AuthorTopic: [C+C] Anatomy(?) / Shading  (Read 2457 times)

Offline PixelForest

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[C+C] Anatomy(?) / Shading

on: November 22, 2018, 01:03:28 am
Hey there!
I am new to this community, tho I have been active in others like r/PixelArt. I will just say from the get go that I feel a bit embarrassed to just go ahead and ask for critique right away, but I hope to give back in the future.

So, to the art and what I need some help with.


This is a mob in a game I'm working on which is a type of RPG that sets in an alien world. These aliens look like in the picture, more like robots.
Though it may look decent I can't really put my finger on what exactly I do not like about this piece, but I think the "anatomy" is not portrayed properly with my lightning and and shading.The light is coming from the upper left.
One thing that bothers me is how the "ribs" ( the purple light on his torso) should look. How much of the left proportional to the right ones should be visible.



Here I have a second version that I think has improved the look, but it still doesn't look right to me. I'm having a hard time figuring out how to paint a 3D object in 2D, or rather I know how to kinda imagine it in 3D space, but I can't put that same information into pixels.
Any comment is really appreciated and I want to continue working on this mob until I'm satisfied with the result.
If anyone has any suggestions to improve the colors its is also very appreciated, as I'm not too happy with those either.

Thanks in advance!
« Last Edit: November 22, 2018, 01:09:03 am by PixelForest »

Offline eishiya

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Re: [C+C] Anatomy(?) / Shading

Reply #1 on: November 22, 2018, 02:08:23 am
Where is the light source, and which way is the mob meant to be facing? The torso and legs seem to be facing halfway between front and sideways, but the head and arms are positioned relative to the torso in a way that suggests front view.

Offline PixelForest

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Re: [C+C] Anatomy(?) / Shading

Reply #2 on: November 22, 2018, 03:46:02 am
Thank you for responding!

"The light is coming from the upper left"

He's facing towards the right, but I don't want him to fully face right. I would say that im going for this kind of view


The torso and legs seem to be facing halfway between front and sideways, but the head and arms are positioned relative to the torso in a way that suggests front view.
I see. In this case I want the head and arms to be adjusted so they match the torso and legs, and I've tried to make small adjustments but I am stuck at the images I posted. I don't know how to have the arm rotate so it is understood that it is looked upon from the side.
I feel like I can understand from looking at the lower picture that there is depth, that one arm is further back than the other because of it's darker color. Can you agree with this?

I will try to improve this during the day tomorrow.

Offline eishiya

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Re: [C+C] Anatomy(?) / Shading

Reply #3 on: November 22, 2018, 01:34:13 pm
Try moving the front arm more in front of the torso, and the back arm more behind the torso. We shouldn't see both shoulder-spheres so fully. The head should be further to the right.

If you struggle with visualising in 3D, try making a similar form in 3D, such as by balling up some bread and using that to sculpt. It might help you see how the different parts relate, and how their appearance changes depending on the angle.

Offline PixelForest

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Re: [C+C] Anatomy(?) / Shading

Reply #4 on: November 22, 2018, 04:09:34 pm


This is what I managed to create. ! Applied what you said about the arms and the head as well as adjusting some shapes and shadows/highlights.
Are there any contradictions left?

I created a simple body and spheres as shoulders in Blender to help visualize. Thanks for the tips!

Thanks a lot Eishiya!

Offline eishiya

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Re: [C+C] Anatomy(?) / Shading

Reply #5 on: November 22, 2018, 06:48:10 pm
Here's a quick edit, I moved the head and front arm further left, and increased the contrast slightly. The character's really hard to read because of the low contrast, even in my edit.

Offline PixelForest

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Re: [C+C] Anatomy(?) / Shading

Reply #6 on: November 22, 2018, 08:35:22 pm
Thank you again.

How would you go about changing the colors so that he's more readable in your opinion?
More hue shifting? Just more difference in brightness?

Offline eishiya

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Re: [C+C] Anatomy(?) / Shading

Reply #7 on: November 22, 2018, 11:34:32 pm
Both.

If you can, I recommend putting the character in the environment(s) they'll be seen, so that you can implement more specific tweaks. For example, if they're typically in a dark environment, you may want to lighten them, that sort of thing.

Offline PixelForest

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Re: [C+C] Anatomy(?) / Shading

Reply #8 on: November 22, 2018, 11:44:35 pm
Ok. Thanks you very much for all the help!