#TUTORIAL

[miizuyu]

Hi! I saw your ddvau watercolor drawings and the look so pretty <3<3<3<3

I was wondering if you could share your art process when it can to those pieces? (Like what order you did stuff in, what materials, ect.)

Hihi!! First off TYSMM and Im more than glad to show the process (≧∇≦)!! Sorry if it's a bit long or if im over explaining, I struggle with this, but oh well.. (ㆀ˘･з･˘)

1~ have your sketch on a separate piece of paper, I don't use watercolor paper-purely drawing paper and sometimes mixed media. I then clean up the sketch, make sure any parts you don't plan on going over are lightly erased(??) especially parts that are lighter (like skin or white clothes!)

(Btw, I recommend using lighter lead like 2H/4H)

2~I use the 36 pack of "twistable bear crayons" (if you search it up they're the first thing that show up!) and on another piece of paper (I usually just use any scrap paper) make a little blotch with the crayon and go over it with your brush (I use a random round point brush..)

I love these crayons especially for the fact they dry so fast, they're so easy to blend and use as water color (*´∀｀*)

No idea how to explain the way I color, but I start from the lighter color to darker ones. I don't think it makes any difference from the other way around! I also mix the colors a lot, like with grian I mix this yellow brown with a more reddish brown and for Scar I add green undertones to his skin!

3~After the colors are layed down, I line it with ZSCM dual brush pens. Althoughhh I plan on finding a new brand since there's not the biggest variety of colors-at least not with the pack I have..

I add little bits of hatching purely for texture, and I go over the outside lines multiple times so they're bolder (just a style preference (￣∇￣))

Also! If you do use these markers make sure not to go over them with water, and make sure your paper isn't wet as it will runoff ｡���(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡ I've also noticed that while all the other colors don't smudge, black does if you don't let it sit before touching up!

4-Cut it out! I like to leave a little white boarder since it's hard to cut around such tiny lines, and obviously after that I just glue it in :3

I like to add later to the drawings, adding other little bits, like for example the jellyfish tank in the background ^^

That's it though, I hope this helps!! Sorry if I didn't answer any questions ITS SO HARD TO EXPLAIN WAAH

[oatslemonade]

Adding some fun bird facts

1) Pigeon wings are loud during takeoff because they are prey animals and thus need to escape quickly. Their wings need power quickly, that's why you can hear their wings during takeoff.

2) Owl wings are silent. It is partly because they do not have the oils on their feathers. It allows their feathers to not be as rigid. But there is a disadvantage of having less oils on their wings. They're not waterproof. Look it up, owls look like a drenched cat.

Wings anyone?

[lintufriikki]

this is generally how i approach complex designs, start simple and then build the details on it. hope you'll find this helpful!

[driftsart]

Fun little tutorial, let me know if you want any more! :D

[never-obsolete]

Microsoft Productivity Pack for Windows (1992)

[feathery-dreamer]

how 2 hons 101

Working on another poster! Here's part 1: facial structure and eyes. Nose and ears up next.

Simplifying Horses for Drawing Part 1

[velnna]

Hi!! I absolutely love the feel/vibe of your drawings. I was wondering how you make them look so textured?? I’ve tried a couple of textured overlays on csp and was wondering if you just overlayed a texture or if it was something else! It might be a silly question I’m somewhat new to digital art but thank you in advance:)

Howdy! I add a texture overlay that I got from this CSP brush set (I think it's supposed to be the brush texture but I just drag it onto the screen lmao). And I guess some of the texture just naturally comes from how I do flat colours and lines, I tend to go for crunchier brushes and strokes

[exotonplanet]

A narrated video i put together last night explaining how i come up with and design plants for my project!

[mysweetpianospace]

How I make gif stamps in GIMP!

Hi! So I thought I would make a tutorial on how I personally make my animated stamps in GIMP! With images to help!

Firstly, have your stamp base, I use old stamp templates I found or from my own stamps. Then you want to add your gif as a layer.

Once you've opened it as a layer, all the gif layers will appear! You want to first resize the background layer by scaling the layer.

