Pixel Beginner Pixel Artists Thread!

This thread is so people beginning pixel art can come together and share things they found and we can all progress together! I just finished my dovahkiin or iron helm!

 

So that's the completed product? If so I have some things to critique

 

Looks kind of like a doodle of the helm, but in MS Paint so you can see the pixels. The eyes are all right but I don't have a lot to say about this one. Try drawing it from a reference picture.

 

Here, let me show you some stuff:

This is your same image. Nothing is changed about it except the shading. I cleaned up the outlines because your outlines must not be clumpy, which is more than one pixel wide. There are some exceptions of course like sharp curves or points, as you can see in this sprite. I also colored your outlines so you won't lose detail to black outlines. Black outlines are a good starting point because it's dark and easy to see, but so are dark colors. So when you've got your black done and your colors shaded, try going back and using a color darker than your darkest shade for your outlines. I also added shadow on the facemask and that's what makes it pop. I literally added 2 colors to the facemask and look at the difference:

Now you're learning! Shading means the world in pixel art. Now that we're on the subject of shading let me introduce dithering to you:
(to be fair I did add another tan color as a highlight on this one)
Same colors, only if you look closely some pixels on the horns blend into each other more fluently. This is because of dithering, which is a shading technique where pixels of one color are put in slight moderation to another color and vice versa. This adds not only a more fluent blend, but the reason it does that is it also makes it appear as if there are more colors than there are, thus fooling your eye into thinking the transition from one color to the next is less than it actually is.
Compare them all together, and choose the technique you like best, then go and do it yourself to learn! Try to look at the examples closely and do it on your own. If you need to look back of course, by all means look back.

 

FreshSheet you rock. Now I feel like a bit of a douche. .-.

 

It kinda looks like a square bat that learned iron dragon slayer magic. That's pretty awesome.

 

I should be more fair to you Cell. You actually had a fantastic outline and design. That I would not change, it was done rather well. Just a little rough
Smoothness comes with practice so keep making more art!

 

I know this is very tiny, but (not rememberomg where) I heard that it's best to start off with 50x50 so I did. I'm not really sure how to do A LOT of it, but I'm trying.
It's definitely incomplete. Lol, but I love tips and pointers!

 

I'm happy to oblige
First things first, I'm glad to see you have an actually pretty good outline here and that your hair doesn't look awkward like most starters' hair looks. Good job there
The skin should not be white, but I think you understand that as a given. If it's a mask it would need more noticeable end points because as of now it blends from your lack of a dark outline around the mask perimeter. The black in the hair is conceptually a good idea, however you would not use black there. Use a dark brown. Also, with the length his hair is at it would stick out a bit past the ear behind his head. The sharp point at the right side of the hairline should be fixed, hairlines don't naturally do that. They may be cut to be sharp, but not that sharp. I've tried it and deleting that corner pixel would make the difference, so I'd suggest you do that. Other than that, I'd like to see the mouth drawn in (if it's not a mask) and the black fixed. Then give shading a shot and see what you can do

 

Thanks!

Yeah, he's not wearing a mask, so I have to color the face and draw in the mouth. I'll clean the hair up to my best. Here it goes.

PS. - I'm not sure how bad I am at shading. So we'll see I guess.

 

Shading is really not too hard. Things to think about:
Don't pillow shade. Pillow shading is shading from the outside in, which means around your outline is dark and as you progress inward your values get lighter. This just looks plain wrong but it's easy. Don't take the easy way out.
Draw a light source. It helps. Think of how that helmet was shaded that I did earlier, use it as reference.
Every material is shaded differently. If you don't know how to shade something, look up pictures and see how it's done in reality.
As long as it ends up looking right to you, often times it will look right to others. Of course not always, but generally just make sure you're proud of it.


EDIT TO AVOID A DOUBLE POST:
I did a version of it myself, if you want me to post that to see what I myself did I will but this thread isn't about me so I won't until you ask for it.

 

Haha, well it's taking me forever, but here's an updated version. You can post yours if you want so we can compare and we can see how much better yours is to mine. LOL

(I still haven't placed a mouth. I'm not sure how to go about it.)

 

I tried spriting Alibaba's dagger, just focus on the picture on the bottom...
For anyone who's read Magi, you'll know this face...

 

I'll admit I actually really like yours. On the hair the brighter part would go a little bit further to the ear, as the light is from the top right (that's where i usually put mine, it's a very good generic spot). Here's mine:

I obviously took it a different route since I saw it differently. But please don't think that makes your wrong, because it's very good!

 

I don't know why, but that face and thumbs up made me lol so hard I almost drooled.

Your dagger looks great! I'm jealous of everyone's skills.

Just so I don't Double Post either:
@FreshSheet

I really like what you did with the hair. I've still got a lot to learn. Gotta fix that back part up still, but at least I'm trying.

 

The shading is very good, interesting choice of light positioning. You don't usually see it from the bottom. One thing I would critique is the outlines and the curvature. Especially on the top part the curvature is not smooth, it's too straight and look unnatural. Also, for such a sharp change in lighting I would make the outlines on the brighter side a lighter color, which would decrease the shock from dark outline to really bright silver. Other than that I like it, well done.

 

Well I've kinda had some practice already so I'm not a "complete" beginner.

Anyways, you should read to the end of this manga's chapter... it's hilarious...
http://mangafox.me/manga/magi_labyrinth_of_magic/v01/c003/21.html

Yeah this was a half as- I mean haphazardly done thing. I wasn't really putting effort into it. I pretty much gave up on the blade after fiddling with it after a while.

 

Random yet hilarious...

 

Here's a tip for fur/hair/grass/anything really that sticks out:
Of course you can't make it POP out of the page, so to make it 3D you put in a high contrast. If you look at stuff like grass they are out at you while having a very strong shadow at the same time. So a good technique is to put highlights right next to a shadow to accentuate your contrast and get that effect.
Also a little tip for noses: for noses you want to do them IMPLIED.
IMPLIED means they're NOT ACTUALLY THERE. "But if they're not there, how can you make the nose? I see the nose!" The trick is to use shadows and shading to shade out the outline of the nose. If you outline it in your outline black or whatever, it's gonna look funky. But if you imply that the nose is there through shadows, it looks more natural.

 

All right, so so far I have this: Edit: I fixed up his face fat and changed his face color so he doesn't have some awkward beard.

I understand the nose part (I think), but I'm still unsure about the mouth. I do get the lighting on the hair and that made me super happy.
I got all giddy like a school girl, hahaha.