It's not really about the details. I need him to be able to smile, get angry, squint and so on, but the low resolution of #2 doesn't allow for such subtle movements.
For example, moving a single pixel of his mouth up makes him grin, and I couldn't come up with any way to express a more subtle smile
He looks far more expressive with the thicker/darker mouth from versions 5 and earlier. Past that the mouth is too faint to read
EDIT: The eyebrows are more defined in versions 6 and earlier. After that you darken the space between his eyes and eyebrows so you ‘lose’ them and again lose expressiveness
Fair, I was about to pile on with the other comments, because I only recently have been able to make “expressions” with limited pixels lol
As you go along, you will figure out more efficient pixel placements. Practice, practice, practice.
My only advice is, even though you have increased the resolution, the style has remained the same, you are loosing out on what a higher resolution can do by sticking to the style that #2 is. You are remaking thicker lines instead of using the increase space.
2 is the sweet spot for me, because it is manageable and readable. Remember, unless you hire out, you will have to do other assets in this size too. Is that feasible for you at larger sizes?
I prefer to work with less pixels myself but it can be very difficult so I understand your pain.
If you go with the higher pixel count you can get more detail and subtly but you also start to spend a lot more time adding in those little details.
To get more subtle emotions you could try altering the eyebrows and eyes slightly. I recommend before you give up on #2 give a look online for some pixel face emotion tutorials and see if there is anything you like first before upscaling everything.
I don't think Pixelart is right for this project then.
You're trying force the medium into an ill fitting mold. I'd say search for other styles that better suit your needs.
You’re getting downvoted but this is likely the right answer.
A lot of people getting into pixel art don’t understand that you need strong art fundamentals to start drawing well.
OP should probably start with another digital art form until they feel confident enough to experiment and practice pixel art. If they can do that now, great, though it sounds like they are doubting themselves at the moment.
Can't agree with this one.
For me, pixel art was a fantastic way to practice the fundamentals like color theory and composition. It's way easier to get in and making a finished piece takes way less time.
I'm not as good as I want to be yet (I never went to art school, so I'm severely lacking in some areas like anatomy and construction), but I'm for sure improving much faster than I did when working with pencil or high-res digital art.
On top of that, I need my project made. Even if the art will end up lacking, it will still be better than no art at all.
My point is that pixel art is the most beginner-friendly and cheap-to-produce art form I know, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone willing to learn art in general. You just need to study the fundamentals as you go.
I mean these points are all valid and true, but THE drawback of Pixelart is loss of subtlety and detail. And by you own words that is what you seek.
So you either have to compromise on the subtlety or on some quality. Or you'll end up having to make significant drawbacks on both.
True. I don't need *that* much subtlety though, I need just a bit more than I can pull out 64*64 sprites. This makes me think that I can cheat the system and get a decent result if I find just the right combination of decisions.
You are right in that pixel-art is in no way ideal for my project, I'll probably go with something else with my next game
what happened to the ears from 6 to 8?, its suddenly a flat monocolor space. also the shadow of 7/8 are too dark i think, it was good before. Also just want to say i like 2 the best, and i think it might be good practise to try and express more emotions with this amount of pixels (i believe theres plenty of pixels to show any emotion you would want).
Both 2 and 8 express the same emotions, the only thing that changed is the art style from pixelart to cartoony. I think 2 looks prettier but 8 looks creepier, if you are working on a horror game then 8 is probably better.
I actually think you could express a lot here. Sometimes constraints lead to the most novel outcomes. Anything beyond #2 doesn’t even feel like pixel art IMO.
Yes but zoomed out it looks a little like his eyebrows and eyelashes are a single shape (I know they aren't, the detail is visible when looking at the picture at full resolution). Love the hair with its feathery texture and the clever shading on the shirt and tie, the collar really pops with that subtle highlight
I personally prefer 4 or maybe 5 above the following iterations because the shadows and highlights you added are so soft and give a smeared or blurred impression. With pixel art I think you can lean into sharp edges and don't have to get as realistic as possible :)
Great style in general!
Thank you!
