The Artist Army

[satuurnity]

Hi!
I'm still also trying to study pixel art and animation myself, here are a few examples I made for my videogame: 1, 2, 3 4
I know these aren't the best or the most polished.
I have recently finished a quick an animation class at school, here are some tips that I think would help, if you haven't tried these yet!

- Study the principles of animation. I believe whether its 2D animation or Pixel animation or 3D animation, it's really essential to study these first.
I think that you already have this great style and a good understanding of anatomy, so no problems there. I think the most important to learn is the Squash and Stretch, Anticipation/Follow-Through, and the Secondary/Overlapping action principles.
Squash and Stretch simply means that your object or character's appearance changes as they move. A classic example is the bouncing ball animation (stretches as it goes up, squashes as it hits the floor) or try rewatching those old-timey exaggerated cartoons. Even if it's just a simple action like breathing or bobbing up and down, there is still some squashing and stretching involved.
Of course not every action has to be exaggerated, so it's good to play around and see what visually works best.
Anticipation is the action before the main action, and Follow-Through is the action after the main action. Try jumping - see what actions you would do before and after the jump itself. Bending knees, bending the arms, absorbing the impact of the fall, etc.
While Secondary action just means that there may be smaller actions complimenting the bigger action. Example, if your character is walking, their hair may bounce along with them, their arms would sway too. They would still be blinking as well, I think these little actions are the ones that give life to an animation.

I don't know if I explained it well, I'm sure there's someone else better qualified to teach/elaborate on these :s

I think for your animation, the pose looks a little awkward for me.
I would also suggest to do is add secondary actions. Try making them blink, and the hair would be moving too along with the movement of the head. Maybe the same effect can be achieved with lesser frames too. Try to study other's animations as well!
Your other pixel icons are fantastic though, I would suggest adding maybe a black outline around the pixel, or a darker outline inside to better differentiate the faces/legs/etc of the creatures.

It all really depends on the sort of style you want to achieve.
Good luck!

Anyway I want to share my own progress with my digital art. I'm really pleased with how everything is going so far!
The first drawing was made September 13 (was struggling to create lineart), while the second was just made yesterday.
X Y

Oh wow, those pixels are amazing! I really like the running one c:
And thank you so much! Don't worry, you explained really well x

Ah I realised that it was awkward for animating after I had drawn it haha, but I was really happy with it so I didn't want change the pose. However, I followed all your advice (^^) and finished it to this !! c: I'm so happy with myself ^o^ I also could have made it blink, but as it's a commission I think I'll try that on a pixel for myself so that I don't ruin it.



I did used to outline pixels I think but I haven't been doing as of late. I'm curious though now so here's one with and without;


annnnddd (uploading files lmao)... I agree haha, it looks so much better ^^ c:
And wow! Your art has improved so much, it's amazing! I love the eyes in the second one, they're so pretty x

[seventh scripture]

Ah lol, i didn't notice there was an artist thread.

I have a question.
Do any of you recommend a certain brand of colored pencils? I always end up buying a pack and they end up dull and not bright. I was thinking of prismacolor, but they are really expensive and i don't want to spend a ton of money without knowing. Also, are prismacolor pencils only watercolor? I'm not looking for watercolor and usually whenever i go to the store the packaging says "watercolor pencils" on it.

This is probably a stupid question lol, but i have over 60 copic markers and i was wondering if that brand makes/sells colored pencils? I've never seen them so i'm assuming they don't lol

I don't like ordering online because everything ends up being expensive. I don't want to pay $60 dollars plus $12 shipping on pencils ;u;

[hoseeok]

Do any of you recommend a certain brand of colored pencils? I always end up buying a pack and they end up dull and not bright. I was thinking of prismacolor, but they are really expensive and i don't want to spend a ton of money without knowing. Also, are prismacolor pencils only watercolor? I'm not looking for watercolor and usually whenever i go to the store the packaging says "watercolor pencils" on it.

This is probably a stupid question lol, but i have over 60 copic markers and i was wondering if that brand makes/sells colored pencils? I've never seen them so i'm assuming they don't lol

copic does not have their own line of colored pencils unfortunately, only their markers, pens, papers, etc.

as far as brands id recommend, ive only actually tried prismacolor and crayola, and well, prismacolor is the clear winner between the two lol. prismacolor makes a lot of different types of colored pencils, not only watercolor but they have soft core and verithin (hard lead) too! ive tried both the verithins and the soft cores, and i like each one for different purposes.
the soft cores are really bright and id say they have a creamy texture to them? very blendable. but the downside is i find myself going through them really fast because they are so rich.
the verithins are hard, can be sharpened to a really nice point, and wonderful for details! they're not meant to blend as smoothly as the soft core ones. downside; maybe this is just a me problem? but i find mine breaking constantly which is annoying. but still personally, for my purposes i like the verithins better, i like them for adding details and outlines to watercolor and marker pieces, and sketchbook doodles.
have you tried looking on amazon at prismacolors? they have 72 soft-core for appx. $40 and 36 verithins for less than $20. though, i don't know what country you live in so prices & shipping may differ.
hope i helped you some! :)

~

aaaaaaaaaaah i didnt know there was an artists army here!!! though really, i should have figured thered be one, theres an army for everything lmao. ive really mostly been doing artwork for class but i make a halfway attempt to log all that here! and i really only started the blog a few months ago which is why theres....... like nothing

[seventh scripture]

Do any of you recommend a certain brand of colored pencils? I always end up buying a pack and they end up dull and not bright. I was thinking of prismacolor, but they are really expensive and i don't want to spend a ton of money without knowing. Also, are prismacolor pencils only watercolor? I'm not looking for watercolor and usually whenever i go to the store the packaging says "watercolor pencils" on it.

