AuthorTopic: My first c64 palette pic  (Read 3767 times)

Offline ilkke

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My first c64 palette pic

on: December 05, 2007, 04:49:16 pm
Well, here it is.

I'm just posting it here now. Tell me what you think.
I'll recount my experiences and insights while working on it a bit later, when I have more time and energy.
i

Offline The B.O.B.

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Re: My first c64 palette pic

Reply #1 on: December 05, 2007, 05:20:02 pm
I feel like I'm not being constructive at all, but you know I love most of your stuff any ways. You're too advanced for me to even give advice, and this is too stylistic for me to give any technical critique as well(I'm guessing you're using only the c64 palette, not the restrictions as well, correct? If with restrictions, than expect a wild Ptoing to appear in the bushes and be prepared to attack with +4 magik). Only thing I can think of saying is maybe changing the nose a bit, or raising/combining the bridge and the tip of the nose a little more. Though this is preference, not a must.

I dreaded the day you joined here at pixelation, Ilkke, as you and your Serbian allies nearly overtook Pixeljoint...I shall keep my eyes on you, sly dog.. : P
« Last Edit: December 05, 2007, 05:23:08 pm by The B.O.B. »
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Offline ptoing

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Re: My first c64 palette pic

Reply #2 on: December 05, 2007, 05:32:44 pm
It's without restrictions, but I still love it as it is wonderfully pixelled and utilises the colours well :)

Haha, just found the hidden messages :D
There are no ugly colours, only ugly combinations of colours.

Offline Helm

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Re: My first c64 palette pic

Reply #3 on: December 05, 2007, 05:38:13 pm
It's lovely, of course. The facial anatomy seems to be a trend in your work, I'd suggest you play against your initial instincts when drawing faces for a while, just to break out of the same thing.

Offline ilkke

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Re: My first c64 palette pic

Reply #4 on: December 05, 2007, 08:43:39 pm
Thanks, all.
@B.O.B.: Although it sounds flattering, I doubt that we overtook PJ. If anything, we poured a little gasoline on the competitive spirit of the weekly challenges. Both Jamon and I have been absent for quite a while.
You're right that I didn't take any restrictions other than the palette into account when making the pic, I just wanted to test the colors. I've had a conversation with Ptoing halfway through the process about converting it to adhere to c64 limitations but I gave up on it for more than one reason.

@Ptoing: I never doubted you for a second. You found them all, I hope ;D

@Helm: Yes, you are observant as always. I started this pic without any sketches (as always), but also without any idea of what I was going to draw, so I of course ended up drawing a face. I tend to do that because I was not satisfied with my abilities in rendering faces when I started pixeling again about a year ago, and so a face became a sort of training for me. Faces are also a good starting point because you can build a composition around one or more of them easily. Often I start with a realistic face and them make an unrealistic composition around it. Notice how the pic looks like one of them picture-boards where you put your face through the hole :D. I saw how certain artists have very confident method of drawing faces and so I strive to develop my own. I do often end up treating them in a similar manner as I insist on high dynamics in pixel art so they often end up being chiseled out. I did try to give this one a different character tho (non-characteristic mouth, chin and eye expression). I must also admit that I wasn't really confident after not pixeling for a while recently so I was striving for a simple and pleasant piece to make, and that also made me start with a face, same with this avatar. I will seriously take your crit into account next time I sit to draw something.

Okay, now for some history. It all started like this, innocently enough:



Had I known about the dreaded supersaturated and notnearlydarkenough blue, I would have started everything differently.
I wanted to avoid any dithering, but by this stage I realized I gotta think again cause it would look too Ptoing-ish:



As I went along, I started to get along with the colors and adapted the style. I started with the middle, then right, then left part of the pic. I ended up with three different styles:



And so I had to repixel most of it to make it all fit together and a lot of the initial charm, esp the face, was sacrificed. Naturally, I'm not completely satisfied with this, but I quite like the atmosphere of the piece, so I guess it's good enough. Another cave-in with this palette is that you tend to put all colors everywhere, and it makes the piece look more kitsch, and the palette seems more limited than it actually is.

All in all, I spent way too much time with this one, and have grown tired of it and blind for it's flaws.
Happy end!

I wrote a fucking essay. I promise not to do it anymore  :crazy:
« Last Edit: December 05, 2007, 09:15:03 pm by ilkke »
i

Offline Helm

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Re: My first c64 palette pic

Reply #5 on: December 07, 2007, 08:11:01 pm
I know exactly what you're talking about when you say you've seen artists with a confident 'this is how I draw faces' style. I want to tell you, I need to tell you that you must stay away 100% from the concept of trying to artificially create 'your own face style'. It will happen on its own or else it's not worth happening. You have a very select way right now of carving cheeks and nose ridges etc and that's fine, just saying, it's a bad focus to try to be 'distnictive' when you should be trying to be 'versatile'. Leave distinction to the eye of the beholder, god knows if you're quirky enough as an artist people will always be able to spot your stuff as yours (people tell me they can spot my 'style' whereas I really cannot) and focus on being able to draw a lot of different things in various ways.

From a structural point of view this piece is a happy accident, as it works very well in the end, but as you say, it started as a 'face then stuff around it' painting. For your next pieces try to do a lot of thumbnails of the same topic and ponder on the why and how you should choose an optimal one. Make more structural choices. Your rendering capability is top-notch, as is your color most of the time. It is therefore, pertinent, to consider artistry, and not craft.

Offline ilkke

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Re: My first c64 palette pic

Reply #6 on: December 08, 2007, 09:58:53 am
Thanks, Helm.
Looks like I'm gonna have to start making sketches for my pixel art... (shudder!)
Funny thing is, only time I do composition studies etc is for professional assignments. Whenever I draw for my own pleasure I immediately have the whole thing in my head from the very beginning.
Regarding faces... I'm not looking for a trademark style for faces, just a way to simplify the drawing of a realistic face that will satisfy me. Guess pixel art is not the best place to be searching for it after all. I'm glad to see that you're concerned that I don't end up trapped in a rigid style. I'll be posting something in the OT-creativity thread soon, and hopefully show that I'm pretty diverse style-wise.

All justifications and rationalizations aside, I'll deffo be keeping in mind your crits.
« Last Edit: December 08, 2007, 10:00:43 am by ilkke »
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