The Circus
Printed From: Pixel Joint
Category: Pixel Art
Forum Name: WIP (Work In Progress)
Forum Discription: Get crits and comments on your pixel WIPs and other art too!
URL: https://pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=12487
Printed Date: 30 September 2025 at 8:30am
Topic: The Circus
Posted By: Hapiel
Subject: The Circus
Date Posted: 09 July 2011 at 12:24am
Welcome to my little Circus.
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Replies:
Posted By: Friend
Date Posted: 09 July 2011 at 5:42pm
| great :) the giraffe poking out is a really nice detail. The green on the wagon is a bit ugly to me though |
Posted By: PixelSnader
Date Posted: 09 July 2011 at 6:16pm
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The green haired clown looks weird because he doesn't appear to have a body, just two legs sticking out of his head. It's a combo of the body being too small, and the pink not contrasting with the skin color.
Redhaired clown looks OK though. ------------- ▄▄█ ▄▄█ ▄█▄ ▄█▄ |
Posted By: ChrisButton
Date Posted: 09 July 2011 at 8:00pm
| The giraffe is adorable. Are you thinking of making a background? |
Posted By: Hapiel
Date Posted: 10 July 2011 at 2:14am
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Thanks for the replies everyone!
Yes, I was thinking of making a background, I even did this time, but I am probably going to mess with the soil as soon as I get proper inspiration about it. Snader, thanks, I descided to give it a big body as well. Also I ditched the pink, I liked the color but it was very similar to the red too, and I can't bear having one color used for 1 object and nowhere else. Perhaps if I find another function for the pink I bring it back. Frost Butt, do you have any ideas how to change it? Or even remake it? I got a little stuck this time as well. the wheel is not working out and the more I work on it the more I start disliking it. However I would really like to have one or two of these typical wagons... 
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Posted By: ChrisButton
Date Posted: 10 July 2011 at 6:12am
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Ah it looks so much more lively now that there's a background to it!
Keep up the good work.
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Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 10 July 2011 at 6:26am
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I really like this and especially like the colors. I have to agree green haired guy needs some adjustments on the body so it looks like he has a torso. red haired guy does it well. The guy with the hat has a face that doesn't quite match the other 2 guys. Maybe its just the head size...dunno it needs tweaking. The giraffe coming thru the tent is great and makes the whole piece quite unique...however, the neck is so thick it kinda kills it. If this 'world' is made of creatures with certain anatomical peculiarities then the giraffe needs to follow this rule too. Right now the giraffe is 'real' looking. The caravan is also not of this 'world' maybe it wants a more curvy irregular shape. The cloud, unless its gonna be grey/stormy right over the characters is just bad design. Theres more to crit but not right now :) I really like this and especially like the colors. ------------- |
Posted By: Hapiel
Date Posted: 10 July 2011 at 8:10am
hehe, yeah I noticed the same when I made the cloud, so I drew rain too, but I removed it again. It is only an example, ill move it around :). Thanks for all the tips and crits, ill start redrawing the wagon!
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Posted By: Tart
Date Posted: 11 July 2011 at 9:52am
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This is great- I'm really looking forward to the finished piece! I like the clowns. :)
Your pallete also works well with the cartooniness of the setting. Out of personal preference I would have stuck the wagons coming out from behind the tent in the back, and made the front of tent like a carnival complete with bratty children and anything you want. |
Posted By: Wayne
Date Posted: 12 July 2011 at 11:26pm
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This is a fun piece! :) The colors used and the shiny highlight on the objects/characters remind me of illustrator David Shannon.
On the green hair guy, is he wearing suspenders? If so, if you look at the tan line on the cheek, it flows/tangents directly into the line that separates the blue suspender strap with the red shirt, which makes the red shirt appear like part of the chin. Perhaps moving the blue straps slightly toward the center and adding tiny buttons will help them read better as straps... if they are indeed straps. Maybe the crotch could be one pixel row lower so that the body reads better as well. |
Posted By: Hapiel
Date Posted: 16 July 2011 at 7:49pm
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Thanks for the comments again!
I actually tried to get the suspenders to reach over the head, but it was very ugly ;). I hoped they are a little more obvious now.. I still do not know what to do with the wagon.. :( 
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Posted By: Hapiel
Date Posted: 03 August 2011 at 3:01pm
A little update for you before I go on vacation!!
Any suggestions for coloring the lion? I will probably redo the small lion. Also I am not happy with the dithering on the cage, but I did not like it without either. Perhaps I should add colors? And I still do not like the wagon on the top floor, suggestions are welcome. Oh well, I have enough ideas left for this, while working on it I will probably get to the solution anyway p) |
Posted By: Celia
Date Posted: 03 August 2011 at 4:10pm
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I really like the lion cage, you added some whimsy with the curves so it works. Incorporating a similar theme to the top wagon would help it out, I think. The top wagon just seems so straight and plain, while the tent and lion cage are exaggerated and cartoony. The characters are really cute! I think the green haired clown still needs some adjustments to his outfit, or maybe a new outfit all together. Is the floating guy a copy of the red haired clown? Maybe at least put his arms in different positions. Can't wait to see this finished. :D |
Posted By: shampoop
Date Posted: 04 August 2011 at 9:11am
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I'm not sure about the black/white outline around the characters. It might not be so noticeable with some more atmosphere though. (not just a blue sky with flat clouds).
