10-06-2013, 08:01 PM
dithering on a curved surface like that pipe needs to be a lot more gradual, as is its taking away from the shades you whipped up and making them each look like its own fuzzy region.
Also under the lip of the pipe should be only 2 dark shades, naturally light is what adds up not shadow, so a much more occluded space like under the lip would not have as dynamic a range of light that could reach it hence it could be expressed in fewer colours, as is it looks like its a pinch in the pipe rather than a shadow.
Also a tip with contrast (your pipes contrast is okay but this applies to everything else) your darkest will always be darker than you expect, its a good rule of thumb when starting, due to the nature of pixel art taking advantage of fewer colours its always a good Idea to make each shade useful in itself, mid-shades get in the way and you can usually get by without them.
Also under the lip of the pipe should be only 2 dark shades, naturally light is what adds up not shadow, so a much more occluded space like under the lip would not have as dynamic a range of light that could reach it hence it could be expressed in fewer colours, as is it looks like its a pinch in the pipe rather than a shadow.
Also a tip with contrast (your pipes contrast is okay but this applies to everything else) your darkest will always be darker than you expect, its a good rule of thumb when starting, due to the nature of pixel art taking advantage of fewer colours its always a good Idea to make each shade useful in itself, mid-shades get in the way and you can usually get by without them.