#best way to learn coding

[webtutorsblog]

HTML 101: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Writing, Learning & Using HTML

HTML serves as the backbone of every web page, allowing us to structure content with paragraphs, headings, images, links, forms, and more. If you're eager to delve into web development or explore the world of coding, mastering HTML is a fantastic starting point.

Join us on webtutor.dev as we unveil the ultimate guide to HTML for beginners. In this comprehensive tutorial, we'll demystify HTML, explore its diverse applications, and equip you with the skills to write your own HTML code. From essential elements to crucial attributes, we'll cover it all.

Get ready to embark on your HTML journey with webtutor.dev – your go-to resource for empowering web development education. Let us dive in and unlock the potential of HTML together.

Join us now on webtutor.dev!

What is HTML?

First published by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989, HTML is now used by 94% of all websites, and probably all the ones you visit. But what is it, exactly?

HTML, short for HyperText Markup Language, is the backbone of the web. It is a markup language that structures the content of web pages. HTML utilizes tags to define the elements and their attributes, such as headings, paragraphs, images, links, lists, forms, and more. These tags instruct web browsers on how to display and render the content to users. With HTML, developers can create interactive and visually appealing web pages. It plays a vital role in creating a seamless browsing experience by allowing users to navigate through hyperlinks and access information across different websites. HTML is the foundation upon which websites are built, providing the structure and organization for displaying text, multimedia, and interactive elements. By learning HTML, individuals can gain the skills to create and customize web pages, making their mark in the digital landscape.

Is HTML a programming language?

No, HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is not considered a programming language. It is a markup language used for structuring the content and presenting information on web pages. HTML provides a set of tags that define the structure and semantics of the content, such as headings, paragraphs, links, images, and more.

While HTML is essential for web development, it primarily focuses on the presentation and organization of data rather than the logic and functionality found in programming languages. To add interactivity and dynamic behavior to web pages, programming languages like JavaScript are commonly used in conjunction with HTML.

What is HTML Used for?

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is used for creating and structuring the content of web pages. It provides a set of tags that define the elements and their layout within a web page. Here are some of the key uses of HTML:

Web page structure: HTML is used to define the structure of a web page, including headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, forms, and other elements. It allows you to organize and present content in a hierarchical manner.

Text formatting: HTML provides tags for formatting text, such as bold, italic, underline, headings of different levels, and more. These tags help in emphasizing and styling specific parts of the content.

HTML Hyperlinks: HTML enables the creation of hyperlinks, allowing you to connect different web pages together or link to external resources. Links are defined using the <a> tag and provide navigation within a website or to other websites.

Images and media: HTML allows you to embed images, videos, audio files, and other media elements into web pages. It provides tags like <img>, <video>, and <audio> for adding visual and multimedia content.

Forms and user input: HTML provides form elements, such as text fields, checkboxes, radio buttons, dropdown menus, and buttons, allowing users to enter and submit data. Form data can be processed using server-side technologies.

Semantic markup: HTML includes semantic elements that provide meaning and structure to the content. Examples of semantic elements are <header>, <nav>, <article>, <section>, <footer>, which help define the purpose and role of specific parts of a web page.

Accessibility: HTML supports accessibility features, such as providing alternative text for images, using proper heading structure, using semantic elements, and other attributes that make web content more accessible to users with disabilities.

Overall, HTML serves as the foundation of web development, providing the structure and presentation of content on the World Wide Web. It is often complemented by other technologies like CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) for styling and JavaScript for interactivity and dynamic behavior.

How to Write HTML?

<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><title>My Page</title></head><body><h1>Hello, World!</h1></body></html>

Explanation:

<!DOCTYPE html>: Specifies the HTML version.

<html>: Opening tag for the HTML document.

<head>: Contains metadata about the page.

<title>: Sets the title of the page displayed in the browser's title bar or tab.

<body>: Contains the visible content of the page.

<h1>: Defines a heading level 1.

Hello, World!: The actual content to be displayed.

Please note that this example is a very basic HTML structure, and for more complex pages, additional tags and attributes would be required.

How to Create an HTML File

To create an HTML file, you can follow these steps:

Open a text editor: Open a text editor of your choice, such as Notepad (Windows), TextEdit (Mac), Sublime Text, Visual Studio Code, or any other editor that allows you to create plain text files.

Start with the HTML doctype: At the beginning of your file, add the HTML doctype declaration, which tells the browser that the file is an HTML document. Use the following line:

<!DOCTYPE html>

Create the HTML structure: After the doctype declaration, add the opening and closing <html> tags to enclose the entire HTML document.

