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FAQ:

What exactly is Pixel Art?

Pixel Art is a discipline by which images are created with pixel-level intent or precision. It is more than an end product - It is a methodology focusing on techniques such as hand drawn dithering, anti-aliasing, shading, animation, geometry, and some color theory. Here on this forum, people develop these skills and in turn teach them to others.

When you post work that focuses on these methods, you will receive useful feedback that will help you to improve. While there's no static law that says something IS or IS NOT Pixel Art, some works can certainly be more in line with what is discussed here. For example, Oekaki, a web based drawing phenomenon, does not consistently represent the methods. Also, just because a game uses a sprite, that does not immediately qualify it as pixel art since some games have been known to convert 3D rendered models into sprite stills. Posting works like this is not encouraged.

Members at this forum are interested in many subjects and artistic mediums, and we do offer places on the forum more appropriate for the posting of non-pixel work. If you're posting reference images for pixel work, this is an exceptional case. Blatant disregard for the purposes of the forum will not be tolerated.

FAQ:
What about hand-drawn art? I drew this cool ninja and airbrushed it in Photoshop. I want some feedback!

If the majority of the work isn't even done using the methods described above, post it to the Official OT Creativity Thread. If you want to learn to be a good digital illustrator in general, try one of the other art forums out there. Again, this forum is not just about cool art, it's about learning the Pixel Art methods. Check the General Discussion section for the Official OT Creativity Thread.

FAQ:

What is a sprite, or a tile? What is this Isometric thing the kids are raving about?

Sprites and tiles are terms often used for video games. A sprite is typically a character or enemy, made to move around on the screen or animate depending on how the game is coded. Tiles are typically used as background elements, and can be laid out to create a larger scene or image. Isometric refers to both the Pixel Art style and a way of coding a game to create the illusion of three dimensional play using 2D art. Rise of Nations or even Sim City have been known to implement Isometric 'perspective' in their games.

FAQ:

How do I draw a water tile? How do I animate a sword slash? I can't do it, somebody help me!

Try. If you post a message asking for help without posting any work, no one will be able to truly help you except to give you vague replies such as "uhh, use blue and click the mouse button to place pixels where you want them until it looks like water." If you TRY first, and even if you TOTALLY and COMPLETELY suck at it, people will at least be able to give you advice on what direction to take and tell you what to watch out for so you can improve. This can't happen if you don't post anything, and if you don't post anything, you're probably going to be ignored or your thread could be locked.

FAQ:

I hear a lot of people talking about the c64-palette or ZX-Spectrum restrictions, or the 'demoscene'. What's that?

C64 (Commodore 64) and the ZX-Spectrum are popular computer systems from the '80s with relatively limited pixel-count and color limitations compared to modern systems that use powerful graphics cards able to render 3D, support millions of colors, and offer high pixel-count resolution options. For more information on these particular systems, try Wikipedia or use the forum’s search engine.

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