[MOD EDIT] I merged your 3 posts into one. Please don't multipost. --Hatch


Edited by Frost Butt - 17 July 2011 at 3:01pm

It's ok. Anyhow, these are fine. There's just not a whole lot you can do with icons this small. You're still operating too much at the pixel level. I still suggest working a little bigger and a lot looser.

[EDIT], because I still don't feel I've adequately made this point:

Very often, when a budding artist uses pixel art as a gateway to art generally, they let the "pixel" aspect hold them back from learning good general art practices. An experienced artist who gets into pixel art will, with a few exceptions, use exactly the same skills he's used for every other medium, and then refine down to pixel-level precision at the end. They do extra work to give their art the crispness that comes with this medium. As I've said before, it's an additional layer of complexity on top of general artistic practices.

On the flip side, a newcomer to art who starts with pixel art sometimes goes about it in such a way that he never gets above the pixel level. He makes simple pixel patterns, fusses with pointless dither, shuns real 3D perspectives (cough), and in the process shoots himself in the foot by never learning the fundamental skills required to make good art. I can't begin to tell you how degenerate this is. The newcomer who does this is abusing pixel art to avoid the hard work of gaining good, general artistic skills. He does a great disservice to himself and to the medium.

While there's nothing wrong with learning art through pixel art, you have to break out of the mindset of working strictly with pixels if you want to become a good artist. There are no warp pipes and there is no godmode.


Edited by Hatch - 16 July 2011 at 5:39pm

No one starts out doing anything as an expert. Everyone here started exactly where you are. There's no shame in it. I suggest taking another crack at it and posting your best attempt. I promise you'll get nothing but support.


Edited by Hatch - 16 July 2011 at 5:41pm

you don't know how much I appreciate devoting your time to help me improve. This is something I really want to be passionate about but I'm just not even sure I can be an artist. I cant visualize anything and can't wrap my head around everything from how lighting works to any kind of spatial reasoning

Edited by Frost Butt - 16 July 2011 at 6:06pm