Dog Icon

[lollige]

How do I improve this icon??
The fur doesnt really look like fur..

[Opacus]

Don't make it look like fur, at such a small level it's nearly impossible, it'll only make things look messy.
Focus on getting the basic shading right before you start applying textures

[lollige]

I have never saved it in this state.. so I remade it.. edit from the textured version...


EDIT:
Small edit 

[Draco9898]

Add more shading, go all the way into semi-brights to darks with a lightsource. Needs AA badly .

[lollige]

Add more shading, go all the way into semi-brights to darks with a lightsource. Needs AA badly .

Where do you think I have to add AA than?
On the inside, you wont see anything then when I have added the texture, and on the outside, its going to be transparant, so then you should make new AA on every new background!! aa has to be very different on a light background than on a dark one..

[Feron]

i certainly suggest studying what a dog actually looks like.  anatomy, skeleton, head shape etc...

[Draco9898]

Add more shading, go all the way into semi-brights to darks with a lightsource. Needs AA badly .

Where do you think I have to add AA than?
On the inside, you wont see anything then when I have added the texture, and on the outside, its going to be transparant, so then you should make new AA on every new background!! aa has to be very different on a light background than on a dark one..

Ummm W/e man, it's your dog. Talk about engrish.

The outlines need AA no matter what background you put it against.

[LoTekK]

I agree with Feron. Even if you're not going to look into skeletal structure, muscles, etc, at the very least get some nice reference pics of the breed you're spriting, and make an effort to get the forms correct. No amount of texture is going to help if the overall forms are incorrect.

[Panda]

Add more shading, go all the way into semi-brights to darks with a lightsource. Needs AA badly .

Where do you think I have to add AA than?
On the inside, you wont see anything then when I have added the texture, and on the outside, its going to be transparant, so then you should make new AA on every new background!! aa has to be very different on a light background than on a dark one..

Ummm W/e man, it's your dog. Talk about engrish.

The outlines need AA no matter what background you put it against.

Draco9898: No.
Not all outlines need AA. You should only apply it when you have a fixed BG or when the sprite is moving on BGs of similar color and it doesn't overlap on anything that screws the AA (of course, unless you like seeing random pixels).
AA is not the solution for everything, and you should realize that for once (as you have been giving the same "you should AA the outlines" crit a couple of times already mindlessly).



Anyway, about the dog, for a start, using a more neutral BG (gray or similar) when pixelling will give you a better idea of what colors you need to pick for your palette.
Your current palette is too dark and the the colors are pretty close to each other making it a bit unreadable.
As for texture, at that size, I would only apply it only close the outlines, otherwise it would make the whole thing less readable.
Also as many mentioned already, using references will help you quite a lot if you are unsure of the shapes.
Maybe this will help you to get the structure down and give you some ideas for textures and color: http://www.healthgene.com/canine/images/retriever_golden.jpg

Good luck with further updates

[Draco9898]

Draco9898: No.
Not all outlines need AA. You should only apply it when you have a fixed BG or when the sprite is moving on BGs of similar color and it doesn't overlap on anything that screws the AA (of course, unless you like seeing random pixels).
AA is not the solution for everything, and you should realize that for once (as you have been giving the same "you should AA the outlines" crit a couple of times already mindlessly).

I see. I'm Sorry then. My mistake.

[Feron]

i know nothing about dogs, but here is a 2 min edit based of panda's ref pic. 



I also know it's good to start small - however if you want to practice texture techniques you may want to make it a bit bigger.

[lollige]

Thanks for all your replies
Since I dont want to make the dog look like a specific breed I used more refferences.. but I will try to search for some skeletons too.
I have never worked with a neutral background before.. Did never know it was usefull and why. Thanks for the tip  
I think I have to fully redo my pallette too..
Ill post an update asap 

[LoTekK]

3 minute edit of panda's Feron's 2 minute edit (you sure you were looking at the ref? :p) All I did was post a reference, not an edit  - Panda

[lollige]

3 minute edit of panda's 2 minute edit (you sure you were looking at the ref? :p)

hmm that looks like a dog..
panda's Feron's didnt that much.. >:0

Ok changed the pallete slightly, but not that much yet.. Tryd to work on the head and the left feet, but it didnt came out that good..
For feet I tried to use this reference:
http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/aencmed/targets/illus/ilt/000f09ca.gif
for head I looked to the golden retriever image, and the ears where just made without referrence....
and im not so happy with the result

[LoTekK]

You need to look a little more closely at reference. I know you said you don't want it looking like any particular breed, but without close reference, you're making similar mistakes to your first attempt. Right now there are quite a number of things that jump out. Head shape, lack of a chest-neck transition, forelegs look stiff/unjointed, hind legs are, well, completely off. The eyes really jump out at me. dogs, like humans, have their eyes set more on the front of their head than the side, whereas you've given it eyes that are set more like a lizard's (side of head). They're also really bright; creepy, almost.

[mangust]

Maybe you think in this direction? I donn't know which breed you try to paint...

Work more on his head know...