Im not a great pixelartist, but despite of this I want to recall another possibility to paint with less pixels.
(im new here, so sorry if that has allready been posted, (or is complete useless))
Sometimes (only sometimes - depends on what you are painting) it leads to better results, if you paint a biiiig picture and than resize the result to a smaaaaaaaal pixel picture.
I did that with a small branch. (i painted these pics just as an example, i did NOT spend much time for this)
1. pixel painting on a 15x30 pixels (~ 2 minutes)
2a) painting on 375x750 pixels ( ~ 1minute )
2b) resized to 15x30 pixels
If you compare the two pictures you can see many differences.
The output of the second method can of course lead to problems, as there is no outline and there are pixels which make only sense on white backround as seen below. despite of problems like that, it can be a useful technique, if you keep the problems in mind while working.
[edit] you have to work on an extra layer, to avoid that effect if you copy the pic into another.
Examples with the branch on grass (as a tile)
1. pixel branch cut into grass, slight shadow added
2. painted branch (has to be painted on an extra layer to have transparent backround - important! ) cut into grass, resized, slight shadow added
again you can see differences, the 2. pic looks softer, less eye-catching, that can - as an example - be useful for a backround tile you can walk through.
That means, if you plan to insert the pic (e.g. rock, branch...) into another, than you can avoid the effect seen in the blue picture.
Technique for Pixel artist
Technique for Pixel artist
Last edited by JJJP on 11 Aug 2007, 14:24, edited 3 times in total.
I would strongly avoid using this technique for creating pixel art. I would even controvert the statement that the result could be called pixel art at all.
As you see in this example the image gets extremely blurred. You can avoid this by using no interpolation (GIMP, for example, supports this) but the outcome will seldomly be useful and always require a lot of correction work that will cost you even more time. You will also have to redo the texture and all the small details that will be lost or hopefully desorted in resizing. And these are usually the biggest timekiller in pixel art.
I have occasionally been using resizing when creating my map tiles but I usually did so only with the first shape scetch before applying any shading or texture. The moment you add any detail resizing the image automatically will destroy it.
Conclusion: Working in the size it is supposed to be usually leads to better results in less time.
As you see in this example the image gets extremely blurred. You can avoid this by using no interpolation (GIMP, for example, supports this) but the outcome will seldomly be useful and always require a lot of correction work that will cost you even more time. You will also have to redo the texture and all the small details that will be lost or hopefully desorted in resizing. And these are usually the biggest timekiller in pixel art.
I have occasionally been using resizing when creating my map tiles but I usually did so only with the first shape scetch before applying any shading or texture. The moment you add any detail resizing the image automatically will destroy it.
Conclusion: Working in the size it is supposed to be usually leads to better results in less time.
Last edited by Crush on 11 Aug 2007, 14:00, edited 1 time in total.
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Of course you are right, but I still wouldnt damn it to hell to paint big pictures. for beginners it is very difficult to think in pixels, so it can be easier to paint big pictures (like you are used to in real world ) and than work with the resized one. The outline problem is big, I know. I just suggested that as an possibility, not as the best way.Crush wrote:I would strongly avoid using automatic resizing in pixel art. As you see in this example the image gets extremely blurred. You can avoid this by using no interpolation (GIMP, for example, supports this) but the outcome will seldomly be useful and always require a lot of correction work that will cost you even more time.
I have occasionally been using resizing when creating my map tiles but I usually did so only with the first shape scetch before applying any shading or texture.
Working in the size it is supposed to be usually leads to better results in less time.