A Drawing With a Girl Holding a Piece of Candy Dragon Pixel Art

INTRODUCTION TO PIXEL Art

Reckoner graphics and digital art equally we know them today have a root, and that is pixel fine art.

Back in the day, at that place wasn't a 'Pixel Fine art' style because every art made on a figurer needed to be pixel-by-pixel artwork.

As computers evolved, the capability to render images became more than advanced, enabling digital artists to create without the limitations of former hardware.

Creating art with these limitations in heed is the cadre of pixel art as an fine art course.

While no longer a necessary approach, forcing yourself to create in the boundaries of an quondam technology or set up of techniques can help you as an

artist.

Beneath are some examples of my exploration with pixel fine art.

In this article, I'll highlight some characteristics, basic techniques and guidelines so you can start making your own pixel art.

All the information here can be applied to any 'style' and any software. And that's the beauty of this subject.

The technical side of this art course is important, especially if y'all want to brand an homage of a video game.

But remember that you lot don't need to force yourself to create a 32×32 pixel size artwork with only 3 colors, if you don't desire to.

It's beneficial to respect the fundamentals and the techniques of former-schoolhouse digital artists – but information technology'southward not obligatory to piece of work like them.

LEARNING BY DOING

For this article, we'll work on an approachable challenge.

I want y'all to create a 64×64 pixel portrait.

That'due south it!

You can describe yourself, make a fanart or invent a grapheme.
The goal is to create an artwork that can be used used as a social media avatar.

Offset with a modest (resolution) file size, so the pixel unit of measurement is visible. There's no point to making pixel art where the pixels aren't evident.

SETTING UP YOUR CANVAS

For this article, I'll exist using Clip Studio Paint.
While in that location's cracking dedicated tools for making pixel art, you can utilize any drawing programme to follow forth.

• Create a 64×64 pixel document (1);
• Go to View > Filigree/Ruler Settings (ii);
• Configure as the following so y'all can run into a grid with every single pixel. Yous tin plough the filigree on/off anytime using the Shift+G shortcut. (3);

A good practice for working with pixel art is getting used to drawing zoomed while keeping an eye on the actual-size artwork (4);

To create a secondary view of your electric current canvas, get to Window > Canvas > New Window and open up a new example of the current canvas.
Prepare information technology to 100% and identify in your workspace (5).

CREATING THE PIXEL Art TOOLS

Fourth dimension to introduce a basic concept.

Pixel fine art does not get forth with automatic anti-aliasing.

Anti-aliasing is a useful algorithm that smooths edges of a shape.
This is made past adding an extra row of pixels closest to the aliased edge.

As you tin can run across in the example, the anti-aliased edge (vii) has an automatic gradient of pixels to give the shape a smoother contour.

The aliased edge (6) is what we're looking for when creating pixel art. Later on, we can soften the edges past calculation anti-aliasing by hand (manually).

A rule-of-thumb when using whatever software to create pixel art is to disable the anti-aliasing setting in brushes, tools and transformations.

In Clip Studio Paint you have to turn off anti-aliasing in:

• brushes (eight);
• tools like Selection, Fill, Text, eg. (9);
• and during any transformation using Edit > Transform (10);

In Prune Studio Paint you lot already have a pixel art pen. It's chosen 'Dot Pen' in the Marking category (11).

This is the simplest drawing brush available. It has a fixed 1-pixel size, anti-aliasing turned off, and no option for stabilization or color mixing.

I suggest yous follow along this tutorial using this brush only.
Later on in the game, you tin indistinguishable any of your 'mutual' brushes and apply it for pixel art (as long you reduce brush size to lower values and disable anti-aliasing).

DRAWING THE LINEART

Since this will exist a front-facing portrait, I'll beginning the cartoon using the Symmetrical Ruler (12);

Identify the Symmetrical Ruler on the Sail and, to make sure it's on the dead-heart, use the Object tool to select it and input values manually (13);

In this case I inverse the Center X and Middle Y values to 32, which is one-half of my total canvass size (64 pixels).

Now, select your Dot Pen again and commencement drawing.
Since this brush tin can't be resized, it's a good idea to zoom in on the canvas you're drawing (xv) and use the indistinguishable view as a reference (xiv).

I started my portrait drawing a initial sketch to find the construction of the head (16) and and so I started adding details (17).

At that place's no demand to use a blue color. I just prefer it because it helps my brain empathise that I'one thousand creating a rough for my terminal cartoon.

If yous're done with the sketch you lot tin can proceed with the linework.

Before adding the final lines, allow me bear witness yous a simple technique for drawing lines and curves in pixel art.

In the example beneath, the linework (eighteen) doesn't expect smooth considering there'southward a lot of duplicated pixels where it should be a single pixel line.

You can fix those 'doubles' (it's a term) by removing any side by side pixels on the curve. In the example (19), I removed all pixels marked in cerise.

I suggest you to render to your sketch and wait out for those 'doubles' to clean your linework.

Do non worry if the curves don't feel right. Just remove the unwanted pixels.

TIP: if you need to erase a pixel, you tin can only switch to the transparent color (I have my shortcut set to X);

In the example beneath you can see the difference of the initial sketch (20) and the cleaned-upwards version (21).

Ready for some other technique?

