I was actually suggesting they appear more in the background, connected to the cliffs (or gigantic trees whatever they are?) that flank the character and the colossus! Yeah, I much rather like the small detailed stuff in pixel art too.
i actually played with the thought of adding more stalactites or more greenery, but those would be in the macro view and be more a nuisance in pixelart i think... because i like smaller things more :P they wouldnt require as much detail as other things...
I see what you mean, Cure. Although, you are saying the unresolved space draws the eye away, while Onek claimed it was the lighting. Onek's lighting edit may consequently solve that problem of the spacial balance, but this doesn't mean the original lighting is problematic. After all, aren't there other ways to resolve the lack of balance in space than having the strong diagonal lighting? For example what if Elk added some more stalactites at the top of the image? Or some large birds? Or extended some tree branches out from the left and right cliffs to form a sort of arch? Otherwise, the "spotlight on the main character" thing manifests as Jetrel pointed out, which in this case may not be necessary (?).
Anyway, I get that Elk is done with this :-) .
yeah i agree cure, thats why im disappointed at this one more or less, but it taught me alot about techniques and physics as it was a big experiment again :p it was the first time i did some serious attempt of waterreflection in pixelart, though most of this work was bitchwork (AA and dithering) but that cant be avoided, but im still proud of lots of details it consists, so that was a step forward, my next piece will hopefully take more planning into consideration so the compositional issues are resolved too xD
I think onek's edit solves a problem. The upper portion of the composition is unresolved and the open space lets the eye escape the image. the strong diagonal in the edit keeps the eye circulating through the image fluidly. I think it's less a matter of narrative and more of a problem with the eye's movement through the composition.
it is really an amazing piece...wow
but i think onek's piece is physically easier on my eyes
so it's nothing about u, just my problem
beautiful work
I'm sorry, I really have to call BS on onek's suggestion: " but i also think that the composition is a bit problematic... as delicious said, the eye is heavily drawn towards the background... "
That is the point.
I'm saying this not from a "white-knighting" standpoint, not from a defense of "authorial intent", either, but because I really hate these sorts of rules people treat like law. As far as I can tell, the meat of this rule states that the composition on a picture should always draw the eye towards the main character in the picture - that is, that emotionally speaking, the main character in the picture should always be "center stage", with the limelight on them. I think that's fine for many pictures, but I think it's dangerous and wrong to say it must be that way for all pictures. It enforces an emotional tone to a picture that - although it works fine for many characters, works poorly for many other characters.
It makes the character feel like the center of attention - that's totally appropriate for type-A, "look at me" triumphal types. It's terrible for more passive, elusive, or shadowy type-B figures who actively don't want to be the center of attention. It just gives off the wrong 'feeling' to the character.
In this piece, the eye is deliberately drawn away from the main character to give off a feeling that he is insignificant in the larger world around him. Which totally makes sense, because that's central to the game this comes from - being a scrappy, puny human taking on giants.
I've been waiting for this piece for a while and I'm glad to say it has excelled expectations. The fact that you can invest so much time and effort into your pieces without altering the concept entirely is fantastic. "Elkcellent" work ;-)
this is my far favorite pixel art i've seen oO. I envy you!
I have a "contrasting" (if you could call it that) perspective on the composition with regards to earlier comments, particularly the one from Onek. Rather than become a critic, judging a work of art from the outside, I would choose to "live into" the artist's own idea, own image of his/her creation. What was Elk's goal and did Elk accomplish it? Let's ask Elk. Otherwise, if Elk's goal was silly, then how can one help Elk see that?
I agree with Onek and Delicious that my eyes are somehow pulled as if by a gravity towards the heavily-lit background cliffs and waters. But I don't want to simply stop there - because I also know that I have the freedom to control where my eyes go if I want to. This is why I never let the "wisdom" on how the weaving of compositional elements draws the eye a certain way shape and solidify a law in my head. Why did Elk depict the light like so? Elk I am curious, what do you have to say about that aspect of your piece?
I simply see the piece as depicting a fantastical place that is meant to take one "somewhere else". In this "somewhere," the artist (clearly skilled) chose to depict either a place purely as it existed in their mind and wanted to share it, or, purposefully chose to depict a place where the background light was prominent. If it was purposeful, the only thing I can think of is that it brings a sense of hope, or an idea of journeying forth, into the distance, out of the darkness that the forest represents, and the cliffs and waters are part of this hopeful journey. Whereas, in Onek's edit, the sense of hope coming from the light is there and perhaps more focused, but the cliffs and waters are not really included; they are part of the dark world.
I enjoyed Onek's edit, by the way, but to me, it was just another way of depicting the fantastical place; not better, not worse, but including a different mood. It's like sunset versus high noon. Both are beautiful or produce beauty, but cultivate in one a different mood.
