[WIP] Game pixels

[skillzalot]

Im new to pixeling here is some of my work. feedback and how i could improve greatly needed

Peasent bow


Cracked old shield


sapphire short sword


Dueling sword

[tehwexxl0rz]

Oh noes!

The JPEG file compression got your pixels all muddied up! Save 'em as GIFs!

[AdamAtomic]

First off, welcome to Pixelation!  Second, Imagebucket and other similar hosts will convert BMP to JPEG, so GIF or PNG is the right way to go for pixel art.  See this thread for more info!  This is, of course, part of the forum labeled RULES - READ BEFORE POSTING.  Finally, get ready for some SERIOUS FEEDBACK.


Don't work on white, you rely too much on outlines, too little contrast in general (or, more simply, your colors are far too similar and gray), vague/nonexistent light sources.  Specifically:

Bow - why is it composed of 45-degree angle sections?  Why is the arrowhead so huge?  Why is the bowstring so thick?

Shield - Again 45-degree angles only, though it sort of works here.  The heck are the little icons?  What's that red stuff?  Why is it shaded like its a sphere?

Sword 1 - This looks like the...like kid-safe scissors equivalent of a sword.  All the shapes are big, round, and soft.

Sword 2 - Man this one is CRAZY.  If that handle is the size of...well of a hand, that would make the blade what, 6" long?  Tops?  I would not take that into a duel.  I assume that the shape in the middle is supposed to be a guard of sorts, but it is completely flat and unreadable.

At this point the most important thing to work on is basic shapes and lighting.  Think about light and volumes and real shapes and the third dimension!!

[Sherman Gill]

->
First thing I noticed upon opening your sword up: you're missing a large value range between your dark coors and your mid-tones. You could really do with one or two between there.
Next, You're using symbols to create interest instead of shading and form, which I think leads to a lot of the problems Adam mentioned. What exactly is the slithy line on the blade? It can't be the middle of the blade because the blade would have to curve with it, otherwise it would be alot more difficult to forge and probably less durable. So it seems like it's just a random detail that reduces visibility and obscures form . Same is true of that black splotch  on the handle, it has no form and seems like it's just a randomly placed symbol for something.
Now, my edit shows two possible ways of shading it: One is effectively a broad, flat, plane with edge highlights and some metally shading. Edge highlights are important either way though, because, and I don't really know why, it makes things seem sharper to us. Like it's flat, and crisp. The other one relies less on edge highlights, but they're still there, and this one is more like a common sword.

Can't think of anything more to say, so uh, good luck, and if you have any questions just ask .