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[rob]

I've always been interested in artisting but have an incredibly unsteady pair of hands. I only just realized pixelart is probably the solution.

I'm a fan of pixelart but b/c my hands make me bad at painting, drawing etc. I had given up art in general and just look at the "Show us you pixel work" topic when I want to see some good work, I've never really thought much about making it. I know a bit about it, but I think it's best I pretend I don't.

So, what are some of the best pixelart communities? Where should I go for a good introduction to making pixelart? Should I be typing pixelart out as one word or is that incredibly obnoxious? How did you first discover pixel art and what was it like to begin making it?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

[Schoq]

Pixelation. Great dedicated pixel art forum. Not as active as it used to but still the best place to go for critique and theory and such.

Pixeljoint. Huge gallery site. Good community, though I can't speak for how the forums are.

Good collection of links
another good collection of links

[Medevenx]

He's a beginner and he probably doesn't fit in Pixelation OR Pixeljoint.

I'd suggest The Spriters Resource

It has a pretty good community that will help you if you're dedicated to your work. Here's a pretty good place too anyway there are a lot of experienced pixel artists here

[i wanna be the guy]

He's a beginner and he probably doesn't fit in Pixelation OR Pixeljoint.

yes, a beginner has no place getting advice from talented artists who actually know what they're talking about

why would you

ever

want an expert

to give you advice

i want stupid idiots who dont know anything about basic concepts of art to explain to me how to draw things

[Kramlack]

Like Swarms, I also advise against The Spriters Resource. I'm sure the crowd is still nice, but I don't trust them as far as knowledge goes. Most forums like that end up getting flooded with people asking "How does my Naruto edit look"? So with that, you're bound to get a lot of new pixel artists who can't give advice worth shit. I feel the workshop subforum here does a good job at attracting some pretty talented pixel artists (Kevin, Green, etc), but it's pretty slow.

As others have mentioned, Pixelation, PixelJoint and a slew of good tutorials are a nice place to start.

[rob]

im too tired right now to do anything with you guys's advice but thanks!

[ThePortalGuru]

Like Swarms, I also advise against The Spriters Resource.

Um, I think he was being

you know

sarcastic.

Spriter's Resource is an excellent place to get some good critique.  Most of the people there KNOW what they're doing and can give you the advice you need to succeed.

[Strasteo]

The Spriter's Resource is a good place if you know what you're getting into. Don't expect compliments, don't expect for them to be all nice and friendly with you about your art, especially if you're not that good at pixel art yet. I'm not saying that they're unfriendly people, in fact, they're some of the coolest people on the internet once you get to know them. But they'll be blunt and honest about your art, something that you don't always receive elsewhere. If you are able to take (often harsh) criticism, genuinely want to improve, and don't expect a load of compliments about your art then it's a great place. I know I've learned a lot just reading and getting into the contests and activities they host from time to time.

Now if you honestly can't take what I said above, then there is always Pixelation and PixelJoint and such. Just don't go on deviantART for pixel art tutorials/tips. Actually good tutorials are lacking over there imo.

[Medevenx]

He's a beginner and he probably doesn't fit in Pixelation OR Pixeljoint.

yes, a beginner has no place getting advice from talented artists who actually know what they're talking about

why would you

ever

want an expert

to give you advice

i want stupid idiots who dont know anything about basic concepts of art to explain to me how to draw things

Would you play a game you have never played before on the hardest difficulty? If it's going to be his FIRST time, how do you think he will fare in such a forum? Sure it's a really good place for critique but there are some techniques they use there (dithering especially in Pixelation) that may be too much for a first-timer.

I think the Spriters Resource is pretty good to noobies (let's not forget he's a noob). There are good critics there like Gors, C2B, YOU, uhm.. who else, Alpha Six? you know, more people.

Not saying it's bad to get expert critique, it's just, maybe he will be overwhelmed by it with being his first time and all.

Although, there's nothing wrong with.. registering on EVERY site and getting critique from all kinds of places.

[Kramlack]

@ThePortalGuru: I was going to say, I'm sure Swarms wasn't being sarcastic, but his newest post hammers that home so I won't bother.

EDIT: I sent this topic AlphaSix's way when I saw Medevenx mention him, I want to hear what he has to say on this.

EDIT2: Where did Swarm's newest post go? Now I look like an idiot.

EDIT3: This is the response I got back from AlphaSix;

do not even get me started on that pile of a community

[Paul Eres]

i'd suggest learning from the classics; take a nes / snes game you love and edit its tiles. altering them, and making new ones in that style. do this for several games. seeing how it works close up is more important than tutorials

also be wary that pixelation/pixeljoint all tends to make pixel artists gain a similar style, cuz they're kind of monolithic. classic pixel artists had a much wider variety of styles than modern pixel artists do, and i think that's largely because they all worked in isolation and learned it on their own rather than all reading the same tutorials and all posting on the same message boards. i'd rather see pixel art in an original style than see 10 more games that look like owl boy

[moi]

I think there are too many people doing this fr serious and pixel art has become too academic, it's not fun anymore, you can't have a newbie posting his art without a bunch of old beards telling him how there is too much banding or yadayada and all they can seem to do themselves is copy ancient nintendo games all day .

[Paul Eres]

yeah, and only a small selection of snes games at that

like, if you make pixel art that looks like seiken densetsu 2, final fantasy 6, or demon's crest, that's considered good pixel art on those forums

but if you make pixel art that looks like secret of evermore, 7th saga, paladin's quest, etc., it's considered bad or wrong rather than just an interesting stylistic difference from the modern day pixel art trends

not that there's *no* bad snes pixel art -- secret of the stars, bebe's kids, and wayne's world are all legitimately bad pixel art that existed on the snes. but there's a difference between bad and unconventional, and it seems like modern pixel art misses that distinction

[1982]

So, what are some of the best pixelart communities? Where should I go for a good introduction to making pixelart? Should I be typing pixelart out as one word or is that incredibly obnoxious? How did you first discover pixel art and what was it like to begin making it?

Well I think that you should just do it. Internet art communities are completely full of crap, I can't see much use for them. Like Paul said, study games that you find good looking and try to analyze how they are made and what makes them to look good - to you. Then you probably get inspired and you should try making your own assets.

I discovered pixel art through gaming, quite obviously. Pixelart as a visual art I mostly experienced through demoscene and teletext.

As a general rule I would say that you should start with as small resolution as possible, because it is easiest and fastest way of making complete pixel art. There is unbelievably huge difference between making 8x8 or 64x64 character sprites, be warned.

[Schoq]

One thing to keep in mind about modern vs. old pixel art is that modern is usually made for crisp displays while the old needed to look good on a blurry CRT (where pixel banding and such isn't as visible).

I'm kind of torn on whether or not staying away from art communities is a good idea.
Obviously it's good to get advice from people with lots of experience of what you're trying to learn but it does have a homogenizing effect (though not to the extent rinku is saying).

"How to draw a sprite" tutorials and such are pretty useless though. It's usually just someone explaining their method, which I guess can be interesting but shouldn't be read as or called an actual tutorial. You'll discover your own best way of arriving at a good looking sprite with practice.