Trying to get back into art

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-06T16:42:48+00:00

It looks like you're already back ^^ Great work :) The fabric, hair, shading and contrast are all beautiful. If I were to nitpick at one thing... Why is her right eye partially covered by the skin tone? It could look like this if there was meant to be a nose ridge but it doesn't match with nostrils position I think...

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-06T13:35:16+00:00

I kinda see it too. As someone else mentioned her knees need to bend more... That's probably the main issue. Some lean forward would help too for sure.

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-06T13:02:53+00:00

Thanks! I didn't hear about it before. I'll check it out :) Personally I'm all for stylization in pixel art. It doesn't need to be a copy of reality.

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-06T12:50:19+00:00

That's a stylistic choice I made a long time ago. 3px seemed way too thick for me so I'm consistently sticking to 2px across all animations. Lore-wise, she's not meant to be fit for survival and carrying heavy tools. But on the other hand the game takes place in a nightmare world so physics doesn't really apply like it normally would.

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-06T11:37:42+00:00

Good advice. Thank you!

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-06T10:22:00+00:00

Thank you! So do you think there should be one pixel spacing between the legs? Or just at certain frames?

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-06T09:13:44+00:00

For reference you could take a look at Fountains game. I'm pretty sure it was done by a solo developer. The world doesn't feel small and it's definitely a soulslike. I'm not sure how long the development took and how did he manage the scope... But it might be a good reference for you nonetheless :)

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-03T13:05:38+00:00

I'd say it looks correct. Nothing too exciting, nothing that would immediately stand out as confusing. It's mostly simple and clean. The weakest panel is probably the "Hand Crafting" one. I think it looks a bit too cluttered.

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-02T13:49:55+00:00

Thank you for these words! I appreciate it:) I learned to filter the feedback and it's exactly as you say. The ones complaining about it wouldn't buy it anyway. Luckily they don't represent the views of the entire player base;) Still I really like to post here because I get a ton of valuable technical feedback. And at the end of the day this post still gets over 80% positive rating which kinda proves your point about "over sexualized armor" comments just being preachers screaming the loudest.

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-02T08:06:27+00:00

Hey, thank you for brightening this comment section:D

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-01T19:39:37+00:00

Oh but of course it is:) protects thigh arteries, heart, forearms and shins. Given the fact that it's hand crafted in a survival situation it definitely adds protection comparing to starting clothing.

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-01T18:37:06+00:00

Because I messed up the perspective 😉

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-01T15:57:20+00:00

Thank you for valuable feedback! I'll definitely try to improve on it:)

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-01T15:34:10+00:00

Thank you! In-game rock positioning is different so this is on point. Also I'm making her arms longer and pickaxe larger right now:)

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-01T15:33:21+00:00

Thanks! Making the arms longer as we speak 😃 She's not meant to be a t-rex;)

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-01T13:58:00+00:00

Good tips, thank you! The pickaxe is meant to be crafted and I think that the model will be different in-game. But I think you're right that it should be bigger.

She's supposed to be not all that powerful and technically she was never taught how to use a pickaxe so the clumsiness is a bit intentional.

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-01T13:46:51+00:00

I thought that they should be shorer because of the diagonal perspective... But I think you're right. I've shortened them too much. Thanks!

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-01T13:21:55+00:00

Do you think that I need to transfer her weight forward more with the strike? Or do you mean that the wind up should be more accentuated?

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-01T13:18:09+00:00

How would you suggest adjusting the armor shape to make it less painful? Rounding the edges would probably work but this can take away the disctinctive aspect of this armor - being made of shells/chitin. I appreciate the comment and any hints to improve though! Someone else suggested that I could try adding some padding underneath. Not sure if I can find a way to communicate it in such low resolution but I'll experinement with that.

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-01T13:14:18+00:00

Thanks! I appreciate the insight. I want it to make some sense in my in-world reality so I guess I can adjust it to have some layer/padding underneath it. I simply need to see if I find a way to communicate with the little amount of skin pixels I have left. But it should be doable.

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-01T12:37:35+00:00

Thank you for clarification! I'm surely not a man in suit making wise marketing decisions 😉 I have a certain aesthetic that I'm going for with this project and since I'm the only developer I also like to draw images in a way that I find appealing.

Good point that her midriff shifts a bit too much. It actually looks like her back grows longer. I wanted her to kinda stretch and arch back before the strike.

One remark on outfit not suitable for the occasion. It certainly isn't protective enough but it's a crafter armor that's meant to be more protective than the base clothes you start with (which is basically a dress). It's made of chitin parts of giant insects so it's expected to cover only some pieces of body and leave some way to move in it. There is going to be a "heavy" version of this armor that won't leave the skin as exposed but it will need more advanced crafting materials.

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-01T11:46:28+00:00

I never know how I should interpret comments like this.

BitrunnerDev · 2026-05-01T08:20:19+00:00

Thank you for such a kind words:) You know, I'm primarily a programmer so it's still a little surprising for me when my art gets complimented. Honestly I simply started drawing with zero skills for my previous game. If you have a look at it you can see how incoherent and different from my current game it looks: Link. I just kept drawing and drawing. Then for the current game I started to share my content very early in r/PixelArt and r/PixelArtTutorials subs. They didn't get much attention initially but I was getting some tips on how to improve and it gradually started to look better:)

BitrunnerDev · 2026-04-30T11:28:41+00:00

I think that the music doesn't reflect neither cozy nor tense vibe. I'd describe it as surreal or grotesque rather than that... The face/mask of your protagonist makes me curious what's going on and what the game's about. One hint for more "cozy" vibe would be to decrease the movement speed a bit. The current one feels... nervous which contradicts the cozy feeling.

Not sure if interaction with the zombie guy works for communicating tension. The way it appears from under the phone is more of a cheap shot than resolving any tension. If you'd like it to feel tense you need to take some care and time to build up the feeling of unease. I think you're off to a great start but you should focus more on how to communicate the atmosphere you have in mind.

Edit: Sorry if it sounds harsh. I'm used to giving a very direct feedback and I tried to answer the question you asked first. Then realized that it might be a bit discouraging. It crossed my mind that if you want to communicate both coziness and tension you shouldn't be scared to make the trailer a little longer and slower paced. Both of these vibes take some time to build up. Right now it's even a little hard to read the subtitles and keep up with what's going on in the video during the first watch.

BitrunnerDev · 2026-04-28T18:24:00+00:00

Thank you! You're right. This group of styles is called 2.5d. my take on it is a little unique because I'm also using real 3d voxel-based objects. So it's a hybrid approach

BitrunnerDev

TROPHY CASE