Has anyone got any advice for selecting colours for pixel art. I know the tip about using a colder colour like blue or purple for shadows and a warmer colour like a yellow or orange in highlights, I also know that using a limited palette of muted colours is better in general but is there any other advice I can get? Thanks.
For textures I generally use 5 colours with a brightness difference of about 10. For normal pixel art, I normally pump up the difference to about 20 brightness levels.
I also generally try and make the darker colours more saturated and vice versa.
I made more pixel art. At the moment I just do it based off of other artwork, this time Notch's avatar. Once I have more practice I'll try and create my own characters.
I tried to reduce the amount of colours used in that piece. Not quite sure if I like the choices I made, but I am a fan of BIG amounts of hue shifting, so using the purple of the beard for the face seemed ok for me.
His face looks really flat now though :/
Good job otherwise! it actually looks quite cool with the purple on the hat.
I would just like the state that windows 7 is annoying. That is all,
also texture related: Does anybody have any links to good pixel art tutorials?
This one is by far one of the best: http://www.pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11299
You can also look around their forums for some more (including the one I posted below). The Pixelation forums are also a good source of tutorials.
Has anyone got any advice for selecting colours for pixel art. I know the tip about using a colder colour like blue or purple for shadows and a warmer colour like a yellow or orange in highlights, I also know that using a limited palette of muted colours is better in general but is there any other advice I can get? Thanks.
I made more pixel art. At the moment I just do it based off of other artwork, this time Notch's avatar. Once I have more practice I'll try and create my own characters.
It's interesting, that's for sure. It's just that, well...
1. You could reduce the colour-count by a lot. There are a few very similar shades there that can be taken out.
2. There's a ton of banding AND pillow-shading going on there. Everything below the hat doesn't really seem to have a light source. It's all just pillow-shaded and pillow shading is the worst thing you could possibly do to a piece of pixel art. Well, that and banding, which you also have in some places. For a better understanding of these concepts, I would advise reading the first tutorial link I gave.
3. That dithering doesn't need to be there. The actual piece, when resized to its original size, is pretty small. Small pieces and sprites should focus more on details rather than adding tons of dithering, which can very quickly kill a piece by the way. Again, for a better understanding of this, go to the first tutorial I linked to.
4. There are lots of jaggies. Jaggies are bits that stick out of the outline, or sometimes in the colouring itself, that make the piece look less smooth or unnatural. ... And once again, ofr a better understanding, go to the tutorial.
I don't mean to sound like a know-it-all, but I'm actually quite knowledgeable in this kind of stuff (though I still lack a lot of skill).
I tried to reduce the amount of colours used in that piece. Not quite sure if I like the choices I made, but I am a fan of BIG amounts of hue shifting, so using the purple of the beard for the face seemed ok for me.
That's much better. Although, it still has a lot of the same mistakes. The pointless dithering's still there, the pillow-shading is still somewhat present, there's no set light source, there are still jaggies and the colours could still be optimized some more.
Thanks, those guidelines are great. I'll try and keep them in mind.
Also, not to start arguments or anything, but I actually did try and use a specific light source (top right). As far as I can see, it fits with the highlights pretty good.
And the colour thing, I guess I could have used less, but tbh I like my version (with more seperate colour schemes) better than imnumberfour's (where the colour schemes 'intersect').
Also, **** anti aliasing, it doesn't fit with my style.
Thanks, those guidelines are great. I'll try and keep them in mind.
Also, not to start arguments or anything, but I actually did try and use a specific light source (top right). As far as I can see, it fits with the highlights pretty good.
And the colour thing, I guess I could have used less, but tbh I like my version (with more seperate colour schemes) better than imnumberfour's (where the colour schemes 'intersect').
Also, **** anti aliasing, it doesn't fit with my style.
:smile.gif:
And no arguments will be started. I did see a light source on the hat. That was quite obvious. It's just that the rest of the head, particularly his beard, didn't seem to have any light source and instead had a bunch of pillow-shading.
Intersecting colours are the best thing you can have in a piece of pixel art because it gives it a unified look and can greatly lower your colour-count. Of course, you don't have to do it, but it's there and it can help.
