CHALLENGE 11/3/2014: A Day at the Races
Printed From: Pixel Joint
Category: Pixel Art
Forum Name: Collaborations/Challenges
Forum Discription: Submit pixel art project ideas/templates or contribute to an existing pixel art collaboration.
URL: https://pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=20056
Printed Date: 06 September 2025 at 9:00pm
Topic: CHALLENGE 11/3/2014: A Day at the Races
Posted By: administrator
Subject: CHALLENGE 11/3/2014: A Day at the Races
Date Posted: 03 November 2014 at 12:01am
Replies:
Posted By: Mrmo Tarius
Date Posted: 03 November 2014 at 4:18am
I've started working on this, but I'm not sure I like it very much :D
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Posted By: Finlal
Date Posted: 03 November 2014 at 4:25am
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@Mrmo; But I'm sure I like it =)
Also, my WIP. Very rough just to show an idea and maybe get some critique. Does it counts if both racers riding the same turtle? 
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Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 03 November 2014 at 5:20am
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Originally posted by Mrmo Tarius
I've started working on this, but I'm not sure I like it very much :D What lovely cars  ------------- |
Posted By: Finlal
Date Posted: 03 November 2014 at 10:07am
Changed environment from desert to some meadow. It's more pleasant to my eye. And turtle must eat something, i guess. Also cleaned background behind men so they contrast it more. Any advices? UPD. Made it more like a road in mountains. Is it readable? |
Posted By: Temessis
Date Posted: 03 November 2014 at 10:56am
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@Finlal
Yes, I guess :D Two humans on giant turtle. Image approved :D And serious. In my opinion, you should try to make a little indentation in mountains for better results, like here: 
I think it should looks better, because mountain with these paths isn't flat - http://www.sadacanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Wonderful-Curved-Road-On-Mountain-Area-Amazing-Path-Pictures.jpg - look at this link . This mountain has got a little "jumps" between each level of road |
Posted By: Finlal
Date Posted: 03 November 2014 at 11:22am
| @Temesis, you're right, thanks. |
Posted By: DrTripwire
Date Posted: 03 November 2014 at 2:37pm
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@Mrmo
Awesome job! Is that dust or exhaust? If it's dust, maybe you should change the ground. |
Posted By: Finlal
Date Posted: 03 November 2014 at 3:07pm
Finished poles on the left. Also gave a turtle some work. Men are still stickmen and I don't know what to do about that. And maybe I should change colors or move turtle somewhere? |
Posted By: KPJFormat
Date Posted: 03 November 2014 at 6:15pm
| Hmm, this is a good opportunity to work on a horse animation (something I've been meaning to make, that's a bit daunting). Love what I see here so far. If I could make cars like Mrmo's I would be very proud, I'm sure I do like them very much! |
Posted By: the pixel chicken
Date Posted: 03 November 2014 at 11:38pm
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@Finlal
i actually really like he composition of the piece. i like the fact that the turtle isn't placed right in the middle so i think to move it any further to the right would be a mistake. |
Posted By: Drazile
Date Posted: 04 November 2014 at 2:35am
| I'm doing a pod race, and there's nothing you can do to stop me. |
Posted By: Finlal
Date Posted: 04 November 2014 at 2:40am
My progress so far. Still having doubts about colors.
@Drazile, Darth Vader started with pod racing. Pod is the path to the dark side. |
Posted By: Cozzmy13
Date Posted: 04 November 2014 at 11:55pm
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Originally posted by Drazile I'm doing a pod race, and there's nothing you can do to stop me. o.O are you here too? =)) |
Posted By: Mrmo Tarius
Date Posted: 05 November 2014 at 3:38am
Vroom vroom :)
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Posted By: Cozzmy13
Date Posted: 05 November 2014 at 8:28am
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The Iron Bars at the top don't work with the perspective. |
Posted By: Limes
Date Posted: 05 November 2014 at 9:52am
| I assume those are just design elements. |
Posted By: Finlal
Date Posted: 05 November 2014 at 1:16pm
Decided to take some colors from DB's 32 palette since it's one of the best palettes world has ever seen. I think it's for the best. |
Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 05 November 2014 at 1:23pm
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Originally posted by Finlal
Decided to take some colors from DB's 32 palette since it's one of the best palettes world has ever seen. I think it's for the best. Its looking lovely. Would softening the clouds help to better achieve a soft misty BG? If not intended to be soft and misty would lowering all clouds or raising all the clouds so the sky is half open make for a more expansive scene? Would a broken/messed up pole help the scene as the theme is not 'invent a new race' so it seems like these people do this often? ------------- |
Posted By: Finlal
Date Posted: 05 November 2014 at 1:51pm
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@Jal, I didn't really get "softening the clouds". You mean color?
