Hi. New to the forum.

[HughSpectrum]

Not much to say about me.  Here's my opening image (zoomed by 200%).



I drew this character on paper first, scanned it into Paint Shop Pro 8, downsized the pencil image, created a new layer, then pixeled a black outline over it, so using a pencil image as a base would be the major non-pixel technique.

I screwed up during the layering process, accidentally drawing black outlines in the wrong layers (especially the background layer), so I ended up removing a lot of the image and keeping just the head and shoulders.

The only tool besides the eraser and brush I used would be the background eraser to help clean up a major screw up.

I didn't aim to use as few colors as possible, although I could probably use less on some of the outlines, if that is extremely important.

C&C welcome, and I'll see what I can do to improve the image.

EDIT: On the left, is the version with anti-aliased outlines only, and to the right is the one with the anti-aliased outlines and shades.

[baccaman21]

Welcome.


Nothing wrong with that technique.

You should consider Anti Aliasing the lines.

Black outlines are a stylistic decision but I'd be inclined to blend them down, they're fine as a starting point but have a look here to see how others tackle outlines and coloring.

Incidentally, Pixelation incorporates an auto zoom function (click on an image to zoom in, Shift+Click to zoom back)

[HughSpectrum]

I can do anti-aliasing.  I'll get to work on that.  Are you talking about just the outlines, or the different shades as well?

As for the black outlines.  The black outlines were just for going over the pencil.  I actually colored the outlines (although they're really dark colors), though some black outlining still remains such as at the end of hair strands or the top of the eyes.

EDIT: I'm anti-aliasing the outlines, and I'll experiment with anti-aliasing between the shades after doing so.

[Arachne]

I think you need a lot more contrast for the shading to show, especially on the skin. His(?) nose and hair suggest that he's facing a different direction than the shape and placement of his face suggests. I thought it was easier to change it to have him looking straight at us by moving his nose a bit and changing the shape of his hair. I went with a slightly more realistic approach since I can't draw anime to save my life. You should try to master drawing realistic faces before you try stylizing them in any case.

[HughSpectrum]

I'll just stick with editing this image for now, and save the human proportions for the pencil stage (I'm not too good at drawing people yet, so obviously the pixel art will suck too. >_>)

I actually had his face pointing that way, because that's what his hair was like in a much smaller sprite: , but didn't translate well, I guess, since the left side of his hair should have been much larger and I didn't notice until now.

I'm just trying to stay true to the smaller sprite, which, looking at what I just posted here I just now realized I failed anyway, heh.

EDIT: You're right on the face pointing the wrong way though.  I'm definitely changing that.

EDIT 2: Ok.  I've updated the portrait again.  His hair gives him super strength!  I removed the back hair that sticks out because you can't see it from this point of view anyway.