My first pixel

[Shikola]

I not new to art, but certainly to pixeling. This was made by applying my basic knowledge of deer anatomy and cell shading. I have no idea what I am doing.



The sketch for it was made in 30 seconds, so if you want to critique the anatomy, keep that in mind xD;.

[Anarkhya]

Hi!
and Welcome!

I've switched your pic to PNG 8bits and reduced your palette as 2 colors were unnecessary, one blue shade was not mentionned in your palette and one yellow shade was superfluous as removing it doesnt make you loose "information".



Considering the piece, I would say the fur is looking too much blocky/rocky, dont know it this is your esthetical intent, though. Regarding animal anatomy, Im not really in the business but afaics your ears seem a bit weird, not "readable" as ears. Also the beast looks overbrawny (especially its legs). Eventually, the color count seems really fair for a start and the global shape is pretty well drawn.

Note:  You dont need to post a zoomed image as on this board while you click an image it triggers the non interpolation zoom function.

[e4r]

I thought it was a bunny, just saying.

[Tourist]

The first thing I notice is that you are mixing too many styles.  If you were painting a deer and mixed realism, pointilism, and cubism, the result would not look good. 

Here you've got a flat 2d cartoon base (strong outlines and perfect profile), then some dithered noise, a nod to cell shaded vector style, and some abstract bits (namely the hooves as simple angled shapes).  If you reduce the number of styles you are using the result would be more focused and stronger overall.

Some of the lines could be improved a bit to reduce the jaggies. 


My suggestion for improving this (and keep in mind I'm a nobody, not an expert):
1) Reduce the image to it's flat cartoon base by cutting out most of the colors.  Like this, or something similar (I have no idea about deer anatomy):


2) Choose one, and only one of the following:

• Abstract stylized.  Look up images of stylized deer.  Maybe cave paintings or Native American art to see how they represent deer.  Turn the image into something mostly representational.  Flowing lines and shapes.  Don't try and texture the fur.  Keep the color count low.  This is a good match with the perfect profile of the base.
• Realistic deer.  Look up some photos of real deer.  Don't copy the photos directly, but use them as anatomy references.  This is not a good match with the base because you will have to rework the outline significantly (I think).  It also requires more work getting the details correct.  The end result might be nice though.
• Focus on the fur only.  Keep most of the deer form simple, but use dithering to convey a sense of the fur on the neck and tail.  I'm not sure if this would give you a finished piece instead of just a chance to learn dithering.
• Vector style.  Take the base and add one highlight color.  Add highlights as large areas of color.  Maybe change the outline color on the lit side to the darkest blue instead of black (while keeping the outline black in the shadows).  This is the easiest to do, given the base.

This isn't meant to be an exhaustive list of styles, so feel free to choose one that is not on the list (like a painterly style).  But you only get one (in addition to the flat cartoon base).  Most of the really good pixel art that I've seen either focuses on one style exclusively, or blends 2-3 styles harmoniously.  For your first several pieces, stick with 1-2 styles for each until you're comfortable with them.

Hope this helps,
Tourist

[e4r]

Here's a picture of deer anatomy that may help you also

[Shikola]

As I said, it was sketched in 30 seconds. I didn't want something completely oversketched for my first try. (I thought it was a bunny, too, after a while). That's for the anatomy tips even though I wasn't really seeking them. :'D

To Tourist-
I really don't know what you're getting at, actually. Are you trying to tell me differently how to do a deer in general or pixels themselves?

[bengo]

As I said, it was sketched in 30 seconds. I didn't want something completely oversketched for my first try. (I thought it was a bunny, too, after a while). That's for the anatomy tips even though I wasn't really seeking them. :'D

I suggest not pursuing art if you're going to take a very, very short amount of time on a piece, in this case a sprite ESPECIALLY pixel art which is very, very time consuming. I also highly suggest not going to an artwork critique board if you don't care much for general help on anatomy among other things.

With this in mind I suggest you go draw some still life, judging from your sprite you haven't a clue on how light works, but don't worry, for that can be fixed. Might want to read up on color theory and more on deer anatomy, you might even want to do some studies of deer in order to get a better feel for it. Right now it looks nothing like a deer, it looks like a Pokemon, made me think of Eevee.... hurm, what else? Oh uh this link might help a bit with understanding how the pixel art medium works: http://www.derekyu.com/?page_id=218. Good luck on this.

[Jad]

As the resident cheerleading moderator I need to tell you to not give up!

: D Don't lose hope about the pixels.


BUT DO LISTEN TO BENGOSHIA'S POINTS. What he says is harsh and sorta not-very-nice. But he's right ' 3 ';;; Except for his conjecture about 'you don't have a clue about lighting', which is rude and douchey, but still, whatever you might know about lighting doesn't show through very well in your sprite. So yeah. Err.

Don't lose the spark, dude.

[Tourist]

To Tourist-
I really don't know what you're getting at, actually. Are you trying to tell me differently how to do a deer in general or pixels themselves?

Neither.  I offered suggestions for improving this piece in particular, and tried to make the suggestions useful for improving your pixel art as a whole.  Mostly because your first post said

I not new to art, but certainly to pixeling. ... I have no idea what I am doing.

Let me try again.

Improving your skills at the traditional 2d art basics will improve your pixel skills.  Line, form, value, color, perspective, composition, all the good things that art classes teach fit here. 

Learning techniques specific to pixel art is necessary to improve your pixel skills as well.  The small tutorial on cleaning up your lines, and the link that bengoshia provided fit here.

Style is important too.  Pixel art as a medium contains many different styles within it.  Just as there are different styles of painting (realism, impressionism, portrait painting, landscapes, and so forth), there are different styles of pixel art (iso, game sprites, realistic, abstract, and so forth).  Some styles are more focused on specific techniques, others are focused on more general choices. 

When I look at the original work you posted, I see a confusion of different styles.  For instance, the smoother vector-style shapes conflict with the noise in the chest/neck fur.  This weakens the piece, and makes it hard to see what you were trying to achieve.  It's your first pixel art (and it's better than my first pixel art), so no big deal.   To help you improve your pixel skills, I suggest limiting your artwork to one or two styles at a time.  This lets you focus on improving a subset of pixel and art techniques rather than trying to do it all, and lets you discover which styles appeal to you the most.

I think that reworking this piece with only one or two styles will not only improve this piece, but help your pixel skills overall.  Does that better explain my post?

Tourist

[bengo]

Just to add, I do apologize if I was mean in any sort of way, I'm pretty bad with being blunt.