AuthorTopic: [WIP] Little Guy  (Read 4511 times)

Offline Akzidenz

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[WIP] Little Guy

on: December 02, 2006, 03:39:18 am
Hey everyone - I'm pretty new to the site, and to pixelling in general. I'm working on the first "big" piece I've ever done.  Been working on it for a day or two now.

No dithering or selout yet. Planning on adding little details as well. Looking for advice on shading. The original sketch isn't mine, it's from my friend Alex Madrigal (some of his work can be seen at http://alexmadrigal.blogspot.com).

Any comments/criticism are appreciated. Thanks!

Original sketch can be seen here: http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/1741/originalsketchvk7.jpg

Original pixels:


Most recent update:
« Last Edit: December 03, 2006, 08:52:30 am by Akzidenz »
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Offline shinydarklink

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Re: [WIP] Little Guy

Reply #1 on: December 02, 2006, 03:52:21 am
The basic structure is pretty well done in my opinion.

I do think that the skin tone really needs some warmth, and the brighter shade for the skin is blinding XD
You should really think about toning down the difference between the individual shades so they don't clash so much.

The piece desperately needs some AA, especially on the hands, they're looking quite blocky at the moment.
I would also consider not using pure black for the outlines, it looks terrible on a white background.

The hair needs that bit of shine as seen in the drawing as well.

Looking good!
Good luck! ;)

Offline .TakaM

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Re: [WIP] Little Guy

Reply #2 on: December 02, 2006, 04:25:25 am
not a bad start, decent colours chosen to work with, good lineart (reminds me a lot of penny arcade)
he's just very rough, so I made a start at polishing him:
(head is really all I touched)
as you can see I changed 2 colours, kept pretty much the same lighting you established, just gave it some aa and selout like you mentioned ( I personally wouldnt dither on this)
keep it up  :y:
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Offline Akzidenz

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Re: [WIP] Little Guy

Reply #3 on: December 02, 2006, 04:32:51 am
shinydarklink, I was going for pale skin - but I agree that it's a bit too bright at the moment. And yeah, the whole piece is in need of some serious AA. That's the next step for me, AA and selout.

.takaM, The work you did on the head was gorgeous.. I'm gonna have to take a closer look at that before I give it a shot. Thank you. I was thinking about using really minimal dithering on most parts, but then dithering more heavily towards the ends of the shadows to emulate bluriness.

I'll post an update this weekend, thanks for the help so far, guys.
que faire quand on a tout fait, tout lu, tout bu, tout mangé
tout donné en vrac et en détail
quand on a crié sur tous les toîts pleuré et ris dans les villes et en campagne

Offline gliding

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Re: [WIP] Little Guy

Reply #4 on: December 02, 2006, 04:35:20 am
.TakaM just gave you a pretty solid basis for improvement. Use lighting that suggests form instead of random hilights. I'd suggest coloured outlines- usually; however for the cartoonistic look I suggest plent of AA on the black lines for a smooth image. I don't suggest to much selout (or any) because it can be problematic when used with such a dark outline.( unless used correctly and with understanding of lighting and line width.)

I might edit a tad bit.

Good luck!

[edit]



I really only retouched the face- and edited the upper body.

I tried to fix a few lighting issues and added a little more to the character.
« Last Edit: December 02, 2006, 05:05:26 pm by gliding »

Offline Akzidenz

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Re: [WIP] Little Guy

Reply #5 on: December 03, 2006, 05:57:41 am
Alright, update time:



.TakaM, gliding, thanks a ton for the help with AAing, etc. gliding, I liked the textures and folds you added, but I want the jacket to be more smooth - I think once I get the basic sprite done I'll work on adding subtle folds, wrinkles, etc.

I AA'ed and detailed the face, added/fixed highlights in the hair, AA'ed the left hand, added some detail to the shoes. Added colored outlines to the whole thing. I also started dithering the shadow on the left pant leg, but I don't know if I like it or not. All I know is that the shadow seemed far too harsh before.

Any more comments/criticism appreciated. It's still a work in progress.

EDIT: Ugh, the eyes really just can't be blue. They're too light. I'll update again later.
« Last Edit: December 03, 2006, 06:06:46 am by Akzidenz »
que faire quand on a tout fait, tout lu, tout bu, tout mangé
tout donné en vrac et en détail
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Offline gliding

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Re: [WIP] Little Guy

Reply #6 on: December 03, 2006, 06:34:55 am
I'm happy that you like the texture; however, I hope you can understand the point of my editing your piece. I did not want you to imitate or emulate the edit- I just hoped you'd pull something from it. You can still achieve a smooth look in your piece while adding depth and using lighting that suggests form. For example, the arm in the forefront of my edit evokes the fact that there might just be an arm in there. Perhaps you could try doing the same thing throughout the piece.

~ Good luck!

Offline Akzidenz

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Re: [WIP] Little Guy

Reply #7 on: December 03, 2006, 06:47:54 am
Yeah - I think that's what I was trying to say.  :) I definitely want to work the piece to a point where the jacket doesn't look SO flat and formless.

Do you have any suggestions for making the shadows look less flat, more natural? Do you think that dithering is the right way to go, or would you take another route? Or do the hard edges on the shadows not bother you at all?

Thanks again  :y:
que faire quand on a tout fait, tout lu, tout bu, tout mangé
tout donné en vrac et en détail
quand on a crié sur tous les toîts pleuré et ris dans les villes et en campagne

Offline gliding

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Re: [WIP] Little Guy

Reply #8 on: December 03, 2006, 06:55:32 am
I suggest leaving dithering and the lioke out until your basic shadows and form are applied. In other words, start blocking in colours one by one until you're happy.

I'll do an edit to show you.

Edit:



notice how you can tell the the object has mass under the clothing. That's what you need to bring your character to life.

ps.I suggest either redoing the hand or removing the bend from his arm. The chracter's arm looks wonky as of late.
« Last Edit: December 03, 2006, 07:04:32 am by gliding »

Offline Akzidenz

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Re: [WIP] Little Guy

Reply #9 on: December 03, 2006, 07:35:28 am
My most recent update, trying to fix some problems and trying to play with some more form in the jacket:



As far as the left arm is concerned, it's supposed to be going straight down with no bend.

It's really rough right now, feels a little out-of-place, but overall I think the extra form really helps. Please, feel free to edit the hell out of this and show me where I'm doing things wrong.

EDIT: Updated again.. cleaned some stuff up and added some details.

« Last Edit: December 03, 2006, 08:52:06 am by Akzidenz »
que faire quand on a tout fait, tout lu, tout bu, tout mangé
tout donné en vrac et en détail
quand on a crié sur tous les toîts pleuré et ris dans les villes et en campagne