From Zero to Hero, Pixel Art! by Danielle Woods (Woodspixl) When you think of pixel art, you might think of Mario, Pokemon and or Zelda. With the world becoming more technologically advanced with graphics becoming more realistic and gameplay more engaging, people thought the era of pixel art was over but that was further than the truth. The genre of pixel art is becoming more and more popular now for brand new pixel art games coming onto the market from smaller studios. AAA has left the door wide open for indie studios to fill the players hands with wholesome, fun, action and much more pixel art games! PLEASE NOTE: This guide will focus on the reader having next to zero knowledge or an introduction level of pixel art and what I think is important to learn and provide basic tutorials on how to approach, tackle and work towards setting up to becoming a pixel artist. If you disagree with any of the pointers suggested in this guide, please feel free to contact me as I am open to feedback and other opinions on how others might work in the realm of pixel art. I have included a wide range of artists who have produced tutorials of the sort and will be the bulk of the information along with commentary and pointers about each topic. Now with any guide or tutorial, please know that I have included a lot of the same kind of videos but providing more will aid a wider range of readers as each video might be more understood by different audiences and I hope that you enjoy your time reading and watching! Personal Lore: Now for a little backstory. If I told myself that in 2022, I would be a successful Freelance Pixel Artist, I would’ve doubted myself and laughed. Life can take turns for the good and for the bad and that is what happened back in 2018/2019. I finished my university course in Video Games at Salford, UK with a First Degree Honours and looked into the future with a mildly optimistic eye. Even though I had achieved the highest grade but still lacked a strong definitive art style, focus and job opportunities, I honestly felt ”Where do I go now?”. After a month of working a dead end job living with my mother, I then took the bold decision to move to a new country, and live with my current boyfriend and see where things take me. I finally was able to sit down and draw. I needed time to find myself and find my art style, my passion for a creative medium. Until I realised that I thoroughly enjoy the medium called Pixel Art. Many people now will tell me that pixel art is the easy option or that you don’t need a strong art direction or talent. I will tell you that it is a lie. You have to take time and practice just like any other hobby or skill and that is what I have done for the past three years while working and studying. Now I can finally proudly say I am a Freelance Pixel Artist within a great community where people can build each other up, and work on what we enjoy. Just a picture of me (far left) with my final year team at graduation in 2018. The Legendary Guide: Prologue: 1) Tools of the trade: Like any artist, you need your paint brush and a surface to create what you want, however, unlike traditional art. You will need a program to be your brush and surface and picking the right one for you is going to be tough as there are MANY to choose from. Below is a list of the most common programs available to the public for creating pixel art and the highly recommended few by myself and other artists. Highly Recommended 🌐 🌐 💲 a) Aseprite (PC) https://aseprite.org/ Also on Steam https://store.steampowered.com/app/431730/Aseprite/ 💲💲 🌐 🌐 b) Pro Motion NG (PC) https://www.cosmigo.com/ Also on Steam https://store.steampowered.com/app/671190/Pro_Motion_ NG/ 💲 🌐 d) Pixaki - 💲 (IOS) 🌐 https://pixaki.com/ c) PyxelEdit (PC) https://pyxeledit.com/ Middle Range Recommendations 🌐 🌐 💲💲 e) ClipStudioPaint (PC/IOS) https://www.clipstudio.net/en/ f) LOSPEC - Free (PC) https://apps.lospec.com/pixel-editor/ 🌐 💲💲💲 g) Photoshop (PC) https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud.html Non Popular Recommendations 🌐 h) Krita - Free (PC) https://krita.org/en/ 🌐 💲💲💲 i) Photoshop (PC) https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud.html 🌐 j) GIMP - Free (PC) https://www.gimp.org/ 🌐 💲 k) Paint.net (PC) https://www.getpaint.net/ I included Photoshop in the Mid and Low recommendations and this is because Photoshop is OK to create pixel art within due to the fact Photoshop has very little support/tools. The programs semi redeeming factor is that it is readily accessible without actually paying for the software (I do not support this) so I wouldn’t recommend it personally but I do understand how common it is among At the end of the day, The program you chose is up to you but from this point on, I will continue to explain further but in the perspective of using Aseprite and the benefits of using Aseprite. Now you know what programs are available, let's take a look at some basic tutorials to help you get started and I will provide links to each video and their creator so feel free to check out more of their content. ▶️ What Program to use for Pixel Art? