WIP--Muddle's first dungeon
Printed From: Pixel Joint
Category: Pixel Art
Forum Name: WIP (Work In Progress)
Forum Discription: Get crits and comments on your pixel WIPs and other art too!
URL: https://pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=12811
Printed Date: 26 February 2026 at 8:36pm
Topic: WIP--Muddle's first dungeon
Posted By: muddle
Subject: WIP--Muddle's first dungeon
Date Posted: 21 August 2011 at 1:07pm
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Greetings all,
I have been lurking for a while, and decided to register and post my first attempt at pixel art. Looking forward to your critique. ( this is my first attempt at pixel-based art so any tips or techniques are most welcome.) -Muddle 
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Replies:
Posted By: CELS
Date Posted: 21 August 2011 at 1:49pm
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Looks good. A few things: The light source is inconsistent. Judging from the statue, the sarcophagus, and the tiles on the floor, the light seems to be coming from the bottom right corner. But the walls and pillars have a light source on the opposite side, as does the table. The shadows should reflect the height of the object. Right now, the shadow cast by the carpet is as long as the shadow from the table and the pillars. This image has 3615 colors. Unless this was originally 30 colors before you saved the image, you may want to consider the following: A lot of people feel that pixelart is about controlling each pixel, and limiting the number of colors is a part of this. I guess the software you use creates a lot of gradients. Some would recommend that you do the coloring manually instead. You could probably replace the 3615 colors with 30 colors, and it might even end up looking better. |
Posted By: muddle
Date Posted: 21 August 2011 at 2:05pm
| Wow, i didn't know about a limit of 30 colors. Forgive me for asking what might be a totally obvious question, but why the number 30? is that based on a certain file format or technology? Are there any tutorials I should be reading up on? |
Posted By: SumYungGai
Date Posted: 21 August 2011 at 2:19pm
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There isn't a strict -30 color- palette for video games or pixel pieces. However, you should always try to keep colors at a minimum. It looks to me like you used a lot of gradients. Never, ever use gradients in pixel pieces. (Most use of tools are frowned upon.) It ends up looking worse and destroys the minimal color goal that all pixel pieces share. And if you're looking for tutorials... http://www.pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11299 and the entire resources forum can help you out. |
Posted By: CELS
Date Posted: 21 August 2011 at 2:31pm
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The number 30 comes from a passage in the bible, John 15:15. "And Jesus said "And lo, there shall only be 30 colors in thy pixel art, lest thou falleth to temptation and use gradients." Now you know. And knowing is half the battle. But seriously, the number of colors varies a lot. Some people paint huge things with only 2 colors, sometimes 8 colors, sometimes 50 colors, sometimes hundreds of colours or more. But a lot of the experienced guys on here recommend starting out with a small number of colors. The exact number you use is up to you. |
Posted By: Qemist
Date Posted: 21 August 2011 at 5:18pm
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altough its not totally pixel art I kinda like your gardient style. So if you're not aiming for 100% pixelart you could still do pixel lineart and create graphics like this. I think the rug is a bit too much, but that brown table(?) and pilars etc are pretty cool defined. Agreed on the light source comment from CELS too |
Posted By: ChrisButton
Date Posted: 21 August 2011 at 7:34pm
| LOL Cels..... |
Posted By: muddle
Date Posted: 22 August 2011 at 5:41am
| Wow that's a great tutorial! thanks for the link! that really helps a bunch. thanks! |
Posted By: muddle
Date Posted: 23 August 2011 at 5:47pm
Here's a follow image to the project already shown... I am worried that this is still not officially pixel art ( i did use gradients but converted them all down to 256 colors in a gif file.) I really like the mood and effects of gradients, but I simply don't know how to create them any other way. Any suggestions on how to create gradient-like effects without gradients???
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Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 23 August 2011 at 6:11pm
Auto reducing gradients (cheating) or any other CG effect is not pixelart and considered a fail for pixelartists, but...it happens and some game do this  (Pixeljoint does not accept them in the gallery).Gradients can be made just with pixels and often its not the gradient that make a tileset look good but lighting and texture. TBH, I like your tileset but not love it. It can never be added to the PJ gallery as it is. Especially a reduction. ----- @CELS, that's your 2nd OTT smart/funny comment in one week  ------------- |
Posted By: muddle
Date Posted: 05 September 2011 at 8:17am
ok, still learning about things around here. here's something much less gradient-y.
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