How to improve the hair and the rest?

[miarapixelart]

trying to find new ideas how to improve the shading on hair and face/body:



referance:


thanks

[Mathcong]

Hi,

I think the way you shade the character is fine, but it really lacks contrast, make your shadows darker and light areas lighter.   
(this also applies to your other post, the statue)

I would also change the way she is standing. Right now, it feels like she's gonna fall over to the right.

In some areas i would use fewer shades, you don't need all of them.

a bit of an example to show what i mean, the legs still need more work lol:



some of the progress:




Overall you are on the right track though, keep it up ^^

[BasseBoi]

(its many year since i did pixelart, but though i would give it a try again, also i dont remeber how to upload a pic so you can zoom in on it... )

I changed some proportions, like the arms closest to you need to be longer, elbows reach about to the bellybutton. And the hands and feet needs to be bigger (but i suck at pixel hands, so hopefully you or someone else can make them better) I made the face less round.
I can tell what pose you try to do, but i think either the upper body or the legs needs to be faced differently, because right now its to twisted to be possible.

[miarapixelart]

thanks alot guys

[Chonky Pixel]

This is normally the point where I repeat something that's been said previously on the board so it sounds like I know what I'm talking about.

So here goes:

Compared to the reference image I don't think you have a very recognisable silhouette. If you look at the reference, you can see:

The two hands are visible and out on their own. You can see the whole shape of the straight leg. The arms are both in the same plane so there's no foreshortening. The hair is separated out into fronds, so looks like hair in motion. Even the snowflake necklace is recognisable.

Here's a rough example. Apologies for the rough edges.




Compare with yours.



In my opinion, the legs are difficult to read, as they overlap so much. Much of the arms are hidden by hair or overlap the body, so I'm confused about where they really are. You don't have a hand-shaped outline for the end of the visible arm, it looks a bit stump-like.

In this situation, I might try to cheat a bit. I have a poseable doll, so I might try using that to create something I think has a stronger outline:



Or there are versions of this kind of thing online, like https://justsketch.me/



I mean, I'm not spending much time on this as it isn't my piece, but with a bit of time and effort I'm sure you could make some great looking poses. Much better than these!

Just an idea, anyway. Good luck!

[Chonky Pixel]

When it comes to the details, I think you have a very cute look! However I'm getting some cognitive dissonance between the roundness and proportions of the face (signifying a young girl) and the length of the legs (perhaps suggesting someone a bit older). It could just be me, but I would think that a face with more length and angles (like in the reference) would fit the body shape better. I could be way off here though.

Another thing is the eyes. In the reference, they're massive, yes. But emphasis is given to the width. As a result, she looks comfortable with herself. To me at least. The eyes fit, again, with a slightly older look.

In your image, you're emphasizing the height of the eyes. To me this makes her look a bit surprised or startled. Maybe worried.