(Wow, I was just thinking yesterday, while repaying nature no less - as good a time to think as any, that it seems like the highly experienced, looked-up-to citizens of Pixelation never post WIP for crit as they develop it. I hastily decided that these must not see the benefits of doing so. Glad you shot that down. There's no better way for the leaders of this community to participate and get down in the trenches than to submit work in this thread and work alongside the lowliest.)
Very cool. Nice fresh appearance. Stylized elephants are rare subject matter. Gives a surreal impression. Can't help but evoke some Dali. Composition is simple and nice - Thought of the effect some close foreground detail might have, such as foliage making us feel like we're spying on him from the bushes?. Palette is attractive so far. I'm eager to see how you'll manage 64 colors in the end.
Elephant. I think I like the original human ear better, though it's a little freakish. If you keep the metal one you might enlarge it some, perhaps angle it out, I didn't read it as an ear at first, though now it's obvious to me. That chunky eyebrow will bug me until you bring the rest of the elephant up to the same level of chunkiness - all too smooth, then you got this big ol' chunky thing there. The eye seems like a normal human eye, which I like.
On it's physical construction - is it robot or cyborg? Most probably don't, but I usually, even if the thing in question is completely made up, try to imagine how it's built in real life and what it's really made out of before drawing it, so that the way I draw it makes sense and has consistency, that's the idea anyway. I'm guessing it's robotic with partial blended in organic parts, like the eye.
Not sure about the overall anatomy of the elephant, the legs don't seem quite right. Must just be their exaggerated length. Back legs should catch more light on sides if cylindrical. Feet on ground bend/skew to stay flat against the plane of the ground as the leg they're connected to angles implying they're soft and fleshy despite the elephant being metallic, when feet in air look rigidly fixed at 90 degrees, making me think functioning joints are missing. I love the smooth simple bulbous shape overall. Trunk is very long. Will you keep him curvy and smooth or more like the eyebrow and give him more of an angualar look, in which case you might segment the trunk like tank treads at acheive curvature.
Environment. I think this may call for a more detailed bg, why not? Simple ones are always nice, but why not build up a more convincing world? Give it some wonder. The dual moons does a good job establishing it's an alien world, along with the other-worldy yellowy ambiance. You might strive for less earthly clouds. Though, I don't think anyone can really complain with where the bg is currently, it works.
I wonder if you could give the elephant and rider similar physical traits that would make them seem more related or is the contrast of being totally different more interesting to view? Right now, they easily seem a part of the same world, at least.
Right now, the elephant doesn't seem like an intended mount, instead just giving a young denizen a ride playing around. Difference being whether the character on top is meant as some elephant trainer/professional/expert on his pet, or just some character that's momentarilty messing around hithcing a ride on an animal. thoughts - saddle, tac, reigns, food/incentive on a fishing pole with elphant eye looking right at the object on end of pole string, etc.
--Forgot to mention, much of my post I assume contains issues that exist only due to your pics very WIPyness, but they're thoughts that occurred nonetheless--
