Any tips for pixel art?

[Musixim]

i wanted to make original art for my game, but i don't have money to pay artists

so, i'm currently learning it for myself, while also expanding my skill lists...
any tips on how to start?

 

[Hyk]

Don't be afraid to use references. If you have to, trace over pictures and go from there, pull several images apart and stick them together then trace over. DO what you have to do, because in art, the only thing that matters is the end result, how you get there doesn't matter.

 

[Hyouryuu-Na]

I'm no pixel artist but you can take a look at different pixel art tutorials on youtube. Those have been very useful for me personally. For character art, you can use bases as a guide. And you don't have to do everything from scratch to be completely original though :0 There are tons of free assets you can find for rpg maker. If you're good at editing (splitting, joining, recoloring etc.) You can customize it and make it something unique ^^
It's okay to learn from other people's artwork and tracing is a good way to do it but if you do end up using parts or tracing from someone else's work in your final game or anywhere that's public, make sure to credit them.

 

[Musixim]

alright
i tried messing around from scratch, it didn't end well

so i'll start by watching youtube and try using base and tracing for a start

Thanks for the tips!

 

[ADMtn]

I would suggest first to try altering pre-existing assets. Take assets RPG Maker already provides, then: change a character's clothing and poses; add a cup of coffee in their hand; alter a table leg so it's fancier; make a hen into a rooster; create a galloping version of the horse sprite.

All the while, pay attention to how light and shadow is portrayed (notably, most JRPG/RPG Maker assets have light coming from the top left of the screen, so the shading is on the bottom right). Don't go easy on yourself if your characters' limbs come out disproportionate or lopsided, or when a pose looks unnatural. Don't say it's good enough and move on; fix the wonky parts early, and learn early.

Your custom assets, if being used alongside assets from other sources, need to match. If you can't make all your game's assets match (lighting, color palette, style), then your learning isn't complete.

From my experience, what's helpful to remember is that you're creating assets pixel by pixel. Getting impatient and trying to draw in broad strokes usually gives you wonky results (which, at best, can be fixed when you zoom in and edit the image pixel by pixel).

 

[mlogan]

I've moved this thread to Resource Support. Please be sure to post your threads in the correct forum next time. Thank you.

 

[Anyone]

i wanted to make original art for my game, but i don't have money to pay artists

so, i'm currently learning it for myself, while also expanding my skill lists...
any tips on how to start?

I wrote a pixel sprite tutorial guide a while ago, that leads you to some of the most helpful tutorials as far as RPGM spriting is concerned.
I've attached it to the post.
(Check out the essential playlists, they're the most helpful youtube pixel art guides I could find)

Probably the best place that leads everywhere and covers all possible needs, especially if you want to do more complex stuff:

Pixel Art: Where to Start - Lospec

This is the ultimate beginners guide to creating pixel art, a pre-introduction if you will. If you know absolutely nothing, then you're in the right place. We aren't going to teach you any specifics, but rather point you in the right direction and guide you through getting started and how to...

lospec.com

Countless tutorials with picture guides.