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[wjh]

I usually program so art is something almost completely alien to me - I started a while back, been doing little things very infrequently since (about 2 other sprites). I currently do pixel art, I'm much more comfortable with it.
I'd find it really useful to have some more experienced artists critique my latest piece of work, as I'd love to improve (and if people think it is good, morale++!).

Wiles the Wizard:


After I've played with some tiles, I'm planning on animating him. Does anyone have any tips there?

[FNKVSSL]

Doesn't look like you understand the forms or shadows you're drawing. To prove whether or not you do, try drawing him at a 3/4 view and see if you don't wind up getting frustrated.

If you really want to improve, try drawing it big on paper and see if it still looks good. It's tempting for beginners to start with pixel art because it seems simpler, but it encourages symbolic drawing when every shape you draw is a compromised simplification of what the shape actually would be in reality. Draw from life, learn how to accurately represent what you see, then go abstract.

[wjh]

Doesn't look like you understand the forms or shadows you're drawing. To prove whether or not you do, try drawing him at a 3/4 view and see if you don't wind up getting frustrated.

If you really want to improve, try drawing it big on paper and see if it still looks good. It's tempting for beginners to start with pixel art because it seems simpler, but it encourages symbolic drawing when every shape you draw is a compromised simplification of what the shape actually would be in reality. Draw from life, learn how to accurately represent what you see, then go abstract.

I'll give that a go at the weekend. I tried pixel art because I find most other styles incredibly frustrating to do, tiring, and not enjoyable at all. I find pixel art far more enjoyable and far less tiring, but I have no idea why.

[Jad]

that's a great reason to keep attacking pixel art!! though I think some doodling on paper can be very helpful to understand what art fundamentals to use to make the pixel art look good.

also you might find that your doodling skills go up when you draw pixel art, so yeah O:

[i.i]

Just keep goin' at it.
When I first started, I remember getting frustrated all the time. People will tell you to focus on form, focus on anatomy, focus on drawing from life, go for realism, keep the pixel count low, etc.
And, knowing all that stuff is really good, regardless of style, but
then someone gave me the most invaluable advice:
"Fuck all that. Just study the art you like, and keep at it. The rest will eventually come. If you hate what you're doing, you'll just stop and never improve. Enjoy your craft."

[wjh]

Haha, thanks for that! I did laugh somewhat when I read the quote.

I'm probably going to give Pixel Dailies a go (but not daily... I lack the time).

[JWK5]

[happymonster]

Going to all that effort to give him C&C was wonderful JWK5 

[wjh]

Thank you so much JWK5! You've given me an awful lot to think about. Literally completely changed how I think about designing a character, especially the parts about the "mobile clothing rack" and the basic shapes. I hadn't actually thought a whole lot about the eyes, but now you point it out I see exactly what you mean. Same with the colours. Previously I was basically just randomly blatting pixels about until I had something I was kinda happy with.

I'm going to try to redo it over the weekend, of course taking into account all that you have mentioned. Hopefully my next attempt will be a lot better!

Thanks again

[JWK5]

Going to all that effort to give him C&C was wonderful JWK5 

Thanks! I am a "show, don't just tell" kind of guy, I learn best from illustrations, examples, and metaphors so I try to include them when I help others learn. I am a visual thinker.

Thank you so much JWK5! You've given me...

It's no problem, I am glad I could help!

Honestly, I feel bad because I've been out of sorts for a while and I don't take the time to help people on here like this as frequently as I used to. It is one of those things I find happiness in doing, especially when I am able to help others learn new things. I need to start doing it more often, get back in form.

Anyways, you should keep posting your progress, I'd love to see how you change it with the new info you've picked up.

[wjh]

It took a little more time than the weekend, but here is version two!



I tried to do as much of what JWK5 suggested as I could, though I'm still somewhat unsure of the colours and shading - though I'm almost certain it is better in that area than the first. I did try non-pixel art as Ossiferous suggested, but quite frankly it looked abysmal and I didn't really enjoy it.

[happymonster]

That looks MUCH better!

[Shipright]

Thats some awesome work! I like it quite a bit.

[Cobralad]

rookie mistake of adding 3 shades on everything without differentiating those shades in any way
you should either remove shading or make highlights warmer

[wjh]

Thanks guys!

Cobralad, what is the best way to pick colours that work well together? I'm really unsure when it comes to choosing colours.

[Schoq]

one tip is to keep in mind that highlights will tend towards the same hue (the colour of the light source, usually warm colours), as will the shadows (lit by ambient light reflected off the environment, or refracted in the atmosphere, usually cooler colours (mostly sky blue outside))

basically yellowy highlights and bluey shadows will look nice and natural most of the time

[wjh]

one tip is to keep in mind that highlights will tend towards the same hue (the colour of the light source, usually warm colours), as will the shadows (lit by ambient light reflected off the environment, or refracted in the atmosphere, usually cooler colours (mostly sky blue outside))

basically yellowy highlights and bluey shadows will look nice and natural most of the time

Ahhh, thanks, that makes sense!

I was also wondering, how do you choose colours that "go" well together? I was struggling with finding colours that were different, but not so much that it just looked really odd.

[Jad]

my perspective is this: i feel exactly the same as you; how du you find colors that work together? i have no idea!

but in my case, I tend to find colors that work well together (in my opinion) pretty often.

I think this is mostly because of experience and trial and error. I've made enough mistakes with finding colors that appeal to me that I've started to understand what works for me and what doesn't. Rest assured I've made mistakes all my life with this kind of stuff.

I'd like to congratulate you on, in your current newbie state, finding out that colors that stray towards grayscale rather than fully saturated look good together!! you've avoided one of the huge pitfalls that lots of people who are starting out fall into. (using fully saturated colors)

where you are right now, my advice would be (though it doesn't explicitely answer the question of 'what colors look good together?': Cherish the fact that you choose colors that are not too saturated. This is a fantastic way of keeping a good balance regardless of which colors you decide to use.

Think about light and shadow! Though I'm praising your judgement in not over saturating things, I'd like to see some more vibrant colors from you. My tip in this is to be aware of which areas are lit up, and which are unlit / have a shadow cast on them. If an area is clearly hit by a light source, it will have a more vibrant and colorful hue. Usually light in the real world is percieved as yellow, so when it comes to greens and reds and skin colors, make sure they stray towards the yellow spectrum.

On the same topic of light and shadow, don't be afraid to be bold in contrast. Using outlines is one good way of creating contrast between areas. One way that I like is to be bold in shading areas that have a shadow cast upon them and letting the contrast between lit areas and shadowed areas create an imagined outline.

Lots of words from me. If anything needs clarification, please point it out to me and I'll to my best to illustrate. Good luck!

[wjh]

my perspective is this: i feel exactly the same as you; how du you find colors that work together? i have no idea!

but in my case, I tend to find colors that work well together (in my opinion) pretty often.

- snip -

Lots of words from me. If anything needs clarification, please point it out to me and I'll to my best to illustrate. Good luck!

Thanks, I have actually been quite unsure about how much contrast different shades should have, so I did just decide to err on the side of caution (at least as I saw it), and keep it all to shades of similar colours with little contrast.

I think I'll be having a go at re-colouring and shading this weekend, after I've done a tree (for a competition/challenge thing).

[Conker]

holy moly what an upgrade