How Big Should Your Pixel Art Be for a Game
[Original article]
This is part i of a 3-part series on how to do pixel fine art. In part 2, we create Red from the gameTransistor in a style inspired bySuper Time Force Ultra. In office three, nosotros create a vibrant scene in a style inspired byHyper Low-cal Drifter. Part 2 and Part three are currently in progress.
Pixel art is a lot of fun. I picked it upward just last calendar week for Crawling.io'southward Loading Screen Jam, and information technology turned out to not be likewise difficult one time I got the hang of it. In this tutorial I'g going to utilize the image manipulation program GIMP, which is similar to Photoshop merely free and open up source. Office 1 of this series will cover the basics and showcase the key tools you need to reach pixel perfect art.
Prototype Size
Nearly all monitors nowadays have an aspect ratio of 16:9 (width to height ratio), which means that for every 16 pixels in the width, at that place are nine pixels in the height. The current standard resolution is 1080p (1080 pixels in the pinnacle). To accomplish a pixel perfect await, yous need a resolution with a 16:nine attribute ratio that scales up to 1080p.
For instance,Hyper Light Out-of-stater has a resolution of 480x270 (270p with an aspect ration of sixteen:nine). 270p is 4 times smaller than 1080p. This is how it looks in-game:
Grapheme sprites are treated differently and are generally of the size 16x16, 24x24, 32x32, and 64x64. For a size reference, the character above is a 32x32 sprite.
Layers
Similar well-nigh art programs, GIMP works in layers, which helps organize your drawing into parts and allows you to edit each function without affecting the others. It'due south good do to have each nugget or very like avails in their own layer. If yous're drawing a scene for a town, for example, each edifice and prop would be in its own layer. A grapheme sprite could take one layer for the head, one for the wearing apparel, and one for the weapons.
Pencil (N)
ThePencil is your primary cartoon tool because it colors each pixel without any anti-aliasing. ThePaintbrush, on the other hand, has anti-aliasing and will attempt to shine over the pixels wherever yous draw. This results in "muddy" pixels. The following GIF shows how they await (Pencil on the left,Paintbrush on the right).
Remember to set the "Size" to 1 under the Tool Options to depict a single pixel. Hold "Shift" on the keyboard to draw a line.
Eraser (Shift + E)
TheEraseris the opposite of thePenciltool: it will remove the pixel on the current layer. Remember to put a check on the choice "Difficult edge:" under the Tool Options; otherwise, it will enable anti-aliasing. The following GIF shows what happens when y'all have "Hard border:" unchecked (left) and checked (right).
You lot can also hold "Shift" on the keyboard to erase in a direct line. Prepare the "Size" to 1 under the Tool Options to erase one pixel at a time.
Select
TheSelecttool comes in many forms. Shown on the left side in the Toolbox window, in that location are 3 options toRectangle Select (R),Ellipse Select (E), andFree Select (F). Shown on the right side in the menu is the selection to selectBy Colour (Shift + O).
You tin select an area and restrict any edits you make to just that area in the current layer. For example, here I apply theRectangle Select to color simply the body of her shirt.
And and then I use the selectPast Color selection to lighten up her hair color.
To deselect, right click on your option, hover over toSelect, and so click onNone.
Move (1000)
TheMove tool allows you to movement layers on a pixel by pixel ground. This is expert when y'all want to shift avails, such every bit the graphic symbol'due south caput or certain props in your scene. Retrieve to have the "Layer" selection chosen in the Tool Options.
The dotted line around the layer is called the Layer Boundary, which like theSelection tool prohibits whatever edits on the layer outside the boundary. When you motility the layer, the Layer Boundary moves along with it. You tin customize the Layer Boundary by correct-clicking on the layer and choosing "Layer Purlieus Size." Or, y'all tin automatically adjust the Layer Boundary to fit the sheet by right-clicking on the layer and choosing "Layer to Image Size."
The Motility tool can too piece of work in conjunction withCut & Paste andSelect to move a selection of a layer. In the following GIF, I apply theFree Selecttool to cut the caput and then paste information technology back into the current layer. When the selection is pasted, information technology is placed in a temporary layer called a Floating Selection, which you lot can movement around and edit. Once you're done moving the Floating Option into the desired position, you must right-click on the Floating Selection layer and cull "Anchor layer" to place it into the current layer.
You can besides put the Floating Selection into its ain layer past right-clicking on the Floating Pick layer and choosing "To New Layer".
Saucepan Fill (Shift + B)
The proficient ol' fill tool from Microsoft paint. Use thePencil tool to describe an enclosed shape. With theBucket Fill tool called, click anywhere inside the shape and information technology will automatically make full the expanse with the chief colour.
Colour Picker (O)
TheColor Picker tool sets the primary color to the color of the pixel that you click on. Because pixels are quite noticeable, it'due south skilful to use the same color and subtle variations of it equally much as possible for a particular nugget; otherwise, you lot'll get a "dirty" mesh of colors that doesn't look overnice.
Zoom In (+), Zoom Out (-)
Pixel art requires you to zoom in to describe in each pixel (ane pixel off makes a huge difference!) but to zoom out to see if your drawing looks good at a macro level. This is especially truthful when yous're working on a large canvas with a lot of particular.
In the following image of Red from the gameTransistor, notice how jagged her her legs and arms are when I'm zoomed in. It's unclear to me whether her pose looks proficient or not, only in one case I zoom out I become a better feel for the overall look of the picture.
Alloy (L)
The Blend tool applies a gradient over a layer or over a selection. GIMP provides a nice list of pre-fabricated gradients to choose from in the "Layers" window.
Traditional pixel art uses dithering to make a transition between two colors, but an case below fromHyper Light Out-of-stater shows that applying a gradient can requite a really vibrant seasonto the scene.
Patterns
GIMP offers the capability to add patterns. I haven't used it personally but I imagine it can exist quite useful for assets that use a repeating texture, such equally the ground inSpelunky.
Terminal Words
In the next part ( will be published shortly! ), I draw Red from the gameTransistor using a majority of the tools described hither.
Source: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/art/pixel-art-tutorial-part-1-basics-tools
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