRLFRIEND IN ORDER TO DRAW MORE THE GIRLFRIEND IS TEMPORARY DRAWING IS FOREVER YOU'RE REALLY SHOOTING YOURSELF IN THE LEG HERE THE PIXEL SCENE IS NICE SINCE THE CAMPFIRE IS LIT LET'S ASSUME IT'S NIGHT TIME THEREFORE DARKER THEREFORE DARKEN THE SKY TO A NEARLY BLACK SO WE'RE DIRECTED TO FOREGROUND WITH SOME PROMINENT LIGHT CONTRIBUTION FROM THE FLAME ILLUMINATING THE FIGURE AND FLORA

[PartyFish]

Here is a little update without the Gradient and darker background with a rock added.

I feel like it lacks details without the gradient.

At the moment I am struggeling with the rest of the background and lightning

[jun]

Hello!

A lot of beginner pixelart mistakes here.
_{do read www.pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11299}

A lot of pillow shading, unnecessary colors, low contrast(even though it's a night scene)

It's fine, lose all the details. You don't need an overload of details, just need to imply the details that matter and help to convey the object's nature/texture/material. Otherwise it's just ugly noise!

Let's take it one step at a time. REDUCE colors, lose gradients! Fix pillow shading(Establish a light source)
Look at some pixelart references. (Just google them/ search on pinterest)
See how others do it, try to analyze and compare, see what you're doing wrong, attempt to iterate and fix upon it.

Again with the clouds(Which is apparently a rock), LOOK AT REFERENCES! Whip up google images and search "clouds in sky" or a "Rocks" (Not to be confused with The Rock)
Do they look like that?

Good luck, I expect progress the next time you post 

[PartyFish]

Okay a very quick update.

The term pillow shading is something I have never heard about before but I looked up some examples and I can clearly see I have done that mistake. I edited the shading of the tree (not the leaves) and the rock, and I think it looks a bit better. Am I going the right way or does it still look like bad shading?


Thank you so much for the replies!

[wzl]

It still looks bad, but definitely better, but dont worry, you'll get there
You mentioned it being rock. before you got rid of the pillow shading it was hardly recognizable as such. with your second attempt it definitely seemed like a rock, thats a good step forward. It still doesn't look like a rock though. rocks are rough, have crevices and bumps, try to make it more organic. You can use highlights and shading to put form onto things. dont rely on blurry overlays as you did on your fire, try to imagine how the light hits the surrounding objects.


you never mentioned it being for a game or anything, so i put some perspective into it to make it more interesting to look at.
also dont be afraid of bold changes. experiment a lot, move things around. if you're not sure baout something, or you dont quite like something take a big brush and paint over it. drop some rough shapes in and see your picture unfold anew

happy painting

[PartyFish]

I think I've managed to transform my pillowy cloud into something that looks more like a rock! 

It is supposed to end up a 2D sidescrolling game, but right now I'm just drawing a wallpaper or something I can keep working on.
I also just have to say that your drawing absolutley stunns me, it looks amazing and gives out this fantastic mood and feeling with the lightning of the campfire



Never in my life could I imagine how "hard" (sorry dont ban me) it was to draw a rock..

[jun]

Some quick cleanup.

Hopefully that helps illustrate some points I made before. 

It is difficult. Everytime you try learning something new, it'll be difficult. If you give up because it's difficult, you'll get no where! 
Keep drawing everyday, you'll get there. Good luck!

[questseeker]

The character and the campfire are promising, but the tree (an important reference if you plan to use a forest background) and the rocks at the bottom are dark and rather low contrast; they should only look like this in unusual low light conditions, as a deviation from the comfortable colours and legible details which should be the norm.
I suggest making a separate day version of the same scene to study the required palette changes.
The rocks also have an unnaturally smooth and pillowshaded appearance, but it's a separate issue.