[WIP] House Scene - First Time Poster

[updownleftright]

Hi guys, this is a picture i'm working on for a super secret project it's one of my first ever pieces of pixel art (excluding doodles), and I need some help getting it past a sticking point. You guys seem to know what your talking about, so I thought i'd open it up to c&c's.

It's clearly WIP, and theres plenty left to do, mostly details like drainpipes, drains, grass texture, door handles, plants, interior through the windows, the roof, etc etc.  I'm going for a crisp 'eboy' vibe, so I don't want to muddle it too much with texture and stuff, but something about it is buggin me, it doesn't "pop" yet, I don't know whether it's the colors or what.

Any advice for a pixel n00b?

[updownleftright]

No takers yet? Fair enough, it's not the most exciting image in the world A couple of comments or suggestions would really be appreciated though!
Here's a slightly updated version, i've had a go at tiling the roof, adding drains, pot plants, door details and adjusted some colors.
Am I heading in the right direction?

[durkadoo]

Very nice for one of your first serious pieces! You could add some shapes other than squares to spice it up a bit. I don't know why, but I really like the thought bubbles.

[That One Guy]

I was hoping for House M.D.

Ah well, great job.

[durkadoo]

I was hoping for House M.D.

Ah well, great job.

Haha, thsat's what I was expecting too.

[updownleftright]

You could add some shapes other than squares to spice it up a bit.

Ahha! You exposed my weakness I think i've been sticking to the squares because they're easier to do, but I agree, I should do some more natural shapes too, i'm going to add some plants in the border next, and maybe round off the corner of the drive, that should help.

Thanks for the positive comments guys,

[Feron]

for brick texturing and general isometric pixelling have a look at this:  
http://www.pixeljoint.com/files/icons/full/factpj.png

solid start - just seems very flat and would benefit from contrast and better texturing.

[updownleftright]

Just a minor update tonight i'm afraid. I've had hardly any time to work on it over the weekend
I've added a few bits of detail, and tried my hand at some texturing of surfaces. I agree it still needs some contrast, but perhaps not too much. The image you linked to is nice, but not exactly the tone I want for this piece. A slightly more desaturated and simplistic feel is actually what i'm aiming for.

[pixelsforhire]

The textures really helped flesh the piece out a bit. I like brick colors, too.

[ptoing]

It's all very basic i have to say. Often it is better to suggest detail and not actually drawing every single brick.

For excellent reference of an isometric building check this picture by miascugh:

http://pixeljoint.com/files/icons/full/factpj.png

[updownleftright]

It's all very basic i have to say. Often it is better to suggest detail and not actually drawing every single brick.

For excellent reference of an isometric building check this picture by miascugh:

http://pixeljoint.com/files/icons/full/factpj.png

Thanks, but that's already been posted, and i've already pointed out that it's not the style i'm going for. If we all did our art the same way things would be a tad boring wouldn't it?

Having said that there are some elements of it which I can incorporate, and will! (Update coming shortly)

Thanks again for all the nice comments, it's really helping keep me motivated (and getting better hopefully!).

[updownleftright]

Another pretty minor update. Finding it hard to get time to work on it
Oh well, it's coming together slowly at least!

I used the (twice) linked image as inspiration to add some variety of color to the brickwork, I think it really helps.

I also added a car for a splash of stronger color, but obviously it's only blocked out at the moment.

Oh yeah, and a cat

[dragonrc]

The bricks look super now
I think you should give the other grass some texture to, and the treetrunks.
Of course the car needs improvement.
The fence could get a little wooden texture to. And shouldn't there be a fence behind the house to? It looks strange now.
Oh and I think the door is now large enough, the people can just go trough it while in real life doors are much larger then yourselve.

[updownleftright]

I've done a bit on the car tonight, and although it still needs more work to finish it off, I think it's looking pretty good!
My only concern is it doesn't sit very well with the rest of the scene due to a slightly different style. Hopefully once I add more detail/contrast to the rest of the piece it won't be so jarring.

I also took the advice from dragonrc and grained up the wood on the fence slightly, as well as tinkering with the tree trunk too.

[Cow]

IMO, the textures all look overdone. Ptoing's advice on suggesting detail would be a good one to follow, I think.

[AdamAtomic]

For the mortar to be clearly visible at this angle, it would have to be perfectly flush with the bricks; I have never seen any building constructed in this way.  I'd definitely check mia's building, its pretty inspirational!  Look how he approached his brick surfaces for guidance - you shouldn't do exactly what he did, but look at how his pixels reflect the real world, rather than a super mario world!

[updownleftright]

I don't mean to get defensive, but where exactly in any of my above posts did I suggest I wanted to emulate the 'real' world?

In fact if I remember rightly *scrolls to check*, I said I wanted a clean, crisp, 'eboy' style to it, which isn't exactly photorealism!

And btw, I happen to think Super Mario has an awesome art style :p

*edit*

Man, i've just been and looked at some eboy stuff to make sure I wasn't totally talking out of my arse, and I have let this picture deviate so much from my orignial vision for it! That's the problem with accepting every comment as gospel I suppose Too many cooks and all that...

I think I really need to scale things back slightly on the texture, and add detail instead. Simple colors and lots of geometric shapes for the win!

[Pixel Nerd]

I Added Windows On The Garage.

[Atrophy]

The windows of the garage arnt centered. Other then that its good.

[Ensellitis]

the car doesnt fit the style of the piece or even the style you are going for...  its far to grainy.