Pixel Joint Forum: Face & shading of a character (mild NSFW- bikini)

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sbsn
Seaman
Seaman

Joined: 02 June 2019
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Posts: 8

Topic: Face & shading of a character (mild NSFW- bikini)
Posted: 13 August 2019 at 3:27pm

Hi.

The face looks kind of flat as it is, and I have no idea how to bring detail to it, what would you do?

And the bigger issue - shading. I'm not sure if I chose the colours correctly

and the shading looks blocky - especially on the legs. I've seen similar images with just 1 shading colour + outline that looked much better and I don't know why that is.

I tried adding colours but it becomes muddy and loses the style I want to convey (cross between anime and old KoF sprites).

I also have an issue with the belly. I tried many things but this is as good as I can make it look and I don't think it's good enough. Any input is appreciated.

It's a static image so I'll add a bit of AA to it later. Also never mind the lack of feet, I just have to figure them out.

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Chonky Ben
Midshipman

Joined: 25 June 2019
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Posts: 15

Posted: 14 August 2019 at 1:56am

Initial thoughts:

- The face could be a it bigger. That will let you add detail.
- The eyes are crossed. Easily fixed!
- Pick a light direction! Arms and legs have light from the left, breast areas are pillow shaded (is there a joke in there? Probably not a good one) so suggest light is coming from the viewer.
- The blockiness comes from using bands of shade. As we have limited colours in pixel art, try pushing bands to the edges and have mainly two-tone shading to suggest shape.
- Add highlights to the hair and shadow to the face to help bring in detail.

I'll have a play.

If you have examples of specific work you want to capture the style of, please supply it! :) There's a lot of Manga out there and KoF spans the 90s through to a few years ago.

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Chonky Ben
Midshipman

Joined: 25 June 2019
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Posts: 15

Posted: 14 August 2019 at 1:59am

Here's an idea for shading those legs. See the right leg (her left) for the edited example. Here I use two main shades to define the shape, then the remaining shades can be used for aa (or defining further shadow nearer the edges if you like.)

I've used a lighter outline colour on the lit side, which softens the edges a little. Some AA on the inside here helps as well.

More to come probably.

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Chonky Ben
Midshipman

Joined: 25 June 2019
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 15

Posted: 14 August 2019 at 5:23am

Caveat: I still consider myself a beginner in pixel art, so I just hope my edits can provide some inspiration.

So a few edits here:

- I added some shadow to the face and enlarged it a bit to fit in more detail. It also looked a touch small. After that I had to raise it a pixel as she looked a bit hunched.

- I added highlights to the hair to create more detail, then worked it a bit more to try and get some volume in there. Apparently she's curly now.

I used shadows to create the nose, define cheekbones and show where the hair is occluding the light.

I made the shading on the breasts a bit more asymmetrical and allowed it to follow the light.

There's a little work on the hand outline and around the top of the leg from the previous edit.

Hopefully this gives you some ideas. Let me know how you get on.

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Chonky Ben
Midshipman

Joined: 25 June 2019
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 15

Posted: 14 August 2019 at 5:29am

You wanted to know why the shading works better with two colours. Well, I haven't had time to read this fully, but have a look at the images on this page:

https://www.artinstructionblog.com/drawing-lesson-a-theory-of-light-and-shade

You'll see that when light hits a sphere, there's a surprisingly sharp change from the light area to the dark area. It's not an even transition.

In pixel art, with limited shades available, we can often reduce this down to just two shades to get the same effect. You'll see this effect in the link as well, as hand drawn images.

I tend to think of body parts as (very) distorted spheres, so similar rules apply. I just have to find the line on the shape I'm drawing.

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sbsn
Seaman
Seaman

Joined: 02 June 2019
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 8

Posted: 14 August 2019 at 12:07pm

Hey, thanks for all the replies. The face and hair you did look really great, I'll definitely follow your lead. I played with body colours a lot and I think it works much better now. The light comes from behind the 'camera' now, ~~because it's easier to shade.~~

If you want, I can post a reply with the image once I'm finished

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Chonky Ben
Midshipman

Joined: 25 June 2019
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 15

Posted: 14 August 2019 at 2:27pm

I'm glad you found something useful in there! I would love to see how you get on, please do post your progress.

