My first isometric pixel art

[zoekmath]

Hey, any tips on how to improve this? I feel like it could be much better.

[MysteryMeat]

Throw some texture onto that slice! Buried cave network, basements, skeletons... anything that isn't just the grey void you got right now! I also reccomend working on the road gravel, right now it just looks like noisy grey flats. Add some texture and variance to the terrain!
Also, you need some more contrast on the edge bricks, I didn't even notice them at first because the shades are so close! You can also incorporate that brick to the edge of the river there!

[CFKaligula]

Look at what some lighter colours can do! It much easier to see the difference between different shades now.
I also feel like coloured outlines, or at least lighter outlines, could help this look better. Having inlines be the same colour as the outlines usually doesn't look very nice (for example the wooden boards)

[MysteryMeat]

Gotta disagree with the above poster, I like the sort of darker, unified color palette the original has. It looks like twilight-lighting, whereas the other looks slightly past noon because of the brightness.

[zoekmath]

I'm looking for a more dawn-looking and realistic image, I like using dark colors and low contrast.

I might do something for the dirt, I still have to think about what to add.

[MysteryMeat]

Looking much better, good stuff! And if you want ideas:
-sewers
-basements (already suggested)
-caverns
-plumbing
-rocks and plantmatter
-animals like moles

etc etc
There's plenty of stuff to be found underground!

[dpixel]

Needs some windows.  Looks like it's under construction. 

[CFKaligula]

You don't per se have to use lighter colours, but if you have low contrast, using multiple colours becomes a waste if you can't even see them. In the picture i removed the outline in the dark places, and it's not even noticable at 100%.

[BadMoodTaylor]

I like it but what might be bothering me about it is: isn't internal edges typically done with the lighter shade in isometric pixel art?  Or at least if they are in the light source.  I think that is making it look less smooth overall.

(sorry, don't have time to try out an edit right now)

[zoekmath]

I have worked on some stuff, the cave doesn't convince me..

[TEETH]

I think the cave makes it too busy. maybe add some more detail to the water? the water way is a great add on by the way.

[MysteryMeat]

I'd say keep the corner intact and fix up the cave floor to be less flat!
I did a bit of that here, you might have to add an extra color but I tried my hardest to avoid that!


(I also added that basement idea so you could see what I meant about that!)

[zoekmath]

Thanks a lot for the ideas and feedback! I removed a few colors but maybe the water in the cave is kind of hard to see?

[MysteryMeat]

   id say its way too noisy now. what color did you remove?

[zoekmath]

I think I fixed it, I gave the stone more texture and made it less noisy by turning bright into dark.

[dpixel]

Recoloring suggestion and some window frames.  Maybe a foundation?
Also I think the lines at the cross-section of the framing/tutor-style wood takes away from the classic chunky style.

[zoekmath]

Thanks dpixel!

I added windows and a foundation. I also gave more detail to some stuff.

[Cyangmou]

focus on:

-using not too many black outlines next to each other, especially not if it's really crowded.
-By introducing a small palette, which has colors which contrast really well with each other you will have a much tighter control.
-use only one black color for all of those dark tones.
-if you have one black and good conmtrasting colors you can only set an outline on one side (like in the wooden framework in the edited house wall) - which then will add a lot of dimension to some details.
-Get rid of texture where it hurts the piece and flatten the colors, like on the ground. 
-If you want to use texture with that few colors, use bigger areas of the same colors, connecting together in massive blobs of colors. All those tiny details take a long time to draw, but aren't really as impressive, as solid basic forms.

Take my edits of the piece as a suggestion to underline the points i mentioned above.

[zoekmath]

Thank you Cyangmou, that was extremenly helpful!
I have been working many hours on it.

[lpflicke]

Looks great now.
The colours have improved loads, even further showing the sunset/noon sort of lighting with the red tinted shade.
There's also lots less noise making it more readable but still shows the texture.
Only problems I see is that the foundation/base of the house blends in a bit with the path and the cave is not very noticeable from the low contrast.