This stamp has an interior width and height of 95x50 pixels, so I make sure to scale the layer to fit. Make sure width and height aren't linked because not all gifs will fit that size naturally.

Then it is very important to merge the background layer with the stamp template layer, this way when you make the gif it looks like a stamp!

Once that's done scale all your other layers to the same width and height so that they too will fit in the stamp! Then what you want to do once that is finished is to open filter > animation > optimise (for gif).

Then once you've done that you can click playback to see if the gif is all right!

Once that's done it is time to export it by going export as, now I always have to change my file to a .gif type in order for it to work. Once you've done that hit export.

Then it will show a pop up window, it is very important you hit check on animation! Otherwise it won't work!

Once that is done, you can now hit the final export and your gif stamp will be made! See my final product below!

[nikoco11]

my recipe for drawing hands!

(small note that this is a shortcut that is more abt style and ease than anatomical accuracy. it helps to take time to really properly study hands, makes it easier to bend the rules a bit like this and have it still look good!!)

(learn rules b4 u break them or whatevah)

[laboratoryrats]

Excellent tutorial to drawing cubby body types

“Some chubby guide for y’all!”

Source: paggiart on twitter

[codywanfirstkissbingo]

Mod Lasagna here!

If you don't want to do the extra step of the site skin, take your embed link (you can use an image hosting site like images.squidge.org which you can easily press a button to get your link. A low res unreliable version is to open the image from your tumblr post in a different tab then copy the URL but this is not recommended), go into the rich text editor of a new ao3 work, click the button that looks like two chains linked together, and paste your link into the URL box.

One of the big updates ao3 made a while ago is that all embedded images will automatically fit the screen that you're viewing the page through. This means that if you don't do the optional step of making the site skin, smaller image sizes will get rather pixelated when viewed on larger screens. The proportions will remain the same though. If you work on a bigger canvas size then you don't have anything to worry about - your art will look good across all devices.

The site skin used to be mandatory when embedding art because you wouldn't even be able to view art properly on phones without some extra help as the site only adjusted text size to fit the user's screen.

embedding images on ao3 (or at least how i do it)

step one - create a work skin

this is step is optional, technically, but it'll make for better viewing across different devices. go to your ao3 dash, and on the left menu (or the top menu if you're on mobile) you're going to click on 'skins'. click on 'my work skins', and then click on 'create work skin'. make sure that the type says work skin, and then put in a title. this is just for you, so it doesn't really matter what it is. then in the css box, you're going to copy and paste this exactly:

#workskin img {

max-width: 100%;

height: auto;

}

save it.

step two: host your image

you can't actually host images on ao3, and i don't recommend hosting them on tumblr either. you need a static link for the image and tumblr's are always subject to change. ive never been able to get drive to work for this either but that might just be user error, idk. when i need something hosted for ao3, i use dropbox personally. from here, the instructions are going to be with that in mind, other image hosters might be different.

upload your image and copy the permanent link.

step three: put your image in your wip

in your ao3 wip, scroll down to 'select work skin' and click on the skin that you made earlier

in the text editor itself, make sure that you have it set to rich text rather than html. place your cursor within the editor where you want the image to go and then click on insert/edit image. in the menu that comes up, you're going to paste your image link. if you're using dropbox to host, you have to change the dl=0 at the end of the link to raw=1. i'm not sure if this applies with other image hosters.

if you want to adjust the size of your image in this menu, make sure that the proportions are locked. there will be a little lock icon next to the width and height boxes. i usually size mine at around 750 to 800 on the longest/widest side but this piece is totally up to you. you can also click and drag the image size within the text editor itself, but if the image is very big this may be more difficult.

step four: profit

(for legal reasons this is a joke. thou shalt not profit from fanworks lest ip holders decide to get litigious)

[tofupixel]

⭐ So you want to learn pixel art? ⭐

🔹 Part 1 of ??? - The Basics!