Ha. You don't need any anti aliasing in that piece (since it's so small). I'm guessing you're directing this towards the "jaggies" comment. That's not at all what I meant. Here's an example of what I meant (which was taken from the tutorial):
:smile.gif:
And no arguments will be started. I did see a light source on the hat. That was quite obvious. It's just that the rest of the head, particularly his beard, didn't seem to have any light source and instead had a bunch of pillow-shading.
Intersecting colours are the best thing you can have in a piece of pixel art because it gives it a unified look and can greatly lower your colour-count. Of course, you don't have to do it, but it's there and it can help.
Ha. You don't need any anti aliasing in that piece (since it's so small). I'm guessing you're directing this towards the "jaggies" comment. That's not at all what I meant. Here's an example of what I meant (which was taken from the tutorial):
I made one too only I used the same colors and shading as on Notch's real avatar. Mostly just to practice drawing shapes with pixels.
The only criticism I can give you right now (after checking it out for a few moments) is that the spot where the hair touches the hat contains banding. >:|
The only criticism I can give you right now (after checking it out for a few moments) is that the spot where the hair touches the hat contains banding. >:|
Thats the shadow of the hat. Banding is when you add a shadow to the edge of a line for no reason.
Thw lines at the bottom of his beard is closer to banding, but w/e its lilyo so he can do whatever the **** he wants. lol xD
Hey, I would like to join the union. Some people asked me a while ago to join, but at the time I didn't see the point of it. But you've got a good community, and a lot of useful feedback in this topic now. My work is linked in my signature if that is needed.
Also I couldn't help but comment on the notch pixel art being posted.
@Strdr: As others have pointed out, there is some banding or "jaggies" to deal with. One thing that helps me avoid that is to view the piece at it's normal resolution often. When you do pixel work you need to zoom in a lot, but that will cause you to miss problems.
Also mentioned was the pillow shading, this is when you just have light in the middle of your shapes. Try to imagine a light source somewhere, and keep the highlights on that edge. This can be hard at first, so keep practicing! I also noticed you used a lot of dithering, that is generally used to blend two or more colors together. However you are using a lot of colors in that piece (16) so I'd suggest either reducing the color count or removing the dithering. Try not to ever use pure black in pixel art too, it tends to bleed and overpower.
@Lilyo: You've done a good job on this, and it stays close to the original. There is still some banding, especially on the yellow highlights on his coat and hat. A little anti aliasing would help with that. You also are using 16 colors here, which isn't exactly a negative but it could be done with a lot less. Try to see what colors are close to each other and just use on of them instead. Again the highlights are a good example, you could use the lightest color of his skin for these instead of a new yellow.
Here is my take on it so you guys can see what I am talking about:
This only uses 10 colors, there is some banding on the bottom of his hat and his shoulder, but I did it in a rush. These could be fixed with a few pixels for AA.
I have no idea. I saw a screenshot posted by MinecraftChick on twitter:
For textures I generally use 5 colours with a brightness difference of about 10. For normal pixel art, I normally pump up the difference to about 20 brightness levels.
I also generally try and make the darker colours more saturated and vice versa.
Yeah I couldn't get them quite right...
His face looks really flat now though :/
Good job otherwise! it actually looks quite cool with the purple on the hat.
This one is by far one of the best:
http://www.pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11299
You can also look around their forums for some more (including the one I posted below). The Pixelation forums are also a good source of tutorials.
For an in-depth study on colours in pixel art, I would suggest going here: http://www.pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=10695&PID=135402#135402
It's interesting, that's for sure. It's just that, well...
1. You could reduce the colour-count by a lot. There are a few very similar shades there that can be taken out.
2. There's a ton of banding AND pillow-shading going on there. Everything below the hat doesn't really seem to have a light source. It's all just pillow-shaded and pillow shading is the worst thing you could possibly do to a piece of pixel art. Well, that and banding, which you also have in some places. For a better understanding of these concepts, I would advise reading the first tutorial link I gave.
