AuthorTopic: My variation on the color reduction technique  (Read 1853 times)

Offline had0c

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 45
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

My variation on the color reduction technique

on: September 16, 2016, 11:50:07 pm
Hello, i have been making pixel art for a good few years. but i have also been using photoshop for a good deal longer and it has always been my greatest tool in creating pixel art. so i am going to show a technique i have been using with some of my latest pices that have gotten some notification.

*note some techniques i use can be found here as well http://danfessler.com/blog/hd-index-painting-in-photoshop

first i start with the base picture


then add filters to first restrict it to a color pallet and resize if needed. in photoshop this can be done with postorize and gradient map.


After this you want to add a ditter pattern and blend it with the picture. in photoshop you create a new layer put it to soft light / over lay and play around with the fill / Opacity


now you already have a pixel art looking picture. and this is what my first picture i made was no real edits just a little cleaning.

if you want to make this your own you will put the color restirction to 1 or 2 colors and work from that like so.



now you have a base to work on. and a good referral you can make something crazy like this.


 remember to always have the original you worked on if you are showing it off and say that you used a color reduction technique.



« Last Edit: September 17, 2016, 12:08:31 am by had0c »

Offline 0xDB

  • 0011
  • **
  • Posts: 873
  • Karma: +0/-0
  • Dennis inter-is.
    • dennisbusch_de
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/1287.htm
    • 0xdb
    • View Profile
    • 0xDB

Re: My variation on the color reduction technique

Reply #1 on: September 17, 2016, 07:26:48 am
The results need more cleanup. As it is, they can not compete with more carefully, more hand-crafted pieces.

To really make it "your own", it is required to work from your own art (pencils, paintings, 3D models, etc.) instead of taking the creations of someone else as a base (exceptions if you get their written permission first(or if they released it under a liberal license to begin with) but it should still be pointed out again that rules here and on other art sites commonly require own creations and not derivatives).

If you base a piece on someone else's work (with their written permission to do so), it is common courtesy(and usually a rule too) to name the artist and link to the source. Merely posting the base picture without this information would still imply that it's yours and thus feels potentially deceptive.

Last but not least, my recommendation however is to always make and use your own work.