Edit: Now available in Google Doc format if you don't have a Tumblr account 🥰

Hello, my name is Tofu and I'm a professional pixel artist. I have been supporting myself with freelance pixel art since 2020, when I was let go from my job during the pandemic.

My progress, from 2017 to 2024. IMO the only thing that really matters is time and effort, not some kind of natural talent for art.

This guide will not be comprehensive, as nobody should be expected to read allat. Instead I will lean heavily on my own experience, and share what worked for me, so take everything with a grain of salt. This is a guide, not a tutorial. Cheers!

🔹 Do I need money?

NO!!! Pixel art is one of the most accessible mediums out there.

I still use a mouse because I prefer it to a tablet! You won't be at any disadvantage here if you can't afford the best hardware or software.

Because our canvases are typically very small, you don't need a good PC to run a good brush engine or anything like that.

✨Did you know? One of the most skilled and beloved pixel artists uses MS PAINT! Wow!!

🔹 What software should I use?

Here are some of the most popular programs I see my friends and peers using. Stars show how much I recommend the software for beginners! ⭐

💰 Paid options:

⭐⭐⭐ Aseprite (for PC) - $19.99

This is what I and many other pixel artists use. You may find when applying to jobs that they require some knowledge of Aseprite. Since it has become so popular, companies like that you can swap raw files between artists.

Aseprite is amazingly customizable, with custom skins, scripts and extensions on Itch.io, both free and paid.

If you have ever used any art software before, it has most of the same features and should feel fairly familiar to use. It features a robust animation suite and a tilemap feature, which have saved me thousands of hours of labour in my work. The software is also being updated all the time, and the developers listen to the users. I really recommend Aseprite!

⭐ Photoshop (for PC) - Monthly $$

A decent option for those who already are used to the PS interface. Requires some setup to get it ready for pixel-perfect art, but there are plenty of tutorials for doing so.

Animation is also much more tedious on PS which you may want to consider before investing time!

⭐⭐ ProMotion NG (for PC) - $19.00

An advanced and powerful software which has many features Aseprite does not, including Colour Cycling and animated tiles.

⭐⭐⭐ Pixquare (for iOS) - $7.99 - $19.99 (30% off with code 'tofu'!!)

Probably the best app available for iPad users, in active development, with new features added all the time.

Look! My buddy Jon recommends it highly, and uses it often.

One cool thing about Pixquare is that it takes Aseprite raw files! Many of my friends use it to work on the same project, both in their office and on the go.

⭐ Procreate (for iOS) - $12.99

If you have access to Procreate already, it's a decent option to get used to doing pixel art. It does however require some setup. Artist Pixebo is famously using Procreate, and they have tutorials of their own if you want to learn.

⭐⭐ ReSprite iOS and Android. (free trial, but:) $19.99 premium or $$ monthly

ReSprite is VERY similar in terms of UI to Aseprite, so I can recommend it. They just launched their Android release!

🆓 Free options:

⭐⭐⭐ Libresprite (for PC)

Libresprite is an alternative to Aseprite. It is very, very similar, to the point where documentation for Aseprite will be helpful to Libresprite users.

⭐⭐ Pixilart (for PC and mobile)

A free in-browser app, and also a mobile app! It is tied to the website Pixilart, where artists upload and share their work. A good option for those also looking to get involved in a community.

⭐⭐ Dotpict (for mobile)

Dotpict is similar to Pixilart, with a mobile app tied to a website, but it's a Japanese service. Did you know that in Japanese, pixel art is called 'Dot Art'? Dotpict can be a great way to connect with a different community of pixel artists! They also have prompts and challenges often.

🔹 So I got my software, now what?

◽Nice! Now it's time for the basics of pixel art.

❗ WAIT ❗ Before this section, I want to add a little disclaimer. All of these rules/guidelines can be broken at will, and some 'no-nos' can look amazing when done intentionally.

The pixel-art fundamentals can be exceedingly helpful to new artists, who may feel lost or overwhelmed by choice. But if you feel they restrict you too harshly, don't force yourself! At the end of the day it's your art, and you shouldn't try to contort yourself into what people think a pixel artist 'should be'. What matters is your own artistic expression. 💕👍

◽Phew! With that out of the way...

