Environment [c+c]
Printed From: Pixel Joint
Category: Pixel Art
Forum Name: WIP (Work In Progress)
Forum Discription: Get crits and comments on your pixel WIPs and other art too!
URL: https://pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=12226
Printed Date: 12 September 2025 at 7:15pm
Topic: Environment [c+c]
Posted By: Alex Pang
Subject: Environment [c+c]
Date Posted: 29 May 2011 at 4:11am
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Hi I will be posting here as i work at backgrounds and such and I want YOUcomment and critique my work.
So here I have my first try at clouds. 
Latest Edit 
Edit: Another project :D 
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Replies:
Posted By: Alex Pang
Date Posted: 29 May 2011 at 5:02am
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Edit 2:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/717/image3gl.png/"> 
I'm getting better at picking colors :D |
Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 29 May 2011 at 6:15am
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Nice job so far. I think this sky calls for dithering(lots of it), especialy the green and light purple colors. It doesn't have to be traditional 50/50 dithering. E: Even when a landscape will be more cartoony or stylized than realistic. Imo, stars should be more clustered and add to the piece by adding depth. Notice your star so far appear to be on a 2D plane. Example of clustered stars that add depth: ../files/icons/full/shmup19n.png">  Skies with more dithering ../files/icons/full/space_map.gif">  ../files/icons/full/large_nebula02.gif">  ------------- |
Posted By: Alex Pang
Date Posted: 29 May 2011 at 6:21am
| yeah, and the are some parts at the corners that need dithering too. But what do you think about the colors? |
Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 29 May 2011 at 6:39am
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The colors are ok. Not very dynamic or exiting but then we don't yet know where you are going with the piece so its hard to say. If I were you I would work with the current palette and make sure it all works well, contrast, smoothing, etc. You can always correct a shade or two if needed later on when you work on the foreground. ------------- |
Posted By: Alex Pang
Date Posted: 29 May 2011 at 6:57am
I saturated it alitle now it looks much better and added a face :D I'm going to work some more with the colors and dither later. Edit 2 
Edit 3 
Edit 4 
Edit 5 
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Posted By: Kurt Russell Fan Club
Date Posted: 29 May 2011 at 11:58pm
| Those last edits look really nice! I like the new stars. |
Posted By: Alex Pang
Date Posted: 30 May 2011 at 6:23am
| Thank you, any suggestions on how I can improve? |
Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 30 May 2011 at 6:41am
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Looking great. Edit 5 looks best to me.
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Posted By: Alex Pang
Date Posted: 30 May 2011 at 7:17am
Aother update:
Animation :D Am I ready to publish? |
Posted By: Alex Pang
Date Posted: 30 May 2011 at 1:56pm
I'm going to play with animations. :D
Don't look at the anatomy it's supposed to look like this. :P |
Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 30 May 2011 at 2:48pm
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Originally posted by Alex Pang Aother update:
Animation :D Am I ready to publish? NO! Where's that whole foreground with the trees and stuff on your first post. Don't be lazy , ya bum. ------------- |
Posted By: Alex Pang
Date Posted: 31 May 2011 at 5:28am
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I thought it looked silly, but I could try to make it if you wish. :P
I will do some work and make the foreground later. |
Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 31 May 2011 at 5:47am
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Originally posted by Alex Pang ...I could try to make it if you wish... You are the artist not me. What I wish doesn't matter. I was only trying to prevent you from being lazy with your own ideas. The current version just seems incomplete or somehow poorly designed. You have a face in the space cloud but what's its story? What's happening? Other than practicing pixel techniques and color picking what are we looking at? If this is 'space' how come its so confined and boxed in? Art is best when it tells in own story. Just think about layout and composition a little more before you call it complete. ------------- |
Posted By: ekobor
Date Posted: 31 May 2011 at 7:33pm
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I would also say, look at the animation some more. You've got a good idea in making the stars twinkle, but why does the whole background fade in and out? And why only some of the stars? And why all at the same time?
