Staff that needs work (piece of fan art)

[monkeysquat]

I made this a while back as a piece of both .hack//SIGN fan art (it's based on BT's staff) and Illutia fan art (it's the size of the staves used in the game, and is based loosely on the plain, simple staff graphic). All that I can think of at the moment that you might need to know to give advice is that the light source I intended for this is going straight at the staff, as if from the person viewing it (I don't know if there's a specific phrase for that).

I haven't been into pixel art for very long, so I still have a lot to learn and skills to hone (well, I'd need to develop skills first  ). I'd really appreciate any comments, criticism, and advice; I'm here to learn. I've noticed that the way I've drawn it isn't like a lot of pixel art I see on a daily basis, but I'm not really trying to adhere to a specific style. From what I can tell, the outline on the top part of the staff isn't as hard as the outline for the rest of it; other than that, I can't see any problems myself (and I don't doubt there are problems). If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Thanks.

The following image is the progress from start to finish, and the one furthest to the right is the latest version.



Oh, this is just a heads up. I'm not familiar with some art terminology since I haven't been into any kind of art for long, so I may not understand certain terms that you might use. I'll do research on my own if I'm confused about anything, of course, but if I'm still confused after that I might ask for an explanation.

[FatalFetus]

Derk?
-ahem-
The progress is always a good thing to show, a few things I'd like to point out are..
First and foremost, your shading. Many, many things i'v done have started with that ugly term pillow-shading, which if you don't already know, is shading from the center out. (Assuming there is a light source between the viewer and the staff, as someone put it) Its generally looked down upon and its much easier to get depth from other angles of light.

The decoration popping out from the central part of the shaft seems a bit excessive in my opinion.. If you were holding a lifesize version that piece would hinder and annoy you while wielding the staff, unless you were just using as a walking stick.. But who would do that with a neat staff? ;p

The palette for the crystal ball should have more contrast and you don't need 6 different shades to show blending. Because its a spherical shape you should probably use a small dither on it and be able to achieve a nicer result.

Overall, you should really do a color count on that. Basically, the lower amount of colors you have the easier it is to control your piece in shading. Anywhere from 3-5 shades per color on smaller pieces works for me, although some more experienced people may want to help you out in that department.

One last thing I'd like to point out.. There are "perfect" pixel lines.

This is an image from the tutorial: http://www.pixelfreak.com/tutorial/
This shows the perfect lines in pixelating. These lines will come out the smoothest and will generally look alot nicer. If you're near these but not quite on them, you'll end up with jagged lines.

Inside the boxes are jaggies. ;p

Well anyhow, I hope some of this helps you out. I look forward to an updated product.

Fetus

[monkeysquat]

I hadn't really put much thought into it when I was typing the description (it's been about two months since I made this),  but I didn't have a straight forward light source. I didn't plan on having a specific light source and shading from that; I just shaded it how I thought it made sense (it came naturally, I guess). The light isn't directly between the viewer and the staff, but more above the staff and in front of it a bit. See how the crystal casts a shadow on the staff directly below it, and the top part of the metal on the top of the staff casts a shadow on the lower parts? I didn't pillow shade at all, it seems.

Other than that, I'll try what you suggested.

One part I don't understand,though, is limiting the number of colors/shades. Is something not shaded right, and if so could you point it out? It looks right to me, and seemed to work very well the way I did it. I can't fix it if I can't see it, though.

[FaeryShivers]

One last thing I'd like to point out.. There are "perfect" pixel lines.

This is an image from the tutorial: http://www.pixelfreak.com/tutorial/
This shows the perfect lines in pixelating. These lines will come out the smoothest and will generally look alot nicer. If you're near these but not quite on them, you'll end up with jagged lines.

Inside the boxes are jaggies. ;p

I believe those examples are directed towards isometric for the most part.
While those lines may work for very plain "geometrical"(for lack of a better word)
 pieces, you can't really use only those lines for organic looking pieces. Its just a matter
 of making sure you don't have double lines and that you are creating smooth curves
.Its usually difficult for beginners to detect mistakes in their lines at first
but as you practice more, the mistakes on your old lines will become more painfully obvious.

I won't write out my critique again for you monkey, you've heard what I had to say about it already
Glad you decided to sign up.