🔸"The Rules"

There are few hard 'rules' of pixel art, mostly about scaling and exporting. Some of these things will frequently trip up newbies if they aren't aware, and are easy to overlook.

🔹Scaling method

There are a couple ways of scaling your art. The default in most art programs, and the entire internet, is Bi-linear scaling, which usually works out fine for most purposes. But as pixel artists, we need a different method.

Both are scaled up x10. See the difference?

On the left is scaled using Bilinear, and on the right is using Nearest-Neighbor. We love seeing those pixels stay crisp and clean, so we use nearest-neighbor. 

(Most pixel-art programs have nearest-neighbor enabled by default! So this may not apply to you, but it's important to know.)

🔹Mixels

Mixels are when there are different (mixed) pixel sizes in the same image.

Here I have scaled up my art- the left is 200%, and the right is 150%. Yuck!

As we can see, the "pixel" sizes end up different. We generally try to scale our work by multiples of 100 - 200%, 300% etc. rather than 150%. At larger scales however, the minute differences in pixel sizes are hardly noticeable!

Mixels are also sometimes seen when an artist scales up their work, then continues drawing on it with a 1 pixel brush.

Many would say that this is not great looking! This type of pixels can be indicative of a beginner artist. But there are plenty of creative pixel artists out there who mixels intentionally, making something modern and cool.

🔹Saving Your Files

We usually save our still images as .PNGs as they don’t create any JPEG artifacts or loss of quality. It's a little hard to see here, but there are some artifacts, and it looks a little blurry. It also makes the art very hard to work with if we are importing a JPEG.

For animations .GIF is good, but be careful of the 256 colour limit. Try to avoid using too many blending mode layers or gradients when working with animations. If you aren’t careful, your animation could flash afterwards, as the .GIF tries to reduce colours wherever it can. It doesn’t look great!

Here's an old piece from 2021 where I experienced .GIF lossiness, because I used gradients and transparency, resulting in way too many colours.

🔹Pixel Art Fundamentals - Techniques and Jargon

❗❗Confused about Jaggies? Anti-Aliasing? Banding? Dithering? THIS THREAD is for you❗❗ << it's a link, click it!!

As far as I'm concerned, this is THE tutorial of all time for understanding pixel art. These are techniques created and named by the community of people who actually put the list together, some of the best pixel artists alive currently. Please read it!!

🔸How To Learn

Okay, so you have your software, and you're all ready to start. But maybe you need some more guidance? Try these tutorials and resources! It can be helpful to work along with a tutorial until you build your confidence up.

⭐⭐ Pixel Logic (A Digital Book) - $10 A very comprehensive visual guide book by a very skilled and established artist in the industry. I own a copy myself.

⭐⭐⭐ StudioMiniBoss - free A collection of visual tutorials, by the artist that worked on Celeste! When starting out, if I got stuck, I would go and scour his tutorials and see how he did it.

⭐ Lospec Tutorials - free A very large collection of various tutorials from all over the internet. There is a lot to sift through here if you have the time.

⭐⭐⭐ Cyangmou's Tutorials - free (tipping optional) Cyangmou is one of the most respected and accomplished modern pixel artists, and he has amassed a HUGE collection of free and incredibly well-educated visual tutorials. He also hosts an educational stream every week on Twitch called 'pixelart for beginners'.

⭐⭐⭐ Youtube Tutorials - free There are hundreds, if not thousands of tutorials on YouTube, but it can be tricky to find the good ones. My personal recommendations are MortMort, Brandon, and AdamCYounis- these guys really know what they're talking about!

🔸 How to choose a canvas size

When looking at pixel art turorials, we may see people suggest things like 16x16, 32x32 and 64x64. These are standard sizes for pixel art games with tiles. However, if you're just making a drawing, you don't necessarily need to use a standard canvas size like that.

