Where to start?
Printed From: Pixel Joint
Category: The Lounge
Forum Name: Resources and Support
Forum Discription: Help your fellow pixel artists out with links to good tutorials, other forums, software, fonts, etc. Bugs and support issues should go here as well.
URL: https://pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=26037
Printed Date: 12 September 2025 at 2:14am
Topic: Where to start?
Posted By: XLEdwards91
Subject: Where to start?
Date Posted: 18 November 2017 at 12:21am
|
Hello everyone, I know this may come off a bit arrogant, but I just want to know where does a Novice of a pixel artist start? How long does it take to get better? What does it take? I know the answers, however I still can't help but ask.
I've been spriting for roughly two months now, on and off, and I'm still stuck on the basics like making a grass tile set. It's frustrating to look for tutorials and actually understand what they're saying on how to pixel, but only to fail in comparison. Yes, these indiviuals have had years of experience under their belt, and I understand that it takes time, after all "practice makes perfect". However, two months on doing the same thing, I'd expect myself to have gotten slightly better at making something of acceptable quality, not the case though. Aside from my ranting on about my lack of skill, I just really want to know how did y'all get better? What tricks and practices did you guys do to enhance upon your craft? Should I just start trying to sprite certain objects around my house(boxes, chairs, etc)? I'm will to take any advice and tips, because honestly, looking through most of these tutorials aren't really helping me(they're rich in information, yes, but I still suck at trying to sprite  ).
Thanks in advance, and sorry if there's a topic similar to this already, I didn't find anything too close when I searched. |
Replies:
Posted By: eishiya
Date Posted: 18 November 2017 at 6:30am
|
Make sure you study outside of pixel art. A lot of what makes a pixel artist "good" is actually non-pixel-specific knowledge. Colour theory, composition, anatomy, light, etc. Pixel art can be rather limiting and encourages a focus on technique over theory, so I recommend doing studies in another medium (photography, pencil, digital painting, etc) and then applying that to your pixel art afterwards. |
Posted By: XLEdwards91
Date Posted: 18 November 2017 at 12:23pm
| Is that so? I guess I'll need to do more research then, thanks for the reply. |
Posted By: Hapiel
Date Posted: 19 November 2017 at 8:58am
|
I'm only a novice myself, but the two most important things that have made me better: Getting feedback from other people, for example in the WIP forums, and watching carefully, such as opening your eyes in real life or studying other artworks closely. |
Posted By: NancyGold
Date Posted: 19 November 2017 at 10:15am
|
Originally posted by XLEdwards91 However, two months on doing the same thing, I'd expect myself to have gotten slightly better at making something of acceptable quality, not the case though. First of all, repeating the same thing expecting a different result may be not the best idea. Then I suggest reading the following article: http://norvig.com/21-days.html it isn't about art, but expressed ideas are relevant. |
Posted By: XLEdwards91
Date Posted: 19 November 2017 at 2:08pm
| Thanks for the advice everyone, I'll take this to heart and do a LOT more visual learning, and research. |