Pixel Joint Forum: Portrait

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   Ok, I may have bitten off more then I can chew, but I am going to get
my feet wet anyways...  My wife turns 30 next month, so I figured
I could make her something, and that something has turned out to be a
pixel portrait.

Here is my reference:

And here is my lineart...

Atleast so far, this has taken me about 2 hours to do.  I have
never done anything like this before...  I am gonna go look for
some tutorials on this...  

What would the next logical step be?  Do I just color it in and
then shade/dither/AA and all that?  Or what?  Any help would
be great...

Author	Message
Ensellitis Commander Joined: 19 June 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10099	Topic: Portrait Posted: 17 July 2005 at 10:46pm
	Ok, I may have bitten off more then I can chew, but I am going to get my feet wet anyways... My wife turns 30 next month, so I figured I could make her something, and that something has turned out to be a pixel portrait. Here is my reference: And here is my lineart... Atleast so far, this has taken me about 2 hours to do. I have never done anything like this before... I am gonna go look for some tutorials on this... What would the next logical step be? Do I just color it in and then shade/dither/AA and all that? Or what? Any help would be great...
	ಠ_ಠ There's a pubic hair on my keyboard. What the f**k?? I "mow the lawn" so it's not mine. Gross.
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Saiklor Commander Joined: 16 May 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 230	Posted: 17 July 2005 at 10:52pm
	I'd say to block in colour sections before doing strong outlines. block in her eyes and eyebrows in chunks, not lines, as they appear in reality get the reality done pat and THEN add the style
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Monstara Commander Joined: 01 July 2005 Location: Bulgaria Online Status: Offline Posts: 179	Posted: 18 July 2005 at 1:03am
	yes, saiklor is right - draw boxes for the eyes and the mouth, get the proportions really perfect and the rest will come into place. I know doing such portraits is a real pain, tried it myself, so big up for just starting it :D
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ryan-gfx Commander Joined: 25 June 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 244	Posted: 18 July 2005 at 2:26am
	So let me get this straight... it took you 2 hours to make that tiny bit of lineart?
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Monstara Commander Joined: 01 July 2005 Location: Bulgaria Online Status: Offline Posts: 179	Posted: 18 July 2005 at 3:37am
	hey, don't go after the man. He's putting effort in it. It is really not easy if you are not tracing it on top of the image, but rather try to 'redraw' the lines.
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Bear Commander Joined: 20 April 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 147	Posted: 18 July 2005 at 8:18am
	ryan-gfx i've been noticing you've kinda been a dickhead to everyone >.>;;; just to point that out and on this picture, i say shrink it down, redo the lineart so it's smaller, but i think you should get a better picture cuz the one you are using now is too blurry, and there is no really really big lightsource also do you have photoshop? that would have helped you lots with your lineart, i could have done that in 5 minutes at the most :\
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PixelSnader Commander Not a troll! Joined: 08 January 2026 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3194	Posted: 18 July 2005 at 8:46am
	just sketch a bit , like youre using a pencil, to make the portrait look like her, and clean up things later. it might allso help to use the round brushes mspaint (or whatever youre using) to block in regions and give global shapes usually lineart isnt very effective when you're trying to copy something big, unless its very very very detailed *Originally posted by ryan-gfx* So let me get this straight... it took you 2 hours to make that tiny bit of lineart? so let me get this straight.. it took you how many years to get a sh*tty attitude like that?
	▄▄█ ▄▄█ ▄█▄ ▄█▄
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sedgemonkey Admiral Joined: 07 April 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1669	Posted: 18 July 2005 at 8:47am
	If Ensellitis takes 10 hrs to do the lineart who cares? He's got his own process and the end results of his works have been great so it seems pointless to hammer on how long someone takes. Lineart happens to be the only place where I work pretty fast, but I'm slow as hell with iso, shading and backgrounds. We're all different.
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Saiklor Commander Joined: 16 May 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 230	Posted: 18 July 2005 at 9:57am
	I just heard a tip! turn it upsidedown. When drawing faces we automatically recognize them as faces and draw them as our brains think they "should" be as opposed to how they actually are if you turn it upsidedown and copy this part of your brain won't do the "shoulding" and will let you get on with how they ACTUALLY look. :) and any updates?
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Ensellitis Commander Joined: 19 June 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10099	Posted: 18 July 2005 at 10:51am
