So I'm starting to get into game making and made this pixel art for a ground texture. Textures are easy for me but actual characters are hard. Any tips?
Also general "what are you making" thread
>>338168716
>Coming to /v/ of all places for critique
OP you're gonna get 400+ replies of Its shit, and >Pixel art
needs more grass.
characters just need to be in proportion.
I'm making an album, but it's slow going right now
More grass/taller grass
Make the grass move
That soil looks like shit. Like shit shit.
Also, your soil is detailed, but your grass isn't. It clashes against one another. Consider lessening the detail on your soil
>>338168716
>So I'm starting to get into game making and-
STOP RIGHT THERE.
Who are you working with, how big is your team, and how much coding do you know?
If the answer is less then three, None, and I'm an idea guys, you can fuck right off.
>>338168716
pretty shitty bro
wouldn't use it for a 1992 PC game that comes free with cereal
>>338169094
Shut up
>>338169094
I know a pretty good amount of coding, just trying my hand at some art. Currently two person team. I don't want to be a useless "ideas guy"
>>338169247
good answer.
>>338168716
The dirt looks like it's literally made of shit. Add some more textures/colors into it. I'd also say to make the grass larger proportionally, it's too small as it is right now.
>>338168882
This
sorry OP, you know how /v/ works
>>338168716
why the hell is the ground shining? That's not ground is it?
>>338169094
Just me.
Using MS paint and a pirated copy of gamemaker pro.
It needs to tile horizontally
>>338168716
Mostly more grass on the whole block, it needs to go deeper.
And make the blades sway back and forth, repost with a .gif.
>>338169394
>Saying that like its a bad thing
MS paint is literally the best thing for pixel art, it means you do it all by hand, no fancy dithering or blending tools to cheap out your work.
That doesn't look like it'll tile properly, make sure the edges match up
I don't mind pixel art
just as long as you put enough effort into it to rival '95 SNK
>>338169530
OP don't listen to this guy he has no idea what he's talking about or he's baiting
>>338169538
Oh, that's a good point. I'll make the edges match up more
>>338169530
probably true but there are programs out there that offer additional tools like layers and transparency for tracing sketches
it's so easy these days, all you really need is an idea and patience.
Risk of Rain and Hotline Miami where made in Gamemaker by people whom learnt on the fly.
>>338169654
Fuck off. Tools like spriter pro and other programs with "Auto lighting" are cancer. If you're gonna do art, you do it right, you leanr where lighting hotspots are, you learn anatomy, you go the extra mile to make your shit look GOOD, not some half assed template work some program did for you.
>>338168716
The highlight on the soil is distracting, I can see that sort of highlight being used to define sharp edges in a ground texture, but your use clearly stems from a lack of knowledge. If you're gonna do pixel art, but don't want to actually learn how to draw/paint then look of games with visuals similar to what you're aiming for and study those.
Keep on truckin' OP, you can do it.
Sorry OP but redo it.
Your Tile doesnt match at all.
>>338168716
>>338168882
But it looks like shit, literal shit, like a pile of turds under a line of grass.
>>338169824
So use Photoshop then, but endorsing Paint is just stubbornly hobbling yourself.
Was messing around with the concept of a gravity shifting game in UE4 using Blueprint. Didn't expect to reach Blueprint's limit that quickly though. The most it can seem to do is change the scale of it rather than direction.
>>338168716
Stop making games with pixel art, and make actual graphics. It's been done to death. Make something original.
>>338168716
doesn't tesselate
go from left to right when making it
>338169824
Adobe Photoshop has all the utility you need without needing to use templates and auto correction you tard.
Spriting isn't fucking simple, don't use simple programs to do it
>>338169589
fuck you.
SNK pixel art took several dozens veteran artists that cost 100k and above few years just to make a several hours game
>>338169094
Anon, don't discourage Anon.
Everyone has to start somewhere. Also there are plenty of good and/or succesful games developed by a single person.
