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Top Pixel Art - February 2011 (#7)
Eu estava vendo seus videos agora pouco, ficou lindo.
Big Brother has highlighted the point I've been banging on to you for months about perfectly! You've got so much potential, Jinn, that it really is time to move on and try more diverse pieces. Your rendering and general pixel art/drawing skills are top draw, but your lack of creativity lets you down. Your commitment to your works gives you a great opportunity, but it seems like you've completely mastered what you currently do. There's is nothing more for you to do here with these constant, consistently good, pieces. Hopefully because the words have come from Big Brother, the super pro, you'll be more willing to go for it. :)
Next pixel pieces you should do, I think, should include backgrounds and characters interacting with a scene. This is something I struggle with because I got myself too stuck in a rutt doing the same old things endlessly. You should take time to study the better pieces on here that show the early stages to the final stages and also Big Brother's piece with the barmaid and tankard, where he has a moodboard of people in particular poses to help him prepare. I think you should study Tomic's artwork too.
Same message from me as always - good work for what you do, but time to step up to the next level!
{ Sure, Ian. I'm not saying I'll pass over your critics, I noticed all you said, and I'm gonna pay more atention to this, you can bet on it.
I'm just saying that, for me, it's all about a hobbie. I'm really intended to get better, but with the right time. You'll see some (or a lot of) more "every day" pieces 'till that. And I really hope you don't get tired of it...
But thanks again. Maybe someday you'll be proud of me. ^^
Yeah, Mathias' interpretation is correct. In this context, "selling" means to make the audience "buy" the image on a cognitive level, either by understanding your artistic goal or being emotionally moved by the message.
I understand that pixel is a hobby for you. The better you are at a hobby, the more fun it will be. You can make a piece like this every day, but unless you analyze the flaws and strive to improve, you will stay at a skill plateau. Unlike a video game, you can't really gain experience by grinding, doing the same stuff over and over again.
I'm not saying that every artist here has to commit themselves to achieve mastery. You have the time and the potential. Plus, you already have good pixel technique, so why not move on to demonstrate competence with other artistic principles? You and every pixel fan stands to benefit.
Good points Big Bro!
Jinn, by BB saying "consistency could help sell this" he didn't mean more consistency will help you literally 'sell' anything. He simply meant more consistency would result in a more convincing, well-crafted scene. So, you're "selling" it to our minds, not to customers. It's just an English language expression.
Nice job with this one.
{ Well, Im glad you spent some time to this piece, and I'm glad you think I can do better. But honestly, I'm not calling it done, I'm not saying that's the best it can be, and that I would never revisit this piece again in the future.
For me, Pixel Art is more like a time killer, or a hobbie. I do want to become a better artist, but I do not want to revisit the seme piece till I get bored. I do it just for fun, and this piece provided me it. I do agree with all your points, and I'll keep all this in mind for my next pieces. But once again, I'm not trying to sell anything, or to prove anything, I just like to draw, and to show what I did. And that's what I did here.
I hope I'll become a better artist someday. And if I do, it will come with time. Time that i'll spent with fun and pratice. And just it. Life is already really boring, I do not want my hobbie becomes boring to. Maybe someday you'd say that I became better. But even if you don't, I'll appreciate your critics. Once again, thanks!
Overall, I think most of these issues stem from a lack of planning. It's hard to make a piece read like a scene if you draw and polish each piece separately like they were game sprites.
You produce a prodigious quantity of work, to the point you must be pixeling constantly! However, I think it will be difficult to grow artistically until you refine an idea and see it to completion. This means implementing revisions until your piece communicates that idea clearly.
It's been said that there's no good writing, only good re-writing. I believe this sentiment translates well to art, too. Good art is no accident. It takes a lot of refinement and a critical eye -- you must be willing "to return to the drawing board." It will be exceedingly difficult to communicate a compelling, forceful idea with an efficient visual if you're only trying to nail it on the first try.