It's probably a taste thing, but I tend to prefer images where light comes from the side and above. It feels more natural than light coming from the camera, especially in scenes like this which are (presumably) beach-based. We expect to see light from the sun, which is above. It may get visually confusing otherwise.

Also, light coming 'from the camera' can easily trick you into pillow shading, so be careful!

Good luck with it.

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sbsn
Seaman
Seaman

Joined: 02 June 2019
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 8

Posted: 16 August 2019 at 11:10am

Here's the finished work. Took me some extra time but I'm satisfied. The palette change was a big difference.

http://pixeljoint.com/pixelart/128408.htm

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Greycloak
Midshipman

Joined: 12 May 2025
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 59

Posted: 16 August 2019 at 4:40pm

One thing I would point out is about her right arm (the one holding the beach ball). I would likely drop the shoulder and elbow a tad, because right now her arm looks a bit too rigid.

Also, the shadow under the arm that goes across the beach ball should not be a straight line, as this gives the impression that the ball is a flat object. The shadow should be lighter at the point where the beach ball touches the forearm, and extend further at points where the arm is far away from the ball. That would help show the curvature of the beach ball. (The beach ball's curvature also suggests that it should still be slightly visible on the other side of her forearm.)

Otherwise I think it turned out really well.

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Chonky Ben
Midshipman

Joined: 25 June 2019
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 15

Posted: 18 August 2019 at 8:00am

Yeah, great work! Massive improvement on the original.

I agree about the shadow under the arm on the beachball, compared to the rest of the work it looks below-standard. There's a stray red pixel on the upper part of her right leg as well.

Apart from that you've caught some of the shiny effect from KoF with your use of skin shades. Well done.

I still think there's a little confusion about the direction of light, but it's a minor point.

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

Author	Message
sbsn Seaman Joined: 02 June 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8	Topic: Face & shading of a character (mild NSFW- bikini) Posted: 13 August 2019 at 3:27pm
	Hi. The face looks kind of flat as it is, and I have no idea how to bring detail to it, what would you do? And the bigger issue - shading. I'm not sure if I chose the colours correctly and the shading looks blocky - especially on the legs. I've seen similar images with just 1 shading colour + outline that looked much better and I don't know why that is. I tried adding colours but it becomes muddy and loses the style I want to convey (cross between anime and old KoF sprites). I also have an issue with the belly. I tried many things but this is as good as I can make it look and I don't think it's good enough. Any input is appreciated. It's a static image so I'll add a bit of AA to it later. Also never mind the lack of feet, I just have to figure them out.
	IP Logged

Chonky Ben Midshipman Joined: 25 June 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 15	Posted: 14 August 2019 at 1:56am
	Initial thoughts: - The face could be a it bigger. That will let you add detail. - The eyes are crossed. Easily fixed! - Pick a light direction! Arms and legs have light from the left, breast areas are pillow shaded (is there a joke in there? Probably not a good one) so suggest light is coming from the viewer. - The blockiness comes from using bands of shade. As we have limited colours in pixel art, try pushing bands to the edges and have mainly two-tone shading to suggest shape. - Add highlights to the hair and shadow to the face to help bring in detail. I'll have a play. If you have examples of specific work you want to capture the style of, please supply it! :) There's a lot of Manga out there and KoF spans the 90s through to a few years ago.
	IP Logged

Chonky Ben Midshipman Joined: 25 June 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 15	Posted: 14 August 2019 at 1:59am
	Here's an idea for shading those legs. See the right leg (her left) for the edited example. Here I use two main shades to define the shape, then the remaining shades can be used for aa (or defining further shadow nearer the edges if you like.) I've used a lighter outline colour on the lit side, which softens the edges a little. Some AA on the inside here helps as well. More to come probably.
	IP Logged