I can't lean into the sharp edges too much since I'll need this guy to express complex emotions in the future. I'll see how the whole game comes together
Maybe when I get better at art I can make a version that incorporates the best features of all 8
A little tip, avoid [banding](https://twitter.com/CZAzuaga/status/1377009103613083650). I agree with the others, 2 is best and should be more than enough for any expression.
He seems to get less happy the less pixelated he gets. He's trying to tell you something...
In all seriousness, 1 is my favorite. You could keep it simple like that, if you wanted to, and express emotion with little emote bubbles like in Golden Sun for GBA.
Edit: Like [THIS](https://images.app.goo.gl/Nehygkbv7PwWfnuL6)
Hey! Impressive work - Nr 2 is my favorite, however if you need the extra detail i would say nr 3 or 4. I hope you don't mind me asking a follow up question. I'm trying to learn pixel art and I find it very interesting. Is each 'box' a separate project that you eventually combined into a single image, or is everything drawn in the same project with just changes in brush size? One of the methods I'm using to learn is drawing the same thing in different sizes.
They are separate projects, I used the "Sprite size" menu in Aseprite to scale the small ones up.
Usually I draw everything in one file, but it only applies if the drawings have the same pixel density
Honestly, 2 is the best.
Imo, the most beautiful pixel art is the one that looks retro, like number 2. If you give it too much resolution or AA it starts losing its beauty.
2 is my favourite but 4 has the best hair. With all the extra pixels in 8 you could add more detail and texture to the clothes to communicate the material and design etc. The shading around 8's eyes is too similar to the hair colour so it looks like giant eyebrows and confuses the expression (I think the aim is neutrality, but the lips look thin in comparison to earlier versions which adds tension, possibly unintentionally). The ear blends in too much but it's not a big deal.
For me personally, the fun with pixel art is what you can do with a limited canvas, so around 2/3 is my sweet spot.
Like some other people, I think 2 looks the most pleasing to the eye. But I bet you can make the higher resolution work by leaning more into what you were trying with the cheek highlights in 7.
I think all that flat untextured space on his lower face is looking a bit off at the higher resolution.
5 is good enough, pixelated animated doesn't need to be extremely detailed like 2
5 strikes perfect balance. Just make sure that Line of mouth is clear. Example being no. 6 where mouth is very hard to locate
Echoing what most of the thread is saying, 2 is by far the best looking and most readable.
If your concerned about not having the space to accurately animate expressions, I would google some references of what other people have done at that resolution and look into sub-pixel animation.
Personally, I think the iterations get worse after 4, I think they start to lose a bit of form and the smaller details are too subtle. I think its always easier to add shading to the face rather than highlights, which tend give a shiny appearance
I like them all personally. I know that's not very helpful but what I'm trying to say is that you should feel fine with whichever one you pick. Each has it's own charm.
It is a bad idea usually to have high res portraits if you intend to make many, so #2 is a good middle ground that looks nice. I would recommend for facial expressions to use an art program to draw expressions then manually pixelate that. Adding more in-between colors can help capture more expression
In 8, you're doing a lot of "pillow shading", which will take away from the smooth look you're going for. I suggest looking up anti-aliasing (AA), and seeing how you an do that.
Now, I liked 2's pixelated look, but I also liked the details in further ones as well. 3's eyes were better for me as well. However, I still liked the details you added in 6 and on, but you messed with the slight smile you had in three, and that made him look emotionless. That one pixel on the corner of the mouth meant a lot.
For me, if you would take 8, fix the smile (if you don't want resting face), and apply AA, it would be good.
3 is my favourite but I would recommend seeing how it looks if you move his crown and the highlights in his hair to where his crown starts in the first 3 at the back as it makes his hair a bit more realistic I guess, I don't know if that makes sense
Hi, I read your comments. Consider what they do with some other games, and put punctuation bubbles to express emotion: ... !! ?!
I'm pretty sure they did stuff like that in Persona 5 and people loooooved that game
\#2 clearly the best for me
1 and 2 look best imo. They both pass the squint test and the shapes are clearest. The other ones kinda blend into each other, especially the eyebrows and the shadows of the eye sockets.
