AuthorTopic: New to pixel art. Where to start?  (Read 2668 times)

Offline SeanaoSeanao

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 3
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

New to pixel art. Where to start?

on: April 17, 2013, 10:29:32 pm
Hi guys, I'm very new and interested in pixel art. I'd love to be a 2d animator, but I'd like to get the basics down first.

I have Gimp/GraphicsGale those will probably be the programs I stick with, but I'm open to suggestions. I really lack the knowledge of what the dimensions of the file size need to be. What makes things look 8bit vs 16bit? What is 24bit?

There are some animations where you can see the pixels, and others that look completely clean and shaded (that are pixel based images)

How would I make these "higher resolution" figures? I can draw, I just don't understand when I open a new project what the dimensions need to be. Any first step advice would be greatly appreciated.

Offline Cyangmou

  • 0011
  • **
  • Posts: 929
  • Karma: +3/-0
    • cyangmou
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/32234.htm
    • cyangmou
    • View Profile
    • Pixwerk Homepage

Re: New to pixel art. Where to start?

Reply #1 on: April 17, 2013, 10:45:10 pm
8-Bit is equivalent NES restrictions
16-Bit is equivalent to SNES Restrictions
Mostly the resolution

But you can also make styles which resemble to 8 or 16 bit but aren't actually following the restrictions (in terms of frames, colors ...)

Choose a style you like (best thing would be from an exisiting game) and measure the size. The question for resolution is always how big you screensize will be and how big you display your characters - so it's impossible to tell how big you should make them.

If you haven't done pixel art before it'd be better to concentrate on some static pieces first if you want to hear my two cents.
There is a vast difference between "I can draw" and how good your skills are and the techniques for traditional drawing/painting, digital art and pixel art is also very different for each discipline.
Animation is an own discipline and more than simple drawing something.


However - This part of the forum is here for critiques. This means you start somewhere with a piece of art and you have to make sure what you want to improve - unless you don't show anything nobody is really capable of helping you.
"Because the beauty of the human body is that it hasn't a single muscle which doesn't serve its purpose; that there's not a line wasted; that every detail of it fits one idea, the idea of a man and the life of a man."

Dev-Art
Twitter

Offline SeanaoSeanao

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 3
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: New to pixel art. Where to start?

Reply #2 on: April 17, 2013, 11:03:46 pm
Thank you Cyangmou. That's good information, and I appreciate the guidance! I work on a giant boat which will be out for the entire weekend. I'll have a lot of down time in the evenings. Do you or anyone have any suggestions for a static piece so that when I return I'll have some things to upload and get critiqued on?

Offline Pix3M

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 265
  • Karma: +1/-0
    • View Profile

Re: New to pixel art. Where to start?

Reply #3 on: April 17, 2013, 11:12:23 pm
I think a human figure should be a good start for a static, non-animating piece.

Offline SeanaoSeanao

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 3
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: New to pixel art. Where to start?

Reply #4 on: April 17, 2013, 11:27:11 pm
Alright, I'll see what I can come up with  ;D