Meave - Do you do pixel art in layers too?

Use layers, trust me, layers are your friend.

I'm sure layers are awesome, as I use them in every other kind of digital art, I just can't get past the cursor for pixeling haha. That's just me, though. Regardless, I also strongly advise using layers.

Are there any ideal programs I can use? I'm pretty much fed up with MS Paint as it doesn't always let me zoom in enough.
I've tried Gimp but idk, is there anything simpler?

I had a program I could make cursors in at one time but those were limited to 64x64 pixels I think.

Gimp takes getting used to but it's not terrible. Thsts what I used to use. I used PS.

I used Adobe Photoshop... but I am trying to branch out to the free open source programs.

AND YES! I NEED LAYERS!

I know there was a method for making really fast recolors, but are there any other tricks for pixeling I could use to make Gimp more effective? I know stuff like blur tools and such don't really help.

I don't use blur tool for pixeling at all...
and I am not sure what effective you are talking about? Other than the interface of GIMP is different than photoshop, I don't think it is so different compare to Photoshop.

It doesn't have a few of the more intricate tools that PS does but you likely would never use them anyways

I see. So gimp is still a more ideal option compared to paint?

Oh absolutely. For the first gimp has layers and transparency. That alone beats out paint. Our items need transparency to work.

There are other open source program to use too.
Google - adobe photoshop equivalent. XD lol.

Ooh... transparency is needed? Good to know I'll keep that in mind and start trying to keep things transparent.
Progress is a bit slow and not really finding much time to pixel. I find myself pixeling in my head a lot is this normal? o.o

Sounds like for now I'll stick with gimp, since I at least already know how it works for the most part. ^^

Edit - So I actually accidently figured out what I did wrong on MS Paint. I fixed it
(Gimp takes forever to load so having a program to use quickly is nice)

So I've been continuing to play around with the doll base I made, trying to make it match to pose of mene's avis, but I've been learning a lot about what I don't really know how to do.



I cleaned it up and attempted to "turn" the doll and found that I don't really know how to pixel jointed areas. If I were to attempt to draw a shirt or pants it would be a bit too tubular. The points that I feel need the most work are the elbows and the knees. (Note I haven't added any real shading since I intend to change it a lot)

Any tips or ideas on how I can improve this? Is a lot of it simply shading it right?

I have a suggestion! It looks a little like the left leg is shorter than the right leg right now so maybe make the left leg a little longer? :3

It does? Uhhm... her left or our left?

Hmm well I meant her left leg looks shorter than her right leg, but now I'm realizing maybe the left leg is bent more than the right

Her left leg looks a bit lumpy. I know what you were trying to do, because legs are absolutely not straight, but its too extreme, giving it a lumpy look.

I see. Well I tweaked it a little and I agree, it was probably a little short.

Lumpy? I can see what you mean a bit. I'll see what I can do. Mostly I was trying to imply a "knee" I guess. I'll try and tweak it some more.

Also I'm trying to play with shading a bit, but my grasp on shading is still very beginner

Yup I could tell what you were trying to do, but in a space that small, you wouldn't see it too much. The knee would mostly come from the shading itself.

I see. Thanks. I thinned the leg out and it's really helping.

One thing that's been bothering me a lot lately is the arm/leg length. Been shortening and lengthening them a lot and I can't seem to decide on a length. Any idea on how far a hand should reach?

Do the eyes look alright? I tried using eyes for a reference, (I rarely use references), and they seem good enough for a practice doll.

The doll's right ankle seems thicker than it should be, I'm not sure if you'd agree

The eyes look fine to me albeit a tiny bit cross-eyed

I see that she is slightly cross-eyed, but unfortunately if I move the eye at all she gets even more cross-eyed
Will have to be a fix for a larger doll or a new eye someday.

I tried to fix it up a bit. How does it look Salvete?

Old one on the right

I agree with you on that she loots slightly cross eyed but I still think she is cute

Does it look fixable? Or perhaps do I need to make her bigger still?