After classical art training, I thought pixel art would be fast and easy -- the low resolution would disguise any mistakes.
Quite the opposite. The fewer pixels, the more each one has to be perfectly in place. Honestly should've been obvious in hindsight. If I have any games left in me after my current one's finished, I'll just use as high a resolution as I'm comfortable with.
Unless the sprites are truly tiny, like 16x16 with 2 or 3 frame animations, I don't know if pixel art makes a good shortcut to an aesthetically appealing game. Then again, it might be easier than six years of every day practice.
Good advice. I draw pixel art for an image logic puzzle game [1] and these resonate, especially 2. (Negotiate) and 5. (Constraints).
Another thing that helped me was to experiment with different canvas sizes and styles. I was surprised how changing these affects my process, speed and results. Then again, this can be difficult in an ongoing project.
> Programmers are known to not have a strong suit for art related disciplines
Full stop. There are quite a few coders with artistic talents. And even if some specific individual does not have such talent, they are allowed to have their own taste - we do not need to train ourselves to mimic other people's preferences.
Just because they are "[generally] known" for not having artistic skills doesn't mean there can't be a few exceptions.
Besides, they could be known for this and it could be a misconception! The sentence is still true.
Finally, "full stop" is what you say when something isn't up for debate. It's like saying "Apple makes better hardware, period." Like the conversation ends there. It doesn't mean you stop reading.
Have you ever heard the famous "he did not have enough imagination to become a mathematician" quote?
There is a reason it is famous and it could be very much projected on programming.
Programming requires be creative.
So I don't know where did the "generally known" comes from. In my 20 years experience, I knew hundreds of programmers and probably majority of them were extremely artistic. Writing games as a hobby, drawing miniatures, some were writing books, music bands...
> Finally, "full stop" is what you say when something isn't up for debate.
Is it the only way you can say "full stop"? Can't you just say it to yourself in the way of "full stop, this shows ME this is based on wrong premise, and I don't need to waste time on keep reading it"
Gotta agree, I used to draw portraits before I started programming a few years ago...
For reference, my last ever portrait:
https://imgur.com/a/sEQiLu4
I also know plenty of programmers who are great musicians. Programming itself is creative work...
Completely lost interest in art due to AI though.
I would wager that's how it goes for most people that are both good artists and good programmers -- they were artists first, then learned to program. It takes a lot longer to become a reasonably good artist than it does to become a reasonably good programmer. I suspect that might be why the article opens the way it does.
Good advice! I did pixel art for a personal project:
https://github.com/Irtaza2009/Hackamon
and I think the only reason I was able to get good results was because I had a limited 5-colour palette, which helped my indecisiveness. And referencing other pixel art also helped.
To these fine tips I would add: ‘test on as many devices as you are reasonably able’. Something can look fine on your laptop but lousy on the platform for which you are aiming to disseminate.
> "[...] I would add: ‘test on as many devices as you are reasonably able’."
Testing on a reasonable amount of different screens (and software-based filters etc.) is excellent advice for too many people forget this. Of course that's also always a money, time or motivation (goal) question...
These are just incredibly basic, and oft repeated, pixel art 101 guidelines. And, quite frankly, some of those tips are what I consider bad advice (e. g. a pixel artist has to deal with color theory as much as a character artist or animator has to deal with anatomy; a good understanding of color theory is also necessary to nurture good taste in the first place... so the quicker one gets into that, the better).
Also, just like in coding: Constraints don't hide your flaws (per se); you fuck up, people will (let you) know. And pieces in constrained environments can be much, much harder to pull off.
I had hoped for something closer to the intersection of pixel art and graphics programming. Well, maybe in the future.
> a good understanding of color theory is also necessary.
Agreed. I would also speak out again the uninformed use of pre-configured color combinations. As someone who teaches art/design these are the bane of my life… students use them as a replacement for color theory. A designer should at least know how to parse a color into its hue, saturation and lightness components. Most everything else should follow naturally.
I'm a programmer who started doing pixel art for a personal project in 2022 and this is solid advice. I didn't really think about it too hard but I do find myself negotiating with the canvas to get something to look right when it's just a few pixels off lol
After classical art training, I thought pixel art would be fast and easy -- the low resolution would disguise any mistakes.
