Itsa Mushroom!

[Crow]

Hey, I was bored, so I thought I would pixel a random mushroom. Done with Arne's palette, was lots of fun
I need some crits though, I am not totally happy with it yet somehow. Not sure what I should change.

[Faktablad]

I would try and make it more mushroom-like.  It doesn't scream "mushroom!" when you first look at it.  Instead it looks like two blobs.
The best way to do this is to look at lots of reference images of mushrooms and compare.

The cap of your mushroom looks fine, but it could be more round and plate-like, or spherical, depending upon the mushroom.
Also the stem is much too fat.  Maybe thin it out and lengthen it a bit.  Can't wait to see what you come up with!

[Crow]

Oh, well. Should have said that. I wanted it to look a bit cartoony. So I made it a little "fat".

[Zero]

Oh, well. Should have said that. I wanted it to look a bit cartoony. So I made it a little "fat".

Cartoony or not, it still has to read as a mushroom. At the moment it doesn't. Take faktablad's advice, all of his points are valid.

[Faktablad]

I see what you mean, crow.  The key here is to balance looking fat with looking like a mushroom.  It's possible to go too far either way.  And I think your piece goes a bit too far away from the mushroom side of things, that's all. 

A great reference in this case is the mushroom scene from Fantasia.
http://www.animationartgallery.com/WDP/WDPSYB44.html

This is great because it shows how the animators were able to make characters who were clearly mushrooms using so few lines.  This is helpful in demonstrating what makes a mushroom a mushroom.

One simple thing you can do in your case is to get rid of that little upward curve in the bottom line of the cap.  Make it curve downward to represent a round cap.  Hope this helps!

[Crow]

Seriously, thats a good reference! Thanks alot, I will work on it tomorrow Not feeling like it right now

[djork]

Boletus Edulis, the Porcini, is a good example of a fat mushroom in real life.

[smiker]

i like it but i second other comments...you should give it more volume....
well anyway whats arne palette?

[Crow]

I doubt you checked his 16 colors palette thread, huh?
But I just noticed that I wanted to edit that piece like..a few days ago heh. I will try to finish the edit today.

[Mighty Pea]

I think --for you to clarify immediately that it's a mushroom-- you'll need to re-think the volume. I can't help but feel that you'll need to choose between stylising sillhouette or volume/shading, and since you're going for 'fat', it seems logical not to stylise that too much. The way it's lit right now suggests it's flat, and on the stem for instance, there's very little to suggest it goes into the 'hat' of the mushroom, and there's even less to suggest there's any sort of a rim to it.
I'm not thinking very clearly right now, so i hope i was of some help. If not, i'll take a look at this thread later