ID:258081
 
I'm not very good at iconning and I was trying to make a tree. I need some tips on what should be changed to make the tree better or what I did wrong.

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/1113/grass1ya9.png
Criss Angel wrote:
I'm not very good at iconning and I was trying to make a tree. I need some tips on what should be changed to make the tree better or what I did wrong.

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/1113/grass1ya9.png

These should help

http://www.byond.com/members/PixelArt/ forum?id=4507&display=1
http://www.byond.com/members/PixelArt/ forum?id=4276&display=1
http://www.byond.com/members/PixelArt/ forum?id=4275&display=1
In response to Criss Angel
@Bakasensai

How touching.

Criss Angel wrote:
I just now made another tree.

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/2198/ treeinprogress10ef4.png

My outburst was triggered by lack of effort not lack of ability, despite his warning of him not being any good I was unable to believe that was as good as he could do; which probably wasn't any of my business to begin with. Naturally, It was when I saw him make his second attempt that I felt he's really trying. It's times like these I feel I've learned more from who I'm teaching. ;/

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No point in trying these other crazy techniques and styles before you know the basics. Just relax and do things simple for now. Make sure everything is identifiable. Or if your satisfied with what was there before you can resume this "Van Gogh or Picasso" style or whatever it is I'm being told.

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You want to have your colors spread out and balanced like this, notice how every shade comes from the original blue.

P.S. If you really want to know what you're doing you might actually have to take a look at those guides.
In response to Hulio-G
First, lemme say that that new tree is a HUGE improvement over the last one, aside from the trunk which doesn't look changed. Watch that pillow shading on the right side, though. Also the edges all around the leafy part, especially on the left.

But about Hulio's last point, and there's a really good example of why you don't want your color ramp to come out in a straight, gradual line of the same hue (Though the visual examples in the thread are gone now, I'll replace them). For the sake of learning the other pixel basics, yea, I guess I'd have to agree, pick your colors that way until you're comfortable enough to experiment with this.

http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/ index.php?topic=6297.msg73690#msg73690

(These are basically the images that were there)




Notice how the hue is shifting more than the saturation is. Of course these extreme changes don't always apply to everything since it's a plastic ball, but you get the idea. Experiment with shifting hues rather than working with the same hue and differen't darkness/saturation.


In response to AmonR

I tried messing with hue and edited the tree so the new tree is on the right, the old one is on the left.
In response to AmonR
AmonR wrote:
First, lemme say that that new tree is a HUGE improvement over the last one, aside from the trunk which doesn't look changed. Watch that pillow shading on the right side, though. Also the edges all around the leafy part, especially on the left.

But about Hulio's last point, and there's a really good example of why you don't want your color ramp to come out in a straight, gradual line of the same hue (Though the visual examples in the thread are gone now, I'll replace them). For the sake of learning the other pixel basics, yea, I guess I'd have to agree, pick your colors that way until you're comfortable enough to experiment with this.

http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/ index.php?topic=6297.msg73690#msg73690

(These are basically the images that were there)




Notice how the hue is shifting more than the saturation is. Of course these extreme changes don't always apply to everything since it's a plastic ball, but you get the idea. Experiment with shifting hues rather than working with the same hue and differen't darkness/saturation.




Thats an extreamly helpful link, thanks Amon
In response to Kataharo Tayoko
Kataharo Tayoko wrote:
Thats an extreamly helpful link, thanks Amon

It was pretty damn interesting. Guess that explains to me why alot of pros on choose their colors that way and why my own colors are so hyper (The ones by pros always seemed too "calm" for me, but it makes sense why they do it now). Everytime I read one of those pixelation debates I end up learning something new, I consider them somewhat of a training ground, heh.
I combined both trees and made something similar, I don't know if you guys can tell the difference. I kept the shading at the right of the tree from the right tree and then used the left tree for the rest but lightened one color and then sprinkled a few more pixels.

In response to Criss Angel
Okay I deleted my old message cause I am starting to just not care about this forum anymore and be lazy when I give my crits, but i'll come back now and give in-depth crits ^^(I'll go back to most of the topics here and reply now after this...)


So your tree is looking alot better, but there is still some problems, you show no tecture of leaves in the shades, though there should be, and you show no depth going inwards(Meaning shade) cause if you have a light part of something, there must also be a dark part to it, since you chose a top-left ish outline, I fixed up where the shades should be on it.



The red is a darker shade, and the blue is a lighter shade. What I did is define shapes, and make it pop out more and seem 3d, instead of just a plain tree. Don't just use my outlines and fill in the colors though, try to make your own shade, and try to texture your shade. Also with lower shades try a more purple-ish color, and higher go for a more yellow-ish color(For trees anyways).

You may also want to connect the lines you made in there, cause all you did was make little dots for the highlight/shade colors, maybe make some lines/flat so some leaves will look bigger, and some smaller, so mainly the more to the center of the high shade have bigger blotches of light and have it sorta dither as a fades into the next color. Also if you are trying to show an angle depth I made a shade under the tree cause the shadow from the sun would reach over onto the trunk, which also blends the trunk and tree together giving it a more natural and 1 image look. Not like you made the trunk then pasted a tree top onto it.

You also don't want random dark/light shades in the trunk. Try strategicly placing them to where they would naturally be, like more light shades on the left, and more dark shades on the right. Also if there is a light popout, then there has to be a dark shadow to its right(Since that is what it would look like in real life). Also I have to say most of your work looks like you just random noise and place things to try to give a natural look, though that may work in SOME(Barely) anything like grass, doesn't mean you can use it on anything. Try to really make it pixel by pixel(Plus flood and other great tools) the overall effect will make it look alot nicer to the eyes, and get rid of that Van Goah effect ^^.