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Messages - cels
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Challenges & Activities / Re: The Daily Sketch
« on: June 12, 2015, 12:01:17 am »
Let's see if I can keep this going through the summer.

General Discussion / Re: How to learn how to draw
« on: June 11, 2015, 07:43:37 pm »
Thank you, that's very helpful. So basically, I need to focus more on quantity and trying to illustrate different key parts from different angles many, many times in order to get a good feeling for the proportions. Not get bogged down with highly detailed copies of references. I'm actually relieved to hear that.

I guess I'll start posting in the daily sketch thread this summer, to keep me going.

General Discussion / How to learn how to draw
« on: June 11, 2015, 05:57:00 pm »
I've been taking a break from pixel art to improve my skills with a pencil and knowledge of anatomy. But I'm... not quite sure how to go about it. I feel like a new guy at a gym, just picking up different weights and trying out different machines without a clear idea of how to train the body properly. Specifically, I'm not sure how much time I should be spending just drawing skeletons, muscles, different parts of the body as opposed to the whole body... how much time should I be meticulously imitating references and how much time should I just be just drawing stuff from scratch? How much time should I spend refining each piece, meticulously adding shadows and texture and how much time should I be spending just doing lots of speed sketches?

Or is there no right answer to any of those things, unlike when you're learning a new sport? Should motivation be my only guide, and should I just do whatever I feel like doing?

Pixel Art / Re: Ice planet platform mockup [WIP]
« on: June 06, 2015, 03:45:10 am »
I really prefer the simplicity and strong colours of the original. No desaturation, no detailed background.

Pixel Art / Re: Ice planet platform mockup [WIP]
« on: May 31, 2015, 07:21:46 pm »
This so amazing! Sorry, I don't have any constructive to add. Maybe the purple+orange guy could use some stronger highlights and more contrast. He looks a tiny bit flat to me.

Pixel Art / Re: [WIP] Woman (naked)
« on: May 17, 2015, 08:01:59 am »
Some great edits here. It's kind of interesting to see when people draw faces, because they'll often mess up proportions based on how much attention certain features (e.g. eyes, nose and mouth) takes up in their mind. They'll shorten everything above the eyebrows, for example, because they're not hardwired to pay much attention to that part of the head. But people are hardwired to pay attention to people's eyes, so they draw them bigger.

I don't think I've seen such a clear example of this for a full body pose, at least not in recent memory. I know you probably weren't going for 100% photorealism, but even so :)

My pleasure. And yeah, just a google image search. I just googled "jeans" to find the reference you see in my edit.

Going to make a really quick reply, since I'm still learning this stuff myself. More skilled artists will be along eventually.

References: Use references for everything you do, unless you're already a very good artist. The pants, the hair, the face, the shirt. Google images is your friend. Imitate reality.
Hue: Brighter objects that catch light are often warmer (more towards yellow), and darker objects in the shadow are often colder (more towards blue)
Contrast: Almost no one uses enough contrast when they're starting out with pixel art. Exaggerate, push the limit to what you feel is appropriate.
Light source: Decide where the light is coming from and be diligent in applying shadows that match the light source. This also affects the reference images you're using.
Shapes: Try to divide complex objects (like legs) into simpler objects (like cylinders) when applying light and shadow. It makes it easier to visualize how to apply light and shadow.
References: Did I mention you need to be looking at references?

Also, check this out:

Obviously, you can make this any size you want. Some people start out too small (e.g. 32x32 pixels) and other people start out too big (e.g. 500 x 500 pixels). I think in your case, half the size of your smallest version would probably be good, because when you're starting out, I think it makes more sense to think about quantity. It makes more sense to do a dozen pieces at 100 x 200 pixels than a single piece at  400 x 600 pixels, even though the number of pixels is the same.

My advice would be to make it smaller and start filling in colours and applying shadows and highlights very roughly, and then either keep going or post it here for some more feedback.

Pixel Art / Re: Waterfall flow problem
« on: April 09, 2015, 12:09:37 am »
I prefer the latest version. I didn't notice the amazing cluster on the blue trees in the foreground initially, but when you contrast them with the purple trees, it really brings out their unique design. I absolutely adore the colours in the latest version. This has a lot of potential, I think.

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