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90BghUX7SD0 Brandon James Greer : A great introduction to a huge selection of tools available online ready to use and create pixel art within, states the pros and cons for many programs so a wonderful insight into each program. ▶️ Aseprite Guide for Beginners https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md6W79jtLJM& MortMort : An in depth tutorial guide to the program Aseprite, explaining the simple brush/line/bucket tools, keyboard shortcuts, and project management within Aseprite. ▶️ How to Pixel Art In 10 Minutes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-ibXM3xBjg Reece Geofroy : The overall premise of this video is a short introduction to the medium along with a overall guide on programs, where to start and canvas sizes and I agree with Reece in this video because he recommends that new pixel artists start small and then work their way bigger and bigger which is what I recommend as well. ▶️ An Aseprite Crash Course In 30 Minutes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Y6OTzNrhk AdamCYounis : Similar to Reece’s Video above, Adam gives a 20 minute longer one on one guide with the program Aseprite’s workspace, workflow, tools and much more in depth. Even a short introduction to tiles which I will touch upon further in the document. ▶️ The Ultimate Pixel Art Tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfR7Qj04-UA Saultoons : Quick and to the point introduction to what you will need, what tools you can choose and overall basic pixel art process. As well as a nice explanation on how one might approach pixel art in different ways. And on that note let’s explain each method a little further. Different ways to approach Pixel Art : In the video above, Saultoons gives three general ways you can start your pixel art starting off with Silhouette, Construction and Rough. All of these can be applied when working both small or large and even when working on environment pieces. Silhouette : A method that I personally love to work with is the silhouette approach, where you do not necessarily work with lines and details from the get go. Figuring out the shapes and form will help with the overall size as well since personally when I use this method for designing characters, I can clearly tell if a leg or arm is too short because there isn’t a bunch of detail hiding the fact or the problem. Overall great starting point and easy to master! PROS ⭐ My Recommendation ⭐ Stylised characters/objects ⭐ Great form from the start CONS ⚠️ Hard to work from without a vision Construction : Construction is the second method of approach and is used also by a lot of digital artists, but this method can be used to start your piece off in pixel art as well. This approach is all about the construction of a character or an object by using lines into then blocking out and refining over time similar to the previous but with more steps. PROS ⭐ ⭐ Proportionate characters ⭐ Build upon and idea slowly CONS ⚠️ A lot more steps to refine ⚠️Can be difficult to understand your sketch ⚠️Proportions might be difficult to get right Rough to Refined: The rough approach is a method not a lot of pixel artists use from my experience as it can be very difficult to break the rules of making all of your pixels perfect and clean-. But in this situation it’s all about using colours to work out your composition and depth. I find this method really comforting and relaxing when creating nature in particular as nature is all about shapes and form over lines and structure. I would recommend trying it out from time to time. PROS ⭐ ⭐ Proportionate characters ⭐ Build upon and idea slowly CONS ⚠️ A lot more steps to refine ⚠️Can be difficult to understand your sketch ⚠️Proportions might be difficult to get right ⚠️Difficult to achieve with a mouse 2) The neverending battle, Mouse VS Tablet: It is weirdly believed across the art world that in order to level up your drawing skill, you need a drawing tablet, and a fancy one at that. In some cases of high detail and pixel perfect precision might be the case but when working within the realm of pixel art, it isn’t so. There are many artists, including myself, that in some cases, a mouse can prove more beneficial over a stylus. For example working on small sprites (below 50x50 pixels) can easily be done with a mouse, but a more larger environment piece might require more of a fluid stroke which the tablet will always prove better for. And lastly, the ultimate reason why I use a tablet over a mouse at this current time is to protect my wrist from cramping up after spending hours upon hours a day drawing. Holding a pen in a natural pose is much healthier than using a mouse. ▶️ Aseprite Brush Tips and Tricks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLESnHw2dPE& MortMort : Continuing on from Mortmort’s basic introduction video, this is a more advanced video looking into the different ways and methods to use Aseprite’s different brush options such as saving custom brushes, patterns and tile brushes. All in which will help with working with tiles or simply speeding up the process of creating. Constructing Lines and Curves in Pixel Art ▶️https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye21r27kN9I Brandon James Greer : When it comes to lines and curves within pixel art, this video will help with understanding the term ‘doubles and jaggies’ and how you can avoid these by using the option ‘pixel perfect’ within Aseprite and counting the pixels to make the curves symmetrical. 3) The importance of canvas sizes: I get this Question a lot and the answer is always difficult to determine as it both depends on what you are creating and what your skill level in pixel art is. Working on character sprites does not require over hundred and hundreds of pixels as it defeats the purpose of ‘pixel art’. My recommendation is to work small and build up if you need to. Pixel art is very flexible when working upscales compared to down, both are not good so trying to nail your canvas size is important to get right first. What pixel size canvas should I use? ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad-3dn2qUUs Brandon James Greer : A very common question myself and others get in the pixel art community from new artists is “How big is this piece or How big should I work at” and in my opinion, working smaller is a good place to start and if needed, you can always make the canvas size larger. But Brandon does a good job in explaining a few examples of games that use different canvas sizes and what you might want to aim for. What is the Right Canvas Size? ▶️https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upEGBGCiWEw AdamCYounis : Another video highlighting the issues of picking your canvas size, on top of that, Adam speaks about the issues of canvas resizing and ‘bands’ of extra pixels in existing games and looking at his personal work and what his preferences are when it comes to canvas sizes. Taking that into consideration, I believe the canvas size is also influenced by your own art style such as I prefer working in smaller canvas’ to make my artwork look more ‘retro’ then over-detailed. 4) Choosing you colour palette: LOSPEC 🌐 https://lospec.com/ Lospec is the go-to website for artists when it comes to finding premade palettes as they have a great system of easy downloading the palettes you want to even giving you examples of what you can achieve with the palettes. Something that is also great is that it is completely free to browse and you can even upload your own work onto there and share with others. Beginner Tips, Colour Palettes ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCOmUSUSado MortMort : Something that catches new artists off guard is that they NEED to make their own palette. This is not the case, You are free to use any colour you want and Lospec is a great source to find millions of premade palettes to use! You can also use Aseprite’s built in Palette selection or use the ‘create palette from current sprite’ where Aserite will create a palette based on the current sprite. I do this a lot and I highly recommend it since you can learn what colours you then want to use from a completely new palette and not something that someone has created for you. How to create a palette from a sprite: Burger Button > Create Palette from Sprite > ‘insert number of colours’ > OK As you can see I have the default colour palette but I want to copy 25 colours from the sprite I have loaded. Within Aseprite, load the sprite and select the ‘Burger Button’ just below the ‘Home’ tab. Once the drop down list appears, you want to select the last option “Create Palette from Sprite”. Then a window will appear with several options, The most important one is the first or second. The first option will create X amount of colours from the sprite and completely replace the previous palette. The second option will replace the amount of colours you currently have (in the example it will replace all 32 colours with 32 colours from the sprite and if there aren't enough colours, it will create transparent blocks which isn't ideal.) The last two are all about ‘Alpha colours’ and ‘indexing’ Something that doesn’t need to be explained at this current point. Just keep them unticked, press ‘OK’ and enjoy your new colours. 5) Outlines VS no outlines: ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW1G_FLsuEs 3 Pixel Art Techniques for Beginners MortMort : This is a great video about the terms ‘doubles’ and ‘jaggies’ and how to create clean overall pixel art. Something that a lot of new beginners forget to do is enable the “pixel perfect” tool in Aseprite as this will ensure your lines are always one pixel wide and maintain the clean outline. You can easily achieve a perfect outline around your sprite by using the Shift + O keybinds to open the ‘Outline’ window and it will apply to the whole sprite on the layer(s). This will also apply to all the frames/layer(s) you want to apply to just by selecting everything you want and using the same window to apply them. 6) Creating a comfortable environment : Aseprite When you spend many hours everyday looking into a monitor, you need to make sure you are taking care of your eyes and body and one thing that might be worth looking into while working in Aseprite is themes. Make your workspace comfortable for you and what Aseprite offers is a light and dark mode once you obtain the 1.3 Version. 1. Default Themes: a. Light VS Dark: When you spend many hours everyday looking into a monitor, you need to make sure you are taking care of your eyes and body and one thing that might be worth looking into while working in Aseprite is themes. Make your workspace comfortable for you and what Aseprite offers is a light and dark mode once you obtain the 1.3 Version. 2. Downloadable Themes: Github is a great place to find all kinds of downloadable themes/extensions for Aseprite and I would highly recommend taking a look as changing from that horrendous default theme made pixel arting in Aseprite SO much more enjoyable and I bet my viewers also agree. 🌐 https://github.com/aseprite/themes#readme 7) Tile Maps Tile maps are something pixel artists will touch upon in their lifetime most likely as creating environments within pixel art is a long and hard task without a system as you cannot depend on shaders, auto placements and scripts to create the environments for you. ▶️ How to make a Simple Tilemap https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o16EmvSyNg MortMort : In this video, Mortmort will run through the basics of creating your own 2D platformer tile map/set where he begins with an already created set where he shows piece by piece how the map comes together and can be used to make massive maps. ▶️ My Tile Map Workflow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btnH0x7_1g8 MortMort : A timelapse of mortmort’s workflow in a more quick and snappy fashion. He also takes advantage of the ‘Custom’ brush tool to paint in his tiles which will help with speeding up the workflow/process. 