Finished this artwork of Fluttershy in a dress (after a week)

[Pix3M 607]

link to dA: http://fav.me/d5km6og

Drawn pixel-by-pixel on a program I'd liken to MS paint with keyboard shortcuts.

I kinda hope this makes it to EQD... or not because Seth has his reasons that definitely exists.... somewhere.

Edited November 10, 2012 by Pix3M

[CloudFyre 848]

Nicely done! And pixel by pixel - that's amazing! 0.o

 

How long did that take you? If you're drawing stuff like this using programs akin to MS paint, you should really check out GIMP. I think you'd like it's power and flexibility. (It's free too!)

Edited November 10, 2012 by CloudFyre

[Motion Spark 7,807]

ok, here it goes, I find the whole drawing fascinating, I like the Fluttershy alone, I can't say the same about the skirt of the dress, it looks very simple compared with the detail of other sections (like her face, her hair, or the corse of the dress).

the skirt could have more layers and more complex type of folds, you could have added more shadow and highlights to the skirt and I didn't like the "spring" thing you put on the skirt

Edited November 10, 2012 by Motion Spark

[Pix3M 607]

ok, here it goes, I find the whole drawing fascinating, I like the Fluttershy alone, I can't say the same about the skirt of the dress, it looks very simple compared with the detail of other sections (like her face, her hair, or the corse of the dress).

I guess.

 

the skirt could have more layers and more complex type of folds,

I was imagining something rigid enough to be in its intended shape, so there wouldn't be much folds.

 

you could have added more shadow and highlights to the skirt and

I only use one layer of shadow. My darker colors used in the hair and coat is a bit like reflected light. However, I realize that i need to learn how shadows work a bit more before I can figure out where I put more shadows on the skirt. I dunno about highlights though. I've realize that I don't know how highlights work with cloth materials.

 

I didn't like the "spring" thing you put on the skirt

 

Unfortunately, the spring thing was on the skirt because it was on the original design to start with.

Edited November 10, 2012 by Pix3M

[Motion Spark 7,807]

I only use one layer of shadow. My darker colors used in the hair and coat is a bit like reflected light. However, I realize that i need to learn how shadows work a bit more before I can figure out where I put more shadows on the skirt. I dunno about highlights though. I don't know how highlights work with cloth materials.

did I mean, more tones of shading for the skirt? c:

 

Unfortunately, the spring thing was on the skirt because it was on the original design to start with.

really? is this an existent design or you just designed it from scratch, because overall, is a very beautiful dress

[Pix3M 607]

How long did that take you? If you're drawing stuff like this using programs akin to MS paint, you should really check out GIMP. I think you'd like it's power and flexibility. (It's free too!)

 

Power and flexibility to do what? The main use I ever found for regular pixel work that it is much better for cropping images.

 

really? is this an existent design or you just designed it from scratch, because overall, is a very beautiful dress

 

Well then, here's a screenshot from the Suited for Success episode, right before Fluttershy says "French haute couture, please!"

 

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/83822168/TMP/2012-09-11%2020.06.18.png

[Motion Spark 7,807]

Well then, here's a screenshot from the Suited for Success episode, right before Fluttershy says "French haute couture, please!"

omg!

I didn't paid that much detail into the show, I just bashed one of Rarity's designs!

I don't deserve to live anymore. sorry Rarity

[Pix3M 607]

omg!

I didn't paid that much detail into the show, I just bashed one of Rarity's designs!

I don't deserve to live anymore. sorry Rarity

 

Haha. the interesting messes we get into when criticizing stuff before we realize who made what we just criticized. I was in a similar situation with a real person and yeah.... ... ....

[Naphthol 7]

Power and flexibility to do what? The main use I ever found for regular pixel work that it is much better for cropping images.

 

you can create pixel art without having to draw with pixels by making use of the Nearest Neighbor scaling algorithmn. Example follows.

 

if I had payed closer attention to me shading it would look better in the end, but the principle makes creating high quality pixel art very quick and easy - I imagine gimp would have this scaling mode, though i'm not sure.

 

(your fluttershy drawing is awesome by the way)

Edited November 10, 2012 by Naphthol

[Pix3M 607]

you can create pixel art without having to draw with pixels by making use of the Nearest Neighbor scaling algorithmn. Example follows.

 

if I had payed closer attention to me shading it would look better in the end, but the principle makes creating high quality pixel art very quick and easy - I imagine gimp would have this scaling mode, though i'm not sure.

 

(your fluttershy drawing is awesome by the way)

 

Surely not 'high-quality' like one of the first people I've ever idolized:

 

 

Has the exact same color count as my own work and is done within a day... This artist even used the EXACT software I use for pixels.

 

Source: http://fav.me/d33p2oh

 

Your example doesn't really convince me. Your lines have a jagged quality which no pixel artist who knows their craft would leave in their works.

 

EDIT: Plus you posted a JPEG, which is a totally unusable format for pixel art.

Edited November 10, 2012 by Pix3M

[Naphthol 7]

well, beyond a 15 second drawing being unsurprisingly sloppy, the principle is sound. if it's not your cup of tea though, that's cool.

