Pixel Joint Forum: Where to start

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   When making a big (not humongous but sort of big) piece of pixel art (let's say 200x200 for example) where do you start? When I start a piece of pixel art I usually make a silhouette and then lay down the various colors, but then after that what do you do? I get really confused and overwhelmed by the enormity of it all even though it's just a messy WIP. 

So basically in a nutshell I guess I'm asking what techniques do you people think would be useful for someone of my skill level or maybe for anyone in general if they were to go about making a sizable piece of pixel art?

Edited by ADrawingMan - 15 January 2014 at 9:36am

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skittle Commander Joined: 20 July 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 350	Topic: Where to start Posted: 15 January 2014 at 9:35am
	When making a big (not humongous but sort of big) piece of pixel art (let's say 200x200 for example) where do you start? When I start a piece of pixel art I usually make a silhouette and then lay down the various colors, but then after that what do you do? I get really confused and overwhelmed by the enormity of it all even though it's just a messy WIP. So basically in a nutshell I guess I'm asking what techniques do you people think would be useful for someone of my skill level or maybe for anyone in general if they were to go about making a sizable piece of pixel art? Edited by ADrawingMan - 15 January 2014 at 9:36am
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jalonso Admiral Joined: 12 January 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13537	Posted: 15 January 2014 at 10:18am
	Sometimes the easiest way to get going while your mind envisions and irons out the whole idea is to single out a certain item in the piece and pixel it as a sprite/asset. Choose an important detail for this and pixel away. This should help you understand and see how complex and detailed, or not, it needs to be and begin the color process while at this (or greyscale for a freer mind). Once you have a decent asset/sprite then you can attack the big piece of keep breaking it up into bits. Edited by jalonso - 15 January 2014 at 10:20am
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skittle Commander Joined: 20 July 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 350	Posted: 15 January 2014 at 2:15pm
	Hmm, this is does sound like a good way to tackle a piece. I'm definitely going to be remembering this, thank's so much, you're feedback is extremely valuable! Edited by ADrawingMan - 15 January 2014 at 2:31pm
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greenraven Commander Joined: 08 September 2016 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2598	Posted: 15 January 2014 at 3:32pm
	Depends on what you're doing to be honest. Sometimes the background, sometimes the main focus of the piece. Sometimes just random scribbles and see what comes of it. The is to experiment and see what works for you. Most important thing to remember is that you can always "save as..." and try different approaches. Do the same piece twice but start by paying attention to a different aspect. I tend to not be coherent sometimes when giving advice. I hope that didn't come off as gibberish. XD
	"pwnage comes with patience, practice and planning." ~ Jalonso
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skittle Commander Joined: 20 July 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 350	Posted: 15 January 2014 at 3:56pm
	Nope... I managed to understand 5% of it, a new record :D! Nah, just kidding. I do tend do save a lot to experiment if I ever get a specific shape of pixels or a specific color and it really does help get a better view of the whole thing.
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cure Commander Joined: 23 March 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2859	Posted: 16 January 2014 at 12:48pm
	Grab a large brush and a handful of colors and start blocking in general areas of color. Use smaller brushes and add more colors as the piece progresses. Worry about values more than colors at first as colors can be easily adjusted later and values are what make a piece read well. Worry about details when everything else is in place or you'll just get lost in a tiny portion of the image and miss some fundamental flaws that will become more costly to fix later on.
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skittle Commander Joined: 20 July 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 350	Posted: 16 January 2014 at 5:33pm
	That's a really awesome and straight forward way to view things. It really is like just like painting if you think of it like that.
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