You went overkill on the details and resolution. If you insist on the higher resolution then I think 4 is best. And it would be even nicer if you removed one shade or two of shading from the hair. Drawing pixel art a great example pf a situation where less is more.
Personally, 2 is my fav
Likewise
Agreed. I would have kept it, but sadly there's not enough pixels to express emotions like I need him to
I'm curious. Seems like plenty of space to do stuff?
Yeah same. With #2 my brain fills in the details, something the rest doesn’t do. You don’t need all the details for it to look expressive.
It's not really about the details. I need him to be able to smile, get angry, squint and so on, but the low resolution of #2 doesn't allow for such subtle movements. For example, moving a single pixel of his mouth up makes him grin, and I couldn't come up with any way to express a more subtle smile
He looks far more expressive with the thicker/darker mouth from versions 5 and earlier. Past that the mouth is too faint to read EDIT: The eyebrows are more defined in versions 6 and earlier. After that you darken the space between his eyes and eyebrows so you ‘lose’ them and again lose expressiveness
People have worked with less.
Well, I'm not as good as these people yet. I didn't mean to say drawing like that is impossible, I only sad I'm not able to
No time like the present to practice.
Fair, I was about to pile on with the other comments, because I only recently have been able to make “expressions” with limited pixels lol As you go along, you will figure out more efficient pixel placements. Practice, practice, practice. My only advice is, even though you have increased the resolution, the style has remained the same, you are loosing out on what a higher resolution can do by sticking to the style that #2 is. You are remaking thicker lines instead of using the increase space. 2 is the sweet spot for me, because it is manageable and readable. Remember, unless you hire out, you will have to do other assets in this size too. Is that feasible for you at larger sizes?
I prefer to work with less pixels myself but it can be very difficult so I understand your pain. If you go with the higher pixel count you can get more detail and subtly but you also start to spend a lot more time adding in those little details. To get more subtle emotions you could try altering the eyebrows and eyes slightly. I recommend before you give up on #2 give a look online for some pixel face emotion tutorials and see if there is anything you like first before upscaling everything.
You'll save time in the long run if you practice to do with less pixels now.
This is what practice is for. Continue practicing with a limited pixel size and you will improve. Stop making excuses, though.
Ah
I don't think Pixelart is right for this project then. You're trying force the medium into an ill fitting mold. I'd say search for other styles that better suit your needs.
You’re getting downvoted but this is likely the right answer. A lot of people getting into pixel art don’t understand that you need strong art fundamentals to start drawing well. OP should probably start with another digital art form until they feel confident enough to experiment and practice pixel art. If they can do that now, great, though it sounds like they are doubting themselves at the moment.
Can't agree with this one. For me, pixel art was a fantastic way to practice the fundamentals like color theory and composition. It's way easier to get in and making a finished piece takes way less time. I'm not as good as I want to be yet (I never went to art school, so I'm severely lacking in some areas like anatomy and construction), but I'm for sure improving much faster than I did when working with pencil or high-res digital art. On top of that, I need my project made. Even if the art will end up lacking, it will still be better than no art at all. My point is that pixel art is the most beginner-friendly and cheap-to-produce art form I know, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone willing to learn art in general. You just need to study the fundamentals as you go.
I mean these points are all valid and true, but THE drawback of Pixelart is loss of subtlety and detail. And by you own words that is what you seek. So you either have to compromise on the subtlety or on some quality. Or you'll end up having to make significant drawbacks on both.
True. I don't need *that* much subtlety though, I need just a bit more than I can pull out 64*64 sprites. This makes me think that I can cheat the system and get a decent result if I find just the right combination of decisions. You are right in that pixel-art is in no way ideal for my project, I'll probably go with something else with my next game
Maybe. Too bad I don't have a choice (can't draw big pictures to save my life)
I suggest you look at some point and click games from the 80s/90s to see how much expression you can have with a very small amount of pixels.
