Pixel Art Details

Title:	Dragon Ball
Pixel Artist:	castiboy (Level 5 Assistant Manager :: 3152 points)
Posted:	3/25/2008 15:23
Palette:	15 colors
Statistics:	65 comments 53 faves 0 avatars
Here it is, finally complete. i started this some weeks ago, but it took me long to finally decide to dither than nimbus, and it took less than half an hour, i've improved my dithering i think. this is a tribute to dragon ball's awesomeness, and a challenge to myself concerning pixel art technical aspects (dithering, anti-aliasing, colours, outlining): it is a remake of one of my oldest works [dA link] many people still like that old one, but i couldn't look at it any more, so some weeks ago i decided to prove i can do tons better, and i'm quite happy with the final result. reference official art here: http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/6974/songokuvx2.jpg differences are minimal, as my focus wasn't the dynamic pose of the character, nor changing light sources or other aspects, but purely my pixelart "technique" if i can say that... edit: used adam's tip and now it's 15 colours + transparency. edit 2: rewrote that text a bit. also, i'm surprised to see this in the weekly showcase, people shouldn't be rating it so high, and i really mean it...

Discussion

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Dickel (Level 5 Captain) @ 8/30/2013 23:07

you deserve a liver, i liked

Geoglatico (Level 6 SWAT) @ 4/22/2011 13:58

Perfect

gripfire123 (Level 1 Rookie) @ 5/26/2010 13:18

wow dude...this is just...BEASTLY AMAZING. i will definatly put this as one of my favorites. just plain awesome man....i salute u.

Perfect (Level 1 Rookie) @ 3/26/2010 03:32

That's just awesome.

Ozzy123 (Level 1 Rookie) @ 11/29/2009 01:13

=O That is awesome... I love DBZ

Demon Jr (Level 1 Rookie) @ 7/9/2009 00:24

best dbz pixel art ive seen yet

Crosell (Level 1 Gangster) @ 10/21/2008 08:00

I like almost everything of it, maybe slow down on some dithering. You maybe overdid the dithering on the cloud, but other then that it looks good to me so... And about your older version it is good also, but compared to this one it's bad, your a skilled spriter be proud of that!

keep it up ;)

castiboy (Level 5 Assistant Manager) @ 7/5/2008 10:58

oh, the flat part... yeah... i see i'll have to try fixing that... but i wont add AA on the exterior though, that already made the cloud look very bad on certain bg's, so i removed it there. thanks for the c+c :)

JerryPie (Level 11 Big Foot) @ 7/4/2008 23:14

I guess it's not as much of a dent as I thought. I have a high resolution set on my machine so stuff may look funnier.

From left to right staring at this, you see the first 2 large pieces of hair that stick up? The 2nd one, (being the largest/tallest one) toward the top point of that hair there is a section where the pixels stop bending and are just straight for about 10 pixels. It sort of looks like a dent, especially with the choice of colors in that area and maybe my resolution. Only way I could think of fixing it is to maybe try to curve it a little more before having such a large straight section of pixels at that 45 degree angle...Or you could AA the whole thing to completely fix it.

This is an awesome piece though.

castiboy (Level 5 Assistant Manager) @ 7/4/2008 09:57

i cant really find this dent you're talking about :/
mind showing me?

JerryPie (Level 11 Big Foot) @ 7/3/2008 04:32

This is great...But the thickest piece of hair, the middle one, has a big dent in it. Hopefully I'm not just seeing this. Good work though! I love DBZ!

castiboy (Level 5 Assistant Manager) @ 4/3/2008 14:35

don't worry this one is quite an exception in my gallery (as you see, it's a remake on an old work, my intention was to see how better i was here, "technically", not to create something new).

Hatch (Level 3 Hatchikyu) @ 4/1/2008 18:39

I'm keeping my opinion of this to myself for now, but I just want to commend you, castiboy, for handling the controversy calmly and maturely. I hope you decide to do more original works in the future.

castiboy (Level 5 Assistant Manager) @ 4/1/2008 14:19

i wouldn't know how to make the nimbus less solid though, maybe reducing contrast? i kinda like the looks of it, "cartoony" like you say.
the dotty looks of it were at least good practice for me, hehe. thanks for the comments :)

new-age-reject (Level 1 Depressed) @ 3/31/2008 15:26

This is great, I love Dragon Ball.
I kinda agree with ThereIsNoCure that the nimbus is a bit solid but it gives a nice cartoony effect.

cure (Level 11 Pixellite) @ 3/31/2008 14:01

Clouds are plain. The dithering is too obvious, as leel pointed out, and makes it looks sort of solid. That being said, I think the rest of the image looks great.

castiboy (Level 5 Assistant Manager) @ 3/30/2008 09:26

it was looking really plain with simple shading, and i wanted to practice dithering, that's why i did it, but i'm aware the final result doesn't look that great, thanks for the criticism though :)

thanks for your support MM & Larwick :)

leel (Level 5 Killer Klown) @ 3/29/2008 18:49

I really don't think you should've dithered the cloud.. or at least made it a bit more fluid and randomized - cause as is, it doesn't suit the style and aesthetically speaking doesn't work very well.. same with the clothes - though on the red the dithering actually works to smooth out the transition, while on the cloud it's just... dotty. And it clashes with the very crisp trail of the cloud..

