DEFINITIONJudging by the name, we might assume that pixel art is any art that's made up of pixels. But not every digital image is pixel art. Pixel art is a very specific sub-category of digital art. It isn't what it's made of so much as how it's made. Why not all digital art is pixel art Pixel art is set apart from other digital art forms by its focus on control and precision. The artist has to be in control of the image at the level of the single pixel, and every pixel should be purposefully placed. When pixel art is done purposefully, offsetting just a few pixels can have a dramatic effect on the image: The features of this parrot change drastically, but only a few pixels are different. Other digital art forms use many tools you won't find in pixel art. The reason pixel artists don't use these tools is because they place pixels in a manner that the artist can't predict. Any tool that places pixels automatically, is generally frowned upon in pixel art. An automatic tool has been used to blur the edges of this grey blob You'll often hear people complaining "This isn't pixel art, it has too many colors!" This isn't because there's some unwritten rule in pixel art that says "It's only pixel art if it has [X] number of colors", you're allowed to use as many colors as you want. The main reason that people complain about color count is that a high amount of colors can indicate the use of dirty tools. People also mention high color counts because larger palettes are more difficult to control, but we'll get to that later. Why it's not just about the tools It's not the program that determines whether or not it's pixel art, it's how it is made. If you can create the image without zooming in, chances are it isn't pixel art. While the most common misconceptions about pixel art are due to too loose of an interpretation of the medium, there are some who have too strict a definition of what makes pixel art. Every pixel does not literally need to be placed by hand You aren't expected to behave like a robot, filling in large areas with thousands of single-clicks of the pencil tool. The bucket tool is fine. The line tool is fine. What's important is that the artist has control of the image at the level of the single pixel, not that you create the image one pixel at a time. FILE FORMATS Always save your pixel art as a GIF or PNG. Never save it as a JPEG. Both GIF and PNG files use lossless compression. GIF files support animation, but limit you to 256 colors and no partial transparency. The PNG format was designed to replace GIF, and supports as many colors as you can put on a canvas, as well as alpha transparency. JPEGs are terrible for pixel art, because a JPEG's compression wreaks havoc on the content of the file. It's not usually noticeable in things like photographs, but it can devastate the quality of your pixel art. SIZE & SCALE When it comes to pixel art, tiles are incredibly useful. It can be for a game, or even just for a specific style! But not only are tiles useful, they help with scale. SCALE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. or 4. it’s better to minimize the size of the sprites (and color count too). 4. 8. Even if it increases the trouble of conveying what you want to. As for tile sizes. 16. due to the fact that it's easy to express enough detail without using a large space. then scale is up to you! But for the most part. you want to pick a canvas size that will fit everything you'll need in a piece.) if you plan on using it for video-games (some technical stuff here) When you’re learning. etc. “Doing more with less” never rings more true than when pixeling: even very large sprites rarely exceed 200x200 pixels. it reduces pretty much every other possible trouble that may come with bigger pixel art If you're drawing a sprite sheet. is because it helps us make sure what we're drawing isn't ridiculously unrealistic! Though saying this. a good canvas size is 16x the size of your tiles: 8x8 --> 128x128 canvas 12x12 --> 192x192 canvas 16x16 --> 256x256 canvas 24x24 --> 384x384 canvas 32x32 --> 512x512 canvas . You may want to pick a sub-scale ~ telling yourself that you must only draw sprites that are a multiple of 8. refer to this image: Almost all tiles I have ever drawn are 16x16. if you're purposely drawing unrealistic things.The reason why scale is important. This ensures that what you're drawing is cohesive! Another thing that might be good to watch for is to keep your dimensions/colors/anything to a power of 2 (2. but the same neutral grey as the picture beside it. Just as you can change how bright or dark a color appears by surrounding it with lighter or darker pixels. red. Whether a color is defined as blue. Because the background is so purple (which is the opposite of green). SATURATION AND LUMINESCENCE Hue refers to the identity of a color. The lower the saturation of a color. the grey looks greener than it actually