Speed's Pixel Cluster v2.0

[Chibi Altaria]

Thanks so much, Speedy! *u* Those process videos are amazing! I'd definitely like to try my hand at this sometime, god knows how long it's been since I've done any spriting. xD I'll look forward to a tutorial if you do that someday, too!

[SassySnivy]

@Lunar Latias

This tutorial will start with the resizing, since that's incredibly important to do right before you start.

In the original TCG GB / GBC games, the Pokemon is made a larger focus than it is in the original card art. Take a look:


It's usually a very faint difference, but it's there. Some of the background is cropped out so that more focus can be put on the actual Pokemon.


First, you're going to want to find a very high-quality scan of the card you're wanting to use. I highly, HIGHLY recommend PkmnCards.com, as they have the best-quality scans I've seen around since before Pokebeach got rid of all their old scans. Best of all, there are no watermarks! Just make sure you open the image in a new tab, zoom in completely and copy it like that.

I chose Skuntank because it's got a nice and simple composition and is very straightforward.


Just crop out the rest of the card and leave only the box with the art.


Here's where it gets interesting! Go into whatever program you're using and resize the image. With "Aspect Ratio" checked, type "64" into the width field (make sure it's in px). It probably looks like that.

We want the height to automatically say "47" or "48" when we type that 64 in. With that being said, we've got a bit of work to do.


What I did here was crop out several pixels of the width on both sides. Does it say 47 or 48 yet? No? Then keep on going. I usually use this as an opportunity to crop out any extra graphics that I don't want to see when I work with the card art, like the little bubble in the top-left corner that shows that Skuntank evolves from Stunky. Keep going, but make sure that the Pokemon is still the the centermost piece (unless the composition of the original art intends for it to be in the corner, but that's a tutorial for another day. Just use your best judgment).

Throughout all this, do NOT crop out any of the height if you can help it!


47 px in height? Close enough. Turn off your aspect ratio and change that 47 to 48. 64x48 px are the dimensions that every one of these sprites has. No more, no less.


"Oh no," you think. "It's so small! How do I even make any sense out of this?!" Just relax and take a deep breath. You've got this. Keep the orginal (cropped) artwork by your side to use as a reference. First thing's first, though: we need to lower the opacity of this layer and add a layer ontop. This little image is going to be what we trace from.


Using your reference and whatever color you want to use as of now, work on making sense of the Pokemon's lines. Try to simplify any complex details if you can, as you don't want to sacrifice readability. Notice how I only gave it two claws per foot: this is exactly why. It doesn't need to have every detail down. If it looks good, keep it.

We won't worry about some of the smaller details right now, like Skuntank's face. We can add those in later using flat colors.


The majority of the time, the Pokemon is going to have a light-colored border (usually white or whatever color will later be the equivalent to white). So that I don't have to worry about getting the Pokemon's lines confused with the background, I like to add a border right now with any random color that contrasts with the background colors. Doesn't matter, because it's a placeholder right now.

We're going to start work on the background now.

Relax! I see you starting to hyperventilate over there. Backgrounds really aren't all that bad. All we're going to do is block in the most basic colors that are used in the art. Don't worry about using too many colors, because color reduction is one of the final steps. At the same time, try not to use too many. Use what you feel at the time is the bare minimum.



See? All we're doing is blocking in colors, shapes, and some lines. It really isn't that bad! Try to have fun with it. Mess around, maybe dither here and there if you need to. Here, we'll be doing most of our dithering in the clouds and sky.


SEE? SEE?! I TOLD YOU! Look at how nice the background already looks. As far as I'm concerned, the background is done, minus a few tweaks we'll most likely make to it later.

Going to start on Skuntank now.

Here comes the fun part: shading and color reduction! I really, really can't teach you how color reduction works. There are plenty of ways to learn about color reduction in pixel art and color theory in general. Sorry, but you're on your own. Right now, I'm at 9 colors. Let's see how we can both reduce that color count AND give this Skuntank some depth.

A lot of the time, your white color won't always be white. Sometimes it will be an off-white, a yellow, or really just anything. Try to abstain from using pure white if you can help it. Whatever the lightest color in your palette is will usually be your white.
The same goes for black, except moreso. The majority of the time the black you use will be a dark version of some other color. Whatever it is, the black you use will be whatever the darkest color there is in the palette. Try to abstain from using pure black if it can be helped. Sometimes you really don't have much of a choice, however. That's completely okay.


Your black and/or white colors don't always have to be super-light or super-dark. It really just depends on the art style of the original card. For instance, does it go for softer colors with less contrast? Or does it go for a much harder contrast? The Growlithe you see above uses much softer colors with a nice, pleasantly soft contrast.



And last but not least, Don't forget that black border! And boom, you're done.

[Chibi Altaria]

Oh my gosh, I wasn't expecting a tutorial to go up THAT fast. XD Thanks though, Speedy! That makes a lot of sense and it's good to see how you do them. :D Maybe I'll test a simple one out sometime. On average, how many colours would you say you use?

[SassySnivy]

Oh my gosh, I wasn't expecting a tutorial to go up THAT fast. XD Thanks though, Speedy! That makes a lot of sense and it's good to see how you do them. :D Maybe I'll test a simple one out sometime. On average, how many colours would you say you use?

I usually use all 8, to be honest. x] It really depends. The newer art is more colorful so chances are, you'll end up utilizing all 8.

Also if anyone is interested I'm gonna stream in a few 'cause I can :D

[Suicune's Fire]

Wait, you don't use Gale anymore? And Paint does layers now?! Whaaaaaaaaaaaat.

Anyway, that tutorial was awesome. O: And omg I LOVE the kingdra. Looks amazing. The oddish too. :D and the skuntank is sweet. :3

[SassySnivy]

Wait, you don't use Gale anymore? And Paint does layers now?! Whaaaaaaaaaaaat.

Anyway, that tutorial was awesome. O: And omg I LOVE the kingdra. Looks amazing. The oddish too. :D and the skuntank is sweet. :3

I still use Gale, I just do the cropping in Paint. :p
Thanks!

[Suicune's Fire]

I still use Gale, I just do the cropping in Paint. :p
Thanks!

Ohhhh. I don't think it says that anywhere so I was reeeeal confused. xD

No worries, pixel master. ;3

[SassySnivy]

Ohhhh. I don't think it says that anywhere so I was reeeeal confused. xD

No worries, pixel master. ;3

asdfasdf stahp it you



I honestly can't tell if I'm getting more efficient with these or just lazier. :F

Also, guess what! ONLY ABOUT 16 POKEMON REMAINING ON GYM HEROES. :'D Not including Trainer Cards. I've finished 73 out of 91 Pokemon in Gym Heroes. That's 80% As of now! By the time I get done (90 out of 91) I'll have done 98% of them done. <3 Minus one since a friend of mine has already done one for Lt. Surge's Magneton.

[SassySnivy]

It's already been 24+ hours? Geez! Time to bump this thread with a new post despite it not needing it. xD



Gotta say, probably the easiest and most straightforward one I've yet to do thus far.

15 LEFT! <3

[Suicune's Fire]

More efficient, definitely. And dude, you've done so many! :D Nice job! Not long to go now. C: I love the tangela and the magnemite. :D Your dithering is awesome.