artisticdude's Art

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artisticdude
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Re: artisticdude's art, critique welcome

Post by artisticdude »

artisticdude wrote:I just resized the image and corrected the blurry edges, but I think this is the size I'm after. Anyone see anything before I re-shade it?
I resized it using the resize tool, which messed the palette up. Don't worry, I'm gonna fix it, I just want to make sure the form is good before I re-shade it. :)
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Zerovirus
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Re: artisticdude's art, critique welcome

Post by Zerovirus »

Needs moar contrast, good man.
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artisticdude
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Re: artisticdude's art, critique welcome

Post by artisticdude »

Finished (?) version.
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Re: artisticdude's art, critique welcome

Post by Gambit »

The beard needs work. It looks to be etched out of the body.
The rest is really good.
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Re: artisticdude's art, critique welcome

Post by Issyl »

I would say that overall its a good unit, but it suffers from a bit of a lack of texture, and it's kind of boring as a result.

I think ways you could improve this is to create more value difference (NOT more shades; make your shades differ more in value.). Another way would be just to give him more stuff, i.e. a leather shoulderpad, a larger belt buckle, etc.

EDIT: For most units, as a rule, each region, like a chestplate, only uses 3-6 shades, including the border.

His right arm (cleaver) is also rather triangular: the difference in width between the upper arm and the lower arm is too great.

I would suggest putting highlights/gray hairs in the beard to distinguish it, as Gambit noted.

Finally, the wooden shield is slightly "deformed," because it currently looks like it curves outward, like a Pringles chip. Shorten the edge closest to the viewer and get rid of a few pixels of highlights on the top and bottom. Or, if you like a larger shield, don't shorten the edge, and make it slightly taller. I would also suggest making the strap more visible.

The belt, cleaver, and helmet look great - but I would darken the outline of the helmet on the brightest edge.
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artisticdude
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Re: artisticdude's art, critique welcome

Post by artisticdude »

Okay, thanks for the comments, guys. I've tried to fix him up, especially in the palette department. What do you think now?
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Will I ever be able to give a file a normal name? :P
Will I ever be able to give a file a normal name? :P
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Re: artisticdude's art, critique welcome

Post by Gambit »

Everything got better except for the helmet, which is now considerably worse than before imo.
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Re: artisticdude's art, critique welcome

Post by Issyl »

Three things:

- You should have kept the lighter border around the nosepiece. I was only referring to the top right curve.
- I'll just repeat myself about the shield; it definitely needs work.
- Something I didn't notice before; his left leg is much larger than his right. I know you're trying to foreshorten, but in pixel art, foreshortening is rarely needed (only on really large pieces). Right now he just looks like his left leg has elephantiasis.

The texture and lighting are significantly improved, good job.
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Re: artisticdude's art, critique welcome

Post by artisticdude »

Next version, with the old helmet, fixed shield, and larger right leg. Technically this guy is larger than the average Wesnoth unit, since he's the same hight as the average unit even though he's crouching, but I sort of like the idea that the Norsemen were a larger, sturdier race of men... sort of like the giants of mythology, only on a more down-to-earth scale.

Oh yes, I thought it might be funny to post this picture, which is where I got the general idea for the unit (although I ended up changing so much it's barely recognizable as a derivation from this picture).
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stock-photo--d-rendering-of-a-fantasy-dwarf-with-spike-club-and-shield-with-clipping-path-and-shadow-over-white-35255323.jpg
stock-photo--d-rendering-of-a-fantasy-dwarf-with-spike-club-and-shield-with-clipping-path-and-shadow-over-white-35255323.jpg (53.17 KiB) Viewed 2562 times
Odin th Odiferous.png
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Issyl
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Re: artisticdude's art, critique welcome

Post by Issyl »

It looks great - I got nothing.
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Re: artisticdude's art, critique welcome

Post by Captain_Wrathbow »

...and how did you happen to stumble across that image? :P
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Re: artisticdude's art, critique welcome

Post by Hulavuta »

Obviously at shutterstock.
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Re: artisticdude's art, critique welcome

Post by Captain_Wrathbow »

Duh. :roll:

That's not what I meant.... :annoyed:
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Re: artisticdude's art, critique welcome

Post by artisticdude »

Actually, I Googled 'Viking' and browsed through the image results, and this particular image looked like it'd be a great reference for a unit. It just happened to have 'Shutterstock' scrawled across it (most inconsiderate! :P ).

I think I've practiced enough drawing baseframes. Artisticdude delves back into the world of animations, starting with Odin there. RIght now I'm blocking out his attack, which I'll try and post later on...



*later on*
Okay, I've been working on the blocking process. Motion blur obviously needs work, and I need a recovery frame or two, but this outlines the basic motion.
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Re: artisticdude's art, critique welcome

Post by Issyl »

Right now he's swinging in a "windmill" motion, which is both inaccurate and has little force behind it. He shouldn't have his arm extended when the axe is up behind his head, among other things.

Instead of just swinging the axe in a circle (because of the base frame, I know it's easier to just make this circular windmill motion), he should bend his elbow and bring the cleaver closer to his body. He shouldn't extend his arm fully until it's at least below the head.

Perform the same motion in the mirror, and see how this style of swinging is rather silly.
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