I don't think I "get" art. I feel discouraged.

[cescobar]

Hello everyone! I'm a beginner and slowly working on my project. If this isn't the forum for this, please move it. Thanks.

For the past couple of days I've been doing pixel art because it is simpler. But I'm struggling with it. Once I came up with something that I think looks okay for my very little experience, I decided I was going to animate it. To my surprise, I struggled with it too. I probably spent like 2 hours drawing and trying to make 4 frames work. No matter what I did, I simply didn't get it.

I'm not new to art. I've taken a few art classes in high school and college. And I did fine I'd say. I think I did better than the average. But if I remember correctly, I used some sort of reference in most of them. Whether it was still life, a model, or whatever. I can do these type of reference art just fine.

What I cannot do at all is draw from my imagination. It simply doesn't work for me. I'm avoiding using as much reference material as possible right now because I want to learn to draw from my imagination. Otherwise I don't think I can make a game. Sure, I could probably pay someone to do the art or something, but I wouldn't be proud of it. I believe I can do pixel art and learn how to "draw" properly. But why am I struggling to draw from my imagination? If I can't do simple art, how am I going to reach my goal of drawing SNES style graphics? (that's my longterm goal)

Another thing I should mention is that I used to do some 3D Animation in college. That was originally going to be my major. I had a lot of fun with it and I think I understood it well enough. I did things like basic walking animations, sitting down, and lip synching. So, shouldn't I know how to animate? Well, with 3D software, it does the in-betweens for you. You just have to adjust it to make everything look smooth or whatever your goal is.

So why am I having so much trouble with all of this? Like I said, I struggled to do like a 4 frame walk animation by hand. I did picture the key movements in my head but when it came down to drawing, it simply didn't work. Then I see pixel art that works with like 3 frames of animation for walking and I can't even do that! (unless I directly used references, but that's the thing I'm avoiding because I feel like I am not learning).

I feel really discouraged right now. My dream is to make small video games for a living and I'm not going to give up yet.

If you have any advice or if you went through something similar, please share your stories. In the meantime, I'm going to keep looking at tutorials and will continue studying. One of the books I'm studying is The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams. I bought that back in college but never looked at it.

And if you'd like to see the pixel art and the frames I made, please let me know. I'll gladly share them.

Thanks for reading this.

 

[Roldy]

Why do you think you shouldn't be struggling?

If you havn't done it before and you have no expertise then it seems like you should expect to struggle.

The only way to improve is to practice. And that is what you are doing, practicing. Either keep practicing until you are happy with your results or give up.

If you are having success with using a reference (essentially copying) and then modifying it then keep that as your current process. If you do that enough with enough references then those reference will simply be in your head. That is idea behind figure drawing classes. Again its just practice.

As for making video games you will probably need to decide what that means. If your goal is to do everything yourself then you should expect the quality to suffer in areas. It is unrealistic to think you can achieve the same quality as a 'jack of all trades' versus specialist that are focusing on specific areas.

If you want to focus on designing game play then you should expect you designer art to be low quality.
If you want to focus on programming then you should expect your programmer art to be low quality.
etc...

If you want to make pixel art, then you are on the right track. Just keep making pixel art.

 

[Khao]

Correct. You don't get it.

You don't get it because you absolutely should be using references and it's perfectly okay you goof!

You want to draw from your imagination and that's cool, but how do you actually train your imagination?

You use references. As many of them as you can. You draw things from those references. Keep finding new ones, keep studying, keep drawing, and eventually you'll come to understand whatever it is you're trying to draw. Relying 100% on your imagination can produce bad habits, but if you just keep drawing things as you see, you'll continue to get better and better. I'm not just saying you have to copy things exactly, the idea is not to imitate it for the sake of it, but instead to learn from it.

And hey, even when using references, you can still use your imagination. As you get better and better, you can continue using references but you'll find that you'll have to rely less and less on them, figure out what'd work better, what'd be more iteresting, what'd fit your game better.

Either way, I can assure you that the best artists in the industry use references for their work every single day. It's not only okay, it's a good idea and it'll help you improve.

 

[cescobar]

Why do you think you shouldn't be struggling?

If you havn't done it before and you have no expertise then it seems like you should expect to struggle.

The only way to improve is to practice. And that is what you are doing, practicing. Either keep practicing until you are happy with your results or give up.

If you are having success with using a reference (essentially copying) and then modifying it then keep that as your current process. If you do that enough with enough references then those reference will simply be in your head. That is idea behind figure drawing classes. Again its just practice.

As for making video games you will probably need to decide what that means. If your goal is to do everything yourself then you should expect the quality to suffer in areas. It is unrealistic to think you can achieve the same quality as a 'jack of all trades' versus specialist that are focusing on specific areas.

If you want to focus on designing game play then you should expect you designer art to be low quality.
If you want to focus on programming then you should expect your programmer art to be low quality.
etc...

If you want to make pixel art, then you are on the right track. Just keep making pixel art.

Thanks for your reply.