Permit's start fixing the drawing and adjusting some curves.

Seeing the example below (22), yous tin can detect the distribution and spacing of pixels are not post-obit a logical progression. (eg.: 3, 2, 1, iv…)

While on this improved version (23), you tin see a better progression of pixels to create the curve. (eg.: one, 2, two, iii…)

With that noesis, I propose you lot to try the following exercise before continuing on your drawing:

Endeavour to describe some random lines and curves with the two concepts you just learned and then far: remove the doubles and maintaining the 'pixel progression'.

This will give y'all a solid gasp in how to profile shapes in pixel art.

Below is my last linework (25).

I did some minor adjustments on the proportions and curves, and removed some unnecessary pixels to make the confront more than readable.

Take some time to compare with the original version (24) and effort to notice where I practical the techniques.

COLORING TIME

The number of colors used on a sprite (term used to describe an object in game development), depends by how much you desire to stay shut to a specific limitation of an old technology.

While not necessary, you can learn a lot virtually pixel art by limiting yourself to a pocket-size amount of colors to choose.

For at present I suggest you start with a simple color palette. As a starting point, you tin use the 56 colors of the palette used by the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) videogame panel (26).

The color and tone choices on this palette are not perfect, but it provides a good starting bespeak.

In the examples beneath you take the PC-98 computer color palette (27) and a personal i I built in the by (28);

Later y'all can start building your ain palette, but e'er call back to keep it tight and simple.

I start past filling my lines with some base colors (flatting).

I'm starting with v initial colors, including the black linework to paint this portrait (29).

On this stage, call back to configure your Auto Select and Fill tools for the pixel art workflow, disabling Expanse Scaling and Anti-aliasing (30).

To shade (add shadows) the skin color on the portrait, you don't need to but use the darker value of a specific color;

I can potentially use whatever color available as long the values read correctly.

Hither'southward a tip – Create a new layer on top of your layer stack, make full information technology with black and fix the layer mode to Color.

Now you can utilize this layer to check the value relationship of your colors (32).

In the instance below you tin can encounter how I managed to use the old background color (purple) as the shade color of my dark-brown peel (31). I adopt to go with a blackness background to salve one color…

Again, I don't need to – but I'd similar to practise these limitations imposed by the NES colour palette.

For the highlights on the skin and glasses (33), I don't needed to introduce any new colors considering, while checking the grayscale values (34),

I noticed the color of the t-shirt could exist used for that.

I wanted to add some manual anti-aliasing to polish the border between the lit and adumbral areas of the skin (36).

Using the NES palette only, I could not find colors that I could use to create this gradient transition.

And then here'south where I abandoned the 'virtual limitations' in favor of the artwork.

In the example I added two new colours (37), so I tin add together more details to the shading.

I tin't stress this enough, but information technology's actually of import that you brand these decisions while looking the artwork through the real, not zoomed-in, sheet size (35).

Using the two new extra colors, I increased the rendering on the face adding more volume, wrinkles ('cause I'k getting onetime) and softening some  shadows on the lit side of the portrait (38).

On the blueish jacket, I decided to utilise the dithering technique to create the sensation of a gradient without adding colors (40).

By breaking up the solid transitions on a checkerboard pattern I tin can make the illusion of an inbetween colour (39).

Dithering is an advanced technique and this is but a basic usage for it.

As you tin see, the effect creates a textural effect that can be a problem if used on skin or smooth surfaces.

I constitute it appropriate to use in the jacket (fabricated of textile), considering I tin benefit from the rough texture.

After some tweaking, I managed to fully pigment the portrait.

I'm very happy with the last issue because I could fit a lot of details for a 64×64 pixel size artwork with only 7 colors.

ps.: I also had pixels and colors enough to ready those weird-looking cartoony eyes. Ten-D

EXPORTING

Last, only not least…
When saving and exporting pixel art, use the GIF or PNG format.

Avoid using the JPEG format, specially with any level of compression.

This volition destroy all the love and care you used to create your pixel fine art.

Await at the examples below: a 99% compressed JPEG (41) may await ok from a altitude, but it adds some non-wanted colors.

A 80% compressed version (42) will brand any pixel artist bleed. Then delight, don't exercise that. 🙂

When it comes to posting on social media, you have to deal with the automatic-compression of the platform.

For Instagram, you'll have no option because the organisation automatically converts and resizes the image to a low-quality jpeg.

On Twitter, you'll take a sharper, almost perfect paradigm if the exported file is 506 pixels broad in PNG format.

That's it.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and also promise you managed to create your first pixel art portrait.

Below y'all tin find my minuscule, still incredible, slice of art. 🙂

If you create yours, delight let me know.

– dado

Creative person Profile

Howdy. I'chiliad Dado (Dadotronic) Almeida and I draw and paint 90'southward-videogame-inspired art. As a freelancer artist I create concept and production fine art for games and animation.My indie career is devoted to personal projects like Claws and Tusks (comic) and artwork that I make for fun or commissions. I also like to teach and share my discoveries nigh digital fine art, estimator graphics, and mental wellness for artists.

https://www.dadoalmeida.com/
https://twitter.com/dadotronic
https://world wide web.artstation.com/dadotronic

bidwellmorive.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.clipstudio.net/how-to-draw/archives/161082

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