AuthorTopic: [Feedback Needed] Big Rock  (Read 2673 times)

Offline Sammy

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[Feedback Needed] Big Rock

on: October 16, 2020, 03:54:36 pm
Hi everyone. I made this rock for a game. I would like to know your opinions and hear your suggestions on how to improve it. Thanks!

Offline eishiya

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Re: [Feedback Needed] Big Rock

Reply #1 on: October 16, 2020, 06:28:18 pm
What is the scale of your game? How big are the characters (if there are any)? The details on the rock and the ripple size make it look fairly small (smaller than a person), but its pixel size is very large, I'd be surprised if you made pixel art character sprites to match.

The rock looks good overall and has an interesting shape, but I think you can make it look even better.

The colours look rather dull. Consider adding some faint hints of hues and hue-shifting to it instead of using pure grey. It's in blue water, so presumably the sky is blue, and this would affect the colours of the shadows.

The highlights are inconsistent, the white light seems to be coming from all directions. I'd also use those edge highlights you're doing more sparingly, as overused, they make the rock feel flat.

The details seen through the water look rather noisy, lots of single pixels that don't communicate any meaningful detail or texture. Similarly, the details in the big crack at the top of the rock look rather noisy. Pixel art is often about committing to strong shapes, because it can't communicate tiny details well. Try to focus on showing the big shapes, they're what will create your visual interest. Don't worry about the small details so much.

The shadow cast by the rock seems rather like an afterthought, it lacks the lovely shaping of the rock itself. The shadow would be a great opportunity to suggest some texture of the ground beneath the water without actually drawing it.

Lastly, the piece feels a little rough because of how you've placed thin dark lines immediately next to light shapes, making the pixelated boundry between them stand out more. Some anti-aliasing or different placement would really help make the piece feel more polished.

Here's an edit incorporating the above. I focused mostly on the big shapes making up the rock, and making more "details" by adding more protrusions and dips, rather than surface details.
« Last Edit: October 16, 2020, 06:30:20 pm by eishiya »

Offline Sammy

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Re: [Feedback Needed] Big Rock

Reply #2 on: October 26, 2020, 06:45:06 pm
Wow, thanks for your feedback Eishiya. Your version of rock is awesome. You always give very useful information and tips. You're a real artist :y:

I updated it some and tried to apply what you suggested:

P.S. I put the character silhouette next to it to show the size. Tiles are 64x64 in my game.

Thanks again!  ;D