Translator's Notes

This massive pixel art tutorial is written by Fil Razorback from LesForges.org. You can find the original tutorials here. A big thank you to Fil Razorback for allowing OpenGameArt.org to translate these tutorials and archive them here!

Preface

There are many definitions of the pixel-art, but here we will just one: an image is pixel-art if it is created entirely by hand and that he had control of the color and position of each pixel which composes. Clearly, in pixel-art on or use brushes or tools blurred or degraded machines and other software options that "modern" put at our disposal. It is limited to tools such as "pencil" and "paint pot".

However, this isn't to say that pixel-art or non-pixel-art graphics are more or less beautiful. It's fair to say that pixel-art is different, and it lends itself better to more "retro" style games (in the vein of Super NES or Game Boy Advance). You can also combine the techniques taught here with effects of non-pixel-art to create a "hybrid" style.

So here you will learn the technical part of pixel-art. However, under no circumstances I will make you an artist ... for the simple reason that I am not one. I will teach you nothing about human anatomy, nothing on the composition of a work of art, and little on perspective. In this tutorial, you can find a lot of information about pixel-art techniques. In the end, you should be able to produce characters and scenery for your games, provided you pay attention, practice regularly, and apply the advice given.

---

I also want to point out that only some of the images used in these tutorials are "zoomed". For images that aren't zoomed, it would be good if you take the time to copy / paste or save the images so you can study them in detail. Pixel-art is a matter of pixels, do studying it from far away is useless.

---

Finally, I must thank all the artists who participated with me in creating this tutorial in one way or another: Shin for his dirty work and Lineart, Xenodrogen his genius for color, for Lunn his knowledge of perspective, and Panda, stern Ahruon, Dyo and Kryon for generously lending their works to illustrate these pages.

So, let's return to the heart of the matter.

Chapter 1: The Right Tools ›