You're right. I think the reason why I think I shouldn't be struggling this much is because I've taken art classes before. But because I basically used references to do my art in those classes (like you said, basically copying), I feel like I didn't learn much. Or maybe I am having a hard time putting everything together.

I was thinking that perhaps I don't understand art. And that's fine. Not everyone can be absolutely good at everything. I understand that. But I want to keep pushing myself because I do believe pixel art is achievable for me. But then I get carried away and start thinking about advanced techniques that I can't draw yet because I can't draw from my imagination.

I don't necessarily want to be a jack of all trades. I know for sure I won't be making music for my future games. I've never been a music person and I really don't understand it even if I tried. I also see plenty of developers that do everything and I think that's why I want to do that as well.

But you are absolutely right. I also feel like if I focus on one thing that maybe people will overlook me as a developer or that people will say "well, you didn't do that aspect of the game." Even though I fully understand that many games are made with several people. I mean, in the thousands for some games like the Assassin's Creed game. So development teams range in different sizes.

I was thinking about putting the graphics on hold for now and focus on game design and programming. I also don't have experience in either of those but I want to give it a shot. I think I have some good ideas.

Anyways, I have attached some of my work so far so you guys/gals can see what I'm struggling with.

The gif looks a bit better than before after I used Super Mario references.
It originally looked like she kicking and switching legs instead of walking. lol I'm also to blame for trying to do it with only like 4 frames.

 

[Roldy]

Ok that looks fine. It looks like a dude, and it looks like he is running.

Is it greatest pixel art or animation ever? No.

But it would work for a game prototype.

And if the game was really good, It would work for the final art if it had too.

One more word:

If you really want to make games then right now have your goal be to complete a game. It doesn't have to be good. Just have a simple idea, build all the parts, make it work, and play it. After that you can make all its parts better if you want.

It is better to think of making games as a process. You are going to build it up, tear it down, restructure it, change it and bang on it until it is roughly a shape you are happy with. But if you can try and have it be playable through the whole process. So get it playable as soon as possible. The art can be boxes, circle and lines for the first draft prototype.

 

[cescobar]

Correct. You don't get it.

You don't get it because you absolutely should be using references and it's perfectly okay you goof!

You want to draw from your imagination and that's cool, but how do you actually train your imagination?

You use references. As many of them as you can. You draw things from those references. Keep finding new ones, keep studying, keep drawing, and eventually you'll come to understand whatever it is you're trying to draw. Relying 100% on your imagination can produce bad habits, but if you just keep drawing things as you see, you'll continue to get better and better. I'm not just saying you have to copy things exactly, the idea is not to imitate it for the sake of it, but instead to learn from it.

And hey, even when using references, you can still use your imagination. As you get better and better, you can continue using references but you'll find that you'll have to rely less and less on them, figure out what'd work better, what'd be more iteresting, what'd fit your game better.

Either way, I can assure you that the best artists in the industry use references for their work every single day. It's not only okay, it's a good idea and it'll help you improve.

I'll try your suggestions. But I can't help but feel like I'm cheating myself in relying too much on references. But I do understand it's a powerful tool. I'm probably just giving myself a hard time and making it more difficult than it is. Don't get me wrong, it is difficult, but with my mindset, I'm overcomplicating even the simplest things I think.

Ok that looks fine. It looks like a dude, and it looks like he is running.

Is it greatest pixel art or animation ever? No.

But it would work for a game prototype.

And if the game was really good, It would work for the final art if it had too.

One more word:

If you really want to make games then right now have your goal be to complete a game. It doesn't have to be good. Just have a simple idea, build all the parts, make it work, and play it. After that you can make all its parts better if you want.

It is better to think of making games as a process. You are going to build it up, tear it down, restructure it, change it and bang on it until it is roughly a shape you are happy with. But if you can try and have it be playable through the whole process. So get it playable as soon as possible. The art can be boxes, circle and lines for the first draft prototype.

Thanks! I'll keep practicing.

Good ideas! I think I'll start with basic shapes as characters, props, etc. while I work on the game.

I was doing the art first so I could have everything laid out. I didn't want the sprites to break anything so that's why I thought working on the art was a better idea. Clearly I was wrong. lol But that's what I'm here for. To learn. But yes, I'm going to focus on the game design and mechanics. I can easily swap out the crude shapes for better sprites when I get to that stage.

 

[Mk.2]

I recommend you start doing Pixel Dailies, stop worrying that you're no way near SNES style graphics yet, lose the misconception that using references is cheating and just keep at it. Just like with learning programming, consistent practice, starting simple, and learning from the examples of others, you'll begin to gradually learn techniques to the point that you can come up with and implement your own solutions. Until then, study simple sprite work from old games you like the style of, recreate them pixel by pixel, edit them, eventually try to make new characters in that style from scratch.

 

[RefresherTowel]

I've been doing pixel art because it is simpler.

This is not true. Good pixel art is as hard, if not harder, than good "normal" art or good 3D art. It requires a complete retraining of many artistic sensibilities that people have...Remember the modification of a single pixel can completely change the way the character appears. People who are good at normal art can be terrible at pixel art and people who are good at pixel art can be terrible at normal art.