He's already willing to make a ground texture, which a lot of people would give up on because they'd consider it to be too boring.
>>338170009
photoshop is overly complicated for no reason when it comes to pixel art, you don't need transparency, layering, or saturation when all you need is a 1X1 grid.
Photoshop is great don't get me wrong, but it does more harm then help for pixels.
>>338169589
they had far, far more restrictions than today
you have virtually infinite palettes and memory to play
>>338169868
I'm mainly a programmer just trying my hand at art. So I don't know much yet, but I'll get there. thanks for the advice!
>Wanted to make a skeleton game with these 4 for kicks and giggles
>If I do it now people will just see it as an undertale rip off
>>338169094
What do you think he has a kickstarter project and a planned release date? Stop trying to act smart and fuck off.
>>338170505
Welcome to /adgd/ kiddies
>>338170573
>/adgd/
roffle.
OP here again (from my computer this time)
How much would it cost to hire a semi-decent artist? Is it worth it instead of learning to do art myself? This is assuming I make some sort of commercial game eventually
>>338170478
What're their names?
What was the game gonna be about?
>>338171096
It depends on the artist. My rates are $15 an hour, or an agreed upon quote per batch of assets. Some artists work for peanuts, some artists don't show unless they get the big $$$.
Good, or at the very least, coherent visuals go a long way.
>>338170478
Don't worry anon, to me it looks like an Ao Oni ripoff.
>>338171096
Learn to do it yourself. Even if you hire an artist, knowing what you're asking them to do is incredibly useful.
Use ASEsprite if you're doing pixel art.
Check >>>/vg/agdg/ and >>>/ic/ for resources.
>>338169094
>None, and I'm an idea guys, you can fuck right off.
he's clearly an artist, not a fantastic one, but he is one.
He's got a skill to contribute, meaning he can't be just an idea guy.
>>338168716
what i've learned about simple pixel art is that it can't be judged for one of its static assists (say a texture, character model, etc.)
what matters most is if it's consistent with all assists
unless it's something more detailed like a fighting game model you couldn't be told if its good
like look at this stuff, looks good right? could you say that if it was just one of the texures
>>338169824
who the fuck said anything about auto-lighting.
MSpaint can't even do transparency or layers. Basic fucking shit.
>>338169589
That's asking a lot. Not even most professionals can get on that level.
That's like saying "don't even bother doing 3d unless you're on par with Naughty Dog"
>>338170023
Pixel art is actual graphics. What the fuck are you talking about?
>>338171096
it all depends on the artist.
But obviously, the better they are, the more they charge.
I personally charge $18(USD) hourly, and I'm only mid tier.
>>338170023
Not him but I've wanted to be a pixel artist my whole life, I don't care if its been done to death by everyone else, I'm not giving up on my dream job just because its oversaturated.
>>338168716
I can't make anything other than shitty tiles and pillars. Granted, it's hard to do much of anything when limited to the NES palette.
I gotta get back into pixel arting. I hate being shit at it when I'm pretty much a 1MA.
>>338172737
that looks hella nice
>>338169094
>how much coding do you know?
>five
>>338170023
yeah dude just, like, MAKE the graphics man!
I'm also trying to code/compose/draw a 2D RPG into life. It's an idea I've been fiddling around with for way too long, and I feel I could do something productive with it.
So far so good with coding and music compositions, but goddamn, am I bad at drawing.
Any tips regarding drawing tiles and stuff? Maybe appropiate software (using Aseprite right now), guidelines, tutorials, etc.
Pic related, trying to shoot for a cool open-world experience for post game content, filled with ancient beings and neat landscapes to explore.
>>338172737
I'd play it
>>338169530
>MS paint is literally the best thing for pixel art
you're a retard
graphics gale is the perfect tool for making and animating pixel art
>>338172114
Oh, that's actually a really good point to bring up. I never thought about it that way. Thanks for the perspective!
