you're cute :p

wow. This is why pixel joint is so great. The people are so nice and helpful and so honest! Thank all of you for your comments they are greatly appreciated.

@DawnBringer Could you give me an example piece so i can see the proper way to do hair?

@showtime thank you. I do enjoy doing sprites so that is what i am most good at.

@weather not sure what you mean...

@Sooba Yes that is always my problem: colors. Its hard to get that sweet spot between contrast and blend...iness? :P  anyway. Ya sprites themselves are cool, but I'll tell you that i can do much better than what i have done, i am just too lazy most of the time to do anything. So I considerit unsubstantial conpared to what i know i can do. so ya.

@Manupix I can always count on you to crit my work can't I ;) YES. that shading was tough. the consentric zones i did because befire everything looked like the jawline i.e. all messy and confusing. I didnt even try ditering because i knew it would look bad with all the contrast. And YES once again. I do know that by now. But i'll tell you, color choice kills me. I think I'll practice on pre picked paletts.

-peace

Kudos for motivation

This is rather big for a portrait, and the 8-color challenge sends you right into some of the most serious difficulty of PA: how to smoothly shade / texture wide areas with soft transitions. I haven't found out yet! However, one very important thing is to stay true to the light source (whatever it is). I don't think you're really doing that yet. You obviously did consider the light source, yet the shading also looks like you thought you had to make these concentric zones because that's how it's done. That's like advanced pillowshading thinking! - jk -

Colors: you have two very separate ramps, and you use them in very separate places. You should know by now: unify and recycle! I'd add a few more colors as bridges between these ramps, and reuse all of them as much as possible: darker shadows on the face, lighter highlights in the hair (should be just as bright or even brighter than any other highlights).

I also think you're undecided about outlines, esp in the ear.

But more importantly, there's a presence in this portrait. Good job!

 Not bad! The lineart is nice and the shading is well placed. I think the features of the face are nicely done.

Your colors could do with some editing to make them blend better. Right now each color overpowers the next (especcially the dark red-orange) and makes the face very harsh/shiny rather than soft and fleshy. However, it's good to see someone not being afraid to add contrast.

The other thing is certain shade blocks on the face look unnatural: around the jaw line, on the neck, and the small bumps under the lips. They look lumpy and don't fit the contour of of tthe face.

I wouldn't consider sprites and stuff to be unsubstantial- I promise I was as bored as you when I started drawing that portrait. :P   It's that effort that matters. Glad to be of some inspiration to try new things though. :)

I love the colors and the image overall but something just seems so wrong, I can't put my finger on what.

 I agree with downbringer. Also the white is too strong for me but that's just my taste. Other than that is nice.

Hey, don't be so quick to diss your gallery!  I'm sure a lot of people would be very happy to be able to animate walk/run cycles like you.

The shading/structure in the face looks very nice but the hair seem a bit cheap and pillowshady. The ear looks a bit odd; probably because it's too bright (compare it to the pitchblack hair).