Add the head section: Inside the <html> tags, include the <head> section. This is where you define metadata and include any external resources like stylesheets or scripts. For now, let's add a <title> element to set the title of your page:

<head>

  <title>My First HTML Page</title>

</head>

Create the body: Within the <html> tags, include the <body> section. This is where you place the visible content of your web page. You can add various HTML tags here to structure and format your content. For example, let's add a heading and a paragraph:

<body>

  <h1>Welcome to My Page</h1>

  <p>This is my first HTML file.</p>

</body>

Save the file: Save the file with an .html extension, such as myfile.html. Choose a suitable location on your computer to save the file.

Open the HTML file in a browser: Double-click on the HTML file you just saved. It will open in your default web browser, and you will see the content displayed according to the HTML tags you added.

Congratulations! You have created an HTML file. You can now edit the file in your text editor, add more HTML elements, styles, scripts, and save the changes to see them reflected in the browser.

Common HTML Attributes

<input type="text" name="username" placeholder="Enter your username" required>

<img src="image.jpg" alt="Image description">

<a href="https://example.com" target="_blank">Link to Example</a>

<div id="container" class="box">

<button onclick="myFunction()">Click me</button>

<table border="1">

<form action="submit.php" method="POST">

<select name="color">

<option value="red">Red</option>

<option value="blue">Blue</option>

</select>

Explanation:

<input>: Attributes like type define the input type (text, checkbox, etc.), name sets the input's name for form submission, placeholder provides a hint to the user, and required specifies that the input is mandatory.

<img>: src specifies the image source URL, and alt provides alternative text for the image (useful for accessibility).

<a>: href sets the hyperlink URL, and target="_blank" opens the link in a new tab or window.

<div>: id assigns an identifier to the element, and class adds a CSS class for styling or JavaScript targeting.

<button>: onclick triggers a JavaScript function when the button is clicked.

<table>: border adds a border to the table.

<form>: action specifies the form submission URL, and method sets the HTTP method (GET or POST).

<select>: name assigns the name for the selection input, and <option> defines the selectable options within the dropdown menu.

These are just a few examples, and there are many more HTML attributes available for different elements, each serving specific purposes.

[mtariqniaz]

The 20 Best Programming Languages to Learn in 2024

In this article, I’ll share the best programming languages in 2024. Choosing the best programming language can be tricky. Plus, when you consider that the Stack Overflow developer survey alone lists more than 40 different programming languages, there’s a lot to choose from! So, if you’re curious about the best programming language to learn, I’m here to help! Perhaps you’re interested in data, and��

[the-hilda-librarians-wife]

An aspect of Hilda the series that I feel isn’t talked about enough is the colonizer’s guilt and how it affects the main character.

What made me write this was watching the third episode of the new season, but honestly, it’s something we see throughout the whole series. Starting out with the elves in the northern counties, and moving on to trolls and now giants. Every season that came out gave us a chance to see Hilda deal with the feelings that arise from living in a society she knows is built on the occupation of another people’s native land and the oppression of those inhabitants.

She knows it’s not her fault, she knows she’s not the colonizer, but she’s well aware that she’s in the privileged side of her society. Seeing her grapple with the fact that her very existence in these spaces is only possible because someone else is getting the short end of the stick, to me at least, makes her that much more interesting of a character.

Because it’s not a matter of fixing what she’s done, but the privilege is still there and not even well hidden when she sees the day to day life of the people whose land has been occupied by humans/trolbergians. So whenever we see her rush to aid them, her borderline desperation to fix what’s been broken, it’s even more captivating because it’s not just the usual “I love helping people and having adventures” gist, there’s always this undertone of guilt for something she hasn’t personally done but still knows has to be held accountable for.

Hilda knows the type of oppression that people like her get away with. And she wants no part in it.

[makenna-made-this]

8Bit leghorn coming for your toes now with 100% more head flopper action

[pixelatedraindrops]

Yuma Month: Day 16: Detectives

Learning to be a Pro Amnesiac Detective 🔎

[anonymusbosch]

oh no, i established myself as Capable Of and Willing To Perform some minor annoying administrative tasks at work and now am being tossed additional requests to perform said tasks

i know that in a strict financial view it makes sense to spend 20 minutes of junior engineer time on mundane-annoying-task than 20 minutes of senior staff engineer time but have you considered: I Don't Like It

[gigantomachylesbian]

Guys. I did not know before now that writing could be painfully millennial in a full prose book but the pho*nix ke*per has proven me wrong and I have to complain about it in the tags

[tj-crochets]

Hey y'all! Thank you so much for recommending scratch for the kidlet I used to babysit who wants to learn to code. He's started playing with it and he loves it! Do you have any recommendations for any supplemental materials I could give him? Like books or guides or something?