I haven't commented on this yet o.O
*slaps self*
Rocks are truly inspiring. Love that texture =]... well, it's all inspiring. damn elk <3
How is this fair? I give up! *throws Paint up in the air*
i take the time for myself that others dont claim :P
Oh crap. Just how did you find the free time for all that? More importantly, how did you not get a heart attack from this?
I dig how the mountain sillhouettes in the back almost look like another giant.
I don't think there's a single wrong pixel in this.
I wish I could devote the time and attention you've clearly given this piece. Beautiful. That's the most apt description for it.
I just want to look at this all day.
Absolutely beautiful!
Though I do love this piece, so much so that I've returned to post a second comment, I must say that onek's edit is brilliant. I think his changes take the picture to the next level! Perhaps, if you could muster the energy, you'd try going that route with it in the future?
But alas, I can fully appreciate that after so many hours the enthusiasm has probably all dried up. The original version is still a laudable masterpiece.
I'd buy it for my wall.
What the hell boy.
Awesome work.Can you show me some old sketches of this pixel?
DAT PIXEL ART.
Sorry, but no such words to describe this amazing pixel art. And sorry for my bad english.
WOW! I'll make 10 fake accounts to fave this more!!! Just one fave feels unfair!!! 
this is a yet again a truly amazing work elk !
im totally in love with the textures and those background creatures , but i also think that the composition is a bit problematic... as delicious said, the eye is heavily drawn towards the background... its not really a matter of compositon but more of lighting ...
lighting imo is the most impotant element to lead the viewer into an image... i fully understand that u are tired of this after 500+ hours, but maybe u should consider working a bit more on this and get a certain place in the annals of pixel art history :)
made a quick lighting edit
i992.photobucket.com/albums/af45/oooonek/elkedit_zps9e6814b5.png
(btw... its amazing how i could just edit this without making it seem super shitty and fake... i mean this is PA but it felt just like editing a drawing or a photo...)
This is not a pic about colossus, this piece is a colossus.
Really hard to write anything here because of the fact that my eyes just exploded from the pure awesomeness.
Finally! Lovable in every detail, even the far silhouettes. Few pieces manage this; both managing to be near seemlessly smooth but also having so much detail that could only be made in pixel level.
There must be a huge misunderstanding here about the "unfinished" places. To me, leaves in the bottom corners were closer to the viewer and thus sharper, which seemed incredibly well thought.
Calling this piece unfinished would be unfair, considering this is pixel art.
I was so excited when I saw the preview for this! Yay Elk!
Had to Login just comment on this masterpiece!
Dude tell me the secret for your improvement as a BYOND's artist!?!? None of the BYOND's artist have improved this much!
Accept me as your student please D:
Looks totally unfinished
Just kidding!! Too bad I can't rate this any higher than 7 squares; this is an absolute masterpiece.
Wow, this is great. Lots of colors (I used photoshop to auto-compress the palette from 50+ shades down to 30 without much loss in detail), but really nobody cares about mundane details like color-count with Elk pieces, right? Monthly top for sure!
onek: About your edit, the text is alright but the link is kinda messy.
Congrats on the monthly 1st place trophy.
You know you're getting it.
Love the water and the reflections. The curly leaved plant is a nice touch.
Quite epic dedication and result!
I think I remember seeing like a 50% finished WIP of this over a year ago or something?
I understand you're probably fed up with it, but you should get around finishing up the bottom corners, really. With so much work gone into it, might as well go the distance and wrap it up 100%. Perhaps after a few months of rest? :D
(sry... I f***ed up commenting... had to delete this and replace .. but still O___O, see it as double awe ^^ )
ill post a WIP animation soon, no reference sketch was used :P
Been waiting for this to be done for months. On longer breaks from PJ I'll come back and check your profile to see. To be honest, based on the old avatar I didn't think you were going to match the detail and atmosphere as Elk's Deathwing. Thank you for surprising me.
I'm glad there are still true artists on PJ who will work on a masterpiece like this. -- I'm completely bored of seeing video game stuff, although I'm just another one of the people submitting game art. (Please take no offense fellow PJ'ers)
***I agree with Hapiel. (Although I don't know what rough areas he was talking about.) -- But the ones I noticed quickly were in the bottom right. -- This is obviously one of the top works on PJ, I just find it frustrating to see such amazing work 99.9% finished.
It doesn't take away from the first glance quality at all, but I'm the kind of person who stares at a picture for about 15 minutes looking at every detail.
I'd like to see the reference sketch if one was used. It's fun to see the pixel interpretation from the original(pencil/pen/etc.). and of course the WIP if there was one.
Top notch stuff here. -- Hope you start a new piece soon. This type of work is like an early Holiday for me.
I don't even have a category to think about this. Love the rock gaints in the background.
How the hell do you even do something like this?! It just blows my mind. Do you begin with blocking everything in then start adding texture? This is a damn master piece.