Pixel Joint Forum: WIP : Cute childrens looking at ugly adults

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Hylst
Midshipman

Joined: 12 July 2011
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 65

Topic: WIP : Cute childrens looking at ugly adults
Posted: 11 June 2021 at 2:23am

Hello.

I'm posting on Pixel Joint forum many years after again.

I'm a very casual 'pixel painter'.

This time, i'm working on another pixel art for a demo on ATARI ST platform.
It's a 320x200 with 16 colours among 512 ( for more than 30 years old STf computers ).

I've improved my drawing & painting skills previous years, but clearly not enough, did not spent enough time for practice, and overall, i have an impaired and partially distorted color vision... well...

Now, i can better deal with it, not using only rvb value but rather HSL/V.
Nowadays, quite often, my colors looks weird.

I'm mainty not sure about the way to make correct tiny (with limited palette (indexed colors)) :

1 - eyes

2 - mouth

3 - nose.

It's not always totally obvious for me in any cases to choose between :
- dithering or just solid color areas
- overpass line art for full pixel art ...
- find the good shades to keep it enough realistic (not necessarily fully)

- How to optimize palette the best (i've one nearly unused color that i should change & use for a lighter skin shade, what do you think ?)

So if you have any notice or advice to share with me, it may help me

Thanks ^^
So here it is (WIP) :

Excuse me for my clumsy english.

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Mike9377
Midshipman

Joined: 20 November 2020
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 37

Posted: 16 June 2021 at 10:57pm

I'm still trying to fine tune my color choice skills, but since you say you are trying to make pixel art that looks creepy, I think the weird result could actually be very fitting.

On dithering, normally I just forego it altogether if I cant transition from solid blocks of one color to solid blocks on another color. On the girl in the picture, the dithering (on the arms and legs) looks more like freckles or specks of dirt.

The shape of the eyes, noses and mouths btw look fine to me.

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Hylst
Midshipman

Joined: 12 July 2011
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 65

Posted: 17 June 2021 at 1:50pm

Thank you Mike for your important advice to me.

<<On dithering, normally I just forego it altogether if I cant transition from solid blocks of one color to solid blocks on another color.>>

I'll try to do that, experiment, see the result and change / start again if not. However, it takes a lot of times to find the good way.

<<On the girl in the picture, the dithering (on the arms and legs) looks more like freckles or specks of dirt.>>

You're right, and i don't really know how to make this better with these limited colors.

<<The shape of the eyes, noses and mouths btw look fine to me.>>
Ok :)

I'll try to :

- do a museum room as background (with wall, checkboard floor, notes, little statue, ...)
- draw different facial expression on childs (disgusted, pleased, astonished, wandering, ...)
- draw a gloomy skin as possible for main ugly adult opposite faces
But i thing it will be quite difficult with such a (material / platform) limited palette.

Main pixel art / table will change

Any pixelling ideas, advice or tricks ?

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Hylst
Midshipman

Joined: 12 July 2011
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 65

Posted: 21 June 2021 at 1:11pm

Any pixelling ideas, advice or tricks ?

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shm31
Midshipman

Joined: 07 June 2024
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 44

Posted: 21 June 2021 at 2:58pm

Hello ! cool piece, but you should try to reduce the pillow shading, there's too much of it.

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Hylst
Midshipman

Joined: 12 July 2011
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 65

Posted: 24 June 2021 at 1:31pm

Originally posted by shm31

Hello ! cool piece, but you should try to reduce the pillow shading, there's too much of it.

Thanks for your feedback.
Where do you think it's the most blatant ?

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Hapiel
Rear Admiral

Joined: 30 June 2023
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3266

Posted: 24 June 2021 at 1:40pm

The hair of the guy, the skirt of the girl and the shirt of the person on the floor.

I wonder what the background is going to be like. Right now the black is quite a harsh contrast with the soft dithered foreground.

The piece in the middle is really the most exciting part about this picture, how are you going to render that? In the same style as the characters? It is so strong, it could be a piece on its own! Well, I guess it probably already is, it is hanging in a museum ;)

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Hylst
Midshipman

Joined: 12 July 2011
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 65

Posted: 25 June 2021 at 12:26pm

Originally posted by Hapiel

The hair of the guy, the skirt of the girl and the shirt of the person on the floor.

I wonder what the background is going to be like. Right now the black is quite a harsh contrast with the soft dithered foreground.

The piece in the middle is really the most exciting part about this picture, how are you going to render that? In the same style as the characters? It is so strong, it could be a piece on its own! Well, I guess it probably already is, it is hanging in a museum ;)

Thanks for you message Hapiel :)
It's not easy to me to render rather real light source on them with few colors and the result may look like kind of... pillow shaded ?
Especially with low color count for the whole.
I ('ll) try to make stylised dithering & forms instead of realistic lights / darks that i do not manage correctly, but...

