Is it just me, or does he look more like Doctor Strange?
Wow this is super rad! This has officially become my favorite Tesla related artwork. Here's the previous harkavagrant.com/index.php
Added to favorites... because Tesla was such a maniac.
This is one of my favourite pieces I've ever seen on here. A large part of that is due to the title, but the image really lives up to it.
Well, the piece is, as always, great. By zooming in, I could see all the colour work that looks ALMOST invisible at 100%. The way you conserved the colours is outstanding (using the same colours you used on the lightning in the face was amazing) and also seems to me that you used very similar colours on the highlights to the ones you used on a piece you´ve made previously and on the shadows very similar colours to the ones on this piece. But I don´t really see the point in mentioning that...
I don´t really know who the guy is (I would normally do some research, but I don´t have internet at home anymore, so I can´t waste any time x_x ), but he seems to be a tortured person. And I don´t get why Saboteur says that just because he is brilliant he can´t be depressed. But I know nothing about him, sooo...
As said before, the eyes really don´t match. His right one, unlike the left, portrays a really deep eye socket, and therefore looks weird next to the other...adding a small highlight below that eye would probably fix it...
The other thing that´s bothering me is the intensity of the red backlight...it would probably look nicer if soften it.
I can´t really crit anything else because I think it´s near perfection. You are awsome Helm, I can´t imagine you as a n00b (you said Pixelation really helped you when you were a begginer...when was that exactly?)...I hope my post is "big enough", I really wish that I, even being years beyond you, was able to help you in any way...
Hah, I'm tempted to be wordy, but I think I'll hold back. We'll go for the short vision-guided response.
To be honest, I don't like it. Sure, it's brilliantly formed, and seldom a pixel on there is out of place, but it looks like two vaguely related images. Don't assault me because I hadn't stalked Tesla in a second life. Going ONLY from this, he looks like some guy with a mustache that has something to do with electricity and is incredibly depressed. His eyes are downcast, he looks sullen, the red glow suggests even MORE unsettlement. So yes, the pixel placing itself is beautiful, but it really conveys little about the guy. If he's brilliant as I remember hearing he was, why don't you portray that in his facial expression?
Uh oh, this is turning out long.
Would not the light of the lightning reflect further down onto his shoulders? It would seem to me that such would be the case, and the absence of that really makes it look like a floating head. Again, this adds to the whole lost/depression thing, for me.
Apologies if the depression thing was intentional, but in any case I don't like it. That's just my opinion.
Regarding Helm's comments about critiques at PJ...
I 100% agree that uploading pixel art in the gallery is not where people should be posting if they are seeking serious critiques (like Helm mentions, that's what forums are for). Of course, if you would like to post a critique here most artists appreciate the thoughtful remarks.
Speaking of folio stuff, I would really like to start building decent tools for you pixel artists like an RSS feed for your gallery and personal categories to organize work. Anybody can always submit suggestions through the contact form. </offtopic_blathering>
Regarding Helm's work... the red light emerging from the shadows is just gorgeous. You've really got lighting down.
Great color selection as usual. For some reason though, I"m liking the lightning effect more than then Tesla himself. The dithering on Tesla, with the strange coloring is top notch, don't get me wrong. But I still see some tiny problems.
The first thing I noticed about his face is that his right eye seems to blend in with the white of his eye. I understand that is your desired effect, as you understand how to compensate amount of color in your works, and it works particularly well with his left eye. However, with the right eye, it just looks....well, deformed, as if he was punched(kinda like a swollen eye, or black eye), or burned fusing the white of his eye with his eye lid. Speaking of the eyes, the bags under his left eye go a little further than a normal persons, and the light bieng reflected at the tip of the bag doesn't seem like a normal place to find lighting on that area of the nose, given that the nose should be blocking light at that point, given your current point of light source.
Than I noticed his ear. It looks so...plain. It's as if you were so tired of detailing the face, that you forgot all about the ear. Once you realized the ear's plain-ness, I'm guessin' you just said 'screw it' and laid a black outline to show the curves just to get it over with. It's not as detailed as the rest of the pic is what I'm trying to say.
I'm not trying to be a pretensious prick here, or steal your thunder( as if I could). I just remember reading a certain quote of yours here which went a little something like:
" Check the pixelopolis wiki for definitions of these things, and generally register at pixelopolis for in-depth critique of your work, as this isn't exactly the place for more, in my opinion. "
So I decided to critique you as professionally as I can. But once again, this is nothing short of excellent. Great job, Helm...
This is awesome! Also, heatpheonix, thomas edison was a psychopath, he electricuted animals to death for show in front of an audience, why the hell do you like him?