Hishido

Go take a look at line theory. You need to choose a light source - where the light touches the object, the lines are incredibly thin, whereas when there's no light the lines should be thicker (Calligraphic Lines). They're still nice though. Make sure your shading works logically (ie. Light hits object, bends and forms a shadow, hits another object, etc... Also, don't jag your lines. Jagged lines show texture - make sure your lines are straight where they need to be.

Hey, I like the style you're going for with those icons. You obviously have a good idea for colors. I'll give you a few suggestions - stuff that you could do to refine your technique. 1) Icon Depth - this is done through effective shading. Maybe try and do a bit of research as how light diffracts on different kinds of materials, it could really help. 2) Line Art - Your line art is clean, but it's also a bit unimaginative. Remember - pixel art is all about visual illusion. The smallest changes in pixel placement could mean the difference between a flat and uninteresting icon and a high definition icon that will wow anyone who looks at it. 3) Stay away from softening edges on icons as small as these. You can apply a very small amount of anti-aliasing if you want, but more often than not this is done in collaboration with shading when emphasizing form. 4) Lone (stray) pixels shouldn't be utilized. More often than not, it simply ruins the icon and makes it look unrefined. 5) Colors - be extremely careful of using an overwhelming contrast between the shade and the highlighted parts. The orange on the Naruto suit makes it look as if he's being highlighted under a neon light. Also, the icon looks a bit flat and the shade could use work to show the folds in the fabric. 6) Perspective + Lighting. Make sure your lighting makes sense in collaboration with the perspective of the icon. Perspective can be hard for new pixel artists - I suggest doing a bit of research on the icon you're drawing and viewing it from a bunch of different perspectives and then compare it to the base you want to fit it on. It's easy to fit the right perspective if you do this. It's very clear that you have talent - your technique just needs to be refined and you can become a really great pixel artist. Remember - practice makes perfect. It also helps a lot of you have a skilled artist giving you clear and precise critique, so you know where your weak points are and how to brush up on them. Try and find a mentor. The more icons you draw, the better you're going to become. Also, please note : Artists have unique views on their icons. What works logically for one person doesn't necessarily work for the rest. You'll need to practice with different styles so that you can easily adjust it according to what a certain person wants I look forward to seeing more of your work Regards, Hishido

Greetings, The link will always be posted in the Shoutbox once Rory starts drawing. He hasn't been hosting any sessions lately. Kind Regards, Hishido

Greetings, The internet is generally categorized into the visible (surface) and invisible (deep) web. You're already familiar with the surface web, because it's what we use to browse every day. In order to understand the deep web, you need a basic understanding of what the internet is and what search engines do. The Internet The internet is a service that interconnects different computers and devices around the world. Essentially, it's a collection of networks that exist and are shared with each other around the globe. This means that every single device that connects to the internet is connected to some sort of network. There are billions of people on the planet - imagine if every single one of them connects to the internet and uploads a few files or share some files on a network? Naturally, there's a chance for some of the data to get lost, corrupted, secured, hidden, etc... Search Engines Search engines find websites based on several algorithms, crawlers, bots, etc... Essentially your website is found based on its content, it's SEO (search engine optimization), accessibility, among other factors. It can do this due to the fact that your web host gives knowledge of the existence of the website. Once the search engine is alerted, it'll scan your website with these algorithms to determine if it should get a ranking (displayed as a result) or if should get ignored. The Invisible Web The invisible web consists of those documents that are hidden from search engines. They can intentionally be made private, it can be lost data, unlinked pages, corrupted data, stolen data, etc... It's important to know that the Visible Web is much, much smaller than the Invisible web - however, the visible web contains the most relevant and important documents. It's not illegal to access the invisible web, but you should be very careful when doing so. It's littered with viruses, malware, adware and all sorts of software that can compromise you, your privacy and the general security of your PC. I hope this gives you a clearer understanding. Kind Regards, Hishido

The first sword is customized as an S I'm assuming because his name is Stylishninja. It's unique to him, which is epic.

The turfs do look good. Wouldn't it be a bit more accurate to make the Hokage room circular? It'll look a bit strange if the office is square shaped while the outside building is circular.