Maybe a little ... 'ambitious', true ^^
I 'll post next step.

Middle piece will not be easy to render with such a limited palette & resolution for a too casual / average pixel painter like me.
It should / will change with other pixel art pieces matching with changing kids expression / faces & some animated 'demoscene' effects in a weird retrocomputer production with museum thema basis.

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Hylst
Midshipman

Joined: 12 July 2011
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 65

Posted: 29 June 2021 at 3:33pm

New unfinished step of my WIP with many objects & decos (for further purposes) in this weird museum :S

with... a lot of pillow shading and... many lighting error... ?
^^

Always 320x200 x 16 colours limited palette among 512.

What do you think ?

Any advice or ideas to give it a better way ?

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Hapiel
Rear Admiral

Joined: 30 June 2023
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3266

Posted: 30 June 2021 at 3:36am

Oh wow, that changed quite a bit! I think it was a good think that the background was much darker than the kids, it made them stand out. Now the whole image is equally bright everywhere, which makes it much harder to focus and see the composition! Perhaps make the wall slats a lot darker?

Also I was convinced they were in a museum before, but now with so many many items I don't know any more. It reminds me more of a bathroom somehow. Even a museum with many weird objects should leave some space around its artworks, perhaps enlarge the canvas a lot so you can space out the objects much more?

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Hylst
Midshipman

Joined: 12 July 2011
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 65

Posted: 30 June 2021 at 1:42pm

Originally posted by Hapiel

Oh wow, that changed quite a bit! I think it was a good think that the background was much darker than the kids, it made them stand out. Now the whole image is equally bright everywhere, which makes it much harder to focus and see the composition! Perhaps make the wall slats a lot darker?

Also I was convinced they were in a museum before, but now with so many many items I don't know any more. It reminds me more of a bathroom somehow. Even a museum with many weird objects should leave some space around its artworks, perhaps enlarge the canvas a lot so you can space out the objects much more?

You're right about the dark background even if it will match specific purpose being that bright in several animated effects outside the central part. A bathroom ? according to the 'chess-board' floor maybe ?
Bitmap space is quite heavily used, too much for a first glance look, you're true, but each object will have a role in the program it's made for.
About canvas, i'm also hardware limited to 320x200.
Thanks for your feedback one more time Hapiel.

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

Author	Message
Hylst Midshipman Joined: 12 July 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 65	Topic: WIP : Cute childrens looking at ugly adults Posted: 11 June 2021 at 2:23am
	Hello. I'm posting on Pixel Joint forum many years after again. I'm a very casual 'pixel painter'. This time, i'm working on another pixel art for a demo on ATARI ST platform. It's a 320x200 with 16 colours among 512 ( for more than 30 years old STf computers ). I've improved my drawing & painting skills previous years, but clearly not enough, did not spent enough time for practice, and overall, i have an impaired and partially distorted color vision... well... Now, i can better deal with it, not using only rvb value but rather HSL/V. Nowadays, quite often, my colors looks weird. I'm mainty not sure about the way to make correct tiny (with limited palette (indexed colors)) : 1 - eyes 2 - mouth 3 - nose. It's not always totally obvious for me in any cases to choose between : - dithering or just solid color areas - overpass line art for full pixel art ... - find the good shades to keep it enough realistic (not necessarily fully) - How to optimize palette the best (i've one nearly unused color that i should change & use for a lighter skin shade, what do you think ?) So if you have any notice or advice to share with me, it may help me Thanks ^^ So here it is (WIP) : Excuse me for my clumsy english.
	IP Logged

Mike9377 Midshipman Joined: 20 November 2020 Online Status: Offline Posts: 37	Posted: 16 June 2021 at 10:57pm
	I'm still trying to fine tune my color choice skills, but since you say you are trying to make pixel art that looks creepy, I think the weird result could actually be very fitting. On dithering, normally I just forego it altogether if I cant transition from solid blocks of one color to solid blocks on another color. On the girl in the picture, the dithering (on the arms and legs) looks more like freckles or specks of dirt. The shape of the eyes, noses and mouths btw look fine to me.
	IP Logged

Hylst Midshipman Joined: 12 July 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 65	Posted: 17 June 2021 at 1:50pm
	Thank you Mike for your important advice to me. <<On dithering, normally I just forego it altogether if I cant transition from solid blocks of one color to solid blocks on another color.>> I'll try to do that, experiment, see the result and change / start again if not. However, it takes a lot of times to find the good way. <<On the girl in the picture, the dithering (on the arms and legs) looks more like freckles or specks of dirt.>> You're right, and i don't really know how to make this better with these limited colors. <<The shape of the eyes, noses and mouths btw look fine to me.>> Ok :) I'll try to : - do a museum room as background (with wall, checkboard floor, notes, little statue, ...) - draw different facial expression on childs (disgusted, pleased, astonished, wandering, ...) - draw a gloomy skin as possible for main ugly adult opposite faces But i thing it will be quite difficult with such a (material / platform) limited palette. Main pixel art / table will change Any pixelling ideas, advice or tricks ?
	IP Logged

