megajosh2's pixel art

[megajosh2]

Well, I'm just starting to get into this stuff. I don't know any "shading teqhniques"or "RBG" values so that's just the heads up.



Here's a bomb.

[megajosh2]

Now here's a gun.

[Tremulant]

Hey, Josh. Welcome to the boards. I did an edit of your bomb to help illustrate some crits... hope you don't mind:



The main problem here, I think, is lack of contrast. Your shades are very close together here, giving the piece a dull, kind of flat look. Given the proximity of the light source to the bomb (The most logical lightsource being the spark/flame deal).

The light source/shading was the second big change here. Like I said, the spark would be the most logical light source, but in you picture, the light appears to be coming from the bottom left hand side, as opposed to the upper right. I also altered the shading a bit to give the bomb more depth, basically meaning I make the highlights/shadows form more of a circular pattern... if that makes sense.

Finally, I changed the palette. As a general rule, straight greys are kinds bland, and shifting hues usually makes a piece more visually appealing. Note here how the pallet basically shifts from purple (in the shadows) to green-blue (highlights). It's a shift towards the yellow end of the spectrum, as the lightsource seems to have a yellow tint... I thought it made sense I dunno...

The lines here, I didn't change at all. They were solid to begin with, so there was no need . Last thing... I apologize in advance, as I'm sure this is long and (unintentionally) rambling. I'm... incredibly tired at the moment, and at work, and... losing focus, so if it's really garbled, just let me know and I'll try to clarify... Anyway, keep pixelling! It's always great to see people getting into it.

[megajosh2]

I'll keep those in mind from now on Y'see, no one ever told me anything so I'm hung dry on nothing but me. But you've given me something here. Thanks.

[megajosh2]

Here's a cannon. This doesn't look like wood, does it?

[MoD]

Some good links for basic pixel techniques (they also have some other, slightly more advanced tutorials) are:
Tsugumo's Pixel Art Tutorial: http://www.geocities.com/skulkraken2002/
SpriteArt.com Tutorials (st0ven) http://www.spriteart.com/

[megajosh2]

All right, MoD! Thanks! Those really helped me out. I'm so out of it that I've never thought of using tutorials.



Here's a green face...

[LMM]

bofeore reading tutorials for Pixelart you should also read some tuts about basic drawing... in this picture shadows and lights make totaly no sense.

[Helm]

I have to say what I say to most members that seem to be starting out with art: work on traditional skills for a while before setting your sights at pixel technique. Practise drawing what you see, blocking volumes and shading as realistically as you can, for a long while. Don't improvise, don't draw what you think you see, but what you see. I am not sure we can offer you much help at this time besides those pointers.

[Peppermint Pig]

I have to say what I say to most members that seem to be starting out with art: work on traditional skills for a while before setting your sights at pixel technique. Practise drawing what you see, blocking volumes and shading as realistically as you can, for a long while. Don't improvise, don't draw what you think you see, but what you see. I am not sure we can offer you much help at this time besides those pointers.

And if all else fails, go ISOMETRIC and focus on animating! 


You already appear to be making progress megajosh2! I like that face. You're already picking up on dither shading, which is good. Keep reading tuts and please post more soon!

My advice for the future would be to pay attention to how smooth your lines/curves are.