[webtutorsblog]

Learn HTML Tags with WebTutor.dev: Your Ultimate Resource for Web Development Tutorials

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is the backbone of the web. It is the standard markup language used to create web pages. HTML consists of a series of tags that define the structure and content of a web page. In this blog post, we will dive deeper into HTML tags, what they are, and how they work.

HTML tags are the building blocks of a web page. They are used to define the structure and content of a web page. HTML tags are surrounded by angle brackets (<>) and are written in lowercase. There are two types of HTML tags: opening tags and closing tags. An opening tag is used to start a tag, and a closing tag is used to end it. For example, the opening tag for a paragraph is <p>, and the closing tag is </p>.

HTML tags can also have attributes, which provide additional information about the tag. Attributes are included in the opening tag and are written as name-value pairs. For example, the <img> tag is used to embed an image on a web page. The src attribute is used to specify the URL of the image. The alt attribute is used to provide a description of the image for users who cannot see it.

HTML tags can be used to define headings, paragraphs, links, images, lists, tables, forms, and more. Here are some examples of commonly used HTML tags:

<html>: Defines the document as an HTML document

<head>: Defines the head section of the document, which contains metadata such as the page title and links to external files

<title>: Defines the title of the document, which appears in the browser's title bar

<body>: Defines the body section of the document, which contains the content of the page

<h1> to <h6>: Defines HTML headings of different sizes, with <h1> being the largest and <h6> being the smallest

<p>: Defines a paragraph

<a>: Defines a hyperlink to another web page or a specific location on the same page

<img>: Defines an image to be displayed on the page

<ul> and <ol>: Defines unordered and ordered lists, respectively

<table>: Defines a table

<form>: Defines a form for user input

<br>: Inserts a line break

<hr>: Inserts a horizontal rule

<strong>: Defines text as important or emphasized

<em>: Defines text as emphasized

<blockquote>: Defines a block of quoted text

<cite>: Defines the title of a work, such as a book or movie

<code>: Defines a piece of code

<pre>: Defines preformatted text, which preserves spaces and line breaks

<sup> and <sub>: Defines superscript and subscript text, respectively

<div>: Defines a section of the page for grouping content

<span>: Defines a small section of text within a larger block of text for styling purposes

Learning HTML can seem daunting, but with the right resources, it can be easy and enjoyable. One such resource is WebTutor.dev, an online platform that provides tutorials on web development, including HTML. The tutorials are easy to follow and provide a hands-on learning experience. The platform also offers quizzes to test your knowledge and a community forum to connect with other learners and ask questions.

In conclusion, HTML tags are the building blocks of a web page. They define the structure and content of a web page and can be used to create headings, paragraphs, links, images, lists, tables, forms, and more. If you are interested in learning HTML, check out WebTutor.dev for easy-to-follow tutorials and a supportive community of learners.

[mollusken]

I do think the relationship between Laios and his father is so interesting as a person who had a contentious relationship with their father that was made better by getting older & gaining perspective on things. We also individually came to the conclusion we were autistic, lol, so the way Laios is made to think about the relationship with his father in the dog names comic & the one with Falin talking about him consulting someone for her magic really get to me.

I think they could have some sort of relationship again if his father was able to speak openly with him but he'd also have to face that he might've had some misconceptions about them or even want to forgive them.

[edgeworthsstupidbangs]

Ace attorney brained loser interacting with anything that isnt ace attorney: getting a LOT of ace attorney vibes from this

[how-to-work]

Best Softwares to Learn Programming

Programming is an essential skill in today's technological age, and there are several software tools available to help individuals learn how to code. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced programmer looking to learn a new language, the following are some of the best software tools to consider,

1. Codecademy

Codecademy is an online learning platform that provides a variety of coding courses to help individuals learn how to code. It was founded in 2011 by Zach Sims and Ryan Bubinski and has since become one of the most popular coding education platforms on the web. The platform's mission is to make coding education accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or previous coding experience.

Courses

Codecademy offers a range of courses, including introductory courses in programming languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, and SQL. The platform also provides more advanced courses, including courses on data analysis, machine learning, and computer science. Each course is structured as a series of interactive lessons, with learners completing coding challenges and quizzes to reinforce their learning.