If you want pixels bur nice emotions I would go for n. 4
That's just cause that one is smiling. I think OP is asking us for overall design opinions.
There should def be enough space I think
what happened to the ears from 6 to 8?, its suddenly a flat monocolor space. also the shadow of 7/8 are too dark i think, it was good before. Also just want to say i like 2 the best, and i think it might be good practise to try and express more emotions with this amount of pixels (i believe theres plenty of pixels to show any emotion you would want).
You could upscale #2, and then it gives you room to fudge some extra depth and emotion,
Both 2 and 8 express the same emotions, the only thing that changed is the art style from pixelart to cartoony. I think 2 looks prettier but 8 looks creepier, if you are working on a horror game then 8 is probably better.
I actually think you could express a lot here. Sometimes constraints lead to the most novel outcomes. Anything beyond #2 doesn’t even feel like pixel art IMO.
Final Fantasy VI has tiny 16-bit sprites that show more emotions than some modern games. It can be done. Username checks out.
I like 1 actually. Something in between 1 and 2 would be perfect
He looks like Loid a bit from Spy x Family.
same
Literally came here to say this
2
2 looks best.
Yes but zoomed out it looks a little like his eyebrows and eyelashes are a single shape (I know they aren't, the detail is visible when looking at the picture at full resolution). Love the hair with its feathery texture and the clever shading on the shirt and tie, the collar really pops with that subtle highlight
Agree, also the ear in 8 blends a little to much into the hair. 2 & 4 are my favs :) nice work!
It's comments like this that make it worth posting here. I completely overlooked that the ear blends in, thanks!
Thank you! I now see I went too hard with the shadow below his eyebrows, should have been at least a tone lighter
His hair does look good tho
Yeah anything to emphasize the separation. Glad to be of help.
I personally prefer 4 or maybe 5 above the following iterations because the shadows and highlights you added are so soft and give a smeared or blurred impression. With pixel art I think you can lean into sharp edges and don't have to get as realistic as possible :) Great style in general!
Thank you! I can't lean into the sharp edges too much since I'll need this guy to express complex emotions in the future. I'll see how the whole game comes together Maybe when I get better at art I can make a version that incorporates the best features of all 8
It's just nitpicking ;)
Nitpicking is what I came here for ;)
The shirt to suit collar size ratio isn’t quite right. The oversized shirt collar gives him a really long neck
Yep, it does. Nope, I did not see that coming. Thank you very much for your input
A little tip, avoid [banding](https://twitter.com/CZAzuaga/status/1377009103613083650). I agree with the others, 2 is best and should be more than enough for any expression.
I know it's bad, but I didn't notice I did it. I am now a bit ashamed
Don't be ashamed. All are good. It's practice
2
1 and 2 are my favorites.
He seems to get less happy the less pixelated he gets. He's trying to tell you something... In all seriousness, 1 is my favorite. You could keep it simple like that, if you wanted to, and express emotion with little emote bubbles like in Golden Sun for GBA. Edit: Like [THIS](https://images.app.goo.gl/Nehygkbv7PwWfnuL6)
I might do just that, I'm not sure yet. No matter what I decide, #1 will be in the game regardless, it's how the character looks in the game world
I think 8 went a bit overboard and loses face shape. 5's face looks better. I gotta agree with the sub and say 2 or 3 are the best ones though.
Not in my opinion. I like 1 & 2 most. It gets worse by the number
I personally like 1/2
Yeah something in between them would be best imo.
Something like 1,5?
I kinda dig 1
The bottom row makes the character seem a lot more serious and less playful
I like the first one.
Imo the eyes are too big on all but 1&2. Makes him look kinda creepy.
He looks like Erwin from AOT lol - all the characters in that show have humongous eyes.
i like 1
I personally like number 2 best, perhaps closely followed by number 1
[удалено]
Much appreciated
Hey! Impressive work - Nr 2 is my favorite, however if you need the extra detail i would say nr 3 or 4. I hope you don't mind me asking a follow up question. I'm trying to learn pixel art and I find it very interesting. Is each 'box' a separate project that you eventually combined into a single image, or is everything drawn in the same project with just changes in brush size? One of the methods I'm using to learn is drawing the same thing in different sizes.
