Photoshop skills: pixel art

In this tutorial we'll outline the key elements of creating pixel art. We'll show you how to create objects such as a building and a car that involve lots of straight lines and hard edges, as well as outlining how to create organic objects such as a person, or in this case a monster.

In this tutorial we'll outline the key elements of creating pixel illustrations. We'll show you how to create objects such as a building and a car that involve lots of straight lines and hard edges, as well as outlining how to create organic objects such as a person, or in this case a monster.

Creating large illustrations for print can be both laborious and time-consuming, because each image is built up pixel by pixel like a large LEGO set, but Photoshop can help reduce the time needed to create your masterpiece by utilising layers, channels, selections and levels. For providing your image with organic elements, there's the option of using an airbrush tablet and stylus, giving you real-time control of your pixels - just remember to turn off anti-aliasing on any tools you use, though.

Pixel art is great for conveying a retro look, calling the mind back to early computer game graphics. It's also ideal for use on the Web, with the small number of colours keeping file sizes low. So open up Photoshop and start building...

Downloads:
pixel_tutorial.pdf
pixelcarzip