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Full Name:	Agnes Heyer
Handle:	Arachne
Rank:	Level 4 Murderer (Psycho)
Joined:	5/18/2008 8:19:45 AM
Birthday:	1/28/1984
Location:	Holmestrand, Norway

Website:	www.retinaleclipse.com
DeviantART:	N/A

Email:	Private
AOL:	N/A
GTalk:	N/A
ICQ:	N/A
MSN:	N/A
YIM:	N/A

Arachne Bio:

Hi, my name is Agnes and I like to draw scary things.

I've been drawing most of my life, but I think I first started pixelling for real in 2004 when I joined the old Pixelation. Back then, I think I was mostly known for all the line art I posted. I joined Pixelation again in 2007, after a long break from both pixelling and drawing, and I've learned a lot from posting there and all the helpful criticism I've received. Now I'm here, hoping that you'll give me the same treatment and help me improve.

My line art page.

Comments

	Arachne @ 6/4/2009 3:14:26 PM commented on SYNCHRO logo The red around the letters really flattens them (too bright) and drowns them out (too saturated). It looks a bit as if a dark color was accidentally replaced with red, and the logo looks much better without it. The letters themselves could use a bit more contrast, but other than that, it's nicely done.
	Arachne @ 6/2/2009 2:06:41 PM commented on Naija Thanks, guys. Stickman - I wanted some color variation in the background, but without drawing too much attention from the foreground, so it's meant to be subtle. It's possible that it would have been more interesting if it had been less scattered. Claredeth - Yeah, I posted it in the renditions thread. 7even - Maybe it was all the talk about fan service on tigsource that did it.
	Arachne @ 6/1/2009 3:02:17 PM commented on Naija Thanks. Stickman - Yeah, it's the selection. She's not quite that green, her hair color is lighter, and there's more red on her outfit. I looked at some of the Naija artwork for the initial sketch, but didn't use it after that, so it's not as accurate as it could have been.
	Arachne @ 3/10/2009 3:31:13 AM commented on Aliens Wonderful designs, but I think the color choices leave something to be desired. Since there is no variation in the color of different parts of their bodies or different parts of armor, they're not far enough away from being the same character repeated with hue change as the only difference. The use of color in your terrifying monsters varied a lot more and made them look much more interesting together. It's hard to pick a favorite, but I think mine will have to be number 7, the purple-green one, although I also like numbers 1, 5, 12 and 14. :)
	Arachne @ 3/7/2009 9:27:25 AM commented on Digger I really like this. Very polished, and interesting use of colors. Her back seems to bend much too sharply, though. I think making the angle 130 degrees or so (with the corner where the bottom of the fold is) would have made it look more natural. Otherwise, definitely one of your best pieces.
	Arachne @ 3/7/2009 9:19:17 AM commented on Shang Tsung As far as I understand it, 50 people voting 1 is the same as 10 people voting 5. So the real problem, the way I see it, is that it makes exposure more important than technical skill.
	Arachne @ 10/9/2008 11:46:21 AM commented on 3/4 portrait of some lady It's a very good start. Nice use of colors, and the hair looks great, but there are a few things I'd change about the face. I think the nose and mouth need to be moved inwards towards the skull, a slightly smaller chin and the left eye moved a bit more to the left and also shrunken a bit. The lower part of the chin and jaw could use some darker shading to make the edge look less sharp. Instead of separating the lips with a black line, you could show that the two surfaces are angled differently by darkening the upper lip. I also think the highlight on the upper lip would look more natural if extended a bit. The yellow skin shade could be toned down a bit to make the white more visible, and the pink could be darkened to fit better between the nearest two skin shades. The AA could also be more consistent since some parts are more jagged than others. Here's an edit. Hope that's useful.
	Arachne @ 9/17/2008 10:34:28 AM commented on Trioculi Wow, I really hadn't expected this kind of response. Really glad to hear you liked it! Larwick - I figured that fishing nets left out might get caught on the creature, and I don't think it would have much difficulty in destroying a wooden ship if one got in its way. So, yes, it is supposed to be an anchor. Skurwy87 - Yeah, there are a few of those. After I AA a part, I usually compare it to the previous step to see if it actually looks better. Then I keep the parts that look best and give what's left another try, but sometimes I might need as many as 3 or 4 attempts to get it right, and that got tedious fast this time. I'll see if I can find all the over-AA'ed parts and do some cleaning up. neota - That's a good point. I'll see what I can do. stickjohn - I see what you mean. I had a bit of trouble getting the darkest parts to look smooth enough with the sudden jump to the darkest color from the second darkest, so I'll give the AA on the men and the boat another go. iLKke - There was a bit of discussion about the reflected light in the Pixelation thread. I looked at a bunch of photos of sunlight reflected in the sea and decided to keep it that way. I don't imagine open sea is ever still, so I think reflections will be distorted even without wind (or giant monsters wading around). I think the light is too far away for it to reflect off of the men. The boat might with a bit of water on it, but I don't see any surfaces angled in a way that would let us see it.
