[WIP] Eagle

[hsn2555]

The weak lighting and contrast pervade my first impression. That's all I really see. Though, the bird's form seems more like a hawk for some reason, it's more beneficial for you to walk away with better lighting skills than eagle drawing skills. Why not have some spread wings going on and maybe have him going "CaaaaaahHHHHH!!!" like eagles do. He's just sitting there on a twig. Body is full boring frontal, head if full boring profile. Not dynamic, my friend.

Your lighting could improve. I'm happy that pixelation here has been a good tutor in heightening my appreciation for respecting light. A pixel forum seems like an unlikely source for this, but generally, pixel art peices are rather simple - it being the art of the sprite - so it becomes essential to get these basic things right or there's just not much left to impress your viewer. So . . . your lighting here weakens the impact. How would you shade your eagle if it was totally smooth and had a matte surface? I think you should improve your lighting before worrying about feathers/texture.

Outdoors, cloud-cover may disperse sun light enough to give this non-directional omni-lit look, but that's if this eagle is set in a scene, which it isn't. Since this is a lone sprite, boost it's visual interest with more poignant lighting.

Really though, I think all this is just a symtpom of artistic methods teathered to limited rails. By that I mean, your means of creating images may be too systematic and methodical, stunting and limiting your skill growth. At least, this is a common thing in art. I'm guilty of it, too. Not trying to patronize. Helm was in Bruce Lee mode once recently and said something like, "dont be afraid to destroy your art in order to promote improving". Meaning, don't hold your drawings as sacred and be afraid to "hurt" them. You will often fail as an artist. I do, all the time. But I'll try something else and it eventually works. Sometimes it's brilliant, sometimes it's mediocre. Roll with the punches. I think this eagle may be a failed attempt. If every project we embark on is another step on the staircase to artistic perfection (a never-ending flight obviously, but each step offers new possibilities) you might not be lifting up your foot yet. Notice the words of Hokusai, one of the ancient Japanese masters,


"From around the age of six, I had the habit of sketching from life. I became an artist, and from fifty on began producing works that won some reputation, but nothing I did before the age of seventy was worthy of attention. At seventy-three, I began to grasp the structures of birds and beasts, insects and fish, and of the way plants grow. If I go on trying, I will surely understand them still better by the time I am eighty-six, so that by ninety I will have penetrated to their essential nature. At one hundred, I may well have a positively divine understanding of them, while at one hundred and thirty, forty, or more I will have reached the stage where every dot and every stroke I paint will be alive. May Heaven, that grants long life, give me the chance to prove that this is no lie."

Rock on. CaaaaaaaHHHHhhhhhh

ah man ..your wise words gave me something that i'd never get from any one ..
btw do you know what my aim was ?
Although i've made many non-animated and animated pixelated-sprites ,but i never felt self-satisfied within making them.
my aim (out of this work) was just to come out with my first static pixel piece that would be convising to me in as fast as i could
but after i read your post, i was like "-.- it doesn't matter how long the work's gonna take, it matters how good it's gonna be"
i'm actually happy that i shared this piece to recieve your comment .
and i'm gonna update this piece , and i know it's gonna take long but i don't care , CaaaaaHHHHhhh ! ..
thanks so much man ,it really means alot to me  (: ..

[Scribblette]

I definitely don't think this is a failed attempt. You don't have to draw everything with massive emotions at play, as anyone will agree - it can create more enthusiasm for the picture but is not absolutely necessary. It doesn't have to be 'exciting'. At the very least, you have learnt by doing this piece, and continuing work on it will help you understand how to draw feathers better.

See eagle on the right of the left coin here



If you're aiming for a little more accuracy, I think the eye could be larger and the forehead angled to more of a slope. I would definitely recommend working from a reference. There are plenty out there!

[hsn2555]

that's what i needed !! being more cheerful , and you already made me ..
many thanks man, i really really appreciate it ..
and here is another shape i'm intending to get into

and i might get it into a scene too, but first, i want your opinion about the eagle's new stance

[hsn2555]

here is an update :

[hsn2555]

it's quiet suitable to me so far, so i decided to add some colors

[hsn2555]

 
here is another update :

[hsn2555]

guys, i've been updating this piece in order to get some C&C, -.- why isn't there any ?
anyway, here is an update :-

[Mathias]

CaaaaaaAAAhhhhHH!!!!   It is I.

Wow, you've been studiously grinding away at this thing. Even faithfully updating the thread. Very good. Sorry I didn't follow up earlier.

Huge difference in now and then. You're really taken it up a notch! And in a short time. Just think where you'll be in a few months if you continue at this rate, man.

Background elements are interesting/stylized, but I'm not concerned with those.

Feathering texture is so much better. A much better sense of volume now.

Just one real crit for now. And it's something you won't want to do, but it's hurting this the most now - the eagle's form. Now that you've got the rendering technique under control, I think you should attempt an edit of the eagle's form. He's still lookin' like a hawk.



I simply grabbed one of the really nice ref pics already posted here and traced the important lines, put them in the middle, and then superimposed them onto your latest version for an obvious comparison. While your eagle and the reference eagle are in slightly different poses, it's obvious there are some flaws going on. Eagle's have a rather unique look - they're sharp looking, dangerous. They just look mean. Mostly because their beak looks like an armored barbed weapon, their head is hunkered down into their thick neck giving a tough look, and that angular forehead is sloped forward, bring their head to a point. It's all rather subtle, but it comes together to make the "eagle look". So far, yers still lacks this, looking too "soft" and "nice". I hope you follow.







And of course you realize, that these basic compositional things are always sorted out as much as possible before any fine detail is pixelled in, so you're not spinning your wheels, having to revise something's basic lines only to have to re-detail it.
But, I really think you've made enough progress on the details and rendering to go back and fix your fundamental composition/form-related problems now. When you redo, if you choose to revise, you'll do an even better job the next time. For me, that always takes the edge off of having to redo something like this - it gets better with each iteration.



PS. you can't really force crit out of people around here. Interest can feign quickly in these parts.

[hsn2555]

here is a quicky edit, simple enough not to tire me .. if it's suited im gonna keep goin

[Corinthian Baby]

Get rid of that sun jammed in the corner, let the light source speak for itself in the subject alone.