Travis

Pixel Daily with Me

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I like the look of that bug. Not sure if this helps but I'm teaching myself to paint (digitally) and one thing I learned is that it's important to use a wide range of values, even in dark scenes. In your image the darkest and the lightest bits are pretty close together which could make it feel a bit dull. I did a quick edit, I'm not sure that it turned out that great but hopefully it illustrates what I mean.

bugedit.png

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For me at least the thing is I don't think a flat circular face makes sense given the perspective & what the rest of the bug looks like. It *is* kind of disquieting so I guess your intended effect did hit the mark in one sense but it's also what makes it feel kind of off to me.

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1 hour ago, oddjumper said:

I like the look of that bug. Not sure if this helps but I'm teaching myself to paint (digitally) and one thing I learned is that it's important to use a wide range of values, even in dark scenes. In your image the darkest and the lightest bits are pretty close together which could make it feel a bit dull. I did a quick edit, I'm not sure that it turned out that great but hopefully it illustrates what I mean.

bugedit.png

 

Yeah, I am kind of torn on this situation. I like how some parts pop a bit more, but I kind of liked keeping it all super drab too. When you popped the colors, I like parts of it, but some of it is now too contrasting... Probably a good middle ground in there... (at least to my tastes).

 

11 minutes ago, osmosisch said:

For me at least the thing is I don't think a flat circular face makes sense given the perspective & what the rest of the bug looks like. It *is* kind of disquieting so I guess your intended effect did hit the mark in one sense but it's also what makes it feel kind of off to me.

 

Understood... did the change I made help any? I am pretty unsure about it all now...

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I think the 2nd version definitely is an improvement. The round face works better but still lacks internal structure. Also, given that from the perspective the face is on the underside of the body light-wise the high contrast between the facial colour and the completely black pits of the eyes and mouth is a bit odd as well.

 

I'd like to stress again I think it's a cool design but you picked something technically quite challenging!

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7 minutes ago, osmosisch said:

I think the 2nd version definitely is an improvement. The round face works better but still lacks internal structure. Also, given that from the perspective the face is on the underside of the body light-wise the high contrast between the facial colour and the completely black pits of the eyes and mouth is a bit odd as well.

 

I'd like to stress again I think it's a cool design but you picked something technically quite challenging!

 

I agree! Think I was in over my head, but all of this probably is. Even if I don't get this guy quite right, it is a good learning experience. Thanks so much for the input! I might try tweaking it some more...

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36 minutes ago, Travis said:

 

Yeah, I am kind of torn on this situation. I like how some parts pop a bit more, but I kind of liked keeping it all super drab too. When you popped the colors, I like parts of it, but some of it is now too contrasting... Probably a good middle ground in there... (at least to my tastes).

Yeah, in retrospect I like your version better. It looks more unsettling (in a good way).

 

 

7 minutes ago, osmosisch said:

I'd like to stress again I think it's a cool design but you picked something technically quite challenging!

I'll second that.

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Thanks for all the opinions and support. I really am taking it all to heart. 

 

I skipped yesterday's challenge and just now started working on today's (wolf), which I am trying to keep simple. I will probably post it tomorrow, but we shall see! Again, thanks guys!

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I like your zombie bug. Having it backlit was a bold choice that probably caused a lot of your problems with making the face feel dimensional later, but I think it's worth it for the dramatic effect.

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I am definitely not thrilled with this one, but I'm just posting to show that I am struggling with some "simple" things too. This should have been easy, but it wasn't. I learned a lot in the process of getting it to this point. I don't know if this could be much less exciting to me, but here we are, a symmetrical wolf head...

 

10/31/2016 #wolf

Wolf_5x.gif

 

I figured out a lot with shading and fur this time around. Also that the way we picture wolves in logos and things don't really look like a real wolf. Does mine look like a real or fake wolf? I am not so sure any more. 

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I tried to keep today's simple and fast(ish) again. I focused on the lighting and the colors of this somewhat tricky geometry. I think it turned out alright. I clearly just threw the background together so it wasn't just in the middle of nowhwere, although what's there isn't much better. 

 

11/1/2016 #hoverbike

 

hoverbike_2x.gif

 

hoverbike_5x.gif

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Haven't been too inspired to do something off the wall lately with these. Still using the topic to practice different aspects of shading and highlighting while trying to avoid things that are no-nos, apparently. 

 

On this one, I realize the floor board and toy chest are probably too close in color, but I wanted to be picky with the shadows and see if it still worked. It works for me right now, but when I look at it again in a couple of days I might feel differently.

 

11/2/2016 #plush_bear

plush_bear_6x.png

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Some pretty cool stuff!

 

I think your biggest difficulty right now is with evoking the third dimension, which is of course massively difficult with a limited palette and number of pixels. You did an excellent job on this with your bug's belly, but especially with the bear and the dancing jester's leg it's looking a lot more flat than I think it needs to. The same goes for the wolf's nose where I'd expect a lot more gradient/depth.

 

I'm not sure how to fix it, pixeling isn't really something I'm good at, but I figure even lay feedback is better than none :)

 

My favourite things about each

- the wolf's ears (just look right)

- the grass with flowers of the hoverbike (cool to see so much done with so little)

- the bear's expression/face

- the jester's colours, very vibrant

 

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3 hours ago, osmosisch said:

Some pretty cool stuff!

 

I think your biggest difficulty right now is with evoking the third dimension, which is of course massively difficult with a limited palette and number of pixels. You did an excellent job on this with your bug's belly, but especially with the bear and the dancing jester's leg it's looking a lot more flat than I think it needs to. The same goes for the wolf's nose where I'd expect a lot more gradient/depth.

 

I'm not sure how to fix it, pixeling isn't really something I'm good at, but I figure even lay feedback is better than none :)

 

My favourite things about each

- the wolf's ears (just look right)

- the grass with flowers of the hoverbike (cool to see so much done with so little)

- the bear's expression/face

- the jester's colours, very vibrant

 

 

 

I do really appreciate the feedback. I will try to focus on emphasizing depth more in my next ones. I really struggled with that wolf way more than it would appear, probably. First of all, making it look like a wolf and not a cat was harder than anticipated! Also, adding shading without making it look like it was smiling was extremely challenging. I agree, it still looks flat, though. 

 

Thanks again! I will take any and all input. Want to make things that look at least good enough to be workable.

 

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I have been making a lot of sprites and tiles for a revision to the GBJAM game I worked on, so I haven't had the gumption to do a lot of this. I started this one on Saturday and poked around on it a little more today. Had a lot of fabric futzing, but I think the shading turned out alright, especially at a small resolution.

 

I realize that Owl Boy is a specific character, but I made up my own boy who is an owl... 

 

11/5/2016 #OwlBoy

OwlBoy_2x.png

 

 

 

OwlBoy_4x.png

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2 hours ago, osmosisch said:

Nice cloth. The top of the head under the hood needs some shading imo.

 

Yeah, I can see that. I tried that for a while, but it kept looking banded. I will try some more...

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