Replacing pixel art

[hapiel]

Hey guys,
Here is an idea that I had today.

There is many characteristics of pixel art that I like and that can not be reproduced without working on pixel level.
Also there is a very tiny audience interested in pixel art and especially large work takes an over average effort to make.

I am not an experienced digital artist, but I believe that there is lot more possible when you would use vectors, textures, photo editing, auto aa & gradients etc which are common in digital illustration.

How would we be able to create a modern hybrid?

Characteristics of pixel art that I would like to keep:

Crispy horizontal and diagonal lines
Pixel thin highlights and outlines
Impossibly bright colors

Probably you guys have more ideas of characteristics that are important and unique to pixel art.

What I would like to start an open discussion about is:

What is it that we have learned from pixel art that we can now bring to other mediums?

When I google for hybrids, I mostly find artwork that features big squares, but that is obviously not what I am looking for . I might be doing some experiments of my own in the coming time. Please share your ideas!

[rikfuzz]

Vector work that respects the pixel grid can often be a nice aesthetic, similar to pixel art. I saw a nice one on kickstarter recently, which I've forgotten the name of, but there's also Army of Trolls' re-envisioning of their old Push Push Penguin game:

original:
http://www.download-games.gr/wp-content/gallery/push-push-penguin/push-push-penguin-2.jpg

vector:
http://www.armyoftrolls.co.uk/website/portfolio/ppp_vector_stylee_BIG.png

[Chris2balls]

Much as pixel art is raster, I see vector as a very viable solution to replicating the blockiness and pixel clusters: a good example is Mrmo Tarius's work, in which I see the pixel and vector work converging.
If we're not staying in the digital realm, various printing methods have some affinities with pixel art technique, much like Cure's experiments.

There are bound to be more mediums!

[surt]

Impossibly bright colors

This is something I don't see very much in vector stuff, to me vector almost always seems to have drab muddy colours, unless it is very simple with large fields of solid colour.
I think AoT stuff above demonstrates this (though better than most), the vector version lacks a good deal of the vibrancy of the pixel version.
I'm not sure why this is, all the anti-aliasing mixing stuff to a disagreeable average perhaps?

[Tourist]

Few other media have an explicit grid.  I have only found cross stitching and bead weaving.  Mosaics can be a grid, but most don't use one.  Pixel art is really a product of the technical design of low resolution computer monitors.

Tourist

[rikfuzz]

Impossibly bright colors

This is something I don't see very much in vector stuff, to me vector almost always seems to have drab muddy colours, unless it is very simple with large fields of solid colour.
I think AoT stuff above demonstrates this (though better than most), the vector version lacks a good deal of the vibrancy of the pixel version.
I'm not sure why this is, all the anti-aliasing mixing stuff to a disagreeable average perhaps?

Probably just AI always defaulting to CMYK, but maybe people not snapping to the pixel grid making unnecessary AA contributes a bit too. 

[Conzeit]

Funny I just happened to be reading this as I came in here.

http://2dwillneverdie.com/tutorial/vector-to-pixel-building-your-sprites-in-adobe-illustrator/


1-Cluster theory thinking. 

yup. Making our blotches of color in beautiful shapes matters.


I've always wanted to point out that sometimes designing them less to tell the shape of the object, and more to show off beautiful shapes is a good approach too. Samurai Shodown exemplifies that.


Shin Megami Tensei, on the other hand is the opposite end of the spectrum. Purely functional and minimal.

2- vector art following a grid like it has been said. But I just realized that +restricted angles could be IT. :p

only 90º and 45º for starters much like this MetalGear Portable OPS logo.

http://www.puppygames.net/revenge-of-the-titans/ this game could be an example...except he overdid it with the gradients and smooth stuff IMO

EDIT: How did I NOT think of ridiculous fishing?

http://vlambeer.com/press/sheet.php?p=Ridiculous_Fishing#images

3-Limited palletes.


in this respect I think printmaking processes could be helplful. For example Sherrie York who did the print above uses reduction linocut.
http://www.sherrieyork.com/reduction-linocut-process.html
Which means that she starts from the lightest shade, and cuts away at printing darker and darker shades until she gets the full picture. I feel that has the same concern over palletes as pixelart without limiting it with a  hard number (8, 16, et all)


