Pixel Joint Forum: Floating Island

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7ry
Seaman
Seaman

Joined: 01 December 2014
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1

Topic: Floating Island
Posted: 17 January 2015 at 8:29pm

Hey, I'm somewhat new to pixelling. This is probably the biggest canvas I've worked with so far and I'd like some advice on the piece.

I'll document my progress on the thread so critique, tips, and comments are highly appreciated.

Advice related to color and how to shade the grass/soil would be helpful ;;

Edited by 7ry - 17 January 2015 at 10:03pm

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jalonso
Admiral
Admiral

Joined: 29 November 2022
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 13537

Posted: 18 January 2015 at 3:49am

You seem to like muted and soft palettes so we'll have to see how that comes along. I do find the tree canopy contrast a bit low now.

PJs FAQ <•> Sticky Reads

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Iscalio
Commander

Joined: 29 March 2023
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 224

Posted: 18 January 2015 at 5:00am

Hey! Looks like a good start, I can't even imagine how long those leaves took.

I'll comment on the tree, cause that seems the most finished part that would desire review.

Your method of various levels for tree leaf groups is good, but could be tweaked I think. It looks appealing as you haven't gone straight to black in shadows, but made darker colors more saturated and more toward blue. But I think you could take this further and stretch your hue change more to give a more vibrant life to the areas where the tree is hit by sunlight.

I'd also suggest breaking up these large areas into more varied shapes (I will attach my quick paintover and link some examples). You might choose a leaning side for the trunk or a low side for the leaves.

This is just a quick paintover to build different shapes or tweak colors. I put some variation into the trunk and added a shadow at the top where the leaves are blocking sunlight. The leaf hue variation is slightly wider.

Here are some PixelJoint trees that have a good level of variation.

skeddles:

-DE-:

Edited by Iscalio - 18 January 2015 at 5:02am

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PixelSnader
Commander

Not a troll!

Joined: 05 June 2014
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3194

Posted: 19 January 2015 at 12:46am

Your biggest issue is form of the detail vs form of the overall object. Your bark and your leaves are very high contrast in detail, which leaves little contrast to shade the sphere and the cylinder that are the foliage and the tree trunk.

You have B, you want C.

It's mostly the case in the trunk, but still apparent in the foliage which is the same rough brightness across the entire width; only giving a vertical gradient.

And like Iscalio mentioned, work in some blobbiness, trees aren't really one singular dense mass.

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Iscalio
Commander

Joined: 29 March 2023
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 224

Posted: 19 January 2015 at 11:19am

"which leaves little contrast"

I see what you did there.

So you'd aim to shade the tree like a sphere? I guess I never really thought about mentally converting objects into their basic forms. I have tended to think about light sources, but not object shape too much, at least not directly. Maybe it's cause I try to avoid basic shapes for fear of making things look too generic. I'll have to make a mental note to think about basic shapes when working on light and shadow of more complex objects that are rough approximations of these shapes.

Edited by Iscalio - 19 January 2015 at 11:25am

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andrae
Midshipman

Joined: 30 September 2017
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 43

Posted: 20 January 2015 at 4:20pm

The canopy of the tree is too detailed making it hard to look at. My suggestion is to put only the details on some areas to help in identifying the form.

I'm not really good at explaining but here's a simpler explanation by Chisari: http://fav.me/d7ohz01 (the last section)

Good to see you here 7ry.

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WIP (Work In Progress)
Pixel Joint Forum : Pixel Art : WIP (Work In Progress)

Author	Message
7ry Seaman Joined: 01 December 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1	Topic: Floating Island Posted: 17 January 2015 at 8:29pm
	Hey, I'm somewhat new to pixelling. This is probably the biggest canvas I've worked with so far and I'd like some advice on the piece. I'll document my progress on the thread so critique, tips, and comments are highly appreciated. Advice related to color and how to shade the grass/soil would be helpful ;; Edited by 7ry - 17 January 2015 at 10:03pm
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jalonso Admiral Joined: 29 November 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13537	Posted: 18 January 2015 at 3:49am
	You seem to like muted and soft palettes so we'll have to see how that comes along. I do find the tree canopy contrast a bit low now.
	PJs FAQ <•> Sticky Reads
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Iscalio Commander Joined: 29 March 2023 Online Status: Offline Posts: 224	Posted: 18 January 2015 at 5:00am
	Hey! Looks like a good start, I can't even imagine how long those leaves took. I'll comment on the tree, cause that seems the most finished part that would desire review. Your method of various levels for tree leaf groups is good, but could be tweaked I think. It looks appealing as you haven't gone straight to black in shadows, but made darker colors more saturated and more toward blue. But I think you could take this further and stretch your hue change more to give a more vibrant life to the areas where the tree is hit by sunlight. I'd also suggest breaking up these large areas into more varied shapes (I will attach my quick paintover and link some examples). You might choose a leaning side for the trunk or a low side for the leaves. This is just a quick paintover to build different shapes or tweak colors. I put some variation into the trunk and added a shadow at the top where the leaves are blocking sunlight. The leaf hue variation is slightly wider. Here are some PixelJoint trees that have a good level of variation. skeddles: -DE-: Edited by Iscalio - 18 January 2015 at 5:02am
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PixelSnader Commander Not a troll! Joined: 05 June 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3194	Posted: 19 January 2015 at 12:46am
	Your biggest issue is form of the detail vs form of the overall object. Your bark and your leaves are very high contrast in detail, which leaves little contrast to shade the sphere and the cylinder that are the foliage and the tree trunk. You have B, you want C. It's mostly the case in the trunk, but still apparent in the foliage which is the same rough brightness across the entire width; only giving a vertical gradient. And like Iscalio mentioned, work in some blobbiness, trees aren't really one singular dense mass.
	▄▄█ ▄▄█ ▄█▄ ▄█▄
	IP Logged

Iscalio Commander Joined: 29 March 2023 Online Status: Offline Posts: 224	Posted: 19 January 2015 at 11:19am
	"which leaves little contrast" I see what you did there. So you'd aim to shade the tree like a sphere? I guess I never really thought about mentally converting objects into their basic forms. I have tended to think about light sources, but not object shape too much, at least not directly. Maybe it's cause I try to avoid basic shapes for fear of making things look too generic. I'll have to make a mental note to think about basic shapes when working on light and shadow of more complex objects that are rough approximations of these shapes. Edited by Iscalio - 19 January 2015 at 11:25am
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andrae Midshipman Joined: 30 September 2017 Online Status: Offline Posts: 43	Posted: 20 January 2015 at 4:20pm
	The canopy of the tree is too detailed making it hard to look at. My suggestion is to put only the details on some areas to help in identifying the form. I'm not really good at explaining but here's a simpler explanation by Chisari: http://fav.me/d7ohz01 (the last section) Good to see you here 7ry.
	IP Logged