What I like to think about when choosing a canvas size for my illustrations is 'what features do I think it is important to represent?' And make my canvas as small as possible, while still leaving room for my most important elements.

Imagine I have characters in a scene like this:

I made my canvas as small as possible (232 x 314), but just big enough to represent the features and have them be recognizable (it's Good Omens fanart 😤)!! If I had made it any bigger, I would be working on it for ever, due to how much more foliage I would have to render.

If you want to do an illustration and you're not sure, just start at somewhere around 100x100 - 200x200 and go from there.

It's perfectly okay to crop your canvas, or scale it up, or crunch your art down at any point if you think you need a different size. I do it all the time! It only takes a bit of cleanup to get you back to where you were.

🔸Where To Post

Outside of just regular socials, Twitter, Tumblr, Deviantart, Instagram etc, there are a few places that lean more towards pixel art that you might not have heard of.

⭐ Lospec Lospec is a low-res focused art website. Some pieces get given a 'monthly masterpiece' award. Not incredibly active, but I believe there are more features being added often.

⭐⭐ Pixilart Pixilart is a very popular pixel art community, with an app tied to it. The community tends to lean on the young side, so this is a low-pressure place to post with an relaxed vibe.

⭐⭐ Pixeljoint Pixeljoint is one of the big, old-school pixel art websites. You can only upload your art unscaled (1x) because there is a built-in zoom viewer. It has a bit of a reputation for being elitist (back in the 00s it was), but in my experience it's not like that any more. This is a fine place for a pixel artist to post if they are really interested in learning, and the history. The Hall of Fame has some of the most famous / impressive pixel art pieces that paved the way for the work we are doing today.

⭐⭐⭐ Cafe Dot Cafe Dot is my art server so I'm a little biased here. 🍵 It was created during the recent social media turbulence. We wanted a place to post art with no algorithms, and no NFT or AI chuds. We have a heavy no-self-promotion rule, and are more interested in community than skill or exclusivity. The other thing is that we have some kind of verification system- you must apply to be a Creator before you can post in the Art feed, or use voice. This helps combat the people who just want to self-promo and dip, or cause trouble, as well as weed out AI/NFT people. Until then, you are still welcome to post in any of the threads or channels. There is a lot to do in Cafe Dot. I host events weekly, so check the threads!

⭐⭐/r/pixelart The pixel art subreddit is pretty active! I've also heard some of my friends found work through posting here, so it's worth a try if you're looking. However, it is still Reddit- so if you're sensitive to rude people, or criticism you didn't ask for, you may want to avoid this one. Lol

🔸 Where To Find Work

You need money? I got you! As someone who mostly gets scouted on social media, I can share a few tips with you:

Put your email / portfolio in your bio Recruiters don't have all that much time to find artists, make it as easy as possible for someone to find your important information!

Clean up your profile If your profile feed is all full of memes, most people will just tab out rather than sift through. Doesn't apply as much to Tumblr if you have an art tag people can look at.

Post regularly, and repost Activity beats everything in the social media game. It's like rolling the dice, and the more you post the more chances you have. You have to have no shame, it's all business baby

Outside of just posting regularly and hoping people reach out to you, it can be hard to know where to look. Here are a few places you can sign up to and post around on.

/r/INAT INAT (I Need A Team) is a subreddit for finding a team to work with. You can post your portfolio here, or browse for people who need artists.

/r/GameDevClassifieds Same as above, but specifically for game-related projects.

Remote Game Jobs / Work With Indies Like Indeed but for game jobs. Browse them often, or get email notifications.

VGen VGen is a website specifically for commissions. You need a code from another verified artist before you can upgrade your account and sell, so ask around on social media or ask your friends. Once your account is upgraded, you can make a 'menu' of services people can purchase, and they send you an offer which you are able to accept, decline, or counter.

The evil websites of doom: Fiverr and Upwork I don't recommend them!! They take a big cut of your profit, and the sites are teeming with NFT and AI people hoping to make a quick buck. The site is also extremely oversaturated and competitive, resulting in a race to the bottom (the cheapest, the fastest, doing the most for the least). Imagine the kind of clients who go to these websites, looking for the cheapest option. But if you're really desperate...