is: Saturation is the intensity of a color. orange. depends on its hue: In the above picture. In this picture the green in the trees is actually not green at all. the closer it gets to grey: . etc. the perceived hue of a color depends on its environment. hue is represented along the x-axis.HUE. a full range of values allows you to use highlights. the colors start to burn the eyes.The most common problem new artists encounter is regards to saturation is using colors with too high of a saturation. high luminescence (brighter colors) on the right In a given palette. then you won't be able to create good contrast. If you only have colors in the same range of luminescence. The difference between the brightness of two colors is known as contrast. mid-tones. Luminescence (also known as brightness or value) is how dark or light a color is. A common problem newer artists have is not using enough contrast. the closer the color gets to white. When this happens. and shadows. Because the colors in pixel art are made up of light. If the luminescence is 0. the potential for colors being too bright or irritating is much higher. Here's a palette arranged as a luminescence scale: low luminescence (darker colors) on the left. The higher the luminescence. instead of pigment as in paint. then the color is black. . Here's an example (bad and good contrast. you want a wide range of values. but colors can appear lighter or darker depending on their background. skin and hat aren’t supposed to look like a whole. it looks like it has real depth to it. look at how the same yellow is used in different situations: In the first two. So you won't always use your brightest color for every highlight. more precisely – that bring a sprite to life. It’s the colors – the contrast. there are no buffer colors between the yellow in the hair and the skin or the hat. which makes each element stand out and rightly so: the hair. which makes everything seem the same whole. In the third. there is a buffer color between the yellow and red/green. but the updated colors make a huge difference. they need the depth The value of a color is a set number. A color that makes a good highlight on one object might be too bright to use on another Luminescence is especially relevant to pixel art: The brightness of a pixel or line determines how thick it appears: . To make this clear. It pops.respectively): There are very little changes to the sprite itself. Color Ramps A color ramp is a group of colors that can be used together. What is important is that you understand your color relationships – shown by the color ramps. ramps will share colors. Often. Frequently. In these cases. It’s also possible for mid-tones to work in multiple ramps. then to next and so on. the versatile color takes the place of two or more separate colors. A palette can consist of a single ramp of many different ramps. the darkest or lightest color will belong to most or all of the palette's ramps. in which both ramps share the same darkest and lightest shades. In . Here's a palette: And here's that same palette. aiding in palette conservation. arranged according to luminosity. Notice how each color flows into the next. arranged according to its color ramps (of which there are two): It isn’t necessary that you actually create a model like the one above. This makes for a unified palette It isn't necessary that a color be restricted to a single ramp. as in the example above. Eyeburn created by a color with high saturation and by green clashing with purple. Hue shifting Hue-shifting refers to having a transition of hues in a color ramp. meaning they are closer to brown or grey. . which is a priority issue in which the color. or because the hue clashes with the neighboring hues. This is usually due to the saturation being too high. A color ramp without hue-shifting is known as a straight ramp. then it has the potential of punching through the image. In straight ramps. Since mid-tones are not afforded this advantage. The hue should logically follow its neighbors in the ramp. only luminescence changes. while in hue-shifted ramps both hue and luminescence will (usually) change. If a color doesn't belong in the ramp. the extremes in luminescence allow the color to be flexible (because they approach black or white). seems separate from it. rather than work as part of the image. they are often more neutral colors. Here is a palette that uses one shade of grey to bridge the gaps in several ramps: You also have to be careful about having colors in a ramp that don't fit. and looks almost like it is sitting on top of the image. and thus creates eyeburn.the case of multi-ramp shadows and highlights. 1. 1. Often times the problem is just that a segment of the line is too short or too long. interrupting the flow of a line. 2. is either a 90° angle or a 45° angle. like above). A computer can't display a line crisper than that. Some people draw a sketch on paper. such as "1. Other good lines are generally made with 2x1 or 3x1 smaller lines of pixels So as you can see. like in the example above). 