	Yeah, I am going to probably find another picture then start doing it in photoshop, dsince this will be a pretty big project, I am going to need layers so if I screw up badly, I don't have to start all over. Ryan, if you would actiually start reading posts people make before you start sounding like a dick. I said that I have never done anything like this before, and doing lineart in msPaint, not ever doing it, that adds up to alot of time needing to be taken. If you want to give me C&C on my work, please do. But don't come in and harass, tease, or otherwise belittle me because I'm not as good as you at doing something. I would rather you sit there and laugh at your screen instead of trying to make me feel bad because I am not a professional on my first attempt at trying something.
	ಠ_ಠ There's a pubic hair on my keyboard. What the f**k?? I "mow the lawn" so it's not mine. Gross.
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ryan-gfx Commander Joined: 25 June 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 244	Posted: 18 July 2005 at 12:40pm
	hey dont jump all over me, dont get me wrong I was clearifying. Jeez
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sedgemonkey Admiral Joined: 07 April 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1669	Posted: 18 July 2005 at 1:31pm
	Alright people... let's move this baby back on topic.
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Zoomrix Commander Joined: 27 April 2005 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 342	Posted: 20 July 2005 at 9:55am
	The picture is pretty blurry, which might be a good thing, maybe you can build on your own style on this baby. No offence but even that lineart doesn't seem like it should take that long... unless you used the pencil tool Anyway, as it was mentioned before, start blocking in sections of colors and keep in mind the shape, form and lighting of the face. Good luck and post your updates as you go.
	My Portfolio
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pixelblink Commander Joined: 19 February 2023 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2865	Posted: 20 July 2005 at 11:55am
	*Originally posted by Bear* ryan-gfx i've been noticing you've kinda been a dickhead to everyone >.>;;; just to point that out *Originally posted by snader* *Originally posted by ryan-gfx* So let me get this straight... it took you 2 hours to make that tiny bit of lineart? so let me get this straight.. it took you how many years to get a shtty attitude like that? Originally posted by Ensellitis* Ryan, if you would actiually start reading posts people make before you start sounding like a dick. ... Oh man, I couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks guys! Back to the image, there really isn't much progress on this yet. Give us some more to comment on and we'll see what goes down. Maybe Ryan'll tell you how he would have had this whole image down in 5 seconds flat.
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ryan-gfx Commander Joined: 25 June 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 244	Posted: 20 July 2005 at 11:54pm
	Oh everybody can cry and whine and call me a dick all they want but this is redicolous. You want us to give you CC on a lineart that's barely begun. I realize this may have taken you a long time (and lord knows how hard pixelling can be) but seriously, either you were dieing to make a thread that night or you want someone to color everything else for you. Because I'd expect an update but now if you WERE serious about this project anyway.
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Ensellitis Commander Joined: 19 June 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10099	Posted: 21 July 2005 at 4:44am
	OR perhaps I have been busy trying to get other work done first. When I get a contract, I have to drop everything and focus on that first, then I can get back to my pixel art. That is probably why it takes so damned long for me to get one done. I have never asked anyone to do anything for me. Whether it be pixel art, PHP, VB, or any other thing, when I ask for help, I am asking for how to do it, not to do it.
	ಠ_ಠ There's a pubic hair on my keyboard. What the f**k?? I "mow the lawn" so it's not mine. Gross.
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Saboteur Commander Joined: 29 January 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 888	Posted: 21 July 2005 at 8:49pm
	I'd like to point out that this would classify as... guess what? A work in progress! How long he takes to make the lineart and the amount of ground he's covered is irrelivant, seeing as it's more than possible to make mistakes, even in the beginnings. Also, people could give pointers or suggestions as to stylizing this peice. And I agree that you (Ryan) can do some agressive and stupid posts. Especially when you're too lazy to read. NOW! on to the lineart. Oh, wait. It doesn't show up anymore for I. Drrn. -edit- Oh, now it does! odd... The only thing I have to say is that I see not as much hair on the right side of her head, but you put lots in your lines. As for stylizing, picking a funky palette that has something to do with you two would be neat (like... her favorite painting or something). Also try out some funky dithering techniques, but maybe not. Edited by Saboteur
	"I was minding my own business and walking across a pebbled path, and a Duck started giving me the business."
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sedgemonkey Admiral Joined: 07 April 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1669	Posted: 21 July 2005 at 10:45pm
	Lord. No more posts that don't have to do with the pic.
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So-lou Seaman Joined: 25 February 2014 Location: Australia Online Status: Offline Posts: 252	Posted: 21 July 2005 at 10:58pm
	I agree, sedge. ...oops.