Chonky Ben Midshipman Joined: 25 June 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 15	Posted: 14 August 2019 at 5:23am
	Caveat: I still consider myself a beginner in pixel art, so I just hope my edits can provide some inspiration. So a few edits here: - I added some shadow to the face and enlarged it a bit to fit in more detail. It also looked a touch small. After that I had to raise it a pixel as she looked a bit hunched. - I added highlights to the hair to create more detail, then worked it a bit more to try and get some volume in there. Apparently she's curly now. I used shadows to create the nose, define cheekbones and show where the hair is occluding the light. I made the shading on the breasts a bit more asymmetrical and allowed it to follow the light. There's a little work on the hand outline and around the top of the leg from the previous edit. Hopefully this gives you some ideas. Let me know how you get on.
	IP Logged

Chonky Ben Midshipman Joined: 25 June 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 15	Posted: 14 August 2019 at 5:29am
	You wanted to know why the shading works better with two colours. Well, I haven't had time to read this fully, but have a look at the images on this page: https://www.artinstructionblog.com/drawing-lesson-a-theory-of-light-and-shade You'll see that when light hits a sphere, there's a surprisingly sharp change from the light area to the dark area. It's not an even transition. In pixel art, with limited shades available, we can often reduce this down to just two shades to get the same effect. You'll see this effect in the link as well, as hand drawn images. I tend to think of body parts as (very) distorted spheres, so similar rules apply. I just have to find the line on the shape I'm drawing.
	IP Logged

sbsn Seaman Joined: 02 June 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8	Posted: 14 August 2019 at 12:07pm
	Hey, thanks for all the replies. The face and hair you did look really great, I'll definitely follow your lead. I played with body colours a lot and I think it works much better now. The light comes from behind the 'camera' now, ~~because it's easier to shade.~~ If you want, I can post a reply with the image once I'm finished
	IP Logged

Chonky Ben Midshipman Joined: 25 June 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 15	Posted: 14 August 2019 at 2:27pm
	I'm glad you found something useful in there! I would love to see how you get on, please do post your progress. It's probably a taste thing, but I tend to prefer images where light comes from the side and above. It feels more natural than light coming from the camera, especially in scenes like this which are (presumably) beach-based. We expect to see light from the sun, which is above. It may get visually confusing otherwise. Also, light coming 'from the camera' can easily trick you into pillow shading, so be careful! Good luck with it.
	IP Logged

sbsn Seaman Joined: 02 June 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8	Posted: 16 August 2019 at 11:10am
	Here's the finished work. Took me some extra time but I'm satisfied. The palette change was a big difference. http://pixeljoint.com/pixelart/128408.htm
	IP Logged

Greycloak Midshipman Joined: 12 May 2025 Online Status: Offline Posts: 59	Posted: 16 August 2019 at 4:40pm
	One thing I would point out is about her right arm (the one holding the beach ball). I would likely drop the shoulder and elbow a tad, because right now her arm looks a bit too rigid. Also, the shadow under the arm that goes across the beach ball should not be a straight line, as this gives the impression that the ball is a flat object. The shadow should be lighter at the point where the beach ball touches the forearm, and extend further at points where the arm is far away from the ball. That would help show the curvature of the beach ball. (The beach ball's curvature also suggests that it should still be slightly visible on the other side of her forearm.) Otherwise I think it turned out really well.
	IP Logged

Chonky Ben Midshipman Joined: 25 June 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 15	Posted: 18 August 2019 at 8:00am
	Yeah, great work! Massive improvement on the original. I agree about the shadow under the arm on the beachball, compared to the rest of the work it looks below-standard. There's a stray red pixel on the upper part of her right leg as well. Apart from that you've caught some of the shiny effect from KoF with your use of skin shades. Well done. I still think there's a little confusion about the direction of light, but it's a minor point.
	IP Logged