1. 1” Jaggies: Jaggies occur when a pixel or group of pixels are out of place. use increasingly small lines of pixels as you round the edge. Hue-shifting is used because straight ramps are usually boring and don't reflect the variety of hues we see in reality. Jaggies get their name from the jagged lines that they create. 1 across. bend your highlights toward a certain color (usually yellow. Simple! This keeps things clean. 5. When it comes to drawing lines. 1. and move the darker colors toward a second color (usually purple or blue. on a computer. 3. Everyone has different methods of drawing their lines. then import it into their computer and pixel over it. Jaggies can also occur when a line lacks anti-aliasing. and it creates an awkward jump. 3.The first color ramp is a straight green ramp. it is important to keep mathematics in mind! A perfect line. Using a . LINES & CURVES TECHNIQUES Let’s start with the basics: lineart. but they are most often discussed in reference to line work. 2 up. A lot of people do it with a tablet. and hue shifting can add subtle color contrast within a ramp. the lines go 1 across. 2. Experiment to find what works best for you. jaggies are the result of any bad pixel technique. 2 up. 5. More broadly. so that is the context in which they will be discussed here. so try to avoid messy random lines. When using hue shifting. The second image is a green ramp with hue-shifting applied. For curves. 8. I've always done everything with a mouse. You may be familiar with anti-aliasing already. anti-aliasing means manual anti-aliasing. to ease the transition. without AA with AA added .more uniform length of pixels to smooth the transition is the solution here. because a lot of programs and tools do this automatically. ANTI-ALIASING(AA) Anti-aliasing is the method of making jagged edges look smooth. When we're talking about pixel art. Manual AA means smoothing the jagged areas by hand-placing pixels of a different color. usually in a range between the line and the background. however. The curves use brighter shades than the rest of the lines and the edges are also brighter than the center of a line. but the concept is the same. the edges of your line segments are naturally going to be a little jagged. This may not be as good as actual AA. you also have to take in hue and saturation shifting. When antialiasing between two colors. This is because the square nature of the pixel and the grid pattern we're restricted to makes angled lines and curves difficult to portray. perfectly vertical. or at 45 degrees. but has its usefulness (though it might look like bad selective outlining) Unless your line is perfectly horizontal.An AA technique worth checking out is in-line AA: it applies AA on the outline itself. AA is the correct counter-measure in these situations. Try to get colors that are partway between the . It can take a lot more playing around when doing two colors of a similar saturation and value.You only want to use as much AA as is necessary to smooth the edge. Bad AA: Too much AA (over-anti-aliasing). anything antialiased to a transparent background color will only look right on that one color. the edges can look blurry. That being said.line/object and background. Usually you won’t use more than half the length of the original line for antialiasing colors . Take one without AA and apply it. marked as transparent in your respective image editor. etc. So don't even try to AA outside of a sprite. but often it's not worth it A good way to practice AA is to use curved fonts. Transparency in pixel art is usually a single background color. one with automatic AA and reduce it. See how ugly that is? It'll only look right on the maroon background it was designed for. If you use too much. and you lose the crispness of the line. You cannot antialias the outline of a sprite. apply AA to a rotated/mirrored font. You can apply your antialiasing skills to some of the lines inside the sprite. be sure to read the section on banding. For a better understanding of AA banding. .In general.When segments of AA line up with the lines they're buffering. the better. but here the artist went overboard: the use of a single pixel has only succeeded in blunting the jagged edge a bit. AA banding occurs. He could have made a much smoother transition by using longer lines of pixels to show a more gradual transition: AA banding.Too little AA. the fewer AA pixels you use. but make sure the outline and the shape it contains don't line up and reveal the grid. or multiplied as large bands (staircase banding). Fat pixels: Fat pixels can occur alone in small squares. It's fine to use outlines. and the apparent resolution becomes less fine. most simply. Here are several instances of banding. together as fat lines. all of which occur because the pixels have lined up. but will work for the purposes of this tutorial: Hugging: Here an opaque field of color has been outlined by a row of pixels.Banding: Banding. When neighbor pixels end at the same x or y coordinate on the underlying grid. the pixels are exposed. the grid immediately becomes more evident. These names aren't common lingo. is when pixels line up. Skip-one banding: . you might get the same effect with less than five. Now that crisp LCD monitors are the norm. It's also used for creating texture. dithering still has its uses. Even so. It's typically used to ease the transition between two colors. 