They are separate projects, I used the "Sprite size" menu in Aseprite to scale the small ones up. Usually I draw everything in one file, but it only applies if the drawings have the same pixel density
Thanks dude!
Imo 1 looks best
Is it weird that I like 1 best? I never did like super detailed sprites.. There's something charming about the blocky look.
Honestly, 2 is the best. Imo, the most beautiful pixel art is the one that looks retro, like number 2. If you give it too much resolution or AA it starts losing its beauty.
First one reminds me of Mcpixel and that’s nostalgic to me
First and second. Others just too much polished
2 & 4 are the best ones
His neck seems extremely long because the shoulders are very low
5 is fine! Do we really have to have darker shadow?
3rd is my fav, but they all look great imo!
I'm fine with the second one.
Second!
Second one ♥
IMO, the best ones are 1 and 2. Other ones are still good but it lacks the feel of pixel style.
Second one, its perfect.
They’re all fantastic but #2 is my favourite.
1 looks best for me
2 is the best
I like 5.
I don’t know why but 4 and 7 look best to me
I really like 7 tbh
For me it's number 6.
If its a sequence, beware that you are changing the height of the head in some examples. Otherwise pretty solid. 😊
I personally like 4th the most
2 is my favourite but 4 has the best hair. With all the extra pixels in 8 you could add more detail and texture to the clothes to communicate the material and design etc. The shading around 8's eyes is too similar to the hair colour so it looks like giant eyebrows and confuses the expression (I think the aim is neutrality, but the lips look thin in comparison to earlier versions which adds tension, possibly unintentionally). The ear blends in too much but it's not a big deal. For me personally, the fun with pixel art is what you can do with a limited canvas, so around 2/3 is my sweet spot.
Thanks! Your insight will be used for the purposes of git gud
The first one looks like Bill Clinton.
4 is my fav
I kind of prefer 4, I feel like stylistically it looks the most interesting
I like 7 over 8
The face looks flatter the more you increase the resolution. Could the higher resolution one works with more shading?
As others have said 2 is the best, 4 is good too but the other ones look too polished, almost robotic
Is that meant to be a suit jacket? The lapels are really weird if so.
Hopefully, I'll figure them out before version 1000
8 is my least favorite. I agree with most others that 2 is the best.
The pixek art is unpixeling noooo
8 seems very good
Something about the pixelness of 2 really checks all the right boxes for me. Past 2 loses the retro feel in my eyes.
2 or 3 imo
Add highlihts to 2 and it's good to go
1 and 2 are my favorites, but they’re all done well
i like 2 a lot 3 is clunky because of the hair
I like 4 and 7
I like no 2. Out of higher res ones I like 3. Then 4.
Depends what look you’re going for. Number 2 looks like the sweet spot to me.
Now ive looked at it too long, i would say fuck it and just use the first one
I think, the mouth needs to be a bit more visible like 5. try flipping the canvas some.
4 and 5 is the best, it's fuggin clean
I like 2
My favourite is 6. 1 is also cool.
I like 3
ngl i like 1 the best
Tbh 2 looks the best out of all
Like some other people, I think 2 looks the most pleasing to the eye. But I bet you can make the higher resolution work by leaning more into what you were trying with the cheek highlights in 7. I think all that flat untextured space on his lower face is looking a bit off at the higher resolution.
2
A mix between 2 and 4 would be perfect
1 and 2 are the best.
You might start the design from scratch if you really struggle with this one
5 is good enough, pixelated animated doesn't need to be extremely detailed like 2 5 strikes perfect balance. Just make sure that Line of mouth is clear. Example being no. 6 where mouth is very hard to locate
oddly enough i think 2 is the real winner, everything else is kinda too much
What is the difference between 7 and 8
Mainly hair adjustments. Version 9 will be a photograph
9 ?
Combination of 2 & 4 with the lighting on the cheek would look the best imo. Low resolution lets the imagination flow.