Perhaps try to make all of the star twinkle, with delays between different stars... like, half of the foreground stars, in a spread could turn on in frame one, while a chunk of the background stars in frame two, then the other half of the foreground, another chunk of the background ones.... Sort of an off-timed cycle? I'm sorry if this is incoherent, I've been sick in bed all day and am still dizzy... thoughts are kind of looping. ^^;; Thanks be to spell check... ------------- |
Posted By: Alex Pang
Date Posted: 01 June 2011 at 1:44pm
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Originally posted by jalonso
Originally posted by Alex Pang You are the artist not me. What I wish doesn't matter.I was only trying to prevent you from being lazy with your own ideas.The current version just seems incomplete or somehow poorly designed.You have a face in the space cloud but what's its story? What's happening? Other than practicing pixel techniques and color picking what are we looking at? If this is 'space' how come its so confined and boxed in?Art is best when it tells in own story. Just think about layout and composition a little more before you call it complete....I could try to make it if you wish... Yes I am the artist who is designing everything, but you are an artist with more experience. This gives you more authority then me. What my point is that it would be wise for me to listen to your advice. If your advice is to finish and add more elements to the piece then it's my duty as an artist to do so. You are like my costumer, if I want to evolve I have to think outside the box, in this case doing something I'm not fully comfortable with, thats making the piece bigger. 
Originally posted by ekobor
I would also say, look at the animation some more. You've got a good idea in making the stars twinkle, but why does the whole background fade in and out? And why only some of the stars? And why all at the same time? Perhaps try to make all of the star twinkle, with delays between different stars... like, half of the foreground stars, in a spread could turn on in frame one, while a chunk of the background stars in frame two, then the other half of the foreground, another chunk of the background ones.... Sort of an off-timed cycle? I'm sorry if this is incoherent, I've been sick in bed all day and am still dizzy... thoughts are kind of looping. ^^;; Thanks be to spell check... Thanks, the original idea was to make a two frame animation with two different saturations on the pallets for the two frames. But it quickly evolved into making the stars fade when the color fades. Now I realize that your right, but I took a twist in this whole project and turned it to a Shoot'em up mockup. 
Here is a picture of my progress. 
Update 2
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Posted By: Alex Pang
Date Posted: 02 June 2011 at 2:06am
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Another project:
This is my study of lighting and rocks. I think this is for a title screen of a flash game. (Trying to get another job.) |
Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 02 June 2011 at 6:35am
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I know you are still working on this so I'm just going to remind or bring up the subject of composition and storytelling so you keep them in mind as you work on this piece and any other piece. In all art, composition is very important and should never be overlooked. Even a game mockup depends on this to communicate with the viewer. First row shows your current composition which is equal in weight and has no direction. The next 3 show variations on composition. As you work see the 'shapes' that make the whole. The last one is your original WIP which actually had a decent composition and is the reason I thought you had quit on your idea once you finished the nebula part. The bottom 2 images are more about storytelling. If the nebula has a mean face or menacing expression then a ship going into it just says the pilot is stupid. The mean nebula would be smart enough to entice the ship in with a welcoming expression and let the evil come later. However, if the nebula has a mean expression and the ship is running away then it makes more sense to the viewer and tells its own story. Just stuff to consider as you work :)  ------------- |
Posted By: Alex Pang
Date Posted: 02 June 2011 at 7:03am
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I had no clue that composition was of such an essence in art.
Well my point for this mock up to be a boss fight of some sort with the nebula. The position of the ship was really random it was just a place where I started my original outline, and I didn't bother to change it. But I need some help for my other project. I just feel there is something wrong with the tiles ;( And I can't seem to fix it. 
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Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 02 June 2011 at 7:14am
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Originally posted by Alex Pang I had no clue that composition was of such an essence in art. Composition IS the essence of art and its main communication tool. When something looks wrong look at that. That's the problem with the tiles. This is similar to writing. Several words in random order are just words that say nothing. Words with structure create sentences and convey ideas and tell stories. Also, note that size and weight of items matter. So composition is the 2D plane and size and weight is the 3D. If art is a visual form of writing/communication then structure and composition must be used. ------------- |
Posted By: Alex Pang
Date Posted: 02 June 2011 at 7:18am
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Yeah, its a title screen for a game, I have to show that the thing on the top is a well and I have to make it look like it its in front of the rest of the piece.
I think I managed to convey that nicely.  ck.us]ImageShack.us[/URL]
Here is how the light is going to spread through the well. The yellow orange thing is a lantern its going to be the second light source in the piece. |
Posted By: Alex Pang
Date Posted: 04 June 2011 at 4:16am
Playing around with the spaceship. :D
And some bullets etc. |
Posted By: Alex Pang
Date Posted: 08 June 2011 at 7:19am
I feel like I'm the only one posting. BTW, I made a paralaxing background. Don't you have any critique? |