Lowerng all clouds is good for composition, you're right. Same goes to broken pole. Though I highly doubt they do it often taking in count turtle's speed =) Also tried to make some fog in lowlands (sketchy). 
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Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 05 November 2014 at 2:10pm
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That's what I meant to suggest too.
If you lower the clouds (fog/mist) and soften the contrast then the BG mountains should read as foggy. You have to balance the 2 sky shades so the roads in the farthest back mountains help to further fog/mistify. Well, maybe weather a pole or two a bit. They look freshly painted. btw, not entirely sure but I think the back leg on the turtle should be much forward. Almost meeting the front leg. ------------- |
Posted By: Finlal
Date Posted: 05 November 2014 at 2:38pm
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Tried to weather one pole (first on the left).
Also changed colors a bit. Doest it looks foggier now? About leg - it would work with most of animals but not with turtle because they take very slow and short steps. 
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Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 05 November 2014 at 2:44pm
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The clouds will have to be very low to be foggy.
Right mountain with bridge everything below the top 2 tiers +- and below is all light color and everything above that the darker shad with soft misty streaky blend (dithering is probably good for this FX). ------------- |
Posted By: Finlal
Date Posted: 05 November 2014 at 3:15pm
I'll thy dither tomorrow. Huge thanks, it really helped a lot! |
Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 05 November 2014 at 6:39pm
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@Finlal, hmmm. I think you may be headed in the wrong direction. The layout was good before. This new BG mountain does not seem to match the environment. I could make you a rough small section edit in the am of the BG only if it would help. I don't know you well enough yet, so like a vampire I need an ok to enter :p ------------- |
Posted By: Finlal
Date Posted: 05 November 2014 at 9:34pm
| Sure, I'll be even happy if you do that. |
Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 06 November 2014 at 8:01am
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@Finlal. I was just going to show a foggy rough edit to maybe help you see things differently but another issue came up when inside your pixel that may not be solved for this pixel but something you need to work on, k. The first edit shows what I had mentioned before using the colors already in your pixel. Where I aim to show you how lowering the clouds makes for a foggy/misty scene and how adding a shade at the bases of mountains further enhance the ground fog. Best seen in the right hand side. The edit below that with the 16 color palette shows this even better because the colors have been adjusted. This led me to your palette and the skill known as 'palette unification'. Your pixel is using 30 colors so many of which are wasted. The palettes on the black BG shows a quick way I just cleaned up you mess. This was quick and rough and I have many shade errors so this is just a guide, k. I think you can make this pixel with 12 colors and see no change at all. Whenever you are pixelling anything just work on the assumption that any color you place might and usually WILL be tweaked. In the turtle you added colors you needed for that area instead of looking for colors already existing in the pixel or tweaking a shade that is already there so it works where it was and in the new area you were going to add a color. Unless one works with an existing palette coloring is always a process of making a shade then every so often adjusting each one here and there so colors are kept to a minimum and the working palette is unified constantly and then even at the very end once more when you check levels and contrast. A 'working' grey, for example, might start out as pure 50/50 then find its way to a warm grey then to a cool grey and even change to an actual shade that 'reads' grey but may be an ochre, purple, green or anything at all. Palettes are organic and you should be very flexible about them as colors in pixelart are not always as sensible as they can be in other mediums. Its not uncommon for the 'yellow' your mind sees to be a 'purple' in a pixel. --- This is just feedback for you to think about and help you find your way because its just my opinion and nothing more. To me all common pixel skills are wonderful and required to understand and improve upon if one wishes to be a pixelartist but nothing separates the skilled from the unskilled as color selection. Palette unification is the most beautiful thing there is in any pixel. Even when one does not understand this process and just works with a given perfectly unified palette they usually find creative joy, freedom and creative stress-free satisfaction. This is why DBs 16 is such a hit :)  ...sooooooo, yeah! ------------- |
Posted By: Finlal
Date Posted: 06 November 2014 at 11:57am
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@Jalonso, WOW! I didn't expect that!
Huge thanks for this, it's the best feedback I could get. I've read article about colors few times and still has some misunderstanding. You just made me one step closer to good color feeling. I think doing this picture with 12 colors is an option =D Also thanks for mountains. It's a great example of foggy rendering. P.S. Maybe there was a problem with an image I uploaded since there was 8 (!) colors it that little area and nowhere else. 
I had only 22 colors. UPD. Tried to make 12-colors palette, what do you think? 
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Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 06 November 2014 at 2:28pm
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@Finlal, Don't stress yourself for this challenge just finish it up and do the best you can for the week.
