Color Limit?
Printed From: Pixel Joint
Category: The Lounge
Forum Name: Diversions
Forum Discription: Get to know your fellow pixel freaks. Chat about anything to do with video games, comic books, anime, movies, television, books, music, sports or any other off topic bs you can think of.
URL: https://pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3496
Printed Date: 13 September 2025 at 6:46am
Topic: Color Limit?
Posted By: Law
Subject: Color Limit?
Date Posted: 14 December 2006 at 10:15am
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I made a pixel (my avatar) and I got a message saying it wasn't a pixel? The only program I used to make it was MS Paint and yes I placed every pixel by hand yet I got a message saying it wasn't a pixel.
Anyway someone commented on it and said it was npa because it had 604 colors. Is there a color limit? Anyway, I think that was because I made it too big and had to skew it. When I skewed it it got all blurry but I thought it looked ok so I submitted it anyway. Also how do you tell how many colors it has?
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Replies:
Posted By: Pixel_Outlaw
Date Posted: 14 December 2006 at 10:41am
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Interpolation causes excess colors, you didn't "choose" these colors. There isn't really a color limit but you should use colors spairingly in tradition of older sprites. Use Graphics Gale to check color counts. Using a transformation like stretching and resizing makes extra colors in your image that you didn't choose. Old videogame and application art is the basis for what we do here.
Oh and I'm going to go around with a mallet and strike people in the head for calling an array of pixels a "pixel". You are new and I'm not directing that to you.
Basically pixel art is a style in tribute to the good old days of digital art.
Oh and wrong section to post this... ------------- http://www.shmup-dev.com/forum/"> 
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Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 14 December 2006 at 12:54pm
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pixel = a term used to describe a pixelart piece (made by an array of hand placed pixels) Yes, when you skewed it it ceased to be pixelart, go to jail do not collect $200. ------------- |
Posted By: Pixel_Outlaw
Date Posted: 14 December 2006 at 1:39pm
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The proper term is sprite. "Pixel" is for those ignorant of the already coined term-sprite. A sprite is a collection of pixels, a "pixel" is just one 3 color light on your display. Yes it's used in the gallery but the shmuck that abused the word first needs a prompt pappywhipping.
We don't refer to person as a "cell" even though they do contain them. ------------- http://www.shmup-dev.com/forum/">
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Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 14 December 2006 at 1:44pm
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sprite = a element in a game (usually animated). This does not include, UI, BGs or tiles. pixel = generically anything created using pixelart To keep it on-topic, Law is creating an avatar made using pixelart as a style. Once submitted to the gallery 'it' is a pixel. ------------- |
Posted By: Law
Date Posted: 14 December 2006 at 1:55pm
| Ok so is there a color limit or not? |
Posted By: jalonso
Date Posted: 14 December 2006 at 1:57pm
sorry  Since the file is limited to gif and png files 256 is the limit, generally. Most like to use as little as possible to get what you need. 
For this I would think 3 to 5 greys, black, white and 2 or 3 reds. ------------- |
Posted By: Pixel_Outlaw
Date Posted: 14 December 2006 at 2:28pm
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Originally posted by Law
Ok so is there a color limit or not? NO.
If you want to catch hell use more than about 30.
 Basically, try to make it as minimal as possible and still look clear. I try to use about 3-4 shades of each color. There is a point where too few colors will ruin the piece conversly there also a point where there are too many similar colors, you need to find a happy medium. Most folk around here like about 2 colors to 20 colors. I think jalonso hit it square on the head with your art though. If you arn't sure you can ask for advice.
The main problem with your avay is that it has colors in there that you didn't choose. Midtones created to smooth pixels that can't be drawn, because of non integer floating point values( You can't have a pixel drawn at positon (1.7,1.3333) for example). You didn't create these midtones. Even if you did it would not be approved because you have many many like colors. Too many like colors for any of the mod's tastes'. I guess that's the most blunt reason I can give. ------------- http://www.shmup-dev.com/forum/">
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Posted By: Monkey 'o Doom
Date Posted: 14 December 2006 at 2:46pm
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The fact of the matter is that what you use to make it isn't relevant. If you use so many colors that no two similar pixels are touching or that it doesn't look like pixel art even zoomed in, it's probably not pixel art. You could cut the color count of 604 down to about a sixtieth of its size with no visible effects whatsoever. A key part of the definiton of pixel art in most peoples minds is the importance and careful placement of every pixel. When you have 604 colors and only 2 distinct hues, it's impossible to be sure that every pixel is exactly the palette entry you want it to be, and thus it isn't pixel art. ------------- http://pixelmonkey.ensellitis.com"> 
RPG is numberwang. |