Notice how this uses gradients without overdoing it unlike Revenge of the Titans.

http://www.linesandcolors.com/2012/12/29/sherrie-york/

http://brushandbaren.blogspot.com/
Seriously check that girl out :p

http://hifructose.com/2012/10/17/victo-ngais-action-packed-illustrations/
This guy has the same quality, no idea if he uses printmaking but he must've at some point ( or is maybe inspired by ukiyo-e)

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1499165518/ukiyo-e-heroes
that, of course earns Ukiyo-E heroes a mention :p


The Reductive linocut process can be emulated in photoshop or any program by drawing a big broad shape and duplicating the layer, ereasing things away from it each time a darker shade is implemented.

I used to think recoloring on the fly was unique to pixelart but it's quite possible in vectors, and it's readily implemented in ToonBoom.


4-Pixel artifacts obsession

RGB offsets, scanlines, moire effect, even the tinted screens of magnetically broken CRTs. it all can be used to achieve a great otherwordly effect
http://www.jeremydower.com/ art is a good example, he goes so far as to use R G B lightsources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUXBCdt5IPg
Even in 3d like Tool's "Vicarious". See how it can be a whole atmosphere?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia6XoAZUUCY
CRT+magnets goodness.

5-Sheer Nostalgia and "Voxel Art"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHrarYI-vo8 Pixel invasion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoFYEtj2tDw 3D Dot Game heroes
et all, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

EDIT:UGH I just realized I missed color ASCII art.. :p I'm sure I'll think of a lot more

[Basketcase]

Crispy horizontal and diagonal lines
Pixel thin highlights and outlines
Impossibly bright colors

Aye, those things are nice. The 3rd one doesn't seem unique to PA, though.

I'd like to see pel-shading: a 3D rendering tech that draws things with those pixel-craftish aspects. Seems feasible to me. (I program, but not graphics programming.) Stick in some integers to define the colour count, outline thickness, etc. It wouldn't be able to replicate more complex styles, not without some more involved tuning. But it could provide an economical way to include 3D geometry in a 2D pixel-crafted game with some visual coherence.

[Conzeit]

Well, pixelation was forced to revert to a backup version and one great reply by Facet went to fuck.

Facet can you PLEASE repost that? there was an animated video there that made heavy use of gouache-ish brushtrokes that is like one of my dream animation styles.
(Thought I had bookmarked it but I didnt =( )

in that reply facet discussed how it's pretty darn common now of animes to "seamlessly" transition in and out of cel-shaded CG and hand drawn CG.

I know what you're talking about but I disagree. I know they do it in futurama but it's pretty damn seam-y. The only  anime example that I know of that does this Berserk Golden arc, and I still can see all the seams, it still feels too 3D mostly because of the timing.

Also, I think cel-shading isnt really comparable to pixelart, it's too simplistic.

I think manga artstyles are more comparable because they've got bigger ramps in their shading and use things like stipling and crosshatching.

Jojo's Bizarre adventure opening. I like how they emphasize keyframe animation.


and Freedom ova opening

I think they pretty much just draw all of the lighting with textures and turn off lighting. Seems pretty darn time consuming, a lot like drawing all the backgrounds one by one for each shot in 2D.


Meet buck is a similar short although I think it's a little more advanced, they occasionally use actual lighting for things like sillouething the figure or providing fill lighting.

But that was before I knew anything about paperman.

have you guys seen paperman?

Here's a an analysis post on paperman

And an interview with the project's head

Basically Dinsey made a short that is basically a test on succefully 3difying had drawn animation. it's very smooth and looks like actual hand drawin animation,there's lot of theorizing about how it was made, it seems most of it was just 3D modeling and sticking to the conceptart faithfully, but part of it is a vector based 2d drawing tool that they're still developing, but not much more than that is known, it appears disney is keeping the lid on it because they are still working on it.


The closest thing to paperman I've seen is this, which apparently works by making automatic tween frames (maybe warp puppet too?) with After Effects

[Conzeit]

I know this topic is old as shit, but I wanted to post about the behind the scenes of guilty gear xrd and damn if this is not the best place to do that

Behind the scenes article translation
Page 1
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For visual refference...if you live under a rock and havent seen it =O

it's just nuts how good this is...and they're doing it the hard way. the shader is just normal cel shading + a bunch of tricks