🔸 Community

I do really recommend getting involved in a community. Finding like-minded friends can help you stay motivated to keep drawing. One day, those friends you met when you were just starting out may become your peers in the industry. Making friends is a game changer!

Discord servers Nowadays, the forums of old are mostly abandoned, and people split off into many different servers. Cafe Dot, Pixel Art Discord (PAD), and if you can stomach scrolling past all the AI slop, you can browse Discord servers here.

Twitch Streams Twitch has kind of a bad reputation for being home to some of the more edgy gamers online, but the pixel art community is extremely welcoming and inclusive. Some of the people I met on Twitch are my friends to this day, and we've even worked together on different projects! Browse pixel art streams here, or follow some I recommend: NickWoz, JDZombi, CupOhJoe, GrayLure, LumpyTouch, FrankiePixelShow, MortMort, Sodor, NateyCakes, NyuraKim, ShinySeabass, I could go on for ever really... There are a lot of good eggs on Pixel Art Twitch.

🔸 Other Helpful Websites

Palettes Lospec has a huge collection of user-made palettes, for any artist who has trouble choosing their colours, or just wants to try something fun. Rejected Palettes is full of palettes that didn't quite make it onto Lospec, ran by people who believe there are no bad colours.

The Spriters Resource TSR is an incredible website where users can upload spritesheets and tilesets from games. You can browse for your favourite childhood game, and see how they made it! This website has helped me so much in understanding how game assets come together in a scene.

VGMaps Similar to the above, except there are entire maps laid out how they would be played. This is incredible if you have to do level design, or for mocking up a scene for fun.

Game UI Database Not pixel-art specific, but UI is a very challenging part of graphics, so this site can be a game-changer for finding good references!

Retronator A digital newspaper for pixel-art lovers! New game releases, tutorials, and artworks!

Itch.io A website where people can upload, games, assets, tools... An amazing hub for game devs and game fans alike. A few of my favourite tools: Tiled, PICO-8, Pixel Composer, Juice FX, Magic Pencil for Aseprite

🔸 The End?

This is just part 1 for now, so please drop me a follow to see any more guides I release in the future. I plan on doing some writeups on how I choose colours, how to practise, and more!

I'm not an expert by any means, but everything I did to get to where I am is outlined in this guide. Pixel art is my passion, my job and my hobby! I want pixel art to be recognized everywhere as an art-form, a medium of its own outside of game-art or computer graphics!

This guide took me a long time, and took a lot of research and experience. Consider following me or supporting me if you are feeling generous.

And good luck to all the fledgling pixel artists, I hope you'll continue and have fun. I hope my guide helped you, and don't hesitate to send me an ask if you have any questions! 💕

My other tutorials (so far): How to draw Simple Grass for a game Hue Shifting

[gammagoop]

ive been wanting to make smth like this for a little while now and i finally finished it up ^_^ hopefully my tricks are helpful

EDITS: since this post is gaining a lot of traction, i want to highlight some of the suggestions and addendums that other people have made. i'm imperfect, which is why i recommend that you use references of real people along with my simple tips!

as many have pointed out, the yellow in the last diagram should cover the entire body, especially around the stomach area. the only parts of the body that are consistently bare are the palms of the hands and the bottoms of the feet

check out this reblog from @proxykiwi for a diagram of the distribution of hair on the back of the body

the texture of the hair can differ between the head and the body-- much of the time body and beard hair is curlier than the hair on the head

like when drawing head hair, its helpful to break up facial hair into descriptive shapes, and add lines for texture as needed. i tried to communicate that in the images, but i think its also useful to write it out

check out this reblog from @jodjuya for a detailed explanation of how beards tend to grow throughout teen-adult years

thank you to everyone who's suggested and added things! i encourage people to look through the replies and reblogs of this post for more information

[coochiekrab]

Someone asked for another hand tutorial and i once again failed to deliver the tutorial part