Tarenken (Level 3 Stalker) @ 3/29/2008 16:50

Personally, I find this a lot better than a lot of things that are weekly showcased, in terms of pixel techniques.
gj casti

Larwick (Level 8 Tengu) @ 3/29/2008 06:13

Guys stop saying that something isn't art, anything can be percieved as art. It's subjective. Rather than saying 'it's not art' you should say 'i don't see it as art'. Would make me happier anyways. :) Thanks.

And so what if castiboy gets in the weekly showcase? He'll recieve more attention and may obtain an urge to better himself, this could be a positive thing for everyone, since we all strive to improve ourselves and help others do the same. I'm sure some people have learnt alot from the arguments in this piece. Taking it off the site entirely may not recieve such a positive result. Although some people may find what i just said to be rather silly, i'm just looking on the positive side. The mod's have made their decision, i'll personally be stricter next time. Let's just get over it.

zAk (Level 3 Stalker) @ 3/29/2008 04:58

dogmeat: Well 90% stuff on this website is not art anyways so it doesnt matter. Would you accept it as art if it wasnt based on an image but still it was Goku?

Metaru (Level 8 Brigadier General) @ 3/29/2008 04:53

"well chosen colours"

(. . .)

castiboy (Level 5 Assistant Manager) @ 3/28/2008 11:19

you made your point clear, but i think i made mine too as well, as jalonso said, "the focus here is pixelart technique and subject matter is not that important."
just, my focus were the technical aspects of pixel art: dithering, anti-aliasing, well chosen colours, etc. people are not to think i came up with this all by myself, that's why the original art is there.

blueleds (Level 1 Rookie) @ 3/28/2008 08:50

A good tribute to Akira Toriyama's magnum opus. A few minor flaws here and there, but overall not bad.

You should animate this. It would only need about 3 frames to make it look good. Set it to play at a low speed (like 15fps), and basically just make his hair and belt flap around in the wind. If you were really keen, you could even make the reflection in his eyes move a little and move the shading around in the clothes too.

Gil (Level 6 Major) @ 3/28/2008 08:20

Having a WIP thread has nothing to do with this. I proved it's a copy, what more do you need? It's a pixel for pixel match in the line art department and he copied the shading from that official artwork.

I don't mind if you guys say: "We know it's a copy, but we don't care", but don't say it's not a copy

Elwin (Level 5 Sniper) @ 3/28/2008 05:09

Really guys, leave casti alone! He even has a WIP thread: http://z14.invisionfree.com/c_spriting/index.php?showtopic=8613 Now just for some general critic: I'm not a huge fan of the dithering in the darker shades, as it is making them look quite square. I love everything else, but maybe a little more contrast on the light shade on his clothes?

castiboy (Level 5 Assistant Manager) @ 3/28/2008 03:44

"thing"... thank you...

but i was wondering the same thing...

Bengoshia (Level 3 Stalker) @ 3/28/2008 03:26

How did this.. thing get into the weekly showcase?

castiboy (Level 5 Assistant Manager) @ 3/27/2008 14:19

i didn't mean it to be a full original piece, as you see i used an old work precisely to be able to compare it with what i used to do back in what... 2005 i think. my aim here was more into the technical aspects of pixel art: dithering, anti-aliasing, well chosen colours.

concerning multi-posting, that won't happen again. i thought it didn't matter with this display system (as in this is not a forum), guess i was wrong.

shmupstick (Level 7 Sheriff) @ 3/27/2008 14:09

purpletree: castiboy already answered regarding the postings.

I think it's fine. You learn a lot doing stuff like this. And the hilights on the cloud is his own.

purpletree (Level 6 Manager) @ 3/27/2008 12:55

i still agree ewith Gil... and wats with the 5-in-a-row post sor quinzuplet posts.

Gil (Level 6 Major) @ 3/27/2008 12:52

No, no, by all means, leave it there, I'm not a mod. I just think there's zero creativity in that piece, and imo, it goes against the rules too, but you never claimed for it to be more than it is, so don't mind me if the mods don't mind...

The fact that I can put the images on top of each other and even the shading matches pixel per pixel does mean you totally copied it, so try some original stuff next time, you're more than capable of doing so...

castiboy (Level 5 Assistant Manager) @ 3/27/2008 11:47

i guess i didn't quite remember how i did that old one... i did on the other hand work a hell of a lot on this version, i don't see the part when "pixel for pixel" it's the same... i put a lot of effort into this... but if you really consider this as intolerable go on and delete it, i guess i should have rather made something new instead of finding some old work to revamp... my bad... and i was so happy with it...

Gil (Level 6 Major) @ 3/27/2008 10:20

It's traced, shading is copied, and it's pixel for pixel the same. He said he used a reference pic, not that he copied the entire thing, which he did. I'm appalled he dares to add this to his gallery. He could at least have changed even the tiniest detail...

jalonso (Level 11 Godfather) @ 3/27/2008 09:05

I do not consider this a rip. It is ref'd and stated in description.
Original art is always better but this is fine to me.