	Arachne @ 9/17/2008 8:06:08 AM commented on Statuesque I like this, but it suffers a bit from priority issues. You're drawing a lot of attention to the least interesting part of the image. I think toning down the contrast in the lower part and adding something like dark leaves behind her head would help make her more visible. Also, the top of the image looks a bit cramped. I think something more like this would have worked better.
	Arachne @ 8/20/2008 11:31:37 AM commented on Devil hunted Thanks, guys. Glad to hear you liked it. sharprm - Thanks for the edit. I agree to some extent. I wanted him to look tired, but still mentally ready for a fight, so it should be something in between. As far as genitalia goes, I thought something less exposed would be better for such a creature, like that of a dog's. Though now that I think about it, that doesn't really make sense for a bipedal creature. pipe - He's talking about the progress animation in the description.
	Arachne @ 8/12/2008 1:35:00 PM commented on [challenge] Rat Warrior I like the concept, and the execution isn't bad, but there are a bunch of mostly minor things that bother me. I think some color changes would help a lot. I think the purples and the sand are much too saturated. Palette variation is not a bad thing, but right now it looks a bit too garish. I would replace the yellow on the tail with light gray and white so that it's easier to tell it apart from the sand. You can also use the lightest fur color instead of the purple dithering on the tail if you desaturate the purples. The brightest yellow could also be darker. I would use a darker gray on the fur and maybe give the darkest red on the fur a more yellow tint because of the yellow sand surrounding him. I don't think the dithering on the metal works. It makes it look too grainy. The dithering on the sand dunes doesn't do much other than make them look hairy in a sense. The green on the middle gun should be shaded with a solid color since they're flat surfaces. Why is the shadow cast by the rat a checkerboard pattern while the shadows cast by the sand dunes are solid? The sand dunes and shading on the minigun suggest that the light is coming from the top left side, while the rat casts a shadow as if the light is coming from above. The top of the image is a bit cramped while the bottom is just sand, so you can move everything down a bit. I edited the colors to find something a bit more realistic. Even though it's not as interesting as your colors, you can see if you think some of this works better.
	Arachne @ 8/12/2008 6:54:47 AM commented on Doll I'm not a fan of the heavy AA, either, but I have to say it's a huge step up from the base. I really like the hair and the colors you've used on her dress, but I think the sides could be darkened a bit to make it seem more cylindrical and less flat. The face also looks flat at the moment. You have highlights on the sides and barely anything in the middle. I think the bridge of the nose, bottom of the forehead and upper lip and chin need stronger highlights to show that they protrude further out than the cheeks. Her eye also looks misplaced, and it gives her a bit of a dazed expression. I'd move it up a bit and to the left. The right side of her face seems a bit stretched out. The left side is more straight, so the other side should be curved to match. I also think there needs to be a bit more space between the nose and the lips. Maybe this edit will explain it better. I hope it's helpful.
	Arachne @ 8/11/2008 9:47:04 AM commented on [Challenge] Time Travel - Indara Kyasa '93 I really like the character and the design of the dress, but I think it would look better if you toned down the outlines. I don't think it really fits when you're using such bright colors for the rest. I would use the brightest orange to give more volume to the dress. It would make the dress more orange than yellow, but then you'd also get a hue shift from yellow to orange, which I think would make it a bit more interesting. You could also add highlights to the pink areas on her dress, and add a pattern of darker squares to the background to make it a bit less plain. Here's an edit where I've tried to apply the things I mentioned. Hope that's helpful.
	Arachne @ 8/11/2008 6:38:37 AM commented on old red dragon I agree with the need for a more interesting palette, but I think the thing that needs the most work is the shading. The dragon itself is nice and I also like the texture, but the way you've shaded it makes it look flat. I don't think the angles of the upper and lower jaws look right. The lower jaw seems a bit twisted out of shape since we're not seeing it more from the side like the upper jaw. It also looks like he's missing his front teeth where the tongue lies, so I think it would be a good idea to lift it a bit right where the teeth should be. Here's an edit showing the things I mentioned. Hope that's helpful, and good luck with the voting.
	Arachne @ 8/8/2008 7:52:20 AM commented on Samus Correct me if I'm wrong, but the point of this challenge is to rework one of your own drawings, but the reference image is not yours?
	Arachne @ 8/6/2008 4:32:38 PM commented on DEEPER I don't really see the point of your Atari ST pieces if they're all just color reduced or traced, and I must say I prefer the originals to your copies. In the case of this particular piece, the copy is a lot less detailed and the background seems too busy compared to the tranquil atmosphere of the original. It seems like you're dithering just for the sake of dithering and not giving the effect any thought. I don't think the added contrast and saturated colors are an improvement, either. Maybe you'd be better off starting from scratch with something your own and learning from there?
	Arachne @ 8/1/2008 8:07:24 AM commented on Praise the LARD There's a reason for calling them challenges, you know.