Advantages

One of the main advantages of Codecademy is its interactive learning approach. The platform provides a hands-on approach to learning, with learners actively writing code from the very first lesson. This approach helps learners develop their coding skills more quickly and effectively than traditional lecture-based approaches.

Another benefit of Codecademy is its accessibility. The platform is free to use, with users only needing to pay if they want access to premium content and features. Additionally, Codecademy is designed to be user-friendly, with an intuitive interface and clear instructions to guide learners through each lesson.

Codecademy also provides learners with a community of like-minded individuals who are also learning to code. Learners can interact with each other, share tips and resources, and collaborate on projects. This sense of community helps learners stay motivated and engaged with their learning, which can be especially important when learning a new skill.

Codecademy offers a range of features to help learners track their progress and stay motivated. The platform provides a dashboard that shows learners how much progress they've made and how many lessons they've completed. Learners can also earn badges and certificates upon completing courses, which can serve as tangible evidence of their coding skills and accomplishments.

2. Udacity

Udacity is a well-known online learning platform that offers a variety of courses for learners across the world. Founded in 2011, Udacity aims to democratize education and provide learners with the skills they need to succeed in today's digital economy.

Courses

Udacity partners with leading technology companies such as Google, IBM, and Amazon to develop courses that are relevant to today's job market. The platform offers a range of programs, from short courses to full-fledged nanodegrees, covering topics such as artificial intelligence, data science, machine learning, web development, and more.

Features

One of the unique features of Udacity is its focus on hands-on learning. The platform offers a range of interactive exercises and projects that allow learners to apply what they have learned and gain practical experience. Learners can also work on real-world projects and receive feedback from industry experts.

Another standout feature of Udacity is its personalized learning approach. The platform provides learners with a customized learning path based on their skills, experience, and learning goals. Learners can take assessments to evaluate their skills and receive recommendations on which courses to take next.

Udacity's courses are designed by industry experts who have practical experience in their respective fields. This means that learners can be sure that they are learning the latest industry trends and best practices. The platform also offers a range of career services, including career coaching, resume reviews, and interview preparation, to help learners succeed in their careers.

Cost

Udacity offers both free and paid courses, with prices ranging from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars for full-fledged nanodegrees. While some courses are self-paced, others have specific start and end dates, and learners are expected to complete assignments and projects within the specified timeframe.

Note: If you want a professional programmer to get your Work done for a cheap price, Click here to Visit Fiverr

3. Coursera

Coursera is an online learning platform that offers a wide range of courses in various subjects, including computer science, business, and data science. Founded in 2012 by Stanford University professors, Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller, Coursera has quickly grown into one of the largest online learning platforms in the world. Today, the platform has over 100 million registered users and offers over 4,000 courses from top universities and institutions around the globe.

Courses

Coursera's courses are designed to be accessible to learners of all levels, from beginners to advanced learners. The platform offers both free and paid courses, with the paid courses providing learners with additional benefits such as graded assignments, certificates, and access to instructors. The platform also offers a range of degree and professional certificate programs, which provide learners with industry-recognized credentials to help them advance their careers.

Advantages

One of the strengths of Coursera is its partnerships with top universities and institutions. The platform has partnerships with over 200 universities and institutions, including Yale University, University of Michigan, and Johns Hopkins University, among others. This allows learners to access courses from some of the best educational institutions in the world, without having to enroll in a full-time degree program.

Coursera's courses are taught by experts in their respective fields, and the platform uses a variety of teaching methods, including video lectures, quizzes, and assignments, to help learners understand and retain the material. The platform also provides learners with a range of support services, including discussion forums, peer review, and access to instructors and teaching assistants.

Another strength of Coursera is its flexibility. Learners can access the platform's courses from anywhere in the world, at any time. This allows learners to fit their studies around their existing commitments, whether it's a full-time job, family responsibilities, or other obligations. The platform also offers mobile apps, which make it easy for learners to study on-the-go.

4. edX

edX is a popular online learning platform that offers a vast range of courses in various disciplines, including computer science, engineering, business, and more. Founded in 2012 by Harvard University and MIT, edX has since expanded to offer courses from top universities worldwide, such as Stanford, Berkeley, and the University of Tokyo.

Advantages

One of the significant advantages of edX is that it offers free courses from leading institutions, making education accessible to anyone with an internet connection. While some courses have a fee if learners want a verified certificate, many courses are available for free. This means that learners can access high-quality courses without worrying about the cost, making edX an excellent option for those looking to learn a new skill or improve their knowledge in a particular field.

Another benefit of edX is the flexibility it offers learners. The platform offers self-paced courses that learners can take at their own pace, and they can access the material whenever and wherever they want. This is particularly useful for those who have other commitments, such as work or family, and can't commit to a set schedule.