This is probably a stupid question lol, but i have over 60 copic markers and i was wondering if that brand makes/sells colored pencils? I've never seen them so i'm assuming they don't lol

copic does not have their own line of colored pencils unfortunately, only their markers, pens, papers, etc.

as far as brands id recommend, ive only actually tried prismacolor and crayola, and well, prismacolor is the clear winner between the two lol. prismacolor makes a lot of different types of colored pencils, not only watercolor but they have soft core and verithin (hard lead) too! ive tried both the verithins and the soft cores, and i like each one for different purposes.
the soft cores are really bright and id say they have a creamy texture to them? very blendable. but the downside is i find myself going through them really fast because they are so rich.
the verithins are hard, can be sharpened to a really nice point, and wonderful for details! they're not meant to blend as smoothly as the soft core ones. downside; maybe this is just a me problem? but i find mine breaking constantly which is annoying. but still personally, for my purposes i like the verithins better, i like them for adding details and outlines to watercolor and marker pieces, and sketchbook doodles.
have you tried looking on amazon at prismacolors? they have 72 soft-core for appx. $40 and 36 verithins for less than $20. though, i don't know what country you live in so prices & shipping may differ.
hope i helped you some!

Ahh thank you!!! This helped a lot!! I'll check out my local craft store again and I'll definitely check on Amazon!

[Folvey]

Hey guys! I was wondering if anyone had any coloring tutorials for photoshop cs6 that they found helpful. I'm looking to get the smoothness you get from paint tool sai (i have mac, so I can't use it with pen pressure!) If anyone could help I'd really appreciate it.

Ah lol, i didn't notice there was an artist thread.

I have a question.
Do any of you recommend a certain brand of colored pencils? I always end up buying a pack and they end up dull and not bright. I was thinking of prismacolor, but they are really expensive and i don't want to spend a ton of money without knowing. Also, are prismacolor pencils only watercolor? I'm not looking for watercolor and usually whenever i go to the store the packaging says "watercolor pencils" on it.

This is probably a stupid question lol, but i have over 60 copic markers and i was wondering if that brand makes/sells colored pencils? I've never seen them so i'm assuming they don't lol

I don't like ordering online because everything ends up being expensive. I don't want to pay $60 dollars plus $12 shipping on pencils ;u;

I definitely recommend prismacolor, they are expensive but definitely worth it ^o^
my favorite place to shop online for art supplies is blick, so maybe check them out!

[Stonefly]

Hey guys, I am working on a personal drawing of three of my chacater a and I am having a lot of trouble getting their poses right. would really love to see this piece come out looking good but I am struggling with the one wolf who is half facing us(guy on the right), as well as the heads looking wrong? I think ones to small for its body and the other is to large. I was hoping if someone would be able to give me a redline or some criticism on the piece? Any kind of help is approached!

Here is the piece:
link

The wolf on the right is meant to be a little smaller than the other one. Thank you to anyone who takes time to help me!

[misted]

GUYS
ok i'm doing the expression challenge on my deviantart so I'd be really happy if you'd check it out; x

You can find the info in my newest journal.

[Lya]

There was a thread like this around? :O Well, found it better late than never. :3

This might be a long-shot, but I need some help.

My SAI is acting up lately. I can't save anything in any other format than .sai and .psd. =/
Anybody know why this could be and how to make it work again?

[TranquilKitty]

There was a thread like this around? :O Well, found it better late than never. :3

This might be a long-shot, but I need some help.

My SAI is acting up lately. I can't save anything in any other format than .sai and .psd. =/
Anybody know why this could be and how to make it work again?

I remember encountering this bug a LONG time ago and fortunately, my boyfriend is software savvy and was able to help with it. However, I can't remember myself how he had done it.
There are guides on deviantArt that may help, but you may find your fix taking an awful long time.
http://bigcolors.deviantart.com/art/Pai ... -594414305

I hope that helps. If not, you may need to completely remove the program from your computer (and I mean COMPLETELY) and then reinstall it.

[snakeman]

Been a while since I said anything in here lmao

I got a graphics tablet for Christmas! I've been drawing some stuff with it c:

(species here)

I think this might be my favourite so far? My favourite design, too. I need to draw him more xD

@Lotus Petal - Ooo, good luck with your challenge! I've never tried one of those things, myself. q:
@Stonefly - I attempted to redline your thing (well, blueline since yours was in red already) but I couldn't get it to work; I think the right wolf's head is a bit big and their legs are a bit short, possibly? I'm not too experienced with this kinda thing though haha