Pixel Joint Forum: Witch Girl

Message

   Update:

The piece is now animated!

Original post: I've been experimenting with a new style recently, and I'd love to get some feedback about it!

This witch was the final result of my recent experiments, and while I'm generally pleased with the result, I'm a firm believer that you can always improve! My next goal is to learn how to animate, but before I attempt an idle animation, I figured I should get some extra eyes on the base sprite to make sure she's as good as I can make her.

I'm particularly open to feedback about shading and color palette, as I feel those are some of my weaknesses, but all critique is very welcome!

Thank you so much for your time.

Author	Message
LiteraryPixels Midshipman Joined: 16 August 2020 Online Status: Offline Posts: 26	Topic: Witch Girl - Initial Animation Begun Posted: 20 August 2018 at 11:36pm
	Update: The piece is now animated! Original post: I've been experimenting with a new style recently, and I'd love to get some feedback about it! This witch was the final result of my recent experiments, and while I'm generally pleased with the result, I'm a firm believer that you can always improve! My next goal is to learn how to animate, but before I attempt an idle animation, I figured I should get some extra eyes on the base sprite to make sure she's as good as I can make her. I'm particularly open to feedback about shading and color palette, as I feel those are some of my weaknesses, but all critique is very welcome! Thank you so much for your time.
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achmoye Seaman Joined: 06 August 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 6	Posted: 22 August 2018 at 9:32am
	Looks super-cute to me ! If you need a lot of animation I'd even simplify some lightning, but I don't do much animation myself x)
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LiteraryPixels Midshipman Joined: 16 August 2020 Online Status: Offline Posts: 26	Posted: 22 August 2018 at 11:50am
	@achmoye - Thank you so much! I'll keep a sharp eye on that when I start the animation process and decide if I need to adjust. After receiving some other feedback, I decided to: - change the feet - darken the shadow color used in the skirt and hat - adjust the lighting on the hat's brim and folded tip Here's the new version! It's my first submission to the gallery :D
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eishiya Commander Joined: 04 August 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1109	Posted: 22 August 2018 at 12:19pm
	Are we seeing the top or the bottom of the hat brim? If it's the bottom, it should probably all be in shadow. The brim should probably also cast a shadow onto the hair.
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LiteraryPixels Midshipman Joined: 16 August 2020 Online Status: Offline Posts: 26	Posted: 23 August 2018 at 9:18pm
	Okay, I've tried out two different attempts at more consistent lighting! I've put them side-by-side. One has a light source from the upper right, and the other has the light source from the upper left. I've also darkened the hat brim and adjusted the shadow on the hair accordingly. I'd love to hear any preferences between the two, or additional feedback! Everyone's thoughts, both in this thread and elsewhere, have been incredibly helpful.
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eishiya Commander Joined: 04 August 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1109	Posted: 24 August 2018 at 6:41am
	The first image seems to be lit from directly above rather than from any side, since both sides are lit/shaded evenly. That's not at all a bad thing, and I think the way you shaded the hair there would work for lighting from the side too. The skirt seems to be shaded identically from both sides xP Don't forget that the skirt is mostly a cone, the folds are just additional details on that cone's surface. Shade it as a cone first, then add those details. You'll find that some of the folds are entirely in shadow and barely visible, and that some folds face the light directly and thus cast no shadows. The skin shadow colour contrasts very little from the main skin colour, I think making it a little darker would help.
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LiteraryPixels Midshipman Joined: 16 August 2020 Online Status: Offline Posts: 26	Posted: 27 August 2018 at 11:05pm
	PHEW, reshading that skirt was pretty tough! I eventually decided that retrofitting the pre-existing skirt into more accurate shading wasn't worth it, so I ended up redoing it entirely, as follows: I've also tried out my very first bounce animation! Feedback is extremely welcome. @eishiya - Thank you again for your detailed and insightful feedback!
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LiteraryPixels Midshipman Joined: 16 August 2020 Online Status: Offline Posts: 26	Posted: 31 August 2018 at 12:10am
	I've been working on the animation and I've updated it! Here's the most recent version :)
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Kojote Seaman Joined: 27 June 2021 Location: Austria Online Status: Offline Posts: 8	Posted: 02 September 2018 at 9:06am
	The animation is looking excellent. Congrats on your progress!
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LiteraryPixels Midshipman Joined: 16 August 2020 Online Status: Offline Posts: 26	Posted: 03 September 2018 at 8:32pm
	@Kojote - Aw, thank you so much!
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Limes Commander Joined: 15 September 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 683	Posted: 07 September 2018 at 4:41pm
	I just wanted to point out the blinking pixel in the top left side of her hair. It's slightly noisy, should just be solid color there. I assume it is just an unnoticed pixel. Also just noticing a little below it a similar pixel in the lower half of her hair that moves places every frame. Coouldd be better for reading as just solid color aswell Also, nice work I like the aesthetic of the sprite.
	I use GraphicsGale
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LiteraryPixels Midshipman Joined: 16 August 2020 Online Status: Offline Posts: 26	Posted: 07 September 2018 at 10:16pm
	@Limes - ah, good catch! I can't believe I missed those; they absolutely weren't intentional. I'll fix those up the next time I get a chance! And thanks for the compliment :) EDIT: Updated to clean up those pesky stray pixels!
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ihatemundays Seaman Joined: 05 August 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 7	Posted: 27 September 2018 at 6:37am
	Animation looks great! I like the cuteness of the witch swaying back-and-forth. Keep it up!
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WIP (Work In Progress)
Pixel Joint Forum : Pixel Art : WIP (Work In Progress)