Dirt Tile

[fatalcubez]

Hey, I'm new to pixel art and as such, I'm starting with the simple dirt tile. I made a few different ones, but this one is my favorite. All critique is welcome. Thanks!



And as a 3x3 grid

[Not4mortaleyes]

It seems a bit to red and rocky try makin the spaces between the chunks smaller an use a lighter shade of red or make it brown

[fatalcubez]

If you don't mind, can you point out where it's too red? I'm not sure if I see that 

Also, I have tried making versions that are less rocky, but I always end up with the same problem. I don't know what to do in the space where there aren't rocks. The dirt usually ends up looking flat. Any tips on how to shade it or add in details (besides rocks) to make the dirt look better?

[Not4mortaleyes]

Sorry the screen I was using showed the texture as red to fix the problem with the dirt looking flat try making layered instead of rocky if it's a side veiw if it's a top veiw use smooth bumps or cracks or small pebbles

[fatalcubez]

By layered you mean making strips of dirt  do you mean something like this?



EDIT:
Here is an updated tile.

Single:


3x3:

[MysteryMeat]

Mm, no, it still looks like red gravel.
There's a variety of conditions to keep in mind when drawing dirt though, as it's actually kind of shockingly diverse depending on where you're at!
For example:
When mud or lake areas dry out, the dirt tends to clump up and crack. They'll look sort of like this:

When dirt has been freshly-dug, it'll be more powdery and fine, like ground coffee:

And, similarly, normal dirt will look like a chunkier and less-refined version of that with bits of detritus in it in most cases:


Dirt's also not limited to brown!
Depending on the chemical makeup and location of the dirt, it can be a variety of colors like red

Green, (if certain chemical processes happen as seen here, great for artificial environments!)

And even yellow!



Try to study how the dirt in these reference images look, and do a few swatches based on them to try and get a feel for it! Dirt's a useful texture, being so common, so it's a handy one to get a grasp on early.

[fatalcubez]

Thank you for all the images of dirt! I never thought dirt could be so diverse. I will keep this in mind when I practice making more dirt tiles

How is this in terms of color and shape?



Also, I'm not sure how to shade dirt. I find it very difficult to get good shading on a 16x16 pixel image. Any tips?

EDIT:
After looking at the image again I see how red the brown is. But I still want to know if the shape is good (in terms of rockiness).

EDIT 2:
More dirt (3x3):



Bottom right one is my favorite. Let me know what you guys think!

[ttk]

Something to consider is what you're going to put on top of these dirt tiles.
For my tastes it's a bit too "busy" -- there's a lot going on!  You might want to simplify if these are meant to be background.  Just a thought!

Actually, some of the newer ones you just posted look less busy.  I think it's the lower contrast in some of them.

[MysteryMeat]

Thank you for all the images of dirt! I never thought dirt could be so diverse. I will keep this in mind when I practice making more dirt tiles

How is this in terms of color and shape?



Also, I'm not sure how to shade dirt. I find it very difficult to get good shading on a 16x16 pixel image. Any tips?

EDIT:
After looking at the image again I see how red the brown is. But I still want to know if the shape is good (in terms of rockiness).

EDIT 2:
More dirt (3x3):



Bottom right one is my favorite. Let me know what you guys think!

The bottom corner and top middle dirts seem to be the best amongst these, remember that dirt doesn't reflect light as hard as most materials so it doesn't need as much highlighting unless there's rockier parts to it!

[fatalcubez]

That makes sense. Thanks for the feedback guys! I think I'm going to go with my gut feeling and stick with the one in the lower right