Hylst Midshipman Joined: 12 July 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 65	Posted: 21 June 2021 at 1:11pm
	Any pixelling ideas, advice or tricks ?
	IP Logged

shm31 Midshipman Joined: 07 June 2024 Online Status: Offline Posts: 44	Posted: 21 June 2021 at 2:58pm
	Hello ! cool piece, but you should try to reduce the pillow shading, there's too much of it.
	IP Logged

Hylst Midshipman Joined: 12 July 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 65	Posted: 24 June 2021 at 1:31pm
	*Originally posted by shm31* Hello ! cool piece, but you should try to reduce the pillow shading, there's too much of it. Thanks for your feedback. Where do you think it's the most blatant ?
	IP Logged

Hapiel Rear Admiral Joined: 30 June 2023 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3266	Posted: 24 June 2021 at 1:40pm
	The hair of the guy, the skirt of the girl and the shirt of the person on the floor. I wonder what the background is going to be like. Right now the black is quite a harsh contrast with the soft dithered foreground. The piece in the middle is really the most exciting part about this picture, how are you going to render that? In the same style as the characters? It is so strong, it could be a piece on its own! Well, I guess it probably already is, it is hanging in a museum ;)
	IP Logged

Hylst Midshipman Joined: 12 July 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 65	Posted: 25 June 2021 at 12:26pm
	*Originally posted by Hapiel* The hair of the guy, the skirt of the girl and the shirt of the person on the floor. I wonder what the background is going to be like. Right now the black is quite a harsh contrast with the soft dithered foreground. The piece in the middle is really the most exciting part about this picture, how are you going to render that? In the same style as the characters? It is so strong, it could be a piece on its own! Well, I guess it probably already is, it is hanging in a museum ;) Thanks for you message Hapiel :) It's not easy to me to render rather real light source on them with few colors and the result may look like kind of... pillow shaded ? Especially with low color count for the whole. I ('ll) try to make stylised dithering & forms instead of realistic lights / darks that i do not manage correctly, but... Maybe a little ... 'ambitious', true ^^ I 'll post next step. Middle piece will not be easy to render with such a limited palette & resolution for a too casual / average pixel painter like me. It should / will change with other pixel art pieces matching with changing kids expression / faces & some animated 'demoscene' effects in a weird retrocomputer production with museum thema basis.
	IP Logged

Hylst Midshipman Joined: 12 July 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 65	Posted: 29 June 2021 at 3:33pm
	New unfinished step of my WIP with many objects & decos (for further purposes) in this weird museum :S with... a lot of pillow shading and... many lighting error... ? ^^ Always 320x200 x 16 colours limited palette among 512. What do you think ? Any advice or ideas to give it a better way ?
	IP Logged

Hapiel Rear Admiral Joined: 30 June 2023 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3266	Posted: 30 June 2021 at 3:36am
	Oh wow, that changed quite a bit! I think it was a good think that the background was much darker than the kids, it made them stand out. Now the whole image is equally bright everywhere, which makes it much harder to focus and see the composition! Perhaps make the wall slats a lot darker? Also I was convinced they were in a museum before, but now with so many many items I don't know any more. It reminds me more of a bathroom somehow. Even a museum with many weird objects should leave some space around its artworks, perhaps enlarge the canvas a lot so you can space out the objects much more?
	IP Logged

Hylst Midshipman Joined: 12 July 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 65	Posted: 30 June 2021 at 1:42pm
	*Originally posted by Hapiel* Oh wow, that changed quite a bit! I think it was a good think that the background was much darker than the kids, it made them stand out. Now the whole image is equally bright everywhere, which makes it much harder to focus and see the composition! Perhaps make the wall slats a lot darker? Also I was convinced they were in a museum before, but now with so many many items I don't know any more. It reminds me more of a bathroom somehow. Even a museum with many weird objects should leave some space around its artworks, perhaps enlarge the canvas a lot so you can space out the objects much more? You're right about the dark background even if it will match specific purpose being that bright in several animated effects outside the central part. A bathroom ? according to the 'chess-board' floor maybe ? Bitmap space is quite heavily used, too much for a first glance look, you're true, but each object will have a role in the program it's made for. About canvas, i'm also hardware limited to 320x200. Thanks for your feedback one more time Hapiel.
	IP Logged