HELP SAYA IMPROVE HER PIXEL ART

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Okay, so I posted a screenshot in the screenshot topic, and since my pixel art wasn't particularly that good, I decided to start this topic. So basically, what I'm asking for is for some constructive criticism. Please be as specific as possible, because when people say "remove that weird filter", I have no idea what they mean because I'm not using a filter.

So I've gone from this:


to this:


I did the grass and ground tiles myself this time around, no reference. Is it better? Needs more color depth? Currently working to fix those pesky cliffs and looping problems.

Hey, this is cool! A few things jump out at me, though. First, I like the texture of the grass, but the tiling is really obvious. Try making 2-3 variations and scattering them around when you map to break up the grid. Second, your palette choice makes the piece look disjointed. Pick very similar shadow colors for all color ramps, and try to have highlight colors tend towards the same shade as well (for example, yellow). Third, you're going to clean this up, right? Your bush looks awesome, but it really needs smoothing out and internal anti-aliasing. Same for the cliffs. Finally, while it looks good overall, it also looks exactly like Seiken Densetsu 3. There's no problem with that if you're just practicing, but I would caution you against using these graphics in an actual game because they're so recognizable. Up to you, though.

Also, are you going to make your own sprites?
Congratulations on tracing SD3. Parts of that might be giving you too much credit, since some of it looks like actual SD3 graphics run through a filter.

For a comparison, I shrunk your tiles down 50%, though it would make more sense to take SD3's tiles and run them through 2xSai or an equivalent HQ filter:

@Saya: The filters people are talking about are up-scaling filters applied to low-res graphics (i.e. everything on SNES) to make them a higher resolution. Instead of just expanding each pixel color to fill four pixels (making it look like you simply zoomed in on the low-res graphics), these filters attempt to "guess" what color is appropriate to fill the additional space of higher resolution.

If you indeed used zoomed-in low-res graphics as a template to draw on top of, then you may actually be doing manually what these filters do automatically without even knowing it. The devil is in the details; that's why your new grass looks much better. The "filter" look is characterized by sharply-defined blobs of color, which kinda makes it look like an oil painting. The way of correcting this is adding details of various sorts; dithering, shading, or drawing in new details like cracks, or smaller pebbles, etc.

Then again, I'm not a spriter.
Basically: scrap the cliffs and make your own. You are combining manually filtered sprite art (that is also magnified), with 1x custom sprite art.
If your point is to not use rips and do something original, don't do it in reference to how those graphics actually look. There's a point in making original graphics that is lost here and it's creating an aesthetic that is unique. We all see SD3 here (looking less pleasant than the art it is derived from), original - out the window.

Try something different and don't use rips like a crutch. Study it, draw inspiration, design your own original idea. If it's recognizable, then probably no one will get that you have made original graphics. Likely, it will not be seen as different from rips.
Max McGee
with sorrow down past the fence
9159
Am I the only one who thinks that the base of the central cliff looks totally off? Ignoring the filtered/not filtered issue, it just doesn't look like the tiles were placed right.

Also Illustrious is right. What the hell is the point of making original graphics if you are tracing rips?
Okay, so the general consensus is "do your own sprite work, don't copy SD3". So I tried to do that:



The reason I copied SD3 in the first place was because, well, I suck at pixel art. The first two images are my attempts to do cliffs from scratch, the last one, I took a piece of SD3 cliff that I traced and did the surrounding cliffs to resemble that. Overall, I think it looks pretty good.

author=Perihelion
First, I like the texture of the grass, but the tiling is really obvious. Try making 2-3 variations and scattering them around when you map to break up the grid.


Alright. I can totally make some variations and auto-tile them as well. Is it just me, or does the grass look like it needs to make deeper shadows on the dirt?


author=Perihelion
Second, your palette choice makes the piece look disjointed. Pick very similar shadow colors for all color ramps, and try to have highlight colors tend towards the same shade as well (for example, yellow). Third, you're going to clean this up, right? Your bush looks awesome, but it really needs smoothing out and internal anti-aliasing. Same for the cliffs.

Also, are you going to make your own sprites?

Unfortunately, I'm very, very bad at picking my own color schemes for pixel art. I tend to use pre-defined palettes that RTP uses, so hopefully, my final chipset won't look so disjointed.

As for smoothing out and internal anti-aliasing, I'm not quite sure what you mean. Basically, surround the lights with slightly darker colors until they get to darker ones? I know people anti-alias outlines on pixel art, but I'm a bit clueless on how to do "internal anti-aliasing". Show me an example perhaps?

