Pixel Logic is an in-depth pixel art tutorial book currently at 242 pages!
This book focuses on VISUAL learning and limits text as much as possible, unlike other tutorials. Images > Text.
The tutorials will cover pixel art from start to finish, by studying video-game graphics from the past 30 years; with topics ranging from creating initial line art, to fully animating sprites. These tutorials will not focus on my own personal methods; instead they will combining examples from the past with modern application!
Author(s): Michael Azzi
Edition: 2022
Publisher: Independent
Year: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 242
Pixel Logic
About the Author
Table of contents
Introduction
What is pixel art?
Where to start?
What software to use?
What hardware to use?
Retro hardware
Software tools
Canvas size
Mixels
Chapter 1: Line Art
Intro
Lines and curves
Lines are everywhere
Outlines
No outline
Black inline
Black contour
Coloured outline
Shaded Outlines
End
Chapter 2: Anti-Aliasing
Intro
When is it necessary?
AA or no AA?
How to apply?
Flat curves
45° lines
Jagged lines
Line weight
Banding
End
Chapter 3: Colour
Intro
How to pick colours?
Why make palettes?
Colour ramps
Hue shifting
Black tones
Using greys
Picking colours I
Picking colours II
Picking colours III
Contrast
Different limitations
Sprites with limited colours
Scenes with limited colours
Extreme limitation
End
Chapter 4: Readability
Intro
Size Matters : : :
: :: but pixels matter more!
Why every pixel matters I
Why every pixel matters II
Recognisable features
Easy to read symbols
Symbols I - Hands
Symbols II -Eyes
Character design & Proportions
Silhouettes
Colour design
Light & Shadow
Spacing
Sprites on backgrounds
Anti-aliasing & Dithering
How to spot readability issues
End
Chapter 5: Dithering
Intro
When to use dithering?
Checkered dithering
More patterns
Parallel lines
Discontinued lines
Dents
Intertwined dithering
Random dithering
Stylised dithering
More than just gradients
Brushes for dithering?
Before transparent layers : : :
Dithering isn't new
End
Chapter 6: Game Perspectives
Intro
Orthographic projections
Side view
Top-down view
Top view
Paraline views
Isometric view
Making objects
Drawing a circle on a horizontal plane
Drawing a circle on a vertical plane
Finding the tip of a cone/pyramid
Converting sprites to an isometric view
Terrain
45° Dimetric
Oblique
True Perspective
Clarity Issues
Using guidelines
Showing scale
End
Chapter 7: Clean-up
Intro
From rough to clean
Adjusting your sprite
Cleaner shapes
Multiple versions
The Selection tool
Scaling & Rotating
Sharpness
Various possible tweaks
From start to finish I
From start to finish II
From start to finish III
End
Chapter 8: Subpixeling
Intro
When & How
Shifting pieels
Line weight
Split pixels
Tricking the eye
Selective Outline
Animating subpixels
Let's get moving
Case Study: Capcom
Readability
Advanced pixel shifts
Case Study: Owlboy
A few more tips
End
Chapter 9: Animation
Intro
How to Study
Timelines in softwares
Animation techniques
Squash and Stretch
Anticipation
Breakdown
Easing in and out
Smears
Overshoots
Overlap & Follow-throughs
The Four Methods
Silhouette
Recycling frames
Start from Traditional Art
Line art
Limited frames
The Onion skin
Line boiling
Parallax scrolling
End
Afterword
Guest Artists
Bibliography
Copyright Information
Fan works
Authentic works
Software (logo, mascots & screenshots)
End & Contact
