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Pixel Art - Resources, Terminology and Tutorials. [New November 2010 Thread]

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    Pixel Art - Resources, Terminology and Tutorials


    Table of Contents
    [alink id=intro]→Introduction[/alink id]
    [alink id=source]→Resources[/alink id]
    [alink id=teejay]→Terminology & Jargon[/alink id]
    [alink id=tutors]→Tutorials[/alink id]

    [a id]intro[/a id]

    Introduction

    Hello! Welcome to the new Resources, Guides and Terminology thread where you can take a look at what pixel art is, the jargon of pixel art, tutorials and resources for your pixelling needs!

    [a id]source[/a id]

    Resources


    Sprite needs
    https://www.spriters-resource.com/ - A great resource for sprites with a variety of sprites from different consoles and many different games.

    *pokemonelite2000 link removed* - Another great resource specifically for Pokémon sprites. Currently they have every Pokémon sprite up to the HG/SS games.

    www.dragonflycave.com - This link is a Pokémon sprite resource but also a nifty tool for your fusion idea needs!

    www.veekun.com - Another Pokémon sprite resource with a lot of sprites including the new Black and White Pokémon.

    Tools

    *link removed* - A custom made program designed for spriting and pixel art.

    [a id]teejay[/a id]

    Terminology & Jargon

    [a id]toc[/a id]Table Of Contents
    [alink id=define]Terminology & Defining Pixel Art[/alink id]
    [alink id=jargon]Pixel Art Jargon[/alink id]
    [alink id=pngftw]→PNG & JPEG[/alink id]
    [alink id=lineart]→Lineart[/alink id]
    [alink id=antially]→Anti-Aliasing[/alink id]
    [alink id=shading]→Shading[/alink id]
    [alink id=saturate]→Saturation[/alink id]
    [alink id=contraftw]→Contrast[/alink id]
    [alink id=scratch]→Scratch/Custom Sprite[/alink id]
    [alink id=dither]→Dithering[/alink id]
    [alink id=edit]→Sprite Edit[/alink id]
    [alink id=iso]→Isometric Pixel Art[/alink id]
    [alink id=light]→Lightsource[/alink id]
    [alink id=pillow]→Pillow Shading[/alink id]
    [alink id=splire]→Splicing and Recolouring[/alink id]

    [a id]define[/a id]

    Terminology & Defining Pixel Art

    Pixel art - A form of digital art, in which images are edited on the pixel level. This does not necessarily mean that every single pixel must be placed by hand, but instead only for the most part, depending on what is considered pure pixel art. The use of things like the fill tool and brush tools are (arguably) valid tools for pixel art as they only speed up the process of creating pixel art. Use of filters such as anti-aliasing and such, however, are not considered valid. You can, however, manually simulate anti-aliasing.

    A common misconception is that any drawing done with the pencil tool in a small drawing space can be considered pixel art. Pixel art is categorized by the method of drawing, not the results. Don't not confuse pixel art for oekaki drawings.

    That was a paraphrased version, you can read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_Art

    Spriting - In this context, spriting refers to the creation or manipulation of existing sprites. A sprite by definition is a 2-dimensional, prerendered image integrated into a larger scene. Spriting can include combining pieces of multiple existing sprites to create a single sprite, recoloring an existing sprite, creating a new sprite from scratch, and so on.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/spriting
    Credit to Allstories

    [a id]jargon[/a id]

    Pixel Art Jargon

    Pixel Art has a lot of words in its language that some people may not know about or understand.

    [a id]pngftw[/a id]PNG & JPEG
    [alink id=toc]Back to Table of Contents[/alink id]
    PNG and JPEG are basically two different types of ways to save picture files. PNG should always be the first save type to save pixel art, GIFs are a second and are commonly used for pixel art animations.
    JPEG
    I'd like to talk a little about JPEG. JPEG is a save type you would always want to avoid saving a pixel art as, it creates unnecessary pixels and fragments into your pixel art which makes the piece unprofessional and is an eyesore.

    PNG
    PNG should (like I said above) always be the first save type for your pixel art. Unlike JPEG, it keeps the quality clean and is safe to save your pixel art as.

