ive read like 40 tutorials of pixel art and while i have the basic idea down, one thing i don't get is what's the proper way to do isometric pixel art? all the tutorials i read refer to constructing shapes (like cubes/pyramids/spheres/cylinders/ ect into structures. then they say that using this basic shapes, you can build anything you can think of.

http://www.ultrashock.com/tutorials/flash8/pa1-pixelBasics.php#Step3

(lines to shapes to objects)

 in theory, that makes total sense, however, from all the youtube vids/deviant art tutorials, im seeing the exact opposite.  what im seeing is most people use neither a grid nor do they build with shapes. instead they draw like this.

http://shonegold.deviantart.com/journal/14527091/#/dvycwr and this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3j4oQTstwk

which uses neither a iso grid nor is build using shapes. instead it seems there just drawing isometric and eyeballing the approximate shape/scale.  i myself am better at the less lego and more line way of building.

when i draw isometric in inkscape for example, i can do some nice things. however when i try to draw with raster editors, i keep having this feeling that what im doing is "wrong' i say to myself, "that window doesn't line up with the level of the door' or, something like that. maybe my issue is that in inkscape i start with a 400x400 res vs 100x100 in my raster editor.

 i cant figure out how somebody could build using shapes at a 100/400 resolution. the only thing that makes logical sense would be that, you could draw a house or something at 100 res but, you could not do that using cubes, you would need to draw in the line/eyeballing style.

maybe, im thinking, there are different methods, 1) you draw using shapes and build your piece like legos,(which seems to be extremely accurate but very difficult if you don't have a lego mindset or 2) you draw by eyeballing/or approximating.which is close enough to not tell the difference in the final piece.

another thing i dont understand about isometric art is what makes it isometric? again, some tutorials say that isometric art is simply any kind of pixel art that is viewable from the above,  one side and the front at an angle, using the 1up 2over.
http://shonegold.deviantart.com/journal/14527091/

(this artist seems to prefer the build by line method)



and other say that isometric art like cars, people anything really, is drawn with curves in a
a line with three adjacent pixels, followed by two adjacent pixels and so on. to build anything.
http://www.drububu.com/tutorial/index.html#object

you can see why somebody just starting would be very confused. could you please explain  a bit?

 i like your answer dude. it inspires me.  it seems, what your telling me is i shouldn't think to hard about this "it will come in time" and that i should just have fun. i hope to have some art i can show eventually to the community.


Edited by Astral Existence - 21 May 2011 at 7:42pm