How Big Should I Make a Pixel Art Background

[Original article]

This is part 1 of a three-part series on how to do pixel fine art. In part 2, we create Blood-red from the gameTransistor in a fashion inspired bySuper Time Force Ultra. In part 3, nosotros create a vibrant scene in a manner inspired pastHyper Light Drifter. Function 2 and Role 3 are currently in progress.

Pixel fine art is a lot of fun. I picked it up only concluding week for Itch.io's Loading Screen Jam, and information technology turned out to not exist also difficult once I got the hang of it. In this tutorial I'm going to use the image manipulation program GIMP, which is similar to Photoshop only gratis and open up source. Function 1 of this series volition cover the nuts and showcase the central tools you lot need to attain pixel perfect art.

Image Size

Nearly all monitors nowadays take an aspect ratio of sixteen:9 (width to superlative ratio), which means that for every 16 pixels in the width, in that location are nine pixels in the meridian. The current standard resolution is 1080p (1080 pixels in the meridian). To achieve a pixel perfect expect, you demand a resolution with a 16:9 aspect ratio that scales upwards to 1080p.

For example,Hyper Light Out-of-stater has a resolution of 480x270 (270p with an aspect ration of 16:9). 270p is iv times smaller than 1080p. This is how it looks in-game:

Character sprites are treated differently and are mostly of the size 16x16, 24x24, 32x32, and 64x64. For a size reference, the grapheme above is a 32x32 sprite.

Layers

Similar most art programs, GIMP works in layers, which helps organize your drawing into parts and allows y'all to edit each function without affecting the others. Information technology's skilful exercise to have each asset or very similar avails in their ain layer. If you lot're drawing a scene for a boondocks, for instance, each building and prop would be in its own layer. A character sprite could take 1 layer for the head, one for the clothes, and one for the weapons.

Pencil (Northward)

ThePencil is your primary drawing tool because it colors each pixel without whatever anti-aliasing. ThePaintbrush, on the other hand, has anti-aliasing and volition attempt to smoothen over the pixels wherever you draw. This results in "dirty" pixels. The following GIF shows how they look (Pencil on the left,Paintbrush on the right).

Remember to set the "Size" to one nether the Tool Options to describe a single pixel. Agree "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 option "Hard edge:" under the Tool Options; otherwise, information technology will enable anti-aliasing. The following GIF shows what happens when you take "Hard edge:" unchecked (left) and checked (correct).

You tin as well concur "Shift" on the keyboard to erase in a direct line. Set up the "Size" to ane 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, there are three options toRectangle Select (R),Ellipse Select (Due east), andComplimentary Select (F). Shown on the right side in the card is the option to selectBy Color (Shift + O).

You can select an area and restrict any edits you brand to just that area in the current layer. For example, here I employ theRectangle Select to color only the body of her shirt.

And then I employ the selectBy Color choice to lighten up her hair colour.

To deselect, correct click on your selection, hover over toSelect, and and so click onNone.

Move (M)

TheMovement tool allows you to move layers on a pixel by pixel footing. This is skilful when you want to shift avails, such every bit the grapheme'southward head or certain props in your scene. Recall to accept the "Layer" option chosen in the Tool Options.

The dotted line around the layer is called the Layer Purlieus, which similar theSelection tool prohibits whatsoever edits on the layer exterior the purlieus. When you move the layer, the Layer Boundary moves forth with it. You tin customize the Layer Purlieus by correct-clicking on the layer and choosing "Layer Boundary Size." Or, you can automatically adjust the Layer Boundary to fit the canvas by correct-clicking on the layer and choosing "Layer to Image Size."

The Move tool tin can besides work in conjunction withCut & Paste andSelect to move a selection of a layer. In the post-obit GIF, I use theFree Selecttool to cut the head and then paste it back into the current layer. When the selection is pasted, it is placed in a temporary layer called a Floating Selection, which y'all can motility around and edit. Once y'all're done moving the Floating Choice into the desired position, you must right-click on the Floating Selection layer and choose "Anchor layer" to place it into the current layer.

Yous tin as well put the Floating Selection into its own layer by right-clicking on the Floating Selection layer and choosing "To New Layer".

Bucket Fill (Shift + B)

The skillful ol' fill tool from Microsoft paint. Use thePencil tool to depict an enclosed shape. With theBucket Fill tool chosen, click anywhere inside the shape and it will automatically fill the expanse with the primary color.

Color Picker (O)

TheColour Picker tool sets the primary colour to the colour of the pixel that you click on. Considering pixels are quite noticeable, information technology'due south practiced to apply the same color and subtle variations of it equally much as possible for a particular nugget; otherwise, you'll get a "muddied" mesh of colors that doesn't look nice.

Zoom In (+), Zoom Out (-)

Pixel fine art requires y'all to zoom in to draw in each pixel (one pixel off makes a huge difference!) but to zoom out to see if your drawing looks good at a macro level. This is especially true when y'all're working on a large sail with a lot of item.

In the following epitome of Red from the gameTransistor, observe how jagged her her legs and artillery are when I'm zoomed in. Information technology's unclear to me whether her pose looks good or not, but in one case I zoom out I get a better feel for the overall await of the picture.

Blend (50)

The Blend tool applies a gradient over a layer or over a selection. GIMP provides a squeamish listing of pre-fabricated gradients to choose from in the "Layers" window.

Traditional pixel art uses dithering to make a transition betwixt two colors, merely an example below fromHyper Light Drifter shows that applying a gradient can give a really vibrant flavorto the scene.

Patterns

GIMP offers the capability to add patterns. I haven't used it personally just I imagine it can be quite useful for avails that employ a repeating texture, such as the ground inSpelunky.

Terminal Words

In the adjacent role ( will be published soon! ), I draw Red from the gameTransistor using a bulk of the tools described hither.

coleydeve1973.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/art/pixel-art-tutorial-part-1-basics-tools

Share this post