Gil (Level 6 Major) @ 3/27/2008 07:49

Would you mind explaining why this is just a rip? You even included the image you ripped off in your comment?

http://art.game-designer.org/pixelart/edit/songokuvx2.gif

Wait a bit for it to load. Oh, and it's a bad edit, but it shows clearly enough why this is nothing but a rip. You traced the lines, copied the shading, everything...

castiboy (Level 5 Assistant Manager) @ 3/27/2008 04:17

well thanks.

i was replying to different messages, the reply system only notifies the person on whose message i press "reply" i think ._.?

Warwolt (Level 1 Thug) @ 3/27/2008 04:12

God that is so awesome!

Badassbill (Level 11 Big Foot) @ 3/26/2008 23:51

I don't like how you did Nimbus, but Goku turned out Great. Also, if you're going to comment make sure you do all of your replies in one post. This isn't dA =P

castiboy (Level 5 Assistant Manager) @ 3/26/2008 15:50

glad you liked ^^

castiboy (Level 5 Assistant Manager) @ 3/26/2008 15:49

even though it's from DBZ art ^^

Chinli (Level 1 Seaman) @ 3/26/2008 12:45

omg FANTASTIC really beautifull, nice job

zAk (Level 3 Stalker) @ 3/26/2008 07:24

very clean and neat - i love it! It perfectly gives off the atmosphere of the first series of Dragon Ball!

castiboy (Level 5 Assistant Manager) @ 3/26/2008 05:09

thanks everyone else i didn't reply to :]

castiboy (Level 5 Assistant Manager) @ 3/26/2008 05:01

i'll recount and may merge it to see how it looks. thanks for the tip :)

castiboy (Level 5 Assistant Manager) @ 3/26/2008 05:00

one of my biggest pixel art it is. i see what you mean about the palette, i just like to do that kind of stuff with palettes, but i guess i can remove it and reupload. thanks for the comment.

castiboy (Level 5 Assistant Manager) @ 3/26/2008 04:57

i tried to make it global, as of to give some texture to it, but i know this could be better. for my defence, i'm not used to dither this much anyway, so this was pretty experimental to me.

castiboy (Level 5 Assistant Manager) @ 3/26/2008 04:55

i understand, i quite simplified it in here, i guess i could try and give it the old more natural feeling, maybe later sometime.

madPXL (Level 3 Hatchikyu) @ 3/26/2008 02:45

good job:)
love toriyama design !

Adam (Level 9 Human) @ 3/26/2008 00:40

Well, this brings back memories! Nice piece.

Paint Shop Pro shows only 17 colors. Merging the skin highlight - lightest yellow and the second dakest clothing - skin colors would even decrease this without any noticeable difference.

notoalpena (Level 1 Rookie) @ 3/26/2008 00:09

I love this. Everything is perfect to me.

l3m0n5 (Level 4 Deputy) @ 3/25/2008 21:25

OMG THE BEST PICTURE IN THE WORLD. Even for conjouring the thought of pixeling this i give it 6 outta 6 starts. I remember back in the day trying to sketch this same drawing out. :D well done too

Pandora (Level 2 Corporal) @ 3/25/2008 20:49

I, on the other hand, LOVE the style you used on the Nimbus. I don't even watch the show, but I fav'd this piece. Excellent work - hope to see more of it!

sensation (Level 1 Intern) @ 3/25/2008 20:38

Nimbus doesn't look that great but Goku is done REALLY well!

jalonso (Level 11 Godfather) @ 3/25/2008 20:25

Very nice to see something this big from you.
I only don't like the palette as its distracting both where its placed and the decorative nature of it.

Zephiel87 (Level 4 Lieutenant) @ 3/25/2008 19:39

Don't really like the dithering. seems like you just randomly decided which areas to dither.

SillyJonna (Level 2 Kukyu) @ 3/25/2008 18:31

This is definitely an improvement over the old one, and I like it very much. However, I like the bottom of Nimbus in the old one more. On the new one, the lines look too similar to each other, but they're more varied and cloud-like in the old one.

Other than that, you did a great job!

Sattanazio (Level 4 Team Leader) @ 3/25/2008 17:22

congratulations... you got a new fan

Darth Mandarb (Level 10 Operative) @ 3/25/2008 17:17

I really like this! Great dithering going on there!

greenraven (Level 2 Hired Gun) @ 3/25/2008 17:11

Vote, as in vote into the gallery.

Kinda with skeddles here, but it could have been worse, could have been another Sonic or Mario.

Broli (Level 3 Private Eye) @ 3/25/2008 17:11

Ah, DBZ, a classic anime. :D I like the shading on this and the dithering. Nice job on this, really like the line art on it.

skeddles (Level 11 Sphinx) @ 3/25/2008 17:05

I don't like DBZ, but this is pretty good. ^^;

castiboy (Level 5 Assistant Manager) @ 3/25/2008 16:28

woo thanks :D

but, uh, vote? o.o?

amerup (Level 4 Murderer) @ 3/25/2008 16:19

This is amazing, man. Faved.

Obviously got my vote. ;D

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