Pixel Art: Terms / Linguo / Techniques

Welcome back! This time I am going to teach you of some of the common terms and techniques used in pixel art. Let me just say that the following information is what I call it, terminology can vary depending on the artist so just be aware.

Anti Aliasing (AA)

AA is used to make edges look smoother by blending jaggy pixels edges with a 3rd mid-tone colour.

Examples:

A. no AA
B. too little AA is also too dark
C. Good amount of AA also 2 shades of gray
D. Too much bad AA, very messy, way too many grays, sloppy as all hell

Dithering

Dithering is a blending process, by using patterns you can create a gradual overlap of two colour tricking the eye to discern a 3rd colour from the mix. dithering can also be used to add style to an artwork via custom dithering patterns.

       Examples:

A. Standard dithering pattern
B. Stylised dithering patterns
C. Messy dithering, not too pretty eh?

A word of warning with dithering if the piece you are working on is too small dithering can look weird and ruin it, it is generally used to blend larger clusters of colour together or convey lighting which would look strange on a 32 x 32 piece.

Clusters 

When you have a group of continuous pixels together its called a cluster, clusters make up most of pixel art as a single pixel on its own will not usually convey a lot of meaning, unless its being used as a highlight or in a smaller image. placing clusers next to each other creates form and meaning that cannot be achieved by single pixels, but the single pixels hold the identity of the cluster in their tiny tiny pixilated hands. when editing clusters be very aware that any slight change can throw off the form of other clusters just by being next to them. In the end pixel art often comes down to placing down pixels and evaluating if it looks better or worse than before you placed it, so never be scared to experiment.

Examples: 

A. a witches hat the clusters working together nicely
B. here i have edited the first sprite and the lightest cluster is now giving the witches hat a slightly faceted look, also it confuses the light sorce of the image
C. the darkest cluster is far too dominant over the rest of the image causing a loss of form

Ill also add in a link here to the cluster thread at wayofthepixel.com you can get a better idea of how editing single pixels can dramaticly change the look of a piece: wayofthepixel.net/index.php?topic=15566.0‎

Sel-out (Selective Outlining)

An optional technique used to give an outlined piece a bit of extra colour information. Basicly colouring in your outlines, not advised if your character or asset is a similar colour to its background. selective outlining can also help you give form and depth to your piece.

Examples: 

a bushy green thing with sel-out applied

Next time: Bad practices and things to avoid

Ciao