Keep it up! |
Posted By: Hapiel
Date Posted: 27 August 2011 at 6:29pm
I noticed the lack of girls, girls are very very important for any circus. But I can never draw pretty girls with these huge faces and fat bodies... What to do now? :( I am still suprised how much things have improved so far, also thanks to comments here! Daniel |
Posted By: CELS
Date Posted: 27 August 2011 at 8:30pm
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I love the characters and the whole style of drawing. Lion: I would probaby make the head bigger. Lions have huge heads, and next to the oversized heads of the humans, the lion looks almost like a cat. Lions also have very characteristic, long noses. The short nose makes it look more like a cat. Ladies: Perhaps you could draw inspiration from the Bratz dolls? Those have rather oversized heads. Will there be a bearded woman, by the way? :) Caravans: These are my least favourite part. Everything else is so beautifully done, it makes the caravans look too simple. Perhaps it would be better to avoid a direct side view, and instead show two sides of the caravan? Not sure if it's the style you're going for, but you could also draw them with warped angles, like the houses from Day of the Tentacle. Anyway, great job. I'm just nitpicking, sorry if this is of no help. Looking forward to seeing how this turns out. |
Posted By: Qemist
Date Posted: 28 August 2011 at 5:22am
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I think the main problem with the caravans is that theyre quite small compared to the humans. Then again, so is the tent wich does look right so I cant tell what it is..
Edit: if the caravan in the first picture of this topic was bigger it would probably be a good one? |
Posted By: Hapiel
Date Posted: 28 August 2011 at 12:13pm
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If I made the caravans even bigger I had to add in even more detail, and I am now already out of inspiration. I do not think that there is a problem with the front view on the lion car, on the big one I tried to do it a little bit, perhaps I should even more. Those windows need to be replaced, that is for sure at least. Oh, and CELS, I agree on the long nose, but do you have any idea how to make it appear bigger from this front view? :p |
Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 28 August 2011 at 1:13pm
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You gotta make things fit the world according to its own rule. Whenever possible 'round and bubble' things. Big at centers and thinned at edges. Add giants, or people on stilts or whatever to 'raise' the eye. Use props to add more action than you think you need. This is a 'mood' piece so you have to set it! Consider adding one blue to set the depth (forgot to do this on my edit >.<) Women = Boobs + puppies...duh! Circus = Freaks.... more freakin' needed. Elephant, pleeeeeez!!!  ------------- |
Posted By: Hapiel
Date Posted: 28 August 2011 at 1:35pm
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For such awesomeness, I will promise you an elephant :) I like your girl, but I guess there won't be room for me making a sexy hula-hooper :p (which is what I planned, of course). I guess you are right about the round and bubble thingy, which I will have to apply mostly to the caravan again. I like the updated hatter, but I am not sure yet about the giraffe or the lion, although they (especially the lion) do need some work on their cartoonyness.. What do you mean by an extra blue shade? For a background? As you noticed (you used it on the girl) I already have an extra blue shade.. Thanks Jal, this is the boost I needed! |
Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 28 August 2011 at 1:53pm
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Don't want to touch/edit more than I did and risk swaying you but if you like I'll make an inspiration edit for ya that illustrates better than words :) ------------- |
Posted By: CELS
Date Posted: 28 August 2011 at 2:42pm
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Originally posted by Hapiel If I made the caravans even bigger I had to add in even more detail, and I am now already out of inspiration. I do not think that there is a problem with the front view on the lion car, on the big one I tried to do it a little bit, perhaps I should even more. Those windows need to be replaced, that is for sure at least. Damn. I wish I read your post properly before doing my edit. Yeah, my whole point was that another view would let you add more detail (without making it bigger). Well, never mind the caravan edit then. Originally posted by Hapiel Oh, and CELS, I agree on the long nose, but do you have any idea how to make it appear bigger from this front view? :p Uhm... I suppose you're asking for something more elaborate than "insert more pixels between the eye and the nose", right? Well, in my arrogance, I've made this edit.  |
Posted By: Hapiel
Date Posted: 28 August 2011 at 2:58pm
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Jal, you are my biggest influence on all my artwork, without a doubt. Not directly trough your own work, mostly trough your edits :). I would never want to have that changed, please inspire me even more ;) The elephant was getting in anyway, but a stiltwalker and fire was new to me, I will probably include both. Although in quite a different shape. I have more ideas, ill save them for later. Whatever you do, don't worry about swaying me. The little things like on the hatted director might be copied directly, but they will help me find these details quicker myself next time. For the bigger things, like inspiration for characters you don't need to worry either, I am most knowledgeble about the circus so I will find my way to put it in my own mould for sure! Just for fun, 3 random pictures featuring myself:    And that is pretty much what I do full time :p. EDIT: Oh wow CELS, you touched the right spot on the lion, and the caravan is great too! Thanks a lot!! |
Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 28 August 2011 at 3:00pm
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Posted By: Hapiel
Date Posted: 28 August 2011 at 5:02pm
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Posted By: jogljoel
Date Posted: 29 August 2011 at 11:16am
| Hahahah they're quite unique and the picture itself seems so happy xP |
Posted By: neofotistou
Date Posted: 30 August 2011 at 2:08pm
| where is the old fortuneteller? The stereotype is either a bearded magician with a tophat or a gypsy woman with a turban. |
Posted By: Tart
Date Posted: 30 August 2011 at 8:40pm
| Bearded lady! |
Posted By: divtag
Date Posted: 30 August 2011 at 10:04pm
| lol... enjoyable to see this thing develop |
Posted By: Hapiel
Date Posted: 31 August 2011 at 10:14am
It seems that the American image of the circus is very different from the European one.. If I ask anybody what they think of when they think of the circus (which I do weekly, it is part of my routine), they never answer about freaks or bearded ladies... ^CC please ^ |
Posted By: CELS
Date Posted: 31 August 2011 at 11:08am
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Haha! I'm Norwegian, but maybe I've been influenced by american TV. At any rate, the circuses we have in Norway, which are typically from eastern Europe, are quite American in terms of content. It's very different from the Cirque Du Soileil. (And different from the hilarious Cirque De Purée as seen in the Simpsons S12E08. Check it out if you haven't seen it.) |
Posted By: Club Beuker
Date Posted: 01 September 2011 at 3:06am
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I think that us Europeans (especially us Dutch ;) ) don't share the same thought of Circuses (Circus'??). The americans think of a Carnival, while we think about shows and acts in a huge tent. ------------- Without me, it's just aweso |
Posted By: Qemist
Date Posted: 01 September 2011 at 4:47am
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Originally posted by Club Beuker I think that us Europeans (especially us Dutch ;) ) don't share the same thought of Circuses (Circus'??). The americans think of a Carnival, while we think about shows and acts in a huge tent. Confirmed (dutch too)  |
Posted By: Hapiel
Date Posted: 01 September 2011 at 7:34am
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A lot of people even frown upon animals in the circus, they just want to see skilled people! Because you are all actively chatting I post this little update anyway :)   To increase the chance I will in fact do it I will already share my new big plan with you: How about I learn some basic flash, and create a nice flash page of this? A scene with some outside stuff, the tent being clickable and bringing you to the inside of the tent, the animals being clickable and bringing you to a page with all the circus animals, and lots of sprites will have a 2 or 5 frame animation! Or should I not do this in Flash and use something more up to date? Html5? Javascript? I know nothing about this, share me your brilliant knowledge :) |
Posted By: Club Beuker
Date Posted: 01 September 2011 at 8:15am
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Originally posted by Hapiel To increase the chance I will in fact do it I will already share my new big plan with you: How about I learn some basic flash, and create a nice flash page of this? A scene with some outside stuff, the tent being clickable and bringing you to the inside of the tent, the animals being clickable and bringing you to a page with all the circus animals, and lots of sprites will have a 2 or 5 frame animation! Or should I not do this in Flash and use something more up to date? Html5? Javascript? I know nothing about this, share me your brilliant knowledge :) A flashsite sounds easy enough to do. Especially with animations (since you can use a frame to frame mode of animation). Lots of pixelmovies or vids are made in Flash (go and look at Newgrounds.com). Also, my experience with flash tells me that it's doable. Anything HTML5 or Javascript like.. I lack the knowledge in that departement. On the other hand, I'll be glad to help you with something that needs flash. (Since for animations you don't need actionscripting, just sprites and keyframes )------------- Without me, it's just aweso |
Posted By: Hapiel
Date Posted: 09 September 2011 at 6:16am
Drawing girls looked much easier when Jal did it... :/
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Posted By: Hapiel
Date Posted: 02 October 2011 at 10:16am
I am not so interested in this any more, so I will finish it soon. The inside of the tent will be completed, I will have to think of something for the background and the image outline, but that will be about it I guess. I do like my elephant so far though :D ------------- |
Posted By: Qemist
Date Posted: 02 October 2011 at 1:18pm
| ohh elephant! nice! |
Posted By: Hapiel
Date Posted: 18 October 2011 at 5:07am
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And now it is found in the gallery! http://www.pixeljoint.com/pixelart/65862.htm">  http://danielsiegmund.nl/2011/10/the-circus-pixel-art - Also on my blog ------------- |