Opinion on Char

[Pixeled_Midget]

Hey guyz im pretty new to the whole pixel art scene, i used to do it about 3 or 4 years ago, but mostly basic heads and bad weapons. Just wondering if you could give any tips on the structure and shading of my Grim Reaper, Took me about 5 hours, but i changed the shading about 4 times before i was happy.

[Terley]

The grim reaper is a popular choice amung new pixelers, as you can get away with almost anything anatomic,  It's as if the robe is a short cut from actually having to draw a body, and a hood to make it so you don't have to draw a face. 

My advice would do something more interesting, anyone can draw a robe with two red eyes and a... big sideways knife..? Try another angle, closer up or focusing on his face, hinting the skeleton face in the shadowed hood. This character is flat straight with the viewer as if you've just drawn half the body and flipped it over to finish the other side.. It's very boring IMO..

But im in a halloween mood (probably cus im tryin to make up for halloween before I go on holiday on the 27th  ), so I do like that you've got into the halloween spirit too  , I'd suggest you look up lots of references for inspiration (you're word for the day). if you're not naturally filled with it (like helm or Kennethfejer are for instance) you must look for it.

some cool pics for example are;
http://img.freeforumzone.it/upload/735066_grim_reaper.jpg
http://www.hadishi.com/Devil_Creations/grim_reaper.jpg
http://www.textfiles.com/artscene/mirrors/GRAPE-DEMO-ARCHIVE/graphism/rs/razorback/razorback-the_grim_reaper.png

see, these are actually inspiring me as we speak 

[Pixeled_Midget]

Lol i actually only did the grim reaper because a friend told me too.  But you are right i lack inspiriation.  I am forever trying to think of something to pixel.  The second link u gave is awsome! Gives a whole differant perspective of a grim reaper.  I know the hands on this suck, i cant do them yet, but its all a learning curve, i shall get there in the end.  I have already spent 13 hours non-stop pixeling. So i hope i can at least produce something reasonable by the end of the week.

p.s i liked the.. "knife"

[THE KAPPTIN]

A good way to get inspiration is to go in the activities/challenges section of this forum, or another forum. I've done that a few times now.

now.

[rabidbaboy]

The shading doesn't give away a definite lightsource, it's as if you randomly sprayed the shades - I'm not saying that's what you did, but it's what it looks like, especially the grays, and especially on the robe and the blade of the scythe. A lightsource must be kept in mind, and so must the form of the object.

Welcome to Pixelation.

[Pixeled_Midget]

yeah i new i wasnt giving him a light source when i first started, and i know it is needed badly... i figure it might be easier to start a new guy from scratch, ima try make him sit down with one knee bent or sumthing, so he actually has legs, maybe put both arms on scyth swinging it with his body slighlty twisting, should give him some actuall dimension....

[Terley]

yeah i new i wasnt giving him a light source when i first started, and i know it is needed badly... i figure it might be easier to start a new guy from scratch, ima try make him sit down with one knee bent or sumthing, so he actually has legs, maybe put both arms on scyth swinging it with his body slighlty twisting, should give him some actuall dimension....

Thats it! its called a scyth  , luckily I found out before I looked like an idiot  ....

im glad your taking in the comments, I hate seeing people say things like yeah yeah I'll consider your comments (for the distant future), you seem willing to learn, thats great 

I also lack inspiration, a lot of the time.. I working towards being an professional animator, so my ideas are usually story based, not necisserily an 'image'.

goodluck with whatever you decide to do 

[Pixeled_Midget]

Thanks Terley, im not doing this for any career reason, im only doing it for fun, if i ever get good enough though it would be awsome. Ive been trying to give him more shape fore a while, nothing looks remotly possible.. legs too long and bent the wrong way (stuff like dat) i think i should start with some smaller stuff like some scenery (i really wanna be on a collab)  so thats mostly what im working on atm...

[ndchristie]

i tihnk the scythe needs to be smoother, and it does not look sharp atm.  the robes.....i dont know what to say.  study fabrics i guess; it really isnt working for you.  still, the idea is good, as are your intentions.  keep at it

[Pixeled_Midget]

That link to second grim really gets me going, ive started a outline but am having trouble with the hand

[Franky G]

This does look promising. I have a suggestion.

I think you need to get a solid reference of the characters body and build on that. So ignore the cloak. Try to sketch a rough outline of the characters upper body: head, shoulders and arms then go from there. When this looks alright then begin detailing a cloak over the figure.

when i first saw this, "the thinker" statue came to mind. Perhaps this will be a good reference? he's a bit chunkier but would it be easier to wrap a cloak on this guy?
http://www.thestarkeepers.com/images/The%20Thinker.gif

[cpaw88]

The only problem I can see from your first picture is your Grim doesn't apear to have any depth, it looks some what flat.  However you have a great overall drawing and concept of your peice, keep up the great work.

[Dusty]

Well I decided to do an edit about what could be done with your first image.


I think overall the shading on it was really random and messy. You don't have a constant lightsource and it looks as though you just scribbled different shades around. I know my edit isn't really great as I'm not good at shading either, but it does show something more constant. I also think the outline is a bit stiff, but I didn't change any of that. It really has no pose, it doesn't show any depth of the character, or anything else to make it stand out. I also think, out of the few colours to do with this, the ones you picked were a bit off so I changed those a bit, I added just a bit of saturation to the greys.

[snake]

I noticed that he requested critique on the structure. So far there hasn't been mentioned much about the characters proportions, so I though I'd throw in my two cents.



I recreated your reaper with the dimensions of the average human. Ideally, it's 8 heads tall, but I made him about 7. (I left the measurements to compare.) Having normal height usually makes characters seem more natural. I noticed that your character has his arms hanging more in front of the shoulders rather than on the side. Also, having your hand over your leg like that is not a very comferable pose when you're just standing straight up. The hood is usually a long circle rather than the more square hood you've given him. It works in some cases, but might make the fabric seem stiffer. I also quickly added some shadows to show what your lightsource can do to bring out the fabric. Tilted the scythe as well as a straight up and down line can make pictures less dynamic.

Hope some of it helps.

[Pixeled_Midget]

omg love all suggestions ty guyz gonna get pixeling right now

[Pixeled_Midget]

Ok i have spent about a half hour messing around with my guy, i dont think i have the pallette right but i am still experimenting with it.  Have i overdone the light source? And im not sure how to porportion his legs while he is sitting down, i tried drawing a stick figure as base refrence and working off it.
Also the arm seems too small? (Just thinking to myself  )

[fil_razorback]

Saturation should never be 0 (or so close to 0), I think you should add a discret blue/purple shade ^^

[Pixeled_Midget]

Thanks i was wondering how to get colour, otherwise he was gonna be black and white, and i shall increase saturation right away
Is this shading a bit better?
Edit * Darkend hood and added a purple colur (not having desired affect)*