uncle despains super pixel tut :)

[+ Super Saiyan Gary Sinise 199]

so hey i am working on a massive multi-part pixel art tutorial. i've written a lot of little tutorials and stuff in the past (unfortunately most of them are long lost). the goal here is to cover a shitload of topics, from the most basic to some pretty advanced stuff later on—as well as lots of smaller instructional lessons along the way.

 

as of now i have the first few sections done. i wasn't originally going to post this but it's probably gonna be a LONG TIME before this thing is actually finished, so i'm going to release the sections in a blog format: they'll be updated whenever I create a new one. i'll update this topic whenever i make a new part, too.

 

because they're pretty long and have a lot of images i'm going to link to them, but i'll give a description.

• Introduction
  just the introduction to the series: it outlines my goals and philosophies
  

​

• Thinking in Color
  mostly this article covers some of the very basics: color terms worth knowing. it's sort of introductory into the next section
  

​

• Read Between the Pixels
  contrast! this section goes into detail explaining how to get the most out of the contrast between your colors
  

​

• Using and Choosing Colors
  this is a big one—it's all about color choice and creating a color palette. this is the tutorial that is most often requested. so hopefully a lot of people will find it useful.
  

​

• Form and Light
  okay now we actually start making stuff—this one is all about how to build with forms, and at the end we make an rpg object
  

​

• Creating an RPG Sprite Base
  you asked for it and here it is: how to create your own rpg sprite base from scratch. :-)
  

​

• Tiling Tiles
  fffuck yeah! time to create a grass tile! also includes some useful information about clusters and stuff.
  

​

• Building on a Sprite Base
  now we finally put some clothes on that template and make a character out of it
  

​

• Basics of Animation
  squash and stretch and anticipation and followthrough we cover the necessary basics so we can dive into real animation soon
  

 

i'm also using the same site for my writing tutorials and if i create any more rpgmaker resources i'll set up a section for them.

 

i would appreciate not only feedback on these articles, but also SUGGESTIONS and REQUESTS. i have some very speficic ideas about where I want to go next, but i'm gonna leave you with an important question:

 

what do you want to see in a pixel tutorial?

Edited February 5, 2012 by this economy

[xmartyr7 45]

Wow, you're very good at writing tutorials, dude. I don't do much pixel work, but reading this taught me some stuff anyways. Like the colour palette. Good work. Now onto your character development tutorial!!!

[EBelle 12]

Goodie! I never really understood shading. Or contrast. Or any kind of term involving pixel art.

 

 

But, uh, yeah. I'll have to read through these! Nice job, Despain!

[Bernkastel 0]

Great tutorial. Read them all. I cant wait for it to be extended. What I really want to see is how to go about creating the structure of a human with pixels. My biggest problem if I ever try to sprite is I cant get things to look right at all. Thanks!

[Legacy 30]

I sketch my art first in full size, take square blocks, block it, and then scale to size and correct it.

[Frondo 10]

the guide is godlike! keep up the good work!

[Legacy 30]

I'd love to see a tutorial on how to get moving sprite fluid. !

[+ Super Saiyan Gary Sinise 199]

thanks for the comments guys

 

the next part is going to cover basic techniques and will probably be a walkthrough of a couple static objects—a barrel or bush or maybe a tree or something. after that it'll go into anatomy (and rpg anatomy) and creating characters and stuff.

 

animation is going to be huge and will have multiple parts to it. it'll be a ways off, though, because while i LOVE animation and really want to get into it, i need to lay down the important basics first.

[Bernkastel 0]

Ah, makes sense, yeah. My only problem is if I can't figure out how to "shape" something, then I cant even begin to practice coloring things. thanks again!

[Legacy 30]

How to shape something? Do as I do. Rough sketch, then take large blockes, outline, and then fill in.

[Knightmare 170]

Heck yeah D, anything to help someone who sucks at art stuff (me) to try and get some basic pointers is definetely welcome.

[+ Super Saiyan Gary Sinise 199]

new tutorial is up!

 

yaaay check it out

 

Form and Light

okay now we actually start making stuff—this one is all about how to build with forms, and at the end we make an rpg object

 

Edited January 3, 2012 by RATED-DKODESPAIN

[+ Archeia 160]

Good job Despain~

I like how you gave examples of different light source shading It should help a lot of people~

[Rukiri 28]

From another pixel artist to another I must admit these look amazing!

Excellent tutorial!

 

I wouldn't know where to begin if I wrote tutorials.

[+ PentagonBuddy 24]

Useful stuff! I like the big compilation type things, it is just a convenient smash-up of knowledge and feels less like being tenderly cradled by step-by-step hands. I am no pixel whiz, so even basic stuff like REMEMBER THE CONTRAST is good to be reminded of every now and then.

[+ Super Saiyan Gary Sinise 199]

ok chums you asked for it:

 

new tutorial on creating sprites

 

yaaaay a new tutorial

Edited January 6, 2012 by Despain

[Knightmare 170]

Nice piece of work D, there might be hope for me after all. Appreciate you taking your time to make these.

[+ Super Saiyan Gary Sinise 199]

hellz yeah. ​still going strong! new tutorial is up:

 

• Tiling Tiles
  fffuck yeah! time to create a grass tile! also includes some useful information about clusters and stuff.
  

Edited January 12, 2012 by Despain

[Knightmare 170]

Man even with all these nice easy to follow tuts, I'm still sucking hardcore...there's no hope for me.

[+ Shiro 70]

Despain has had years of practise, even with tuts you still have to work a while before you work will get really good. Also its alot about making your own style.

[Knightmare 170]

Despain has had years of practise, even with tuts you still have to work a while before you work will get really good. Also its alot about making your own style.

 

Yeah I suppose you're right. I'll just have to keep working at it and once I have some idea of what I'm doing I can try to do my own style. Thanks.

[Shadonn 12]

Well Despain I figured I'd tell you I read from start to finish your tutorial last night. I liked the idea of starting off with a silhoutte. I've always wanted to get to a point where I could make my own graphics. In fact it's a dream of mine. I'll be reffering to your tutorial probably a mulitple of times. I loved how in depth it was. It was greatly put together. If I sent you a WIP of something I'm making would you be willing to give me some critiques?

[Radscythe 72]

The tiling tiles tutorial gave me a bit more insight on how to chain the floor tiles and such. I'll show you what I created after reading up on it; since you (rightly so) would like to see more custom stuff.

 

Grassland:

 

Grass:

 

Ground:

 

 

Oh, and Knightmare I don't know how long Despain's been at it, but I've been doing this pretty seriously for a couple of years...so yeah man practice, I sucked at first too and could only piece things together...God I remember when I could barely recolor stuff let alone make things from scratch.

Edited January 14, 2012 by Radscythe

[+ Super Saiyan Gary Sinise 199]

If I sent you a WIP of something I'm making would you be willing to give me some critiques?

 

yeah man def. go ahead and post em in this thread or here.

 

I'll show you what I created after reading up on it; since you (rightly so) would like to see more custom stuff.

 

these are sweet bro.

 

my only big problem is that the grass might be too noisy, especially with those colors (also the black and darkest green could be merged imo, and you have two darkmid greens that are REALLY SIMILAR and should be merged). it's worth testing out the tiles with actual sprites and making sure that the sprites are the ones drawing attention.

[amerk 1,122]

Creating/Spriting your own grass tiles may be the best tutorial we've received so far. Awesome job with this.