I Also Occsoinally Do Pixel Art and Profile Picture for My Frineds

INTRODUCTION TO PIXEL Fine art

Computer graphics and digital art as we know them today have a root, and that is pixel art.

Back in the day, at that place wasn't a 'Pixel Art' mode because every art made on a computer needed to be pixel-by-pixel artwork.

As computers evolved, the capability to render images became more advanced, enabling digital artists to create without the limitations of one-time hardware.

Creating fine art with these limitations in mind is the core of pixel art equally an fine art class.

While no longer a necessary approach, forcing yourself to create in the boundaries of an old engineering or set of techniques can assist you as an

artist.

Below are some examples of my exploration with pixel art.

In this article, I'll highlight some characteristics, basic techniques and guidelines so yous can start making your own pixel art.

All the data here can be practical to any 'style' and whatever software. And that's the beauty of this subject.

The technical side of this art form is important, especially if you want to make an homage of a video game.

But call up that you don't need to forcefulness yourself to create a 32×32 pixel size artwork with just 3 colors, if yous don't want to.

It's beneficial to respect the fundamentals and the techniques of onetime-school digital artists – merely it'due south not obligatory to piece of work like them.

LEARNING BY DOING

For this article, we'll work on an approachable challenge.

I want y'all to create a 64×64 pixel portrait.

That'southward it!

You can draw yourself, make a fanart or invent a graphic symbol.
The goal is to create an artwork that tin can be used used as a social media avatar.

Beginning with a minor (resolution) file size, so the pixel unit is visible. There'southward no point to making pixel art where the pixels aren't evident.

SETTING Upwards YOUR Sail

For this article, I'll be using Clip Studio Pigment.
While there's smashing dedicated tools for making pixel art, you can employ whatever drawing program to follow forth.

• Create a 64×64 pixel document (i);
• Become to View > Grid/Ruler Settings (2);
• Configure as the post-obit so you can meet a grid with every single pixel. You tin plow the grid on/off anytime using the Shift+G shortcut. (3);

A good practice for working with pixel art is getting used to drawing zoomed while keeping an eye on the actual-size artwork (4);

To create a secondary view of your current canvass, go to Window > Canvas > New Window and open a new case of the current canvas.
Set information technology to 100% and place in your workspace (5).

CREATING THE PIXEL ART TOOLS

Time to introduce a basic concept.

Pixel art does not go forth with automatic anti-aliasing.

Anti-aliasing is a useful algorithm that smooths edges of a shape.
This is made by adding an extra row of pixels closest to the aliased edge.

Equally you lot can see in the example, the anti-aliased edge (7) has an automatic gradient of pixels to give the shape a smoother contour.

The aliased edge (vi) is what we're looking for when creating pixel art. Afterwards, we tin soften the edges by adding anti-aliasing by paw (manually).

A rule-of-pollex when using whatsoever software to create pixel art is to disable the anti-aliasing setting in brushes, tools and transformations.

In Clip Studio Paint y'all have to turn off anti-aliasing in:

• brushes (eight);
• tools like Selection, Fill, Text, eg. (nine);
• and during whatsoever transformation using Edit > Transform (10);

In Prune Studio Paint you already accept a pixel fine art pen. It's chosen 'Dot Pen' in the Marker category (11).

This is the simplest cartoon brush available. Information technology has a fixed 1-pixel size, anti-aliasing turned off, and no pick for stabilization or color mixing.

I suggest you follow forth this tutorial using this brush only.
Later in the game, you lot can duplicate any of your 'mutual' brushes and use it for pixel art (every bit long you reduce brush size to lower values and disable anti-aliasing).

Cartoon THE LINEART

Since this will be a front-facing portrait, I'll start the cartoon using the Symmetrical Ruler (12);

Place the Symmetrical Ruler on the Sheet and, to make sure it's on the dead-center, use the Object tool to select it and input values manually (thirteen);

In this case I changed the Eye X and Eye Y values to 32, which is half of my total canvas size (64 pixels).

Now, select your Dot Pen once again and start cartoon.
Since this brush tin can't be resized, it's a good idea to zoom in on the canvas yous're drawing (fifteen) and use the duplicate view as a reference (14).

I started my portrait drawing a initial sketch to detect the construction of the caput (16) and then I started calculation details (17).

There's no demand to use a bluish color. I just prefer it because it helps my encephalon sympathize that I'thou creating a crude for my concluding drawing.

If y'all're done with the sketch you tin can proceed with the linework.

Before calculation the final lines, let me bear witness you a simple technique for drawing lines and curves in pixel art.

In the example below, the linework (18) doesn't look shine because there'southward a lot of duplicated pixels where it should be a single pixel line.

You can fix those 'doubles' (it'due south a term) by removing whatever next pixels on the bend. In the example (19), I removed all pixels marked in blood-red.

I advise you to return to your sketch and look out for those 'doubles' to clean your linework.

Practise not worry if the curves don't feel right. Just remove the unwanted pixels.

TIP: if you need to erase a pixel, you can merely switch to the transparent colour (I have my shortcut set to 10);

In the example below you can see the difference of the initial sketch (20) and the cleaned-up version (21).

Ready for another technique?

Allow's start fixing the drawing and adjusting some curves.

