[Pixel] My new tree

[azkanan]

I'm not sure if I'll be making this into a tutorial, but I'll just put it in show off for now, as I give step-by-step images of the tree being constructed.

**Part 1: The Tree**

This is my subject, the "Field Maple";


I began by drawing out a quick outline, by marking out the outer edges of the tree, taking into account form, size and perspective.


Then on a new layer (A few actually) I began by drawing out the tree proper. Whilst this is only really for the Dead version of the tree, it can be useful for when the player can see through the bough of the tree, to see some wood.
For now I'll only use main branches, then come back to off-shoot branches from the main branches, later.


Upon seeing the size of the tree itself, I returned to the roots to make them larger, and to add roots to the other side, to aid in the visual effect of perspective.


Next, I capped any possible out-flows (ie, the root openings) and filled the tree….


…Then using Photoshop's time-saving Select -> Colour Range tool, I filled in the edges with a darker tone in just three steps/less than a minute - beats going around with a pencil tool and drawing over the colours, eh?


Oh, and there's a Cypress tree I made earlier.


I'm not quite sure where I picked up this shading technique, but I like it. Gives it a pretty nice texture and it's easy to work with.

Then, with highlighting:


It's not brilliant, but I don't think it's too bad. For a dead tree.

Addendum: I forgot to shade the tree edges for more depth, with the dark outlining. Oops.


* * *

[Deleting the bough part because it looked atrocious. It was an experimental way of doing it anyway!]

**Enjoy my wood.**

[SawQuart]

Pretty nice. Can't wait to see after you've finished making the whole OP.

[Marsh]

Base looks pretty nice so far

[Rainbow Dash]

The outline is done well, as with the shading, but the colours make it seem a little shiny. If you made the highlight colour a little bit darker it might help. The branches should (For want of a better term) branch off into smaller branches, as well, but other than that it's a good tree.

[slym]

Outline was decent, but the shading was pretty sloppy. You need to define a texture with the tree. You also need to define a light source and stick to it. Right now it's textured, but it's pillow shaded. It's also very noisy. There shouldn't be a single pixel that isn't connected to another pixel. Any one that is will cause white noise and make the tree look sloppy. Here's an edit:


Obviously this isn't the size of your tree, I was just giving you the lightsource to use :P I don't want to sound harsh, I only want to offer my help.

[JeffSventora]

@slym:

> Outline was decent, but the shading was pretty sloppy. You need to define a texture with the tree. You also need to define a light source and stick to it. Right now it's textured, but it's pillow shaded. It's also very noisy. There shouldn't be a single pixel that isn't connected to another pixel. Any one that is will cause white noise and make the tree look sloppy. Here's an edit:
>
> 
>
> Obviously this isn't the size of your tree, I was just giving you the lightsource to use :P I don't want to sound harsh, I only want to offer my help.

I think that looks good, but I also think his looks good. Based on this and your work in your other thread, what you described really looks like more of a difference in the artist's style.

[Rainbow Dash]

Slym, the bark of a tree doesn't go upwards, it's random dotty sections as it is here. Look:


[slym]

@Rainbow:

> Slym, the bark of a tree doesn't go upwards, it's random dotty sections as it is here. Look:

Never critique a critique. Especially when you aren't even the artist in the first place. Obviously if you read what I wrote, you would have noticed that I was talking about lighting. Not texture.

[shwamshwam1]

Azkanan it looks nice!
I reckon you should make a tutorial out of this.
the only thing i find a bit confusing is the shape, it just looks…well odd. But that may just be me =3

[IceCream Tuesday]

@SnowStorm:

> Azkanan it looks nice!
> I reckon you should make a tutorial out of this.
> the only thing i find a bit confusing is the shape, it just looks…well odd. But that may just be me =3

It isn't bad, but one of the problems with eclipse.. is tutorials being made, that don't help with anything but teaching sloppy techniques.

As for the tree itself, listen to slym. Start with lighting, and when that's correct, start implementing some texture. But remember at such a small scale, you don't need to make it very defined, just subtle shaping of bark in the highlights. Don't want to make your art to noisy.