Hardcorebadger : As cure said these are 2 completely different techniques, and it might seem to require a lot of efforts (and it does actually !) but you'd put as much effort trying to figure out how to get the same render in photoshop and it would be a vague aproximative lookalike render. And it creates an object, a real touchable object made of matter, not a computer file.
Also, this technique is between art and crafting and it's a whole different process, it's not really comparable to tablet painting.
(needs any translation ?)

Cure : They're great ! My favorite is the Salad one, those colors are retro !
Have not tried the color-reduction method, seems quite hard to manage and my ink is like 70% opaque so not really appropriate (or maybe it can be something to play with). And I like the security of having my blocks ready for some more prints if needed (I'm planning on selling them). But I'll sure try this !
Check picasso's linocuts, most of them are done using colore reduction method

Hey guys ! For the last few years I dropped out pixel art and got more interested in traditionnal art, that's how I discovered linocut. Linocut is a way of creating and printing images by carving a block of linoleum and use it as a tampon to print your image on a piece of paper.
You may ask "Why talk about this on a pixel art forum ?". Because IT IS Low spec ! Maybe not the way you define it but this media does have technical restrisctions and the biggest is : COLOR LIMITATIONS YAY !
Yes, in linocut you have to deal with limited color count, just as in pixel art.

Here are some of my stuff :

2 colors


3 colors


4 colors


In the last set of print, I worked with 4 colors (so 4 carved lino blocks) but as you can see, there are more than 4 colors due to the superposition of some colors and That I found interesting ! Playing with restrictions, mess with them, pass through them. For this you'll require ingenuousity as you do in pixel art.

I hope you liked it and maybe you want to give it a try ! That would make me glad. And by the way if some of you have already done some linocut I'd be very happy to see them posted on this thread !

See you guys !

Hi !
I really liked Sohei's edit about the rocks but the probleme is that you can see it as a hole.
I think adding some shadows on the grass floor, droping from the top of the cliff can help seeing it as a wall instead of a hole.



Your bigger tree is great ! But the small one is now too big compared to the large one

Thanks guys for all these replies !

Teknopants : Thanks a lot ! I'm working on some 32x32 tiles as you said, you're helping me quite well with this
You are right about the darker rock tiles, in fact i've juste darkened the basic rock tiles but it doesn't seem to work. Seems I'll have to make a proper set of darker tiles.
Nope, won't use it for any game. Or at least it's not decided yet. However, working on these gave me some game ideas ! So, eventually if I go further enough with these I can use them

Seiseki : Yeah, readability is an issue. I think the way I put tiles together did affect readability too. I mean, if i decide that darker tiles will be background and the lighter, more solid tiles will be foregro)und, I think it could work
I made another mock-up, trying to make it more platformer like.



The red tiles are those you can walk on, the others are part of the background. Not sure it's really clear yet, at least it looks less random (I hope)

Pypebros : Thanks for giving you opinion ! You are right about those rock tiles, I must admit they are pretty uncomfortable to use because some combinations of tiles won't work due to that issue. I might rework them a bit so they combine better and look less flat. Also, you mentionned a glitch effect, It's pretty much like half-intended. I like this buggy style, when it's not to obvious.

Probo : Thank you . Are you saying that I shouldn't mix dirt and metal tiles ?

r4c7 : Thank you for your attention. I'll be working on the blending issue, but I don't want it to be too smooth. Just like you I do like the grid being visible.
You're right about the palette being a little bland. Will surely tweak the contrasts a bit, not too much thought. I like this kind of monochrome dirty look, makes it cyber-punk and polluted, that's pretty much what I was going for. Not sure about the saturation on the rocks, will give it a try anyways

Wurfle : Yeah, the colors are not completely defenitive. I agree with you for the darker brown, I'm a big fan of hue shiftings but this brown will be the basic color of the darker rock tiles and I don't want them to be too purple. But be sure I'll proceed at some tests about palette

Eyecraft : Thanks for spending time on this but my point isn't really to have the face anatomy correct. I wanted to have it kind of stylized with a "doll" feeling, I'm happy with it so far. Thought you made a good point about the upper skull being to small, hope it's fixed now.

Helm : Thanks a bunch ! Helps me a lot to figure out the overall look of it. Good point about the snake, worked on it but not sure it fits on her right arm.
Also I planed to give her a dress, but those fantastic hips of yours ! Will think about it.

Here's what i've got so far :



Still rough on some parts.
Thought this is not really what I was going for when starting it. Wanted it more stylized, like those Mashpotato's creepy women * * *
It's way more effective, strong and creepy. I'm far from it now...