45 degree banding: Though the rows of pixels lining up are only 1 pixel thick. also known as a 50% dither or a checkerboard pattern. Dithering: Dithering consists of different patterns of pixels. meaning dithering is not as versatile as it once was. the patterns are no longer as easy to hide. . banding is still present.Even if there is a negative space between two bands. without adding any new colors to the palette: where an automatic gradient would use hundreds of colors. the mind will fill in the gap and banding will remain. In the days of CRT monitors. dithering was especially useful as the screen would actually blur the dithered area and obscure the pattern. The most common form of dithering you'll see is a 50/50 dither. some efficient techniques for illustrating surface properties: . and is characterized by the addition of small shapes in the pattern.As shown in the example above. These patterns are often easier to spot than a 50% dither though. you can create various other patterns to further buffer between a full color and a 50% dithering pattern. Dithering in general adds texture. others really like it for textures exactly because of stylized dithering Speaking of textures. but stylized dithering is where you can control better the texture given. Whereas some don’t use dithering or use it just for gradients. so be careful! Stylized dithering is another technique. Polished surface with a sharp light spot. as it adds a lot of single-pixel noise to the image. Rocks and damaged surfaces. Skin and clothing. Machinery and jewelery. random dithering is something you'll often want to avoid. 1. 5. 3. Pitted rough surface with a very diffused light spot broken up by simple dents. Interlaced dithering allows for two dither regions to hug each other. a pixel line right around the object and a gradient getting darker from top to bottom. It is called interlaced dithering because the two dithers weave together at the borders. it's often misused by inexperienced artists. Plastics and hi-tech equipment. and isn't generally advised. Glassware and gems. 4. As useful as dithering is. Random dithering is a less-common form of dithering. Bad dithering: . Metallic surface made up of a bright but softer spot at top and rim light on the underside. 2. This type of dithering allows you to blend dithers together to form gradients. While it has some usage in very small doses. Dull surface with a diffused light spot. Transparent glass using an offset sharp light spot. or more precisely. Creating texture can be a useful aspect of dithering. The lower the .There are several common ways dithering is misused. it'd probably just be better if you added a new color to the palette. When too much dithering is used. the contrast between the two colors you're trying to dither with. then dithering isn't working out. Dithering should ideally be used to taper the ends and edges of an opaque field of pixels. it depends on how big your palette is really. The most common mistake is simply using too much dithering. So how much dithering should you use? Well. If you're trying to buffer and are instead adding texture. the dithered area turns into a field itself: At this point dithering is no longer serving as a buffer between colors. but creating unwanted texture. but only when used correctly. If dithering is covering half your sprite. contrast is between the two (in hue or in value). The way to fix pillow-shading is simply to pay attention to the direction light is coming from: . the less harsh the dithering will be: Pillow-shading: Shading by surrounding a central area with increasingly darker bands. combined with banding and usually happens due to not deciding on a light source. and conforms to the shape of the area rather than the form it represents of how light affects it. Pillow-shading is bad because it pays no attention to the light source. but not always. Pillow shading is often. in the wild. The reason one must be careful when using a 25% dither (or any dithering. independent pixels (pixels that do not belong to a pixel cluster) are unable to convey sufficient information by themselves. really) is because of the noise all the independent pixels create. pixels travel in packs. Single pixels expose the underlying