AuthorTopic: Exercises for Pixel Art?  (Read 4255 times)

Offline Capta1n_Henry

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Exercises for Pixel Art?

on: May 22, 2017, 05:40:29 pm
Just a quick question. I was wondering if there were any reliable exercises to practice pixel art. I know that Pixel Dailies and weekly contests are good for that stuff, but are there any others? Thank you in advance.

Offline MysteryMeat

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Re: Exercises for Pixel Art?

Reply #1 on: May 22, 2017, 07:53:49 pm
You could try squats!
PSA: use imgur
http://pixelation.org/index.php?topic=19838.0 also go suggest on my quest, cmon
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Offline Capta1n_Henry

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Re: Exercises for Pixel Art?

Reply #2 on: May 22, 2017, 09:41:27 pm
You could try squats!

Just the man I wanted to talk to. I did more research and I found this site: http://2dwillneverdie.com/blog/kiwis-7-step-program-for-learning-pixel-art/

Do you think those methods are valid?

Offline yaomon17

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Re: Exercises for Pixel Art?

Reply #3 on: May 22, 2017, 10:30:53 pm
I think it focuses too heavily on edits, leaving you to scour for references to edit off of every time you want to make something. Edits are fine, but there has to be focus on creating something from a blank canvas. References are great, but working off preexisting images every time doesn't really help in terms of learning (and frankly goes against copyright under derivative works).

Offline MysteryMeat

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Re: Exercises for Pixel Art?

Reply #4 on: May 23, 2017, 01:12:30 am
I'd say that as a learning tool mimicry is a really good way to understand new techniques and ideas that you see in other works!

Definitely try to do more original work, naturally, but don't discount the value of these techniques!


Also, do normal art studies whenever possible, pixelart is but a mutation of normal art and so the better you understand something in a traditional sense the better you'll be able to transmit it to pixelart constraints!
PSA: use imgur
http://pixelation.org/index.php?topic=19838.0 also go suggest on my quest, cmon
MAJOR BORK TALLY: |

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Re: Exercises for Pixel Art?

Reply #5 on: May 23, 2017, 01:55:18 am
Yes, there is. It's called relentless practice and work. I don't think learning "techniques" from "tutorials" helps more than just plain sitting down and practicing. All they'll do is give you information that you'll never know how to use until you get there yourself. 
 Stop looking for shortcuts.
Doesn't matter what your medium is. Doesn't matter what the style is. Nothing matters. No excuses, plain old studying and applying.

Observe -> Analyze -> Study -> Apply -> Observe, you get the idea.

Just sit down and do consistent practice. Every. Single. Day. Want to get good? Then do it. Want an easier way? Give up. It's the realest advice anyone will give you. Stop galloping around making threads trying to find shortcuts and DO THE WORK.

Offline PixelPiledriver

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Re: Exercises for Pixel Art?

Reply #6 on: May 23, 2017, 10:35:14 pm
Yo, don't draw every day.
It's an epic bold statement that sounds good.
But easily leads to RSI in the hands, a decline in mental health, and lacks life balance.
A lot of times it's hard to reverse the damage done if you dig too deep.
Find a strong and steady pace that challenges you a bit.
But don't feel like the only way to get good is to lock yourself in the art dungeon.

Good exercises depend on your personal context.
What are your goals?
Where are you at now?
What are you good at?
What are you bad at?
What do you like?
How old are you?
How long have you been doing art?

There's many different paths you could take.
Kiwi's 7 step program is just one of them.
Personally his steps aren't the approach I took or continue to take.
But give it a shot.
If it works, great.
If not, try something else.
Asking us is just going to result in a multitude of contradicting answers.
And knowing that it is, we seek what it is... ~ Aristotle, Posterior Analytics, Chapter 1

jun

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Re: Exercises for Pixel Art?

Reply #7 on: May 24, 2017, 02:26:54 am
Yeah, definitely. The point I was trying to make is consistent work. It might be archaic, but it's the best way IMO to succeed in anything and everything. Everyday for 1 hour or every other day for two? Doesn't matter. Just do it.

Offline Capta1n_Henry

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Re: Exercises for Pixel Art?

Reply #8 on: May 24, 2017, 03:46:12 am
Thanks for the info guys! I'm working on a couple of things right now, so hopefully I can learn a few things from those.

Offline Ai

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Re: Exercises for Pixel Art?

Reply #9 on: May 24, 2017, 03:51:27 am
Yo, don't draw every day.
It's an epic bold statement that sounds good.
But easily leads to RSI in the hands, a decline in mental health, and lacks life balance.
IMO a strong and steady pace *does* need to be every day (with the exact *amount* per day being more flexible).

15min a day is IMO a good way to start out, to develop the drawing habit, and I would say it is in no way excessive or unhealthy[1].

I'd suggest 15min as a minimum amount because it takes a certain amount of focused effort before your feelings start getting onboard with the idea of 'working on this drawing task for no less than 15min'. Sessions shorter than this are IMO not effective at reinforcing that habit of focus, which is absolutely needed to learn effectively. [2]

There are also natural opportunities to draw in some cases (for example, on buses, or when making notes). Taking this 'lifestyle' approach - don't just give it a timeslot, but find ways to fit it into the context of other tasks - IMO is necessary to ensure consistent progress. This eventually makes the plan of 'draw something every day' quite easy to achieve.


[1] re: RSI, As a side issue: another thing a newbie should be aware of that can have a big impact, both on drawing quality and RSI: Don't press so hard. Using the minimum possible pressure wins on three fronts: less pencil wear, less body wear (ie. protecting yourself from RSI), smoother lines. People often cite control as a reason why they press hard, but the same level of control can be achieved by training your muscle control instead (particularly, working to draw mainly via shoulder motion rather than  elbow or wrist motion).

[2] Learnt this from Nicolaides' "Natural Way to Draw", FWIW. I also recommend this book on the basis of Nicolaides' ability to teach techniques that *make you think about the subject*, rather than providing a neat way to reproduce the surface appearance.
If you insist on being pessimistic about your own abilities, consider also being pessimistic about the accuracy of that pessimistic judgement.