Hello again!  I'm working on a new set of RPG tiles.  I'm still working on my other set, slowly, but this one is a paid job, so it gets priority.



So far I've got dirt, grass, trees and two different transitions between the dirt and grass.  I wanted the grass/dirt transition to have a darker edge as though the middle stuff is more compact, but it isn't looking right, so I made one without that transition.  The only problem is, it looks a bit plain which is why both kinds are in the preview.  I'm attempting a style that has detailed, contrasted edges with a simple and low contrast tile.  I'd prefer to keep things on the simple side, since I won't be the only artist working on this, and I'll need other people to be able to mimic this style.

I found this place because I thought the challenges would be great practice to get better as a pixel artist, and since then I've been wondering.  If you're new to the pixel thing (or very old at it, but never serious before now like me), what would be a good learning curve of challenges to make you grow as an artist?  Would you suggest starting with?  Limited color scenes, a mockup, a walk cycle, rpg tiles, icons?  What are you trying to master with these practices?  For you professionals, how did you do it, and how would you do it now if you could do it over?  Once you master something like a walk cycle, what's the next step?  A run cycle, or perhaps flight for something different?

I have my own ideas about this, but I've learned since coming here that I'm not as good at this as I thought, and have a long way to go.  I'd love to hear other people's opinions.

I came here to push myself, to do things I don't normally do so I could learn.  So I thought I'd try the challenge for Pixelator 3.  Here's the result so far.



It isn't what I was planning at all.  I have no clue how to do magical effects, and it really shows.  For the motion, I wanted to do something more like this:



 I was going to add body movement and some dust at the very bottom of the movement, but the dust wasn't working (more effects problems) and I didn't see the point of getting the animation right when I couldn't get the wind ball to look like a wind ball.  I was hoping to make it more stylized to match the look of the girl.  Like this:



But the further I got in animating the swirls, the worse it got, and I didn't know how to smooth it out without going overboard on the frames.  I would like some help with this one, but more than that, I'd like to learn how to make effects look right on my own, without needing help for every new thing.  Do you guys know some good tutorials?  I've never seen one that dealt with effects as their own thing.