Here's a pixel sketch
Yea Ive traced it even though i still created the character
however i feel like a noob tracing it and maybe wont learn anything at all :S
I wanted to create something big but im afraid im no way near that level yet..
so maybe should i attempt this portrait on that size of the gray squre?

Thanks Dude, thats how i was planning to color it xD simple shading..
however do you think i should go with the big one and smooth the lines out our should i go for that small canvas first and later on try a bigger piece?

I agree with you, ill do it on the small canvas by looking based upong my sketch, and fixing stuff while doing it..
Ill try to update whenever i have something nicely and basic to start :)
Thanks!

SO what do you guys think of the shape so far?


The first one has a bit more of a roundy face
and the second doesn't have that bit of roundness
and the third one is just a prototype with the shirt

should i go with the first or second?
and anything else added will be welcome


Edited by RollerKingdom - 06 February 2010 at 11:53am

Thank you, Yah the big version was jst a sketch
i plan to change the  anatomy and stuff during working on the small canvas
i also agree that the second face looks much better
Ill start working on the face later on and post it here for some critics :)

Good, bold colours, tho you may not have enough lighter, desaturated colours - and have you planned for AA colours?

Also, and this is just a personal quirk, I love the 16-bit era of pixel art so much that I've been using a 15-colour limit for sprites (the 16th is a transparent colour, of course).  So if you wanted to add five more, if you really needed them, you could still feel like you were using a standard limit.

And good for you for creating an original character!  Please let us know details about (him?) as you go along.  I like that (toothpick?) in his mouth, which makes me think this could be a cool new character in the vein of the hero from Outlaw Star, especially with that fiery mane of red hair!

What do you think of the face so far?

Thanks Reo
I took your suggestion
This is what i got so far
Im not sure if the hair is good but i looked upon some anime hair and based upon it..



Do you think i should do this

Apply that shading on that part the arrow is pointing?

What do you think of the new update?

1. What you mean :S I dont get it.. the lightning source is coming from our top left corner..

2. how big should it be :O
3. Alright ill add that..
4. Hmm some of the colors that almost look identical are being used on my AA.. can you explain how AA this piece should be :/?
5. Ill shift it a little more to the left

More updates
Worked a bit more on his eyes
and the part of chest area

looks definetly better now.

I did a edit on the colors and face structure

hope this helps in some manner.

Thanks GIE, based upon yours i changed some stuff a bit
but decided to keep some other stuffs that i liked such as the skin color and the hair highlight

Hi, Roller!

First I want to say that moving the tattoo made it look a whole lot better - I was really surprised by how much!  The extra hair layer really helps, too.  And I like the new scar - this guy has really been around!

But there are a couple points I notice (may just be quirks personal to me, so please take a look and see if you agree):

The bigger shoulder is better, but you're still being a little too modest with it.  I'm a big guy, but I assume that generally, a person with normal proportions has shoulders wide enough that the width of an entire head can sit there.  Here's some keyboard characters to show what I mean: _O_  =  OOO

Looks silly, eh?  But it shows how you need to think of shoulder widths for buff guys (like me, ha ha!).  If you want a large head, and narrower shoulders (which is good for making a character look younger) then keep in mind that even then, the shoulder on the right is larger than the one on the left, which needs a small bit more.  About as much more as you added the first time.

Phew.  But I'm not quite done.  The white roll of (shirtsleeve?) which I will call a 'torus' just 'cuz I'm that way is too far up the arm - no one's armpit is that close to their neck.  You'll notice this is related to the shoulder size.  When I roll up my sleeves to look 'cool', the roll sits just under the level of my pectorals.

And about that colour thing, I didn't quite understand your question about what I said about point #4 from above, but keep in mind that even if those colours are needed for AA, they're so similar to each other (the sets of two) that you can do the job with just one of each.

• How about posting your palette in a string with numbers so I can refer to them more easily?

Oh, and I prefer the grey preview because it pops more - but how about cutting one of the corners off the box to give it an interesting shape (I always do things like that - a bad habit probably - so ignore if you think it's silly!).

I, like, rilly like how this is comin' out - keep it up!

Here is the shoulder expanded a bit more
(I deff agree with you that it looks much better now with the shoulder bigger)
Also ive taken out a bunch of other colors i wasn't using and this is what im left


18 as being transparency

Good update, though you still have the white roll on the arm riding too far up into the armpit, which is still too close to the neck - if you lowered the 'torus' (yeah, remember I promised I'd call it that...) by almost its own thickness you'll have a far more accurate anatomy (try it, see how it looks!).

On my monitor, 13+6, 1+3, and 2+4 are so close in colour that I'll bet you can do with only one of each!

@ Manupix: your advice sounds pretty advanced, but I don't understand it all - do you mind expanding on 'separate palettes for separate elements' and especially 'mix, toggle and randomize'?

@Ninja: Here's the version with the 3 colors removed
+ which eye direction looks better?



3 Gone
6 Gone
4 Gone


Edited by RollerKingdom - 08 February 2010 at 5:33pm

Thank you, yea Arachnes work are amazing
so basically can you like post the version that you prefer the most from the updates? i could also post the 6 color one when posting the final piece with it to see peoples thoughts.

Ill work a bit more around it but i want to keep it a bit animeish as well,
so to make that right part darker you mean add another layer of darker part near the hair?

OO okay thanks for the great tips and critics though
I plan to use them further on, however on this piece im really satisfied with the result, this is what i got, just dont know which one to choose from >_<


C&D i added a bit of darker skin near the hair..
and A ive worked more by adding a few of dark hair under the light tones.


p.s: That antler" is something from the character which i plan to explain when posting it :)



Edited by RollerKingdom - 08 February 2010 at 6:38pm

Inner shadows where?
Face? our right side?

Idk if this is what you mean but is it better?

Ahh Thank you, i was confused at first but got it..

which hair shade are you talking about? the dark ones or the 2 pink going up on the side?
I think i know what to do with the toothpick.