grid by revealing the resolution of the image. single-pixel noise will be what I’m referring to when I use the term “noise”. Remember. so long as you pay attention to the forms: Noise: Much of the time. For the purposes of this tutorial. it is possible to use a frontal light source. In pixel art. Noise is any sort of information that does not contribute to the piece and serves only to interrupt the area it inhabits and distract the viewer. noise is often composed of independent pixels. but sometimes this is precisely what you want. and their inclusion usually only creates noise. independent pixels should only be used for very specific and purposeful reasons. It’s the nature of a pixel to long for a place in a pixel cluster.The reason pillow-shading is wrong is not because the light source is frontal (from the viewer's direction). The reason pillow-shading is incorrect is because it follows flat shapes rather than focuses on how the three-dimensional forms are lit. single pixels will often work just fine. Portraying small but essential details . For this reason. For bright specular highlights. For an example. see the white pixel used on the monster's nose below. Justifiable instances of independent pixels include: Use as specular highlights Independent details call a lot of attention to themselves. So. You don't have to place the light source in the corner. Or stars. you might notice most palettes use few colors. I found the palettes lacked direction towards material use. "Material use?" . or the beak of a tiny bird. and it’s much easier to manage a few colors than hundreds. COUNTLESS! "So which one do I choose?!" First. even if the artists who created them are more experienced than me. adding cohesion.Usually this will only matter for details on very small images. Palettes like Arne's 16 Palette. PALETTE Now. This isn’t just tradition: less colors means they repeat in the piece. the juicy stuff! There are a countless number of palettes. the magnificent DawnBringer32 Palette. or little bubbles. and the legendary PICO-8 Palette are really good to work with! Notice how they don’t have any colors very similar to each other. a low color count. However. like the eyes on a small sprite. or ARNE16 would be far more versatile! But I've found for me. A common method is just deciding the colors the piece needs and then going as far as you can with those. advanced shading. when developing NYKRA. you might eventually want/need to make your own palette. Colors are added according to necessity: details to color. Have a look. DB32. here is the first of my two palettes. to allow you as the artist to paint with materials.Well I mean the colors are organized and formed around the idea that they work together. using the PICO-8. and I'll explain below: . PAINTING & CREATING OKAY! So. ENDESGA~16 (EDG16): Hex (left to right colors on top bar): #e4a672 #b86f50 #743f39 #3f2832 #9e2835 #e53b44 #fb922b #ffe762 #63c64d #327345 #193d3f #4f6781 #afbfd2 #ffffff #2ce8f4 #0484d1 In a lot of cases. etc. Now. in this part. And with that. I will show you the 6 basic steps to drawing a sprite. that putting the colors into "materials". you can easily structure different objects. Be consistent with form.Remember that the EDG Palettes are built for materials! .Watch the colors: a single sprite probably won’t go over 32 colors (or even 10. Highlights come last to avoid making them too big . a good way to color is to lay the main colors.Even if the above example doesn’t follow it.Try to keep shapes clean. making the art a little more chunky and easier on the eyes . warm and cool backgrounds .Use shadows and highlights to show depth: a rule of thumb is a medium amount of mid-tones. KEY THINGS: .About pure black and pure white: using them is generally discouraged. light.Make sure your sprite is visible in dark.Give the light a pleasing direction: most used are top-right and top-left .In this particular case was used a 2x2 pixel brush. . then dark shade (indirectly lit parts. then go for the darkest shade (unlit parts). but pure white can be used for very bright/highly reflective surfaces and pure black for outlining sprites so it stands out from surroundings.Don’t use too many shades: at most two for dark (dark and very dark) and two for light (light and very light) on top of the foundation colors . also used as transition from dark to light. specially on curved surfaces). a lot of shadows and less highlights than shadows. then none on another! . then light/lightest shades (directly lit parts). but that depends on what you want . One exception for each color . according to some) total when complete . Don't do tiny 1x1 pixel details on one thing. 6. but you can go from any direction. which we will craft in to the leaves. But this is up to you! 4. and play around with how much highlight there is. 2. 