Hi everyone! Although I'm new to making pixel art, I've been a fan of the medium for aeons, and I do have a background in non-pixel art. I'm using Pixen on OS X to work on a Star Trek pixel art/sprite webcomic set in the era of the original series. The first set piece I'm working on is the bridge of the main ship of the series, which is about 2/3 the size of the Enterprise but has the same kind of style. I'm working first on the "command pit", which is the sunken part in the middle where the captain and helm officer sit. It's done in a cabinet projection rather than pure isometric, but as with isometric pixel art the angle is 26.565° rather than 30° to make the lines less jaggy. The bridge is of course circular (well, technically oval on this ship) so getting the curves right was a bit of a pain. And while they're not exactly right, I think it looks good enough to trick the eye into feeling right. There's a little bit of perspective forced on some of the elements, most notably the railings and outer 'lip', but most of it is just straight cabinet projection.

Right now I'm at the point where I'm starting to add some dithering and antialiasing to get rid of banding and jaggies. I'm starting first on the lip, or outer rim, of the command pit.



Here's the main reference I'm using:



Any advice/constructive feedback is welcome! :)

You need looooong smooth gradients