Alright. Let me finish these and we'll try the screenshots again.
author=Illustrious
If your point is to not use rips and do something original, don't do it in reference to how those graphics actually look. There's a point in making original graphics that is lost here and it's creating an aesthetic that is unique. We all see SD3 here (looking less pleasant than the art it is derived from), original - out the window.

Try something different and don't use rips like a crutch. Study it, draw inspiration, design your own original idea. If it's recognizable, then probably no one will get that you have made original graphics. Likely, it will not be seen as different from rips.
author=Max McGee
Am I the only one who thinks that the base of the central cliff looks totally off? Ignoring the filtered/not filtered issue, it just doesn't look like the tiles were placed right.

Also Illustrious is right. What the hell is the point of making original graphics if you are tracing rips?


I actually disagree with this, heavily. One thing I've always loved to see is edited rips/edited versions of existing art. I love to see it done well. With that being said, if that's your goal, tracing rips isn't a crutch, I think, it's just, well, everyone's gotta start somewhere.

It's all about what you want to do.
I'd say both of you are right (Mog and Illustrious), but Illustrious is thinking a lot more on the long-term side. Yes, different games have different aesthetics, and creating your own original graphics generates its own aesthetic, this is true. But this is for seasoned artists, which Saya is clearly not; she is just beginning.

Eventually, she will reach a point where she can freely draw her own pixel sets, but this takes a lot of practice...like anything else, really. Tracing SD3 may help her to gain a feel for pixel art (I did this with Mack and Blue tile sets, in a previous age). I also did not see any attempt by her to (deliberately) plagiarize SD3, and she did mention that she drew the grass and dirt on her own (without a "reference"). Although, it probably would have helped if she had mentioned tracing parts of SD3 at first, but that isn't important now.

Anyway... Back to commenting, I liked your progress with the cliffs. What you probably learned from SD3 - in that case - is how to make your cliff rocks more jagged and hard in their looks. Now, what you could do is take your original two pieces, and apply this whole hard and jagged theme to them as well. Or maybe even start again from scratch with these ideas in mind. It's up to you here.
author=ElectricalKat
Yes, different games have different aesthetics, and creating your own original graphics generates its own aesthetic, this is true. But this is for seasoned artists, which Saya is clearly not; she is just beginning.

As someone who has been around this scene basically since it first existed, I probably can be quick to assume Saya intends to also stick around for years honing her skills. She may or may not. Possibly, I am making a tall order for someone who really is just working in rpgmaker/pixel art casually. It depends what she wants to gain by making original graphics. It can make sense she is learning something about pixel art by tracing, but I just would not include this kind of material in an actual project. If the goal is present these graphics for an audience or to make this stand out among games that use rips, it probably will not go too far on that end. Feldschlacht says it works for him, I'm not sure if that is how lots of people feel though.

Saya, your last pieces of work are very much improved. Its looking more and more removed from SD3 as you go along. The last things you showed make me happy we pushed you because redoing it has seemed to pay off.
author=Feldschlacht IV
One thing I've always loved to see is edited rips/edited versions of existing art.

Nice, because I have found an image of this cool painting online. I thought I would have at it and make something new.



I hope I have done enough to make people more aware of this piece. I really would like to see the original in a museum someday. Give the original author your props Davinci@deviantart.com
I know you're trying to be clever, but you're just coming off as really really dumb. Try again, please.
It's jokes, yeah. The sentiment isn't dumb, it's just let the classics rest or look foolish making your own take.
Which is also a dumb statement from an artistic sense. The implication of going against the ancient art of the remix is dangerously philistine.
Its jokes, yeah, the point was to be dumb about it. Its a parody of the mentality I see when I see when people try to change classic art. The sentiment isn't dumb, it's just let the classics rest or look foolish making your own take.
I uh you basically responded to my post with the exact same thing.
I was trying to edit the post, but I guess I copied it and sent it as new. Yes, our opinions are very different. But altering an actual piece of art is offensive to me. Being inspired by it is not, but please make it different enough.
author=Illustrious
I was trying to edit the post, but I guess I copied it and sent it as new. Yes, our opinions are very different. But altering an actual piece of art is offensive to me. Being inspired by it is not, but please make it different enough.


I wonder how much you'd shit your pants if you knew just how much of your favorite music/art/clothing/architecture/literature/movies was an altered or remixed version of something that existed earlier.

Maybe it's better for you not to know, given your stated opinion. Wouldn't want you to eventually kill yourself at the bottom of your pit of despiar.
guys i have something to confess... I like Korn's Word Up better than Cameo's original
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