Quite the opposite. The fewer pixels, the more each one has to be perfectly in place. Honestly should've been obvious in hindsight. If I have any games left in me after my current one's finished, I'll just use as high a resolution as I'm comfortable with.
Unless the sprites are truly tiny, like 16x16 with 2 or 3 frame animations, I don't know if pixel art makes a good shortcut to an aesthetically appealing game. Then again, it might be easier than six years of every day practice.
If you want to see someone who has truly done wonders with pixel art - the game Look Outside has so much incredible (and disturbing) pixel art.
Good advice. I draw pixel art for an image logic puzzle game [1] and these resonate, especially 2. (Negotiate) and 5. (Constraints).
Another thing that helped me was to experiment with different canvas sizes and styles. I was surprised how changing these affects my process, speed and results. Then again, this can be difficult in an ongoing project.
[1]: https://apps.apple.com/app/nonoverse-nonogram-puzzles/id6748...
> Programmers are known to not have a strong suit for art related disciplines
Full stop. There are quite a few coders with artistic talents. And even if some specific individual does not have such talent, they are allowed to have their own taste - we do not need to train ourselves to mimic other people's preferences.
Just because they are "[generally] known" for not having artistic skills doesn't mean there can't be a few exceptions.
Besides, they could be known for this and it could be a misconception! The sentence is still true.
Finally, "full stop" is what you say when something isn't up for debate. It's like saying "Apple makes better hardware, period." Like the conversation ends there. It doesn't mean you stop reading.
Have you ever heard the famous "he did not have enough imagination to become a mathematician" quote? There is a reason it is famous and it could be very much projected on programming. Programming requires be creative.
So I don't know where did the "generally known" comes from. In my 20 years experience, I knew hundreds of programmers and probably majority of them were extremely artistic. Writing games as a hobby, drawing miniatures, some were writing books, music bands...
> Finally, "full stop" is what you say when something isn't up for debate.
Is it the only way you can say "full stop"? Can't you just say it to yourself in the way of "full stop, this shows ME this is based on wrong premise, and I don't need to waste time on keep reading it"
Gotta agree, I used to draw portraits before I started programming a few years ago... For reference, my last ever portrait: https://imgur.com/a/sEQiLu4
I also know plenty of programmers who are great musicians. Programming itself is creative work... Completely lost interest in art due to AI though.
I would wager that's how it goes for most people that are both good artists and good programmers -- they were artists first, then learned to program. It takes a lot longer to become a reasonably good artist than it does to become a reasonably good programmer. I suspect that might be why the article opens the way it does.
Good advice! I did pixel art for a personal project: https://github.com/Irtaza2009/Hackamon and I think the only reason I was able to get good results was because I had a limited 5-colour palette, which helped my indecisiveness. And referencing other pixel art also helped.
To these fine tips I would add: ‘test on as many devices as you are reasonably able’. Something can look fine on your laptop but lousy on the platform for which you are aiming to disseminate.
> "[...] I would add: ‘test on as many devices as you are reasonably able’."
Testing on a reasonable amount of different screens (and software-based filters etc.) is excellent advice for too many people forget this. Of course that's also always a money, time or motivation (goal) question...
> and software-based filters etc.
...and different screen brightness levels
These are just incredibly basic, and oft repeated, pixel art 101 guidelines. And, quite frankly, some of those tips are what I consider bad advice (e. g. a pixel artist has to deal with color theory as much as a character artist or animator has to deal with anatomy; a good understanding of color theory is also necessary to nurture good taste in the first place... so the quicker one gets into that, the better).
Also, just like in coding: Constraints don't hide your flaws (per se); you fuck up, people will (let you) know. And pieces in constrained environments can be much, much harder to pull off.
I had hoped for something closer to the intersection of pixel art and graphics programming. Well, maybe in the future.
> a good understanding of color theory is also necessary.
Agreed. I would also speak out again the uninformed use of pre-configured color combinations. As someone who teaches art/design these are the bane of my life… students use them as a replacement for color theory. A designer should at least know how to parse a color into its hue, saturation and lightness components. Most everything else should follow naturally.
It's for an uninformed audience so it's not like it's supposed to be some deep insights
They’re your pixels for your project, not some conformation challenge.
I'm a programmer who started doing pixel art for a personal project in 2022 and this is solid advice. I didn't really think about it too hard but I do find myself negotiating with the canvas to get something to look right when it's just a few pixels off lol