3.1. But you'll find top-left or top-right work best. This is the second and final stage of lighting for the leaves. I like to go from the top-left down 45-ish degrees. and some extra details. EDG32 . Think of volume. remember that the leaves have DEPTH. 5. Here we start with our basically random "blob". The basic shape of the trunk is put in. Last layer of lighting done. and even more highlights. The Rule of Thumb is generally that there is a medium amount of mids. The lighting of the trunk is put in. This is our first stage of lighting for the leaves. a lot of dark. And depth is incredibly important to make your art POP! So there is a shadow coming from the leaves. Now. Hex: #be4a2f #d77643 #ead4aa #e4a672 #b86f50 #733e39 #3e2731 #a22633 #e43b44 #f77622 #feae34 #fee761 #63c74d #3e8948 #265c42 #193c3e #124e89 #0099db # 2ce8f5 #ffffff #c0cbdc #8b9bb4 #5a6988 #3a4466 #262b44 #ff0044 #181425 #68 386c #b55088 #f6757a #e8b796 #c28569 CHARACTER DESIGN & TECHNIQUES . I didn't pre draw this guy! This is to prove that you don't always need to have a specific guideline. it take a lot of "hm. does it look good?" For this guy. turn them alive! When it comes to turning the blob in to a character design. This guy uses the EDG32 palette. I then block out COMPLETELY RANDOM shapes (kind of like starting with a silhouette and adding details later. and as you can see. Draw some blobs. . unless you're intentionally going for a thick outline. some lighting and edits are made. zoom in and give your sketch a good look over. And once I decide "This guy is gonna be a lizard-dragon warrior". I originally drew the green blob. which I figured could be turned into a head! After that. but more random). and then decide to make the character slightly taller. Put some time aside. whereas smaller ones may be done better one pixel at a time). Yup. and try drawing a character! Maybe even redraw them a few times. and focus on defining the “big pieces” as details are added later . I finalized his design. You can make adjustments throughout the whole process. it's really easy to block out colors and lighting! If instead you sketch previously (which is much easier for large sprites. so don't worry if you don't spot everything on your first cleanup.I start off with the tile size (32x32). Try to not have any lines more than 1 pixel in thickness. is just purely outlining the sprite.which is the way to go! And the last image is using darker colors according to the light source (outline is a few shades darker than the colors surrounding it – this is selective outline/selout) to give even more depth. One of the colours in both palettes is what I call "Ink". This colour binds all of the . Or Not To Outline.. and the magical "INK" Since the EDG16 and EDG32 palettes are high in saturation. YOU CHOOSE! One thing to avoid though. which can look really amazing when done right!! OUTLINE COLOUR. The third image is taking material and depth in to account . Refer to this: As you can see. the character looks fine without an outline! But suddenly looks rather terrible when a solid outline is PUT around the character.. some draw the outline. it would be a sin to use pure black as an outline. and some prefer a more traditional approach with stick figures and basic geometry To Outline. Some draw a silhouette first (said to be better because it makes you think more in 3D). rather than taking form into account.Also keep in mind there are many ways to sketch. PLEASE! The difference isn't huge. DO NOT USE PURE BLACK.colours in the palettes. it really makes it nicer! PALETTE SHIFTING & ROCKS Here I'll show you how I go about drawing rocks: . but when you have a darker background. and makes the outlines softer. because each item is there to show a part of the game. Keep it soft and clean! Rocks are relatively easy to construct. so make the most of it by including small DETAILS! A vine holding the head of the Pickaxe? Why not! Make sure to explore options and designs.so use more than 2 materials if possible! . & TOOL DESIGN By popular request. You mostly have to remember that stone is formed by layers and chunks. Every pixel counts! If you're drawing a pickaxe. but if you don't have one. and construct the forms! Also. ITEMS. make it look like it's been used. I try to make sure that they pull your eyes in . Using a graphics tablet can help with this. you can easily shift the palette! Metals like aluminium are brighter. Compare the 3 usual designs on the left. and maybe basalt or steel could be the darker ones! Easy! WEAPONS. try to give the items life. is that it's best to not be too precise. to the ones on the right! Try to avoid being too simplistic! Most items are inside a small tile size. I'll tell you about some basics for item design! One major thing to remember when drawing items. as you can see. So draw a good ol' blob. or make the bread half eaten! When I draw items. REMEMBER: SIMPLICITY IS KEY! Try not to use all 6 of those colours for one rock. Give the sword some leather.