What you have here is a good first draft, albeit a bit over-polished. I'd love to see you take this to the next level!
- Some of the shapes around the army are very ambiguous. Are they flames? Folds of a robe? What are those blobs in the lower right? They're well-rendered, but I can't identify them and it distracts the hell out of me.
- The heroes on the bottom half of the screen have very static poses, especially the center figure. He could be standing by a water cooler. Even though this mimics a movie poster "collage," the mood should be consistent. The heroes don't need to be reacting to the army of monsters behind them (since it might not actually be BEHIND them), but they should show some emotions that identify their relationship to each other and the scene in general. Remember, it's the artist's job to tell a story. A splash screen should pique the viewer's interest especially, since it's one of the first opportunities to make an impression on the user.
- You've rendered hair three different ways. The two heroes on the center and lower right have strands that blend into the hair mass with a realistic sensibility. The two heroes on the lower left have sack-like hair. Or is wearing a sack over their hair part of the costume? Either way, it's unclear and it would benefit the piece to push it in one direction. The horned figure at the top has hair divided into distinct stands, each outlined with dark colors. They look almost like tentacles. Again, I question whether this is intentional.
- The anatomy of the horned figure is painfully invented. His limbs seem to be different lengths. Periodically mirroring the image while you work could help you rectify this. I don't think the musculature needs to be realistic, since this is obviously a fanciful work, but consistency could help sell this. Otherwise it looks unintentionally ignorant. I'm not sure how his head relates to his shoulders. The beard covers the neck, but I can't imagine how the neck would work structurally in his current pose. Does his head meld into his shoulders like that of a muppet's?
Looks like my previous post created an undelete-able, uneditable, garbled message. I'll try posting my message in segments.
Very ambitious, cool concept! I love seeing small sprites fleshed out into full character concepts.
Nitpicks:
-The monster army's colors flatten the image when they could lend it a sweeping depth. Visually, they overwhelm the heroes standing in front. You can accentuate the atmospheric perspective by making the crowd grow less saturated in the distance. To heighten the depth, the detail can recede as the crowd does; the eyes and mouths on the distant monsters needlessly complicate things and can distract the viewer's eyes.
Cara, você é o melhor de todos, não da pra entender. E aqui, aquela paleta que você passou no fim, é a sua nova versao da sua paleta, ou uma escolhida desse rpg ai?
Jinn, esse é seu segundo melhor Pixel art, o melhor é o 100th
Damn, this is slick. Really brings back memories. I love your shading and palettes. Only complaint is I think the overall color scheme could be more unified.
I cried a little.. This brings back memories. The Don Miguel character as well!
{ But he is Don Miguel! he MUST be here.
And Reo, there's no clown on the origial RTP, is there?
Nice piece dude! Great to see you increase the size of your canvas!
I love it, Jinn. The nostalgia in me is rising to the surface here. I do think, however, that the guy in green is a pointless, almost tacked on addition . He doesn't really add a whole lot to the piece. You could just as easily do away with him here and submit him as a single piece.
Alex the hero is my hero.
Massa, cara.
Tava pensando. Vc bem que podia fazer uma imagem do Fly do Dai no Daibouken alguma hora, né? :P
I LOVE IT!!!!!!!! i use rpg maker also! that is a nice piece, i hope to see more like this, bring me a lot of memories using the program!
Really nice job 
Ive said this before and ill say it again: YOU"RE A MACHINE DUDE! im not here to crit, that what the more experienced are here for.
Haha! This is perfect. I don't think the guys at Enterbrain could've done better
{ This was just for better understanding. But I'll change then.
This is great! However, those aren't the original colors for the 5 monster sprites, still very well done.
beautiful use of colours! the green doesnt really fit in with the red purple and blue, like its out of place. but it suits the chracter so well, who's looking kinda nervous, wondering if he took a wrong turn somewhere, i love it!
Man, I spent way too much time playing with RM2k without ever producing results. Great tribute!
Army of legions.