[zoekmath]

I have been trying to fix the foundation blending with the path, any ideas how to do it?
And I maybe could add a source of lighting to make the cave more noticeable?

[Cyangmou]

Lots of good edits and you really took it to the next level.
There is more you can do now though:



1) take out the noise of the water, it breaks the style

2) seperate the color of the roofs from the color of the water to get a better contrast

3) highlighting the front edges of the roofs will move them forward and make them look more like they overlap the house

4)
-added some cast shadow on the last house
-seperated the light on the ground plane, front plane is now brighter
added another gray

You really should consider using about an equal amount of colors for each ramp. The houseroofs have now 4, while other spots have 2 or 3, beef the ramps up to 4 as well.

5) more work on the ground box.
erased detail on the top plane and exchanged them with more planar ones which look cleaner.
seperated the bricks near the water in terms of contrast
added a cast shadow beneath the street

6) keep in mind that the water level should be constant throughout the piece
I added a brighter wood color to the sunlit planes
the inside of the last house is not visible, somehow i see now that you placed a box down there, which was eaten by blackness before
added some more detail to the street and added some front brick details to the groundbox - also used more interestingly differentiated shapes on them





also removed highlights in the shdow planes, which were distracting


regarding the cave: didn't even notice there was one, but i know now what you mean. Yeah it should be more lit up, like the inside of the house at the rear.

[BadMoodTaylor]

Wow!  First time coming back to this since the beginning and gotta say: so much progress and improvement!  Way to learn and apply it so quickly, it is looking good.

Decided to try my edit anyway even though I think it has already been pointed out.  Think I messed up a few spots but purpose was just to communicate the idea, not to show perfection 



Depends on the style you are going for but using the lighted edges looks smoother and more pleasant to me.  In your recent posts the roofs are looking great but the wood still has a lot of outlining that I feel detracts from the piece.

Note: Not suggesting to create more colors but I had to create a couple new colors to demonstrate without completely reworking.

[zoekmath]

Thanks you both! I'm gonna delay a bit on the next update because I'll be adding more buildings making the image bigger, any suggestions?

[BadMoodTaylor]

If it were me I would keep editing and working on what you have until completely happy with it.  Adding more buildings and making it larger causes it to take longer when making edits and changes.  I would spend the time on perfecting first before growing.

[zoekmath]

Thank you so much, that feedback was really helpful, Cyang. Should I add anything more, or did I do anything wrong?

[Cyangmou]

as shown in the earlier edits, i really would get a clear seperation between the 2 housesides in.

I  also think that dither on the street doesn't really work, bc. it looks more like a grainy texture, like gravel.

also considerin gthat the water beneath the houses seems to be in a canal, it shouldn't appear as bright as the wate routside in sunlight.

I also think that you lit up the inside of the house at the end too much.

[MysteryMeat]

This is all looking ages better, keep at it!
I'd actually advise against making the divide more clear, it gives it a very classic british house-cluster look, makes it look like a dense city block.

[zoekmath]

Thanks for the feedback!
I'm not sure about the street, what could I do to make it look better?

[Indigo]

Excellent improvements! *Featured*

[unluckyhobo]

That looks really nice, I have been meaning to do some isometric work myself I've always found it a little tricky. Good Job 

[Xer0bot]

This looks really great, Im just trying to understand why the roofs look good. I mean it looks like fabric. But it looks good.

[BadMoodTaylor]

Love it!  My only suggestion would be if there is a way to make some of the wood pillars/paneling a little cleaner.  Not sure how exactly, above my skill, maybe make smaller, use less colors, or break up the banding...not sure.  Specifically in the columns against the bright yellow walls in the light.

[Shizuko]

looking really good!
like the Color of the Water ^^

[retoid]

Excellent improvements! *Featured*

That looks great! For the street, how about trying something like a cobblestone pattern?

[King Croc]

wtf this is your first ever? you must be a prior artist xD now i feel bad lol. this is great.