	-So-lou
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Monstara Commander Joined: 01 July 2005 Location: Bulgaria Online Status: Offline Posts: 179	Posted: 22 July 2005 at 12:43am
	Actually it is not very good that the photo is blurry. In that case though you can use it as a rough guide (I hope you're not too keen on th e likeness, if you are - get another photo) and make something stylized... For the current state of it - I think the cheekbone is a bit higher and doesn't pop out of the profile so much (i.e. take away a pixel or two from the cheekbone) Now, I'm not sure the nose is exactly like this... see the nostril curves in at a lower point. And I think you should smooth out the entire profile
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Aleiav Commander Joined: 08 April 2016 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2380	Posted: 25 July 2005 at 2:32pm
	Not a bad start but... the ear looks a bit weird to me. I also suggest that you make your picture with more contrast than the original pic. :) And I also agree that you should make it smaller than the pic. Trying to shade a large pixel peice is daunting, especially if you're distracted by other things ATM.
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Ensellitis Commander Joined: 19 June 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10099	Posted: 25 July 2005 at 6:50pm
	I'm actually going to find a different picture fot his, since it is so blurry. I have some on my server, and it gets in from the Bronx tomorrow, then I will start over. I have been practicing my lineart, so it shouldn't take to long to come up with an update...
	ಠ_ಠ There's a pubic hair on my keyboard. What the f**k?? I "mow the lawn" so it's not mine. Gross.
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Aleiav Commander Joined: 08 April 2016 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2380	Posted: 26 July 2005 at 1:08am
	nods groovy. :) Can't wait to see updates. :)
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Ensellitis Commander Joined: 19 June 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10099	Posted: 26 July 2005 at 2:13am
	As you can see I already did the lineart and start coloring/shading. I know the palette sucks, that will change, but for now I am going to leave it as this. I would show you some reference pics, but there are so damned many of them, and I smashed my scanner a few hours ago because it was being a pain. So there you have it... Any tips, suggestions, or comments are appreciated, tear it apart be ruthless, be Ryan. (And just a quick note, she told me that picture was about 10 years old, so I had no choice but to change it, anyway) Edited by Ensellitis
	ಠ_ಠ There's a pubic hair on my keyboard. What the f**k?? I "mow the lawn" so it's not mine. Gross.
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Monstara Commander Joined: 01 July 2005 Location: Bulgaria Online Status: Offline Posts: 179	Posted: 26 July 2005 at 2:36am
	quite nice (and much faster lol) only thing - the neck seems a bit too thick, and you probably have to play with the hair a bit more.
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Aleiav Commander Joined: 08 April 2016 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2380	Posted: 26 July 2005 at 3:27am
	I agree, neck needs to be thinned down. And I would also suggest making the hair more realistic looking. Right now it's kind of clumpy. I actually like the skin pallate so far. Just make sure to have a light highlight for it all.
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Ensellitis Commander Joined: 19 June 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10099	Posted: 26 July 2005 at 7:47am
	I haven't even began the hair yet, that is going to take me forever to do so I am putting it off, up until I pretty much have to do it. I went and fixed the neck, and it does look whole lot better.
	ಠ_ಠ There's a pubic hair on my keyboard. What the f**k?? I "mow the lawn" so it's not mine. Gross.
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Ensellitis Commander Joined: 19 June 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10099	Posted: 26 July 2005 at 12:33pm
	Darkened the skin a bit, and dithered the one arm, not to incredibly happy on how it turned out, so I am gonna go do some browsing later, can't now, gotta throw this to the side for the day, gotta actually go to work now... As always, tear it up.
	ಠ_ಠ There's a pubic hair on my keyboard. What the f**k?? I "mow the lawn" so it's not mine. Gross.
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Saiklor Commander Joined: 16 May 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 230	Posted: 26 July 2005 at 2:45pm
	the arm you have shaded has overtones of pillow-shading going on, you might want to be aware of this so you can keep it from getting too out of hand. You also might want to show us where the lightsource is (I usually draw a dot or little sun) so we will understand why there is pillow-type-shading in places and so we can understand if it's warranted or not.
	www.semesteratsea.com
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Monstara Commander Joined: 01 July 2005 Location: Bulgaria Online Status: Offline Posts: 179	Posted: 27 July 2005 at 5:28am
	This shading doesn't really work. You need a more specific light source. Currently it seems as if the light is right in front of the chick, and even then it is not convincing... sorry. I also think her left shoulder should be rounder..
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WIP (Work In Progress)
Pixel Joint Forum : Pixel Art : WIP (Work In Progress)

Topic: Portrait