Seeing the instance below (22), you can discover the distribution and spacing of pixels are not following a logical progression. (eg.: 3, 2, ane, iv…)

While on this improved version (23), yous can see a better progression of pixels to create the curve. (eg.: i, two, 2, 3…)

With that knowledge, I advise y'all to try the following exercise earlier continuing on your drawing:

Try to draw some random lines and curves with the two concepts you just learned then far: remove the doubles and maintaining the 'pixel progression'.

This will requite you a solid gasp in how to contour shapes in pixel fine art.

Below is my terminal linework (25).

I did some pocket-size adjustments on the proportions and curves, and removed some unnecessary pixels to make the face more readable.

Accept some time to compare with the original version (24) and try to notice where I applied the techniques.

COLORING TIME

The number of colors used on a sprite (term used to describe an object in game development), depends by how much yous want to stay close to a specific limitation of an old technology.

While not necessary, y'all can learn a lot near pixel art by limiting yourself to a small amount of colors to cull.

For now I suggest y'all start with a uncomplicated color palette. Every bit a starting betoken, you can use the 56 colors of the palette used by the NES (Nintendo Amusement System) videogame console (26).

The colour and tone choices on this palette are not perfect, but it provides a good starting point.

In the examples below you have the PC-98 reckoner color palette (27) and a personal one I congenital in the past (28);

Subsequently you tin can starting time building your own palette, but always call up to keep it tight and simple.

I start by filling my lines with some base colors (flatting).

I'm starting with 5 initial colors, including the blackness linework to pigment this portrait (29).

On this stage, recollect to configure your Auto Select and Fill tools for the pixel art workflow, disabling Area Scaling and Anti-aliasing (30).

To shade (add shadows) the peel color on the portrait, yous don't demand to simply employ the darker value of a specific color;

I can potentially employ any colour bachelor as long the values read correctly.

Here's a tip – Create a new layer on top of your layer stack, fill information technology with black and set the layer mode to Colour.

Now you lot can use this layer to check the value human relationship of your colors (32).

In the case below you can see how I managed to use the old groundwork color (regal) as the shade color of my brownish skin (31). I prefer to go with a black groundwork to salvage 1 color…

Again, I don't need to – but I'd like to do these limitations imposed by the NES color palette.

For the highlights on the skin and glasses (33), I don't needed to innovate whatever new colors because, while checking the grayscale values (34),

I noticed the colour of the t-shirt could be used for that.

I wanted to add some manual anti-aliasing to smooth the border betwixt the lit and adumbral areas of the pare (36).

Using the NES palette but, I could non notice colors that I could utilise to create this gradient transition.

So hither'southward where I abandoned the 'virtual limitations' in favor of the artwork.

In the instance I added two new colours (37), so I can add more details to the shading.

I can't stress this plenty, but it's really important that yous make these decisions while looking the artwork through the real, not zoomed-in, canvass size (35).

Using the two new extra colors, I increased the rendering on the face adding more than book, wrinkles ('crusade I'thousand getting old) and softening some  shadows on the lit side of the portrait (38).

On the bluish jacket, I decided to use the dithering technique to create the sensation of a gradient without adding colors (40).

By breaking up the solid transitions on a checkerboard blueprint I can make the illusion of an inbetween color (39).

Dithering is an advanced technique and this is merely a basic usage for it.

As you can see, the event creates a textural issue that can be a trouble if used on pare or shine surfaces.

I found information technology appropriate to use in the jacket (fabricated of textile), because I can do good from the rough texture.

Afterward some tweaking, I managed to fully pigment the portrait.

I'm very happy with the final consequence because I could fit a lot of details for a 64×64 pixel size artwork with but seven colors.

ps.: I likewise had pixels and colors enough to fix those weird-looking cartoony eyes. 10-D

EXPORTING

Terminal, but not to the lowest degree…
When saving and exporting pixel art, utilise the GIF or PNG format.

Avoid using the JPEG format, especially with whatever level of pinch.

This will destroy all the love and care you used to create your pixel art.

Look at the examples below: a 99% compressed JPEG (41) may look ok from a distance, simply it adds some non-wanted colors.

A 80% compressed version (42) volition make whatever pixel artist bleed. So delight, don't do that. 🙂

When information technology comes to posting on social media, you take to deal with the automatic-compression of the platform.

For Instagram, you'll accept no pick because the arrangement automatically converts and resizes the epitome to a depression-quality jpeg.

On Twitter, you lot'll have a sharper, almost perfect epitome if the exported file is 506 pixels wide in PNG format.

That's information technology.

I promise you enjoyed this tutorial and also hope yous managed to create your starting time pixel art portrait.

Below you can find my minuscule, withal incredible, piece of art. 🙂

If you create yours, please let me know.

– dado

Artist Profile

Hi. I'm Dado (Dadotronic) Almeida and I describe and pigment 90's-videogame-inspired art. Equally a freelancer artist I create concept and product fine art for games and blitheness.My indie career is devoted to personal projects like Claws and Tusks (comic) and artwork that I brand for fun or commissions. I also like to teach and share my discoveries nigh digital fine art, computer graphics, and mental health for artists.

https://world wide web.dadoalmeida.com/
https://twitter.com/dadotronic
https://www.artstation.com/dadotronic

wallacecolad2000.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.clipstudio.net/how-to-draw/archives/161082

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