Pixel Art Style -> Drawing Style

Bernie · Tue 21/02/2006 18:59:47

Dear Critics Lounge,

I've been trying to convert the pixel style I use for comical adventures (sort of like in Cedric a. t. R.) into a clean, simple line-based drawing style. I'm not used to drawing comical stuff and there's a lot I'm not sure about.

First off, the drawings + some of my older, cartoony pixel art for reference:

(Please ignore the duck)

Proportions: Taking the style into account, do you think the proportions work like that?

Style: Some say my drawings look like manga stuff. Is this still the case & if it is, how can I get rid of it?

Lines: I'm trying to vary my line thickness, but have no idea where I should make them thicker or thinner.

Overall: Does anything look weird? Does the level of detail work like that? Anything wrong with the stances/poses?

Thanks in advance!

vict0r · Tue 21/02/2006 19:08:33

The drawings look excellent! I like your simplistic style, and the duck is just amaaazing!
I dont really see anything you should change.

I would say that it still looks abit manga-ish. I dont know why it looks that way, but i dont see why you want to get rid of that.

Nikolas · Tue 21/02/2006 19:13:05

IMO (and I'm nowhere near an expert), I think that it looks MANGA because you have strange proportions reagrding the head and the rest of the body.
If I'm not mistaken usually Japanesse comoics have big big heads and small limbs/bodies...

The duck is great though!

The guy with the spear looks like a dwarf, with these proportions...

The level of details seems fine to me...

I like them!

HillBilly · Tue 21/02/2006 19:17:50

I'd have to say it looks eastern because of the shape of the nose and head. I have no idea why, though; It's hard to define.

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Tue 21/02/2006 19:18:17

The spear guy is the only one I'd say is problematic. His upper body is big, but his legs don't taper off as you would expect for a huge upper body- small legs comical style. He's also lacking a package. The lower right sprite is great. As far as style, I'd say the drawn ones are definitely similiar to anime. If you want to get rid of that, make the nose and chins more realistic (more pronounced and defined, and not falling away from the nose as your top right one). I made a really sloppy edit that will probably explain it better.

Bernie · Tue 21/02/2006 20:15:53

Thanks for the replies!

ProgZmax, I like the edits you've done. I'll edit them and will post the results later. The guy with the glasses is supposed to be young (15 years), your edit makes him look a little too old. I'll try to find something in-between for him.

The duck is my interpretation of Alfred J. K., it doesn't really count.

EldKatt · Tue 21/02/2006 20:24:34

To me, the man with glasses looks manga-like only because he's young and has glasses, and that's rather superficial. Based on the samples you've given us, I don't really think you have a particularly great amount of manga style to get rid of.

scourge · Tue 21/02/2006 20:59:58

I agree with eldkatt, your style isn't that much manga at all (take into account I watch way too much anime). And generall, any style has kids look like manga since the eyes are usually bigger and so too the heads (and rounder).

I want to see more bernie games!!!!

Those drawings are excellent.

Neil Dnuma · Tue 21/02/2006 21:00:41

To me, most of the ears seems misplaced (esp. on the man with the spear). In general they are placed too low.

Bernie · Tue 21/02/2006 21:08:35

buloght: Thanks! More games will follow later this year.

EldKatt: Zat is gut, thanks.

New edit + fixed ears (thanks, Neil) + random new stuff:

Theme · Tue 21/02/2006 21:20:27

nice drawnings!

o/

lo_res_man · Tue 21/02/2006 22:01:01

Ah, that duck is CUTE! the rest are great with a wonderful grace and fluidity. It has that manga delicacy of line, with out being TOO cutesy in the eyes. Great work!

Renal Shutdown · Wed 22/02/2006 03:19:22

Alfred J Kwak? Great, now I'm all depressed. God, that show was miserable.

As for wanting to not be manga? Why? Unless you're anti-japan, I can't see what's wrong with it looking that way. As long as you like your style of drawing, who cares what it's similar to?

SpacePirateCaine · Wed 22/02/2006 05:51:34

I think it works rather well as your own personal style of art - unfortunately, people are going to draw similarities to a specific genre of art no matter what you do; it's just hard to be completely original when most facets of art have already been explored. I'm not sure exactly why you're trying to distance yourself from 'manga'. I suppose you're talking about the Dragon Ball/Sailor Moon stuff. I'm not going to get into a big explanation about how that's a bit of a misnomer, as there's a whole lot of variation of art even in Japanese comics (manga).

But I digress. If you don't want people coming up with similarities between your work and the work of the more popularly imported Japanese stuff, you'll want to work a lot more detail into your pictures and be very exact, or very loose with your anatomical proportions, while avoiding the simplifications that you find in Japanese comic art - I find that a lot of attention in noses, for some reason (as Hillbilly also pointed out), can push you more towards a western style. The child in the running position at the top of your page has the closest to what I think people are talking about, largely due to the way you drew the nose (mostly undrawn, with a few well-placed curves to suggest it) and eyes (also simplified, lower lid completely undrawn).

As your proportions are concerned, I find that most comics in Japan are actually generally very anatomically correct, at least as height and body-type are concerned (This is, of course, a generalization, as there are plenty of exceptions to the rule on all shores, such as the work of Tezuka Osamu and Toriyama Akira in Japan, or Albert Uderzo and Chuck Jones of the western world.

Basically, I think you should just stick with drawing things the way you're comfortable, and don't give a damn about what people think it looks like. You drew it, so it's your art, no matter what it may or may not be influenced by.

HeirOfNorton · Wed 22/02/2006 05:54:46

Re: line thickness

There are a couple books out there on comic book inking that go into more detail on this topic than anything on just drawing would. I recommend The Art of Comic Book Inking by Gary Martin.

One very basic technique that I recall is to use the lines to suggest lighting. For example, if you want the light source to be on the left of your character, make the lines on the left thinner, and those on the right thicker to suggest shadow.

Hope this is useful

HoN

Bernie · Wed 22/02/2006 14:38:53

HeirOfNorton: Defining shadows... I'm gonna try that, thanks! :3

SpacePirateCaine: You've convinced me to keep the style (with ProgZmax's suggestions applied). You're right, I'm talking avbout Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon and such. It's what most people think of when they hear anime/manga. However, I really like the drawing style used in the manga 20th Century Boys, if you know it.

Spleen: Haha, I'm not anti-japan.

I also don't see why I'd have to be anti-japan to not like some of the manga drawing styles. I like the style used in One Piece. I also drew my avatar in my manga style. It's just that I also want to be able to draw something that doesn't look like it too much.

lo_res_man/Exsecratus: Thanks! ^^

I'd like to use this drawing style for a short comic. I probably should point out that I drew it with a tablet, but I think the general drawing rules still apply.

Slightly older, more manga-esque works for the same comic idea:

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Wed 22/02/2006 15:02:13

This adaptation looks very much more YOU and not borrowed or inspired from other sources, Bernie. The approach of just drawing nostrils is a good idea as it definitely sets you apart from anime and the simple style of the eyes fits better with it imo. Good show!

Bernie · Wed 22/02/2006 15:19:53

Thank you! :3 I only put some more details into the eyes if I draw my characters bigger. Sort of like in these two sketches I drew a few minutes ago:

Anian · Wed 22/02/2006 15:53:28

me thinks you shoud get a real problem

well if I could draw like that I would do the same thing I do every night - I would try to take over the world

HillBilly · Wed 22/02/2006 16:14:01

I love the new versions. Much more personal than the previous sketches.

Pixel Art Style -> Drawing Style

scourge