New to Pixeling

[HalcyonDreamer]

I didn't photoshop . I guess I am guilty of using some of the brushes in Pro Motion  . I thought thats what they were for  .
I read over the tutorials posted, but I'm still confused as to using tools. Should they never be used?


I guess I should say this so I don't get shot down first post. I used Megaman sprites as a template for this work. I'm still having trouble with the outlines/ basic body structure, but I have been reading tutorials to help that. Would it be bad to feature these sprites in a game?

[Meta|Fox]

did you read the wiki? that explains it quite well.

Generally, "pure" pixel art must be created by manual pixel-level editing, without the use of any automatic filters. In the pure form, it is generally said that "each pixel was placed carefully". Purists within the pixel art scene say that pixel artists should only use tools that place individual pixels (usually the pencil tool), and no tools that automatically create shapes for you (like circle, square and line tools). Others say that the line tools and the bucket fill are acceptable, as they do nothing more than speed up the work without impacting how the work looks. The use of automatic filters such as anti-aliasing, on the other hand, is generally considered not valid in "true" pixel art, since the filters will add new pixels automatically, eliminating the careful placement

Using tools like the line tool and circle tool are fine, but use nothing like the paintbrush tool, as it doesnt do things on a pixel be pixel lvl. id say before using promotion use MSpaint for your pixel art, as the only frowned upon tool there is the spray can.

oh and READ THE WIKI!

[HalcyonDreamer]

I read the Wiki, but am confused as to why Pro Motion is so good for pixel art if I'm not supposed to use any of the tools. If I can't do that, isn't MS Paint pretty much as good?

[Indigo]

Pro Motion has a LOT of nifty tools for pixelling that you just can't find in MS Paint.  A good example is how it handles the pallette (which MS Paint is absolutely crap with).  The dither brush is also quite usefull.  and personally, I think the wiki is wrong about not using tools such as the circle, square, and line tools.  Thats just bull.  It's more of tools that auto-select colours for you is off-limits.  Such as AA'd stuff, air brush, and smudge tools.  Occationally you can get away with some indexed painting - but not often - using colours you have pre-defined.

hope that helps
-Dan

[ndchristie]

no, mspaint blows, because it is slow and clumbsey.  i personally think that IDraw3 Character Maker is the best there is, even though promotion is nice. promotion gets props for animation and palette and save formats and things, and i can see someone else really liking it, but i dont personally use it.

pixel art is about pixels, plain and simple.  filters.....not good

[ptoing]

Yup Adarias is right. Filters for Pixelart defeat the point.

In my understanding something is pixelart as long as you have full control over every single pixel, giving it the colour you want and put it where you want.
Using tools like ditherbrushes or circles and such is perfectly viable. Even stuff like darken/brighten is ok because if you know how to use it properly it gets you what you want but a bit quicker.

[ndchristie]

Using tools like ditherbrushes or circles and such is perfectly viable. Even stuff like darken/brighten is ok because if you know how to use it properly it gets you what you want but a bit quicker.

viable, though often inferior.  skilled use can save time, especially of the ditherbrush, but ive found particularly with circles that it is often better do do them by hand as well.    I personally use the pen tool for freehanding, and the square tool for everything else.  use of selection masks too i use all the time, though i dont know if this is considered as viable?  most lightenning/darkenning i do by hand, unless it effects the entire sprite, in which case ill occasionally use a filter.  effects, like colorize and blending options, are fine in games, but are accessory to the actual pixel art, which IMO should always be presented "raw" if it is to be called pixelart (otherwise it is cg or cg animation in my book)

[ptoing]

selection masks are fine as far as i am conderned. I often use the stencil mask in promotion and stuff like that. As long as i am in full control where my shit ends up all is fine. Also supersmooth lineart noone sees in the end because you draw over it = lolz

This is how i start a fullscreen image 95% of the time.
For sprites i normally make silhouettes or differently coloured parts first.

[Joseph]

just wanted to reply on what you had said earlier adarias...saying ms paint blows.  ive been using ms paint for a number of years now and have converted over to photoshop thinking it was a wise choice, and the honest idea was that I think ms paint is the best pixeling program ive ever used.  as I said earlier I have used photoshop, and ive used graphics gale, paint.net, paintshop pro, and idraw3.  ill soon be getting promotion and ill see how that works out, but just to let people know (who think ms paint blows), it truely doesnt.

[ptoing]

...but just to let people know (who think ms paint blows), it truely doesnt.

And as in how does it not blow? I am using Promotion since about 3 years now and I have to say pixelling in paint would make me feel like a quadriplegic. It plain and simple sucks ass. You can do anything in any tool at the end of the day, but in Promotion I can do stuff faster and way more efficient than you would ever be able to in Paint. I am sure same goes for stuff like Graphics Gale and even Photoshop, anything is faster and more efficient in terms of pixelling. Just tried Idraw, have to say that look pretty poor on first look, but still miles better than MSPaint.

Conclusion: From a purely objective standpoint MSPaint is not very well suited for pixelart.