>>338170478
just do it man, nobody cares about the 3 autists that still get triggered by undertale
and it'll be even less by the time you're done with it
>>338171096
do it yourself, hiring a person to work for you is expensive
the kind of expensive you can't afford
>>338169939
>>338169939
all he would have to do is invert the second image horizontally and change the direction the blades of grass are going.
>>338173396
That's a horrible way of doing tiled sprites.
>>338172775
>>338172920
Thank you
It's just gonna be a shitty Zelda ripoff, but with extraspook. It's been like a year since I made this though, I need to get back into devving.
>>338173750
I definitely get a mix of zelda and final fantasy from your tiles
>>338169094
>coding
What are you? 12? It's programming you shit.
>>338173396
>>338169939
>>338172803
Lol'd
>>338174014
I see a face
>>338174149
nigga this aint a Rorschach picture
>>338174014
That looks like a nidorino jerking off an exceptionally large dick.
>>338174014
don't think of textures as "textures" think of them as patterns
>>338168716
I'm going to save you a lot of time here anon. If a colour you want to use is not in this image, you cannot use it.
Trust me on this one.
>>338174353
Why is that, anon?
>>338174353
This guy is actually right-ish.
>>338168716
>making pixelart trash
kill yourself we don't need more indie nostalgia-bate games
>>338174353
huh? sounds like it could really cripple you in the future
that's even less colors than 8 bit
>>338174353
thats honestly a great palette
>>338168716
You never really want to use a sliding scale of brightness or saturation for art. Using flat colors makes it difficult to differentiate light and dark.
>>338174547
Colour palette is one of the most important parts of doing pixel art.
Making a good colour palette that has a wide range of colours while still looking good is something that takes years (maybe even decades) of experience.
The picture I posted is an absurdly good color palette, better than what you will find even in most professional games.
Picture related is just a sample of how you can use differing to give you a huge range of colours with it.
>>338174462
That's fucking amazing
There's too much ground and not enough grass. And the grass doesn't really match with the ground. Also the texture makes the dirt look like literal poop. I'd go look at some tilesets for some SNES platformers to get a better idea on how to make ground
>>338174726
>Don't make the style you want to for your own game
>Pander to me and my preferences!
Here is how I would do dirt.
rate my shitty dirt
>>338176205
needs a bit of gray (rocks) on it and will be golden
>>338174353
it actually is a pretty good palette but not a lot of good options for skin tons
>>338176205
Look at the thumb nail. It's clear you didn't when making it. Too much tiling.
>>338176403
this
>>338176448
You can get very light, light, medium, dark and very dark from it.
What more do you need?
>>338176668
yeah obvious Asian
>>338176403
how can you add gray to make gold?
>>338177374
pls don't do that to yourself, just add a bit of gray to it so it doesn't look as dull
>>338174353
anymore pallets?
>>338168716
If you can't draw people, don't draw people.
Before you ponder that too hard or think its just trolling, as a general rule of thumb a game needs to be fun at its core.
You working on graphics right now can either be a good sign IE; gameplay coding is done and it plays great or a very, very BAD sign IE; I have no plan but if i keep throwing paint at the canvas then something is bound to happen.
Their is no shortage of games with minimal or even zero graphics in them so don't feel pressured to get good at drawing everything you want or think you want in your game, as long as you have a good game, fucking stickmen and boxes will do. Say I'm wrong but you and I know know their are games on steam that feature both of those right now!
But for the love of spagetti monster, make sure the game itself is done before ever touching the graphics or else you will fall into the "my graphics will never be good enough!" trap.
>>338180372
for minimalist pixel art you don't even really need to be that good of an artist, just enough to understand proper composition, color theory, and some animation knowledge
what i would recommend is reading
Fun with a Pencil and the Animator's Survival Guide
>>338180372
I think that's the exact trap I just fell into. So you're saying to do my game first and just kinda have an overall vision of what the graphics should look like, THEN go and make them?