3. That dithering doesn't need to be there. The actual piece, when resized to its original size, is pretty small. Small pieces and sprites should focus more on details rather than adding tons of dithering, which can very quickly kill a piece by the way. Again, for a better understanding of this, go to the first tutorial I linked to.
4. There are lots of jaggies. Jaggies are bits that stick out of the outline, or sometimes in the colouring itself, that make the piece look less smooth or unnatural. ... And once again, ofr a better understanding, go to the tutorial.
I don't mean to sound like a know-it-all, but I'm actually quite knowledgeable in this kind of stuff (though I still lack a lot of skill).
That's much better. Although, it still has a lot of the same mistakes. The pointless dithering's still there, the pillow-shading is still somewhat present, there's no set light source, there are still jaggies and the colours could still be optimized some more.
Thanks, those guidelines are great. I'll try and keep them in mind.
Also, not to start arguments or anything, but I actually did try and use a specific light source (top right). As far as I can see, it fits with the highlights pretty good.
And the colour thing, I guess I could have used less, but tbh I like my version (with more seperate colour schemes) better than imnumberfour's (where the colour schemes 'intersect').
Also, **** anti aliasing, it doesn't fit with my style.
:smile.gif:
And no arguments will be started. I did see a light source on the hat. That was quite obvious. It's just that the rest of the head, particularly his beard, didn't seem to have any light source and instead had a bunch of pillow-shading.
Intersecting colours are the best thing you can have in a piece of pixel art because it gives it a unified look and can greatly lower your colour-count. Of course, you don't have to do it, but it's there and it can help.
Ha. You don't need any anti aliasing in that piece (since it's so small). I'm guessing you're directing this towards the "jaggies" comment. That's not at all what I meant. Here's an example of what I meant (which was taken from the tutorial):
Ah, I see. Thanks.
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Retired StaffPlease do NOT comment on the thread! Just report it. Stolen packs like these do not deserve to get the extra attention.
www.minecraftforum.net/topic/951316-32x11-hallowcraft-fantasy-pack-wip/
EDIT: Link, y u no work??
Well, the items and block are good news for me. The mob... Oh God.
I can't texture mobs for the life of me. Maybe it's because of what little "theme" I have or what, but I just can't do it. O_O
http://example.com/
"sometimes, wizards are so awesome, it hurts"
At least it is a super-simple class...
Sooooooo...............
Which one of my packs should I work on tonight after class?
The only criticism I can give you right now (after checking it out for a few moments) is that the spot where the hair touches the hat contains banding. >:|
Thats the shadow of the hat. Banding is when you add a shadow to the edge of a line for no reason.
Thw lines at the bottom of his beard is closer to banding, but w/e its lilyo so he can do whatever the **** he wants. lol xD
Also I couldn't help but comment on the notch pixel art being posted.
@Strdr: As others have pointed out, there is some banding or "jaggies" to deal with. One thing that helps me avoid that is to view the piece at it's normal resolution often. When you do pixel work you need to zoom in a lot, but that will cause you to miss problems.
Also mentioned was the pillow shading, this is when you just have light in the middle of your shapes. Try to imagine a light source somewhere, and keep the highlights on that edge. This can be hard at first, so keep practicing! I also noticed you used a lot of dithering, that is generally used to blend two or more colors together. However you are using a lot of colors in that piece (16) so I'd suggest either reducing the color count or removing the dithering. Try not to ever use pure black in pixel art too, it tends to bleed and overpower.
@Lilyo: You've done a good job on this, and it stays close to the original. There is still some banding, especially on the yellow highlights on his coat and hat. A little anti aliasing would help with that. You also are using 16 colors here, which isn't exactly a negative but it could be done with a lot less. Try to see what colors are close to each other and just use on of them instead. Again the highlights are a good example, you could use the lightest color of his skin for these instead of a new yellow.
Here is my take on it so you guys can see what I am talking about:
This only uses 10 colors, there is some banding on the bottom of his hat and his shoulder, but I did it in a rush. These could be fixed with a few pixels for AA.
Twitter: @Levaunt