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Set palette of shades or Darken/Lighten tool?
DXWang_
Dunlan_Willowbo
Hey guys, for this forum post I'd really appreciate replies from really experienced skinners. From the subject, you can see my question.
When I first began skinning, I had no idea what the heck I should do, but I understood that not all pixels should be exactly the same, and so I spammed the D/L tool around. Of course soon because I wanted to excel at the art, I looked at others, and concluded that a better way to skin was to have a palette of shades, that you could rearrange most logically to make the skin look realistic. This seem advanced, so I've been doing that up to now.
So the thought honestly just came to my head. I sometimes see popular awesome skins that have MANY shades. And I'm not talking about the borderline gradient **** ones either. Now I can't imagine anyone setting a palette THAT large. So are these skilled skinners using the D/L tool- or possibly the Dodge/Burn tool that I have no idea about. For some reason I've somehow assumed that these tools will produce lesser quality in color. Is that true?
That's actually another question.
TO RECAP:
- Set palette of shades or D/L tool or D/B tool? Why?
*I realize for simplistic shading tools aren't necessary but what about very detailed skins?*
- Do tools produce lesser quality colors?
Thanks to everyone that may reply! And sorry if my post seems silly- an answer is still appreciated!
When I first began skinning, I had no idea what the heck I should do, but I understood that not all pixels should be exactly the same, and so I spammed the D/L tool around. Of course soon because I wanted to excel at the art, I looked at others, and concluded that a better way to skin was to have a palette of shades, that you could rearrange most logically to make the skin look realistic. This seem advanced, so I've been doing that up to now.
So the thought honestly just came to my head. I sometimes see popular awesome skins that have MANY shades. And I'm not talking about the borderline gradient **** ones either. Now I can't imagine anyone setting a palette THAT large. So are these skilled skinners using the D/L tool- or possibly the Dodge/Burn tool that I have no idea about. For some reason I've somehow assumed that these tools will produce lesser quality in color. Is that true?
That's actually another question.
TO RECAP:
- Set palette of shades or D/L tool or D/B tool? Why?
*I realize for simplistic shading tools aren't necessary but what about very detailed skins?*
- Do tools produce lesser quality colors?
Thanks to everyone that may reply! And sorry if my post seems silly- an answer is still appreciated!
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Yes as Mgreat and Basicbrick said, palettes are the way to go. Pixel art is all about control, that's what makes it different from all other art styles, you should be able to control where each pixel goes and what exact color it is. With the lighten/darken/dodge/burn tool, you won't know the exact color it will be and you won't have full control over your colors. Hope that helps!
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I tend to use a pencil tool with around 8-10% Opacity with a near-black version of my base colour for shading.
I suck at explaining things ._. I know.
I suck at explaining things ._. I know.
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Palettes are the way to go.
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Well, I'd first say, do not use the Dodge/burn tool as it does decrease the quality of the colour, as you suspected.
If you want to get more shades than your palette, there are a couple of ways. The first one is Leostereo's method. You make your set palette, grab colours off of it, and then put your pencil to something like 20% transparency, allowing you to gradually shade with more shades than your palette.
The other method that I use is: Make your specific palette, and start the shading with that, but expand on it, adding more shades as you go. Also use the smudge tool here and there to get a smoother effect. This can be challenging and not turn out well, so be careful. Also I do start out with palettes of around 11 shades per colour, so that helps a bit..
If you want to get more shades than your palette, there are a couple of ways. The first one is Leostereo's method. You make your set palette, grab colours off of it, and then put your pencil to something like 20% transparency, allowing you to gradually shade with more shades than your palette.
The other method that I use is: Make your specific palette, and start the shading with that, but expand on it, adding more shades as you go. Also use the smudge tool here and there to get a smoother effect. This can be challenging and not turn out well, so be careful. Also I do start out with palettes of around 11 shades per colour, so that helps a bit..