8) Top Down VS 2D Platformers The most common approach when creating pixel art games are 2D, straight forward ‘Platformers’ and the more traditional ‘RPG’ top down style. Both are great styles for pixel art games to function within but how does one make or even think about how to approach this from an art stand point. Tile mapping like mentioned above can be used for both of these as it all depends on the perspective you create the world in. 2D ‘top downs’ are where the world has been created from the bird's eye perspective and the other is created as if you are watching a child’s ant farm. Top Down perspective and the 2D platformer perspective are both very unique but share very similar approaches as both can be done with and without using ‘tile maps’ but making each within tiles will increase the workflow overall. For example my fan art piece only has reused sprites and very minimal repeated tiles. Top Down Style Analysis and Tutorial ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JCG4fCmeHk AdamCYounis : In Mortmorts videos above, he talks and shows a lot about how to create tiles for platformer styled games but lets discuss top down.This is a very VERY long and in depth guide on how to approach, think and overcome making top down worlds instead. Adam does a great job looking at game references to easily explain how to successfully grab the players eye. For example where the player can and cannot walk and foreground objects against the background. Adam also does a great job of breaking down the workflow and how to start by creating a draft with the viewer. A great video to watch if you are considering making a top down game. Pixel Art Tutorial, Top Down Worlds ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gij7lpQv-qo Saultoons : Saultoon’s Tutorial is a brilliant video on how to start your world and thinking about the different objects, buildings and layout options you might want to use for your project. He also gives very good tips on how you can create easy and simple tiled objects such as tree’s being as easy as duplicating your layer and offsetting them. Overall a very informative video to watch! 9) Techniques, tricks and other valuable knowledge: I am not going to go into too much detail about this section as each of these but these topics are for the later more developed stages of one’s pixel art journey such as Animating and perfecting character designs however I would recommend watching Adam’s Reference video as it isn’t key to making pixel art but it might help you overcome hurdles in your design and help you figure out what a certain thing, object or motion looks like in the real world. 1. References ▶️ AdamCYounis : How to use References Effectively https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbi6e8vQ_kY 2. Parallax AdamCYounis : The Perfect Pixel Art Parallax Tutorial ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMXgLBwtsvI 3. Character Designs ▶️ AdamCYounis :Creating More Engaging Characters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdoycEGHye0 4. Animation Basics ▶️ Saultoons : Aseprite Animation Tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0enS9BJne4 I left animation out of this guide as it is a whole over world boss in its own right and if truth be told. I wouldn’t start animating anything too serious until you grasp the basics of the program you are using, the mindset of pixel art and feel comfortable with what you are making. 5. Animation Tutorials (GIF’s) 🌐 Pedro Medrios : Saint11 https://saint11.org/blog/pixel-art-tutorials/ This website was created by Pedro where they have published a ton of animation tips through the use of GIF’s where the reader can read and learn about the different types of animations such as wings flapping, human body movements, special effects and much, MUCH more. Last words of encouragement: In the end of this online guide, I want you to feel inspired to continue learning pixel art, even if you feel discouraged now. Like any hobby/skill, it takes time. I hope you enjoyed this “Guide” and found it useful overall. If you feel like supporting me in making this project then please feel free to check out my socials in the Bibliography. I will aim to continue to work on the guide and include more and more topics, points of interest and more pixel artists. And Remember- ▶️ Never Give Up! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYzMYcUty6s Bibliography: Saultoons https://www.youtube.com/c/saultoons https://twitter.com/Saultoons https://www.twitch.tv/saultoons MortMort https://www.youtube.com/c/MortMort https://twitter.com/MortMort_ https://littlelove.mortmort.net/video-library ReeceGeofroy https://www.youtube.com/c/ReeceGeofroy https://twitter.com/ReeceGeofroy AdamCYounis https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamCYounis https://twitter.com/AdamCYounis https://www.twitch.tv/adamcyounis BJGpixel https://www.youtube.com/c/BJGpixel https://twitter.com/BJGpixel Pedro Medrios https://twitter.com/saint11 Woodspixl https://twitter.com/Woodspixl_ https://www.twitch.tv/woodspixl https://ko-fi.com/woodspixl
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