My comments and edit and the whole palette thing is for future work and something to focus on polishing. You won't achieve this by Sunday so just see what you can do and enjoy yourself. The 12 color palette you made looks nice and clean. Maybe the red is a bit saturated is all. In this scene and with its lighting that red would be cooler (blue/purple) but maybe (greenish can work too). ------------- |
Posted By: Finlal
Date Posted: 06 November 2014 at 2:44pm
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@Jalonso, I sure can't achieve this by the end of the week, but maybe I can make my very own 12-15 color palette in one or two month. Analysing other's great paletts and artworks might help get color theory better. And also I'll have my own palette. I guess it's a good idea, thanks for aiming.
I'll do my best to make that turtle shine. And thanks again for the feedback. Maybe I'll get non-green ribbon this time thanks to you =D |
Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 06 November 2014 at 2:57pm
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Originally posted by Finlal
...thanks to you... No. That would be thanks to you being open to new things, ideas and processes. Best o'luck :) ------------- |
Posted By: Finlal
Date Posted: 06 November 2014 at 3:01pm
Changed colors to new ones. Now this picture has only 12 colors and you were right. Not many things changed. Sure it needs lots of work and I might change colors, but it's working. UPD. Maybe adding few white lines on BG for showing the mountain will do good. It's a bit empty there at the moment. UDP2. And maybe it can be only 11 colors? 
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Posted By: CooliePixel
Date Posted: 06 November 2014 at 4:32pm
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Really interesting conversation about colors
I'm not at that level yet, I just pick colors I think work together and somtimes change them later hmm but here's what I got so far 
I want to color the biker, still need to work on the right side of the image, the skies and the road. do you think it has potential? o: any suggestions? I thought about adding little crowd on the right side and make them cheer up and jump when bikers reaches them |
Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 06 November 2014 at 4:46pm
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@CooliePixel. Some people are naturals :p
Of course it has potential. It looks awesome and the bike's entrance is so exiting you don't mind seeing it again and again. ------------- |
Posted By: Ceres Mikael
Date Posted: 06 November 2014 at 6:47pm
ehm... well so I saw this challenge and my mind just gave me this... may add a background because it looks plain tho...
edit: By the way it seems I'm kinda crazy sometimes... 
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Posted By: Drazile
Date Posted: 06 November 2014 at 11:46pm
WIP |
Posted By: Druid_cz
Date Posted: 08 November 2014 at 6:11am
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Well.. . I tried CGA palette :D Also... this is my first challenge here :D
(this is probably final) 
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Posted By: lespalt
Date Posted: 08 November 2014 at 9:01am
Hey guys, here's my very much beginner-level WIP of a "portrait" of a rally copilot..hope that counts for the challenge! :) My plan is to add more interesting shading to the face and some sponsor ads on the helmet..if I can pull it off ..not really sure where to start. Feedback welcome :)
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Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 08 November 2014 at 1:10pm
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Originally posted by lespalt Hey guys, here's my very much beginner-level WIP of a "portrait" of a rally copilot..hope that counts for the challenge! :) My plan is to add more interesting shading to the face and some sponsor ads on the helmet..if I can pull it off ..not really sure where to start. Feedback welcome :) You'll have to make it be a race somehow, k. "Depict some form of racing" is the main rule of the week. ------------- |
Posted By: lespalt
Date Posted: 08 November 2014 at 1:55pm
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Originally posted by jalonso
You'll have to make it be a race somehow, k."Depict some form of racing" is the main rule of the week. Yeah that's kind of what I thought. Maybe I'll try to put the little guy in a race cockpit somehow.. |
Posted By: Limes
Date Posted: 08 November 2014 at 9:28pm
| If you finish that coolie I would be amazed! |
Posted By: Drazile
Date Posted: 09 November 2014 at 2:24am
Final: meh, but I don't know how to improve it, and time is short |
Posted By: lespalt
Date Posted: 09 November 2014 at 4:05am
Ok, now he's racing :) I tweaked the face and helmet for hours, but can't really seem to find a way to make it look more interesting without making it worse :/
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Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 09 November 2014 at 6:54am
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@lespalt. Why not widen the canvas a little bit on the sides and then place another car behind this one chasing it?
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Posted By: lespalt
Date Posted: 09 November 2014 at 7:08am
Good idea, but unfortunately I won't have any more time to work on it before the deadline. Will submit this as final:
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Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 09 November 2014 at 7:28am
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Originally posted by lespalt Good idea, but unfortunately I won't have any more time to work on it before the deadline. Will submit this as final: It shouldn't take much time but its up to you. Just know that the challenge managers may not still consider the entry, as is, to fit the rules. Its nicely pixelled so it will be added to the gallery just maybe not in thr challenge, k. ------------- |
Posted By: lespalt
Date Posted: 09 November 2014 at 7:51am
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Originally posted by jalonso
It shouldn't take much time [...] Maybe not for you 
Would be nice if it entered the contest, but even if not, I'll consider even just admittance to the gallery a success for my very first pixel :) |