AuthorTopic: [WIP] Mermaid  (Read 2324 times)

Offline neutralgrounds

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[WIP] Mermaid

on: July 20, 2018, 10:02:06 pm
Hey, hello everyone! Lately I have been working on a small game for my girlfriend's birthday. Almost everything works however I'm terrible at pixel art. I have tried all my best to create a mermaid but it still looks pretty bad. Is there anyone who might wanna help me a bit out with this and improve it a little without changing the max size (58 x 21) so it won't burn your eyes while watching it. I really highly appreciate any help. Thank you so much in advance :)

« Last Edit: July 20, 2018, 10:09:30 pm by neutralgrounds »

Offline MysteryMeat

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Re: [WIP] Mermaid

Reply #1 on: July 21, 2018, 06:01:19 am
use shapes to construct it. Like, for real, construction blocks are a pretty fast way to get something at the very least lookable.

Failing that, go look up the proko guides on youtube to get a crash course on anatomy
PSA: use imgur
http://pixelation.org/index.php?topic=19838.0 also go suggest on my quest, cmon
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Offline neutralgrounds

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Re: [WIP] Mermaid

Reply #2 on: July 21, 2018, 06:50:44 am
use shapes to construct it. Like, for real, construction blocks are a pretty fast way to get something at the very least lookable.

Failing that, go look up the proko guides on youtube to get a crash course on anatomy

Thank you for your reply and the help. Idk if I got the right thing but it didn't seem like a pixel art video at all. I didn't know you could use default drawing techniques for pixel art as well. Very interesting indeed however I'm still not sure about how to change it correctly so it would look better, I have tried multiple things but they ended up being more terrible than I had before  :-[
Remember it doesn't have to look professional I just want it to look nice, idc if it's far from perfect however my current one just burns your eyes down to hell :P

Anyhow would you maybe like to show me what I could improve so I can learn from my problems. Well at least if have time and want it.

Offline MysteryMeat

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Re: [WIP] Mermaid

Reply #3 on: July 21, 2018, 08:45:59 pm
that's the thing, there's not a whole lot of core differences between pixel art and regular art besides specific limitations.

you need to know the basics of standard art before you should ever try to and pixel art, I had to learn this the hard way and I'm very adamant that others don't have to go through the same path I did.

understanding how something works is the first step to being able to stylize it properly. It's the difference between making a Johnny Test and making a Samurai Jack.
PSA: use imgur
http://pixelation.org/index.php?topic=19838.0 also go suggest on my quest, cmon
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Offline Zanorin

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Re: [WIP] Mermaid

Reply #4 on: July 22, 2018, 11:54:18 am
I second MysteryMeat, the best way to begin is by learning the basics of standard art. However, perhaps you're just looking for some punctual help for your girlfriend's game, and you don't have much time til her birthday. Either way, I'll still try to give the general advice I can give.

Always look for references when drawing something that "imitates" reality. In this case, when googling "woman lying down back", I found this photo (warning, woman in a bikini incoming) :


What you're interested in here is the curve of her body. Right now your mermaid has zero curves and the shape of her body is inconsistent - when drawing a person, one has to "see" that the person has a bone structure, here it looks a bit like a sock that's been filled with cotton.

I edited your piece with that in mind, I tried to keep it simple. It's not perfect but I tried some improvements :



I did the following :
  • Reshaped her body
  • shifted the colors (primary colors generally burn the eyes quite a bit, also some contrast between the shades of a color never hurt anyone)
  • Tried adding some "texture" impression by dithering the fish tail a bit, and some volume to the hair by shading

I hope this helps a bit !
Half a noob figuring out stuff.

Offline Rydin

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Re: [WIP] Mermaid

Reply #5 on: July 25, 2018, 09:07:14 pm
Think of when you're in a pool.
You are only leaning forward like that when you are moving forward or swimming.
Otherwise, if you are in place, just floating underwater, your limbs float around like you are falling.
Just a thought.
Man cannot remake himself without suffering for he is both the marble and the sculptor.

Offline Zanorin

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Re: [WIP] Mermaid

Reply #6 on: July 27, 2018, 03:51:30 pm
Quote
You are only leaning forward like that when you are moving forward or swimming.
Otherwise, if you are in place, just floating underwater, your limbs float around like you are falling.

I didn't even think about it, I instinctly took it as being some sort of side-scrolling shoot them up or platformer of some sort, in which your character is always moving forward to the right. If it's not, then you're absolutely right.
Half a noob figuring out stuff.