	Arachne @ 7/31/2008 3:45:17 PM commented on Metal bride Thanks. No idea how many hours I spent working on it, but most evenings over a two week period, so about twice as long as I intended.
	Arachne @ 7/31/2008 3:30:23 PM commented on Smashing! Nice. I like the girl, but I don't think the composition does her justice at the moment. I would remove the fence behind her so that the area around her is less cluttered. You could also move her towards the center, use the blood to circle her more or use the fence and some lines of trees to point towards her to make her even more obvious. I also think her torso is too short and her thighs look uneven in size. The highlight on her breast next to the shadow seems a bit random and makes it look flat. The comical pose of the victim contrasts with the realistic style you're using for the rest, and I think a consistent style might be a better idea. Here's an edit where I've changed most of the things mentioned above, which might be a bit overkill as far as the composition goes, but hopefully it'll show what I mean. In any case, good luck!
	Arachne @ 7/28/2008 11:26:35 AM commented on Metal bride Mirage - Hehe, oddly enough, it was the first thing I thought of. I had been thinking about drawing something not creepy for a change, so maybe it was that. I thought light from the light bulbs in it would give the shadow under the boquet that shape, but maybe it depends on how far out you imagine the bulbs to be placed? It's the first time I've tried something with this many light sources, so I'm sure it's not quite right in places. I didn't have much time to look into it further, so I focused on finishing it instead.
	Arachne @ 7/26/2008 7:56:47 AM commented on Curiousity I love the concept and how colorful the palette is while still limited, but the composition is awkward with the main focus being empty sky. If you make that part darker than the rest instead of brighter, it would make the creature and the kids more visible.
	Arachne @ 7/22/2008 2:48:56 PM commented on Metal bride Thanks, guys! Glad you liked it, and I hope it'll look even better when it's all as polished. RoboBOT - Good points. Initially, I intended for some bulbs to have a slightly different hue than the rest, and I wanted to suggest that color in the bulbs on the ground, but I wanted to keep it limited to 16 colors as a bit of a challenge to myself, so it ended up looking a bit more harsh than it should have and doesn't really make sense now. I'll also see if I can add a bit more color to the leaves. Fool - Thanks, that does help. I'll try and darken the metal a bit.
	Arachne @ 7/21/2008 3:09:08 PM commented on Faerie Circle I love the circle of mushrooms, but I think the rest of the scene detracts from it somewhat. The bushes and trees seem a bit sketchy and flat. I think round objects would need to have a light source in the center of the image to be lit like that. Once the sun sets, the dominant light source would be the sky, which is still fairly bright, so I don't think you would get so many dark shadows since the trees and bushes would be lit from above and around. Trees have lots of gaps in their foliage, and you would have brighter clusters of leaves scattered around, with the darkest parts in the very center of the foliage (the volumetric center, that is, not the visual) and towards the bottom. The texture they have now is more similar to moss, really. More pronounced leaves would help. I suggest using reference for trees in the beginning, since foliage is tricky enough to draw without having to guess. Keep experimenting, though. I think your most recent pieces have been the most interesting.
	Arachne @ 7/21/2008 2:24:31 PM commented on Elk's Forest Of Mystery I second what's been said about the colors and the contrast. It's a nice and atmospheric piece, but I find the lighting a bit confusing. The part of the forest furthest in the background suggests that things get darker with distance, yet the road furthest away is brighter than the part in the foreground. This makes it appear closer. If it's the light from above illuminating it, I would darken the sides of the road since they wouldn't be lit by it. I think you should darken the blue flower behind it as well. The brightest leaf from it next to the closest road bit appears to be growing out of the ground there. Generally, I would try to separate things more by keeping the foreground elements brighter than the background. I'm also wondering what that triangular section is on the furthest stretch of road? The transition to shadow on the grass next to the road under the leaf closest to us is a bit sudden. If you darken the brightest part a bit, it would also separate it from the drop on the leaf next to it. I think you could use purple instead of the barely visible green shade on the blue flower. The grass in the bottom right corner wouldn't have dark shadows like that since grass is slightly translucent. It would be pretty bright if lit from the other side. I also think the droplets would read better as water if you added a darker band around them to suggest that they're reflecting their surroundings. This edit sums it up, I think. All that aside, I think this is my favorite of the forest scenes submitted so far this month. Nicely done.
	Arachne @ 7/16/2008 10:44:41 AM commented on Sal collects eyeballs Thanks. Well, squatting is probably a better word. She's bipedal, so I think her knees would be pointing forward like in a human, but she has huge feet like a frog. Something like this, but I think she needs skinnier legs to match the arms. I haven't really thought much about how she's supposed to move with those legs in a dress. Hopping, maybe. I'll have to give animating her a go.