    [a id]lineart[/a id]Lineart
    [alink id=toc]Back to Table of Contents[/alink id]
    Lineart is basically the outlining of the sprite. It's more of a starting point of any sprite and is usually started first for any piece. Of course eventually the lineart is coloured and selective outlining is used. Selective outlining is mostly in Pokémon sprites where they colour in the lineart with a brighter shade to show depth and positioning of the sprite.
    Examples of Lineart
    Spoiler:

    Credits to members of PJ and TSR

    [a id]antially[/a id]Anti-Aliasing
    [alink id=toc]Back to Table of Contents[/alink id]
    Anti-Aliasing is when you put pixels at the edge with a similar hue,saturation and lightness/darkness to make the area look more smooth. This is usually done with lineart and shading. The Pokémon sprites mostly use this technique.
    A look of Anti-Aliasing
    Spoiler:


    Examples of Anti-Aliasing
    Spoiler:

    Credits to Nintendo

    [a id]shading[/a id]Shading
    [alink id=toc]Back to Table of Contents[/alink id]
    Basically what determines how much depth the piece has and what makes the sprite look more 3D than making it look 2D and flat.
    Tutorial on Shading & A look on shading
    Spoiler:

    Credits to members of PJ

    [a id]saturate[/a id]Saturation
    [alink id=toc]Back to Table of Contents[/alink id]
    Saturation is the intensity of a colour. The more saturated it is, the more bright and vivid it is. Less saturation causes the colour to look more grey-ish and more dull.

    A look at Saturation
    Spoiler:


    [a id]contraftw[/a id]Contrast
    [alink id=toc]Back to Table of Contents[/alink id]
    Basically the difference between the colours. High contrast means more difference and low contrast means less of a difference.

    Example of Contrast
    Spoiler:

    Credits to members of TSR

    [a id]scratch[/a id]Scratch/Custom Sprite
    [alink id=toc]Back to Table of Contents[/alink id]
    A custom sprite is made from 100% scratch, meaning you did not use anything as a base and it is a completely new sprite.

    Example of a Scratch/Custom Sprite
    Spoiler:

    Credit to Gors of TSR

    [a id]dither[/a id]Dithering
    [alink id=toc]Back to Table of Contents[/alink id]
    A great technique with a use of cross-hatching to create mid-tones and a way to use less colours.

    A look at Dithering
    Spoiler:


    Example of Dithering
    Spoiler:


    [a id]edit[/a id]Sprite Edit
    [alink id=toc]Back to Table of Contents[/alink id]
    Commonly made in Pokémon sprites. A sprite edit is where you take a sprite as a base and make minor or heavy edits of it.

    Examples of a Sprite Edit
    Spoiler:

    Credits to members of TSR

    [a id]iso[/a id]Isometric Pixel Art
    [alink id=toc]Back to Table of Contents[/alink id]
    A spriting style with a different perspective.

    Spherical Ice's Isometric Tutorial
    Spoiler:


    Examples of Isometric Pixel Art
    Spoiler:

    Credits to members of PJ

    [a id]light[/a id]Lightsource
    [alink id=toc]Back to Table of Contents[/alink id]
    The lightsource shouldn't be hard to define. It's the source of light in your pixelart and where the light is coming from. A lightsource is needed to shade things properly.

    [a id]pillow[/a id]Pillow Shading
    [alink id=toc]Back to Table of Contents[/alink id]
    This technique of shading is a common mistake for beginners and first-time spriters. Pillow shading is when the darkest shade is on the sides of the sprite and it starts getting brighter as you start shading to the middle. It shows no depth and its recommended to not shade like this. It's very similar to banding. The first picture in the spoiler is pillow shading, the second picture is how you should be shading with a consistent lightsource.

    A look at Pillow Shading
    Spoiler:


    [a id]splire[/a id]Splicing and Recolouring
    [alink id=toc]Back to Table of Contents[/alink id]
    Splicing is where you fuse two existing sprites together. VERY common with Pokémon sprites where spriters take two existing Pokémon sprites and add parts/colour from another into another.
    Recolouring is simple and not difficult to do. Recolouring is where you replace colours of sprites for different colours. Again, very common with Pokémon sprites.

    Examples of Splicing
    Spoiler:

    I made these.

    Examples of Recolouring
    Spoiler:


    [a id]tutors[/a id]

    Tutorials

    This is a list of tutorials regarding pixel art only.

    Chesu's Tutorial - Pokécommunity's very own large tutorial bank regarding pixel art from Chesu.
    Lineart - A small tutorial about simple straight lines.
    *image removed* - A nifty tutorial about how to do anti-aliasing and what should be avoided.
    *image removed* - A short tutorial about cleaning up lineart and some curves.
    *image removed* - A tutorial to show was dither looks like and how it can be done.
    *image removed* - A great tutorial about palettes and colours.
    Shading*image removed*/(2) - Small tutorials about shading.
    Texture Shading - Different types of materials and how to shade them.
    A lot of credit to PJ members

    Pokemon Black and White Animation tutorial - as the title says. great tutorial by PC member Magicsaur

    if you have any comments or a useful tutorial you want to be added, please feel free to VM or PM Logiedan
    (old thread) old credits go out to Allstories, Kenji, Kike Scott, Chesu, Fox♠, Amachi, Signomi, ArmidilloHD, Sapphire_Dragon, Tendo, _DarkDragon_, Espio, RoteKatze, Spherical ice and Dark pegasus
    [alink id=top]Go the top of the post[/alink id]
     
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