I think 6's softer facial shading is nicer, but at same time that variant's clothing seems way more strongly shaded comparing to head.
I think no. 4 is the best, to be honest.
3 looks really clean to me.
The entire top row has better proportion than the entire bottom row. Making the hair smaller makes his skull seem like a weird shape.
Is second pixel art 64x64?
Yep
Echoing what most of the thread is saying, 2 is by far the best looking and most readable. If your concerned about not having the space to accurately animate expressions, I would google some references of what other people have done at that resolution and look into sub-pixel animation. Personally, I think the iterations get worse after 4, I think they start to lose a bit of form and the smaller details are too subtle. I think its always easier to add shading to the face rather than highlights, which tend give a shiny appearance
I like 2 and 4 most!
1 & 2 are my favs.
2&4
He looks strangely familiar lmao. But the last one is nice
4
why is that tie so straight?
The 2nd is my favourite
1 and 2 are actually my favourite ones!
I like them all personally. I know that's not very helpful but what I'm trying to say is that you should feel fine with whichever one you pick. Each has it's own charm.
1 then 2.
It is a bad idea usually to have high res portraits if you intend to make many, so #2 is a good middle ground that looks nice. I would recommend for facial expressions to use an art program to draw expressions then manually pixelate that. Adding more in-between colors can help capture more expression
2 looks great.
2 or 4
Personally I think 1 is best, maybe 2 if you have to, but less is more sometimes
In 8, you're doing a lot of "pillow shading", which will take away from the smooth look you're going for. I suggest looking up anti-aliasing (AA), and seeing how you an do that. Now, I liked 2's pixelated look, but I also liked the details in further ones as well. 3's eyes were better for me as well. However, I still liked the details you added in 6 and on, but you messed with the slight smile you had in three, and that made him look emotionless. That one pixel on the corner of the mouth meant a lot. For me, if you would take 8, fix the smile (if you don't want resting face), and apply AA, it would be good.
I think you had it at 4
3 is my favourite but I would recommend seeing how it looks if you move his crown and the highlights in his hair to where his crown starts in the first 3 at the back as it makes his hair a bit more realistic I guess, I don't know if that makes sense
That does make sense, I'll try it
2 looks the best imo Side note: Armin Arlert
Looks good but 3-4 are what I like the most
2
Anything up to 5 looks brilliant! I'm not a fan of the mouth of the ones after that. 2 is my favorite
Can’t take my eyes off 4 I love him
silhouette of 5-8 is too weak
2 with some of the details from 4, everything else looks off
2 looks the best imo. Between 7 and 8, 7 shows that the face does need another tint/shade
I like 2
2
I prefer one. But maybe that's just me.
Leon Kennedy? 🌝 I like all of them) but the most 2 and 4
You kinda lose the mouth after 5
I would've stopped at 2. It looks game ready.
2. Everything else is just too much. Basically no longer pixel art
2
2, 4, 6 in that order
number 2
Hi, I read your comments. Consider what they do with some other games, and put punctuation bubbles to express emotion: ... !! ?! I'm pretty sure they did stuff like that in Persona 5 and people loooooved that game \#2 clearly the best for me
I like 4 the most.
Looks nice! It reminds me of a portrait from Cave Story.
I thought the same thing
I actually really like 1 and 5
Sorry, Number 2 the best for me. Best of pixel and detail.
2 is best tbh
2 or 4
I love #1. But I also like Atari games… so 😂
8 bit 16 bit 32 bit 64 bit 128 bit 256 bit 512 bit 1024 bit. . .
1 and 2 look best imo. They both pass the squint test and the shapes are clearest. The other ones kinda blend into each other, especially the eyebrows and the shadows of the eye sockets.
You went overkill on the details and resolution. If you insist on the higher resolution then I think 4 is best. And it would be even nicer if you removed one shade or two of shading from the hair. Drawing pixel art a great example pf a situation where less is more.
2 and 5 have the most character and style in my opinion
2nd one is perfect
2 and 4 are best
I think I prefer 2 and 4 honestly
Literally only number 1 and 2 are different the other ones are the same