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...
> 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.
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.
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
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...
> 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.
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.
They’re your pixels for your project, not some conformation challenge.
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
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