Connect the Dots: A Pixel Art Competition

Started by The 100 Mega Shock July 14th, 2011 9:46 AM
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  • 39 replies

The 100 Mega Shock

Male
Seen March 10th, 2013
Posted March 23rd, 2012
1,234 posts
12.7 Years


The Dots, Connected

Awarded for contributing to the Get-Together 8 Pixel Art Contest.



Third's The Charm

Awarded for placing third in the Get-Together 8 Pixel Art Contest.



Second Helpings

Awarded for placing second in the Get-Together 8 Pixel Art Contest.

And many more.





Pixel Art, Dot Graphics, Sprites - all terms used to talk about graphics created from the simplest things displayed on our computer screens, the pixel. By carefully manipluating the placement and colour of each individual pixel, artists have been representing a massive range of characters and places for over 30 years. This event is for anyone from the budding spriter to the experienced pixel artist to come together in celebration of Pokémon pixel graphics for fun and community spirit.


Get ready for Big Money*, Big Prizes - I love it

The challenge is simple - create the best piece of art you can weilding the simple yet powerful abilites of pixels. Use any type of computer graphics software, from the humble Paint to specialist applications like Graphics Gale, or fully-featured graphics suites like Photoshop and GIMP.

As long as what you're drawing is in some way related to Pokémon, there are no other restrictions in terms of theme. Consider ideas like a summer scene, a scene of companionship, or rivallry - or just draw your favourite Pokémon, whatever suits you best.

If you're uncertain about drawing pixel art and wish for help and advice, be sure to check out [URL="http://www.pokecommunity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55"]the Pixel Art forum.





Format



Maximum Image Size: 256 x 192 px


(Equivalent to a single DS screen)


Maximum Colour Count: Unlimited

Animation: None

The preferred image format is either PNG or GIF. (More on this below)

Amendment: Original works only. No editing or cutting together existing sprites will be allowed.






Three Big Rules



As this is a pixel art event, there are a few rules which apply to all images submitted as to ensure that they can be classified as 'pixel art' along with being in a state that can be adequetely judged.


1. Entries must not be saved as JPG files.



JPG images are what's known as a 'lossy' format, which sacrifice some detail in the image to lower the file size. This is barely noticable on large images like photos, however the compression techniques don't know what to do when they find pixel art, and cause the destructive effect you can see above. Any submissions that appear to have been saved in JPG and affected by the compression will not be considered valid.


2. Entries must not show signs of automatic resizing (enlargment or shrinking)





Using a drawing program to automatically enlarge or shrink an image causes the pixels to be distorted, either blurring them or casuing the size of each pixel to be irregular and 'jumpy'. Both of these effects make it harder to accurately dicipher pixel art and as such, any entries that show signs of pixels that have been resized and therefore distored by computer will be deemed invalid.

It is preferred that entries are submitted in their original size. If you need to make an image larger, people can use the zoom function in their web browsers, or copy it into a program such as Paint and use the zoom tool from there, without modifying the original image.


3. Entries must be drawn in pixels only





Most drawing software allows the user to draw with both simple pixels and smoother brushes, what are known as 'anti-aliasing' - as seen on the second part of the image.

This is an event for pixel art, as a result submissions must only be drawn in pixels, not using the smooth anti-aliased tools seen above. You can use whatever program or tools to draw with, like lines or shapes as long as they don't cause this effect.






Submissions



Submissions can be made by including your entry along with your post.You can upload your image to any image hosting service such as Imgur, Tinypic, Photobucket and many others.

Users who do not have the ability to add links to their posts may sumbit theirs via adding them as attachments to their posts ('Manage Attachments'), and other members who prefer to do this are also free to submit their entry this way.

The submission period ends on Thursday July 21 at 11:59 PM, after which no more entries will be accepted. Shortly after, the entries will be evaluated and judged by myself and the lovely Luke and Abnegation, looking at the qualities of the concept of the piece, how well it has been designed, and the quality of the pixel art itself. Everyone who enters the contest with a valid piece will recieve the aforementioned particpation emblem in appriciation of their effort and contributions to the community while those who submitted the top three entries will also recieve special individual emblems, guaranteed to be a conversation piece for years to come.



Good luck for anyone who wishes to enter, and have fun.


*no actual money is involved
†prizes are not that big
‡i dont


FIN

.Aero

Tell Me I'm A Screwed Up Mess

Age 29
Male
Columbus, Ohio
Seen July 27th, 2016
Posted July 1st, 2016
1,767 posts
15.9 Years

Regular | Shiny

I expected more participation in this thread when I originally saw it. D: I'm very surprised to see it hasn't gotten any action at all. :<

Also, this is my first attempt at spriting ever (if that matters at all ;] ).

Superjub

Pokémon Aureolin

Age 28
Male
Hoenn
Seen August 23rd, 2022
Posted November 5th, 2014
2,288 posts
15.7 Years
Warning: The Jirachi sucks... a lot. XD

So, I was debating between Jirachi, Espeon and Blaziken. I chose Jirachi because I thought I could base it around the white rock in Mossdeep. It's not entirely accurate, but there is a white rock. XP And a Jirachi, obviously. The Jirachi's palette is from the B/W sprite, and I'm fairly sure the rest of the palette is custom. It's 100 x 100. An yes, it's third eye is open. :P I just thought that since the pixel art is based on a Hoenn palce, I may as well have its eye open like the R/S/E sprite. :D And I always imagine the white rck as being shiny and smooth, IDK why though. XD


Good luck everyone. :)

-ty-

Don't Ask, Just Tell

Male
USA
Seen May 2nd, 2015
Posted December 22nd, 2012
792 posts
13.6 Years
About not using the anti-aliasing tools... What if we don't use any tools to give a more smooth anti-alias effect? Since there is not a palette restriction I can overshade to make a smooth-ish image.

Don't be a rotten apple!
Check-out my Forbitten to see the latest developments in the Kenbi Region
!

Age 32
Male
Seen January 10th, 2023
Posted October 20th, 2020
138 posts
15.3 Years
Guess I'll be using Smilancien as an entry then. With regular and shiny sprites together.

Hope it's still time to submit my entry, otherwise, just ignore it. xD
Hi. :P
I'm Brazilian, by the way, so feel free to speak portuguese with me. ;)
I do like breeding a lot, being a bit of a maniac for Luxury Balls. So if you want anything bred in a Luxury Ball, chances are I can do it for you. Check my spreadsheet of available parents! (Gen 7) ^^

vaporeon7

My life would suck without you

Male
Preparing for trouble and making it double.
Seen September 6th, 2016
Posted May 27th, 2014
5,143 posts
12.7 Years
Mine is junk, but I tried...
And hey, it was my first attempt at using pixels.

Phantore, the Haunted Sand Pokemon.
Steel/Ghost
Age 5
Male
battlefield
Seen September 28th, 2022
Posted January 9th, 2022
2,982 posts
14.2 Years
I was going to scrath,just wanted to know,cuz that would make my life so easier
Altho Logiedan is winning.That masterpiece deserves first place T.T
We don't know that yet! Don't let my entry demotivate you, so you should keep spriting and enter. (:

project ember