Think: Artist that works with pixels. There are different terms for everything. Paper-art wouldnt be correct anyways because paper isn't what you use to draw (Paintings aren't called Eisal (Spelling?) Art), you use pencils so it is called a "drawing" most commonly.
Although there is a difference between a graphics artist and a pixel artist... In my book anyways (I don't know if other people refer the same way.): Graphics artists work with engines to make their graphics, like Macromedia Fireworks, or 3DS MAX, or Poser. A pixel artist is someone who just builds the picture one by one with pixels using something like MSPaint, or in BYOND's case, DM's icon maker.
At first, (This isn't the best method, but it's much better than nothing.) I just studied pictures/icons from better designers, and looked at how they did things. Then a good pixel artist told me a few of his techniques, as did another, and my technique zoomed up phenomenally. I never thought that any tutorials existed until I was already good.
Do a forum search in off topic for "pixel art" or "pixel artist" and look at one of the more recent threads... Volte or DarkView posted a great tutorial on pixel art (Though I don't know if it's great myself because I never used it to help me.). | |
DeathAwaitsU wrote:
Care to point out some free online tutorials? One pixel art site I quite like is: http://www.zoggles.co.uk You'll find many tutorials on this page. Lummox JR | |
You might find my portfolio/artwork area of my website of help. It doesn't include BYOND art, but it has the same concepts included in the art:
http://babyrabies.tripod.com/id2.html Just save them and then turn them into a bitmap so you can zoom in on them and see what I did with the pixels. | |
Kunark wrote:
Think: Artist that works with pixels. There are different terms for everything. Paper-art wouldnt be correct anyways because paper isn't what you use to draw (Paintings aren't called Eisal (Spelling?) Art), you use pencils so it is called a "drawing" most commonly. Not quite, pixels are to computer art what paper is to drawing art. If you want to say that the pencil is used to draw the picture on the paper, thus rendering paper art an incorrect term, then you must also say that pixel art is incorrect and should be called mouse art. I have found some tutorials on the subject but have not read them yet, and I look forward to doing so and hopefully improving my "mouse art" skills ;). I have also seen other people use and heard of various tools for aiding the creation of graphics (everything from blurring colors into the ones to the left and right of them to create a watery effect to promps that ask for input then generate an appropriate random design). However, I am not at all good at finding these sorts of things around the internet, do you have any suggestions as to where I could look for such things? | |
As far as I'm concerned, "pixel art" means drawing things pixel by pixel, as opposed to using filters and other special things in typical "graphics art". You'd usually draw sprites and maybe objects for a game using pixel art, but you'd do web site graphics using "graphics art".
If you look at my Ensya graphics, you'll probably notice that I use a lot more "graphics art" in my work than I do "pixel art", since most of my stuff is done by painting the tiles with semi-opaque colors in long streaks, and I even use things like blur filters on occasion. But those Kades Character sprites that I made (or at least what parts of them I drew myself) are pixel art, because they were drawn pixel-by-pixel without using any filters or special brushes. | |
ShakerDeath wrote:
ok.. but i still havnt found a good tutorial I posted a link to several dozen good tutorials. Please read the thread before complaining about what you can't find. Lummox JR | |
Loduwijk wrote:
Not quite, pixels are to computer art what paper is to drawing art. If you want to say that the pencil is used to draw the picture on the paper, thus rendering paper art an incorrect term, then you must also say that pixel art is incorrect and should be called mouse art. You could also call 3d renderings "mouse art" with that definition. Pixel art specifically refers to the manual, intentional placement and color setting of every single individual pixel by the artist. It is having 100% complete control of the construction of the art piece at the most fundamental level, the pixel. As Foomer stated, using flood fills, blur effects, filters and custom brushes is not true pixel art, as the program is then the one who chooses the placement and color setting of your pixels. And there are no size or color restrictions on pixel art. If someone has the patience and determination to create a 1024x1024 image with over 16 million colors pixel by pixel, it is still pixel art, no matter if it is indistinguishable from a piece created with Adobe Photoshop filters, effects and custom brushes. It's the method of creation, not the final product, that dertermins if the piece is pixel art or not. Great pixel artists are those who truly use the pixel by pixel method, while producing pieces no one would believe they drew pixel by pixel. ~X | |
There really are icon makers, out there You just got to look and read. Some times, I have the same problem but after awhile I will find. I usally do what Gug said Make your game really good first... But with crappy icons. After your done programming, try to open a spot you might get a volunteer.