Furthermore, edX courses are designed to be interactive and engaging, with a range of multimedia tools used to help learners understand complex concepts. For example, some courses use video lectures, interactive simulations, and gamification techniques to make learning more engaging and fun. This approach can be particularly helpful for learners who find traditional learning methods, such as lectures or textbooks, boring or difficult to engage with.

Educational programs

EdX also offers professional education programs that can help learners gain practical skills and credentials to advance their careers. For example, learners can take courses in project management, data analytics, or cybersecurity and earn certificates that demonstrate their skills to potential employers. Some courses also offer credit towards a degree, allowing learners to earn a degree or certification entirely online.

5. JetBrains

JetBrains is a software development company that provides tools and solutions for software developers worldwide. The company was founded in 2000 in Prague, Czech Republic, and since then, it has grown into one of the leading providers of professional software development tools.

Languages

The company's main focus is on the development of integrated development environments (IDEs) for various programming languages, including Java, Kotlin, Python, Ruby, JavaScript, and PHP. These IDEs provide a comprehensive environment for coding, debugging, and testing, and are widely used by professional developers worldwide.

IDEs

Some of JetBrains' most popular IDEs include IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, RubyMine, and PhpStorm. These IDEs are designed to help developers write code more efficiently and effectively, by providing features such as code analysis, debugging tools, intelligent code completion, and version control.

IntelliJ IDEA is one of the most popular IDEs offered by JetBrains. It is an IDE for Java, Kotlin, and Android development that offers advanced coding assistance, a comprehensive set of tools and integrations, and support for many popular frameworks and technologies. IntelliJ IDEA also offers support for other languages, including Scala, Groovy, and Clojure.

PyCharm is another popular IDE offered by JetBrains. It is an IDE for Python development that offers advanced coding assistance, debugging tools, and support for popular web frameworks such as Django and Flask. PyCharm also offers support for other web technologies, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

WebStorm is an IDE for web development that offers support for popular web technologies, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It offers advanced coding assistance, debugging tools, and integration with popular web frameworks such as Angular and React.

RubyMine is an IDE for Ruby development that offers advanced coding assistance, debugging tools, and support for popular web frameworks such as Ruby on Rails and Sinatra. It also offers support for other web technologies, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

PhpStorm is an IDE for PHP development that offers advanced coding assistance, debugging tools, and support for popular PHP frameworks such as Laravel and Symfony. It also offers support for other web technologies, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Other

In addition to its IDEs, JetBrains also offers a range of other software development tools, including a code collaboration platform called Upsource, a team collaboration platform called Space, and a productivity tool for code reviews called CodeGuru.

6. GitHub

GitHub is a web-based platform that provides version control and collaborative tools for developers. It was launched in 2008 and has since become the world's largest repository of open-source software, with over 100 million projects hosted on the platform.

Advantages

Version control is a critical aspect of software development, and GitHub makes it easy for developers to collaborate on code and keep track of changes. Each project hosted on GitHub has its own repository, which serves as a centralized location for all the code associated with the project.

GitHub allows developers to create branches, which are separate copies of the code that can be edited independently. This enables developers to work on different parts of the code simultaneously without interfering with each other's work. Once changes are made to a branch, they can be merged back into the main codebase using a pull request. The pull request allows other developers to review the changes before they are merged, ensuring that the code remains stable and error-free.

One of the key features of GitHub is its social aspect. Users can follow other users, projects, and organizations and receive updates on new releases, bug fixes, and other developments. This makes it easy for developers to collaborate and share their work with others, whether they are working on the same project or not.

GitHub is also a great resource for learning how to code. It hosts a vast number of open-source projects, and users can explore and learn from the code of these projects. Users can also contribute to these projects by submitting bug fixes, feature requests, and other improvements. In addition to hosting code, GitHub offers a range of tools for developers, including project management tools, code review tools, and continuous integration and deployment tools. These tools help developers streamline their workflow and ensure that their code is always up-to-date and error-free.

GitHub is also used by many companies as a tool for hiring developers. Recruiters can view a candidate's GitHub profile to get a sense of their coding skills and experience, as well as to see the projects they have contributed to.

[makenna-made-this]

8Bit Leghorn is coming for your toes

[impzone]

here's the thing. if you have the time/resources you can just learn anything you want. like you can cobble together information in whatever way is available even if its not the most efficient and no one can tell you "no, you can't do that." like you can just do it. you can just learns as many things as your life allows.

[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

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