Training is key. I'm no pixel artist myself and have struggled with it over a long time. But comparing my first attempts years ago to what I'm creating now is night and day. It doesn't come in a few days/weeks of effort, but like any skill, requires a long-term consistent disciplined approach. People don't learn to play violin in a week or two because they took a couple of piano courses in uni. People don't learn to write novels in a short period of time because they edited their local university paper.

Practice, practice, practice, and expect your practice to yield sub-par results. If you do it properly, those sub-par results will slowly turn into good results (though you might not even notice it happening until one day you look at an old piece and realise how far you've come). Just keep at it and eventually you'll get there.

 

[pixeltroid]

My dream is to make small video games for a living and I'm not going to give up yet.

then don't give up. Set aside a few hours a day to work on your art.

If you want to get good at pixel art, then start studying different styles of pixel art. And then drawing them.

Zoom into sprites from games that you are familiar with. Notice how they are drawn and shaded. Notice how they are outlined. And how they depict light and shade. Your EYES are your best teacher.

When you start learning to play guitar, you learn by playing covers, right? So apply the same principle to learning to draw pixel art.

Start drawing"covers" of Gameboy sprites. Then move on to doing NES sprites. And then SNES sprites. If you do this you are guaranteed to learn a lot about pixel art.

 

[woodsmoke]

Most has been said, but just a little tip: You improve faster by making lots of things of low quality than a few things of high quality.

 

[Pixel-Team]

I am a 25 year veteran pixel artist. I began as a hobbyist as a teenager, and joined the casino game industry as a pixel artist shortly after high school. My work was on single color vaccuum fluorescent displays and tri-color leds. You learn about dithering when you only get one color to work with. References are not only encouraged, they are vital to the learning process. They train your mind to explore details. Disney filmed live actors and painted cartoons over them to capture the best human movement he could. Drew Struzan, the best movie poster artist ever even traces his subjects so that his proportions are correct. I could talk on this subject for hours, but one technique I use myself is stick figures, to "rough in" an animation. Sometimes I just animate little dots that represent where the wrists, elbows, knees, shoulder, head, and pelvis will be. It's much easier to nail down an animation with reference points than it is to draw a bunch of frames only to have to erase them later. My last piece of advice is that everything is difficult, and everything is easy. Everything is difficult when you do it for the first time. And everything is easy when you do it the 100th time. If you love something to the point where you find a way to do it every day, it is a certainty that you will get better the more you do it. I wish you all the best.

 

[Deleted member 13992]

There's a misconception that good pixel art is "easy mode" when it comes to video game art. I think the barrier to entry is lower, but it still requires a lot of practice.

Check out miniboss' tutorials. Start by scrolling all the way down on this page:

Pixel art tutorials

Here are all the pixel art tutorials made by Pedro :D More info on his Patreon page! Article #8: Saving and Exporting Pixel Art Article #7: Working with Lines #79 Jumping Article #6 Basic Color Theory #78 Impact Article #5 Basic Shading Article #4...

blog.studiominiboss.com

Don't avoid reference material to start. Drawing from your imagination is good when you're more advanced, but if you're just learning to pixel art, you're handicapping yourself by adding extra challenges on top of technique learning. Just focus on learning the technique, have some fun homework like making some pixel dailies, eventually you won't have to think about technique nearly as much and you can transition over to working on expressing what you imagine.

 

[Yal]

Some random advice on this thing:

1. Don't use eye-burning bright colors (like the garish green you picked) unless you need to. The strongest colors should be reserved for projectiles, hazards, and other things that need the attention; having a characterthat will be on-screen at all times have such an intense color that it hurts to look at them isn't going to make players like them more.
2. While on the topic of color, make different pieces of clothing different colors so it's easier to tell them apart. Is your character a prison convict that escaped through hiding in a vat of glowsticks?
3. You're mixing up two perspectives at once with the face (nose sticking out on the side, but eyes positioned as if they were facing the camera). Pick one and stick with it. (The character's perfectly symmetrical pose isn't helping either)
4. Every body part looks like a rectangle. Don't do that. Rectangles in pixelart leads to a thing called the "pixel size dissonance" which can really break the perception of a piece, so you should always add little detail pixels to break any large rectangles even if you don't have any actual details to convey.
5. Black outlines contrast too much to be used INSIDE a sprite, only use them on the outside (use really dark green instead, since the clothes are green)
6. The complete lack of shading and highlights makes the sprite look completely flat. It would've passed for an 8-bit / retro look... except you use way too many colors for that.
7. The complete lack of outlines at the edges of the sprite makes it look loose and undefined.

Here's a character sprite I drew a couple of years ago as an example of most of the above points:

 

[BQubed]

The sprite you posted was better than I was when I first started pixel art. I've been doing pixel art for less than a year and there are people who think I've been doing it for longer. Am I the artistic type? No, not at all. As a matter of fact, I STILL can't draw, but I can do pixel art. I feel pixel art is more about patterns than it is about knowing how to draw. I really recommend watching Pixel Pete on YouTube. His videos upped my pixel art game by 500%.