AuthorTopic: Baby steps into pixel art  (Read 2837 times)

Offline Vinik

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 211
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Baby steps into pixel art

on: August 30, 2016, 05:28:04 am
Hello everyone, this is actually my first art post ever.
So, I started playing with pixels in mario paint with that gorgeous snes mouse. That was a long time ago :)
I am no professional artist, and I draw or dabble with paint only as hobby, but pixels, among all art media I have tried, have always given me this welcoming feeling, so in the last couple months I have tried to learn a bit about it, and everything I have learned, I got from seeing these great works you guys post here. I discovered soon, that it was very difficult to transpose the little notion of drawing I have into small sprites such as 16px or 24px, like those from the games that made my childhood awesome, and I tended to be way too much symbolic. So what I tried today was to start with a different approach, by making larger sprites and using no outlining to learn more about shaping stuff, and somehow shorten the gap between what I can shape with pencil or paint and what I was falling to do with pixels. I am also using this to relieve a lot of stress from some heavy studying that I have to do for the next couple months, and enjoying it a lot.
So this is what I got by drawing loosely from dark to light (that is what I do with paint) and just then figuring out what was I drawing. In the end I got this guy, I'll keep trying larger sprites like that until I am ready to draw anything readable in smaller form. Any comments and input for a beginner are welcome, thanks in advance.

Offline MysteryMeat

  • 0100
  • ***
  • Posts: 1997
  • Karma: +1/-0
  • "The new alternative to q-tipping your cat!"
    • mysterymeat
    • spoiledmysterymeat
    • View Profile
    • My rad art blog!

Re: Baby steps into pixel art

Reply #1 on: August 30, 2016, 10:40:13 am
Try not to over-rely on mirroring when creating sprites, it makes things look sterile and stiff.
This is fine for props usually, but it's very noticeable with people.
PSA: use imgur
http://pixelation.org/index.php?topic=19838.0 also go suggest on my quest, cmon
MAJOR BORK TALLY: |

Offline dpixel

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 303
  • Karma: +1/-0
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/20306.htm
    • View Profile

Re: Baby steps into pixel art

Reply #2 on: August 30, 2016, 11:34:03 am
Welcome  :) 
I agree with MysteryMeat.  Try moving the light to one side a bit.  It'll look much more interesting.  Maybe try higher contrast as well.
Your forms look good.  Overall, a great start.

Offline Vinik

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 211
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Baby steps into pixel art

Reply #3 on: August 30, 2016, 03:22:09 pm
Thanks for the input guys, the symmetry thing happens when first sketching, it surely would need to be "naturalized" when finishing. I'll be back to sprites by the end of the week, but here is some more from where that came from, and that is what I mean about tending to symbolic (much worse in tiny sprites). Making big sprites feels liberating to the mind and the hand. The themes I am meddling into recently are sweetspots between sci-fi and fantasy like when you cant easily distinguish both, so that's where the monsters come from

Offline Vinik

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 211
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Baby steps into pixel art

Reply #4 on: August 31, 2016, 04:37:08 pm
Hey, I noticed the green monster took a quite "dwarf" like shape, so I edited it into an actual dwarf, layered for consistency. I am not totally satisfied with the boots, but I like the feet. I am also not sure about how to handle the shoulder outline, no AA looked nice since its pretty diagonal, but I don't think leaving it without outlines would work. Oh, and know it is mirrored, sorry, but I feel like I can only normalize it after the shapes are finished. Thanks in advance for any cc.

Offline Vinik

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 211
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Baby steps into pixel art

Reply #5 on: September 02, 2016, 03:57:17 am
Updating the dwarf, after finishing the garment I worked on some colors of beards, trying to give them as much natural texture as possible without breaking the symmetry for now. I am sure there must be many errors and ways to improve.


And here are the layers, very disorganized, shame.


I am impressed how the grey had to be made very bluish to keep balanced with the other colors, do you guys feel the palette as too much unconnected?

Offline Curly

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 210
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Baby steps into pixel art

Reply #6 on: September 02, 2016, 05:00:32 am
Nice clothes and beards :y:
I think he looks too tall for a dwarf, at least without a human to compare with.

(I made this before your last post but I forgot to post it)
I modified the proportions so it looks more like a dwarf to me, made outlines look cleaner and added ears (I see you did too :P) and changed the nose. Interesting to see how you did the same nose as me.

In the second edit I changed the lightsource just for fun and tried to make his face look more dwarfy among other little things.

The main reason I edited it were the proportions, but I got carried away. Hopefully it gives you ideas or something.

Offline Vinik

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 211
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Baby steps into pixel art

Reply #7 on: September 02, 2016, 11:59:25 am
Thank you! I agree he doesn't look like a world of warcraft or d&d typical bulky wide dwarf, but is closer to movies like the hobbit, where dwarves are played by humans after all lol. But you are right, I'll address it by changing the height back a little (I have stretched him before), or maybe by making the large as wide as the arms, but that might kill what little perspective as seen slightly from above it seems to be in the character.

I mostly liked the repositioning of the eyes, it seems more natural and perspective correct, thanks. I'll get to it in a couple days.