Am I really that bad?

[ozaya]

Guys... Why am I so bad at shading stuff ._.
tbh.. I think iam the worse in everything X_X *Starts questioning life* ....

Can you tell me what Iam doing wrong here? <.<

It kinda looks okay, yet it doesnt <.<

 

[Raijinn]

1st, can you tell me what software you are using? Second, you need to give it a source light, where does the light come from? and then you shade from there.

 

[chungsie]

it may look flat because there is not enough depth shading. you have a good start, maybe play with expanding the shading you already have with slightly less dark areas.
@Raijinn it looks to be gimp

 

[ozaya]

Hey thanks for the answers!
Yes, its gimp! It is easier to use imo.
The Light Source is coming from the top left! (RPG Maker MV Light Source!)

 

[ozaya]

it may look flat because there is not enough depth shading. you have a good start, maybe play with expanding the shading you already have with slightly less dark areas.
@Raijinn it looks to be gimp

How do you mean that? I'm really new to pixel art. But thats what I need <.<
I cannot make my own Game with only presets >.< I need my own Creations... But I just s*ck at it <.<

 

[Gabrelik]

A trick I used when I was getting started (which was probably extremely overcomplicated) was to duplicate the layer, and then darken the Lightness under Hue Saturation by about 30-60, depending on how drastic I wanted the shadow. Then I would just erase the parts I didn't need. It was a form of cel shading that enabled me to begin understanding how to play with shadow. I would do this multiple times, with slightly darker or lighter layers, again depending on the effect I needed. I would then just blend the layers together with the smudge tool.

As I went on and discovered the dodge/burn tool, I realized I could easily shade and highlight wherever I needed to, without the need to resort to all that extra craziness. The Gradient tool is also wonderful to play around with, and can make creating light and shadow a much easier process.

I would say just get in there and start playing around with the toolbar, and see what you come up with! Practice makes perfect, after all. I'm nowhere near where I want to be yet, but when I look back at some of my earlier pieces, I realize just how far I've come. Taking on projects in the Resource Request thread is also helpful, as it forces you to conform to somebody else's needs while still maintaining your own perfectionism. May not turn out exactly how they like, but it is also a free resource for them, and perfect or not, it is wonderful practice. Just keep at it. Every Master was once an Apprentice.

 

[chungsie]

um, you're pretty good actually. compare to mine, not in terms of shading, but the drawing. but that's how I would shade it out.

 

[Lestroth]

I did the same as Gabrelik when I was starting out The lights and shadows were mere other layers of black or white, which I set on different blending modes and then just erased as I saw fit. It did help me get the hang on shading, but eventually you'll want to do it yourself, as the layering stuff is inconvenient and often not sufficient enough. It gives a very odd style, aswell.

As I'm still struggling with shading myself I can only give you the advice of not using banding for your shadows. You probably already came across this tutorial, but here you can look up what banding is, if you are not aware: http://pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11299

Another advice would be to try to break down your sprite into easier to shade objects like spheres, cylinders, cones, cubes, and so on, and then concentrate on shading part for part, until you get it right. If you don't already know how to shade those objects, it would make sense in the long run to start drawing simpler things.

It's really all about practise. I think it took me over half a year of casual pixeling and editing until the very basics clicked with me.

 

[ozaya]

Thanks for all the answers guys!
I will take your advise to my heart and hope at some day I can do pixel art, like many others can!
Tyvm!

 

[Celianna]

@ozaya try not to double post please, just edit your previous post if you've got something to add

Judging from the example you've given me, you take a very literal approach to "If the light source comes from the left, I should give the left side a highlight, and the right side a shadow." This does not work out, because things aren't flat pieces of paper, they have bumps and holes and the way you shade something is affected by the shape!

Here's some advice I gave to someone with the same issue, it may help out a tiny bit:

Basically, you need to look at some reference photos, and understand that if your pixel beast here has a very rounded back, that the shadows should follow that of a sphere.

I drew a quick sample based on your design as well.

Notice how I shaded those grey horns? Compared to yours? I'm assuming they're horns, so they have a rounded shape, so in your original design you are following the lines correctly, but you simply needed to make your shadows wider! No need to use as many highlights either