 

It could be worth looking at - getting back to why gimp might be a valuable tool to look into.

[thegoodhen 698]

I expected some pun on your avatar for some reason. Like, tree in a dress of some sort o_O. But I was totally blown away with that picture. I very much like it. My only objection would be that the Fluttershy looks very anorexic, but I understand that was the desired effect. The dress reminds me of baby pram roof a bit.

[Nightfall 3,950]

link to dA: http://fav.me/d5km6og

Drawn pixel-by-pixel on a program I'd liken to MS paint with keyboard shortcuts.

I kinda hope this makes it to EQD... or not because Seth has his reasons that definitely exists.... somewhere.

Pixel-by-pixel?

First off, your patience is incredible! And second off, I must congratulate you on your fine work! I really like it!

[Pix3M 607]

well, beyond a 15 second drawing being unsurprisingly sloppy, the principle is sound. if it's not your cup of tea though, that's cool.

 

It could be worth looking at - getting back to why gimp might be a valuable tool to look into.

 

Pixel art is created pixel by pixel. Creating a larger image then down sampling them gives you very little control of the individual placement of your pixels because you are relying on a computer with no spatial reasoning to do your gruntwork. The resulting sloppiness will show and is totally unprofessional. You called your 'pixel art' high quality then you just backed off saying that it is unsurprisingly sloppy for a 15 second drawing?

 

Please, I don't want to see people try to put their sloppy fifteen second doodles on the same level as works like mine. I consider it.... very sloppy. But... I guess our standards are different as I have seen what some of the best pixel art looks likem

 

EDIT: And for the record, graphicsgale also has nearest-neighbor interpolation. Any basic image editing tool has it.

Edited November 10, 2012 by Pix3M

[Strawberry Tart 161]

Oh MY GOD IT'S AMAZING!!!! But so...un-Fluttershy. I cannot imagine she would EVER wear that....

BUT STILL AMAZING! I don't even...I can't criticize this. Too good. ~Moving on~

[Naphthol 7]

It just seems to me that drawing at a larger scale, downsampling, then spending a comparatively small amount of time tweaking outlying individual pixels to satisfaction. Would be a desirable technique - particularly in the case of larger illustrations, such as the sort you are doing here. I was hoping to suggest somthing that might save you some time and be of genuine benefit for the future.

[Kelvocity 211]

I must say, this is very impressive, especially for a work done pixel-by-pixel. I can imagine drawing ponies normally, let alone doing that. The only criticism off the top of my head is that is could be bigger. But i suppose that would've taken longer.

[Pix3M 607]

I must say, this is very impressive, especially for a work done pixel-by-pixel. I can imagine drawing ponies normally, let alone doing that. The only criticism off the top of my head is that is could be bigger. But i suppose that would've taken longer.

 

For this reason, this is originally meant to be four times the size. There's a link in the dA page for this that gives you a 2x zoom version. I find that even if each pixel is blown up in size, it still sort of looks smooth.

 

And yes. Larger the work for pixels, longer it takes. There are 160,000 pixels in a 400x400 image soooo..... there's a reason why pixel art tends to be small. Unlike digital painting, we can't just use a bigger brush.

 

It just seems to me that drawing at a larger scale, downsampling, then spending a comparatively small amount of time tweaking outlying individual pixels to satisfaction. Would be a desirable technique - particularly in the case of larger illustrations, such as the sort you are doing here. I was hoping to suggest somthing that might save you some time and be of genuine benefit for the future.

 

I've surrounded myself with enough actual game art professionals who are far more experienced than I am.. You are the first I have seen to recommend downsampling as a way to create pixel art. Others usually recommend blocking in major forms then refining to pixel-level polish or start with drawing line art. All without tools that blends and blurs pixels together.

 

What is extremely impractical about your approach is that while we could be slathering colors around on a much larger scale, we could be doing the exact same thing but with non-AA'd brushes like any pixel artist who knows their craft. The difference is that when you try downsampling your large brushwork, you are left with unpredictably messy AA and a high color count that just shows poor workmanship.

 

The better alternative from working larger though is to simply work at a smaller scale. A smaller scale is easier and can create similar results.

[Lucky Clover 22]

Wow, just wow... I don't even compare to this. I was just looking at some fan art people posted because I was bored but wow. The dress is amazing! I wish I was as good as this.

[Pix3M 607]

Wow, just wow... I don't even compare to this. I was just looking at some fan art people posted because I was bored but wow. The dress is amazing! I wish I was as good as this.

 

I got where I am with my art skills because I generally know exactly what I can do to make the next piece better. Sometimes I gotta seek advice from people better than I am if I need to. Just bringing that up n case you wanna know.

[Lucky Clover 22]

I got where I am with my art skills because I generally know exactly what I can do to make the next piece better. Sometimes I gotta seek advice from people better than I am if I need to. Just bringing that up n case you wanna know.

 

Thank-you, I would appreciate some help in the future. I usually do my fan art by hand though, pen and paper is the only way for me.