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Rene van Belzen

Art

  • I made this 64 by 64 pixel art portrait, referencing this photo of Raymond and using only four colors from the 2-bits-pips color palette.
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    pixel art portrait of a bearded man

  • Drawn while listening to A Legacy of Biffs on The Incomparable Mothership podcast about Back to the Future 2. It’s an audio podcast, so I got to draw from imagination.
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    pixel art with painting of person on a hoverboard in Back to the Future 2

  • I made this Game Boy compatible pixel art piece based on this excellent portrait.
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    pixel art Game Boy screen with a frame, containing a portrait of a girl, her name and some stars

  • I tried drawing the same character in two different art styles, referencing a photo I took myself. The one on the right is (loosely) based on someone else’s art style.
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    pixel art with a bolding man in sportswear drawn in two different styles

  • Oh boy, I need to learn about tilesets and game art to avoid attrocities like this one
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    pixel art with bushes and stones using tilesets

  • I tried to create an animated sprite of my cat. All I have to do now is give him a world to live in. That’s easy, right? 😂
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    animated pixel art with a cat blinking its eyes and wagging the tip of its tail

  • I used this photo as a reference for a small pixel art drawing of a deer. I tried to concentrate on clumps of pixels, but I see I need to study more to be effective. The shape’s okay-ish, which is an accomplishment at this scale, I think.
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    small 32 by 32 pixels drawing of a deer

  • I used a portrait and dolphin as my references for this fictional Game Boy game called “Delphine."
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    pixel art of a Game Boy game of a fictional game called Delphine

  • The original Macintosh, aka 128K Mac, is often referred to as the computer that changed the world. It was the first commercially available computer with a graphical user interface. Pixel art for the Nintendo Game Boy screen (160 x 144 pixels, 4 shades of green).
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    pixel art of the Apple 128K Macintosh computer

  • I thought pixel animation would be easier. Alas, with iPadOS it still is too hard, so it seems, and Aseprite is still the desktop app to emulate. Yes, you can do animation on the iPad, but it takes a lot of time compared to what I’m used to on the desktop 20 years ago, using Moho.
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    animated bouncing ball

  • I used Noppa, Charley, and Latte as inspirations for this pixel art piece.

    It is compatible with the Nintendo Game Boy screen (160 x 144 pixels, 4 shades of green).
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    pixel art with guinea pigs on a spread

  • My reason to share a work-in-progress shot is to set a milestone, so I stay motivated working on the piece. Since I share it publicly, it also keeps me honest. Now I have to finish it.
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    screenshot of pixel art work in progress, showing in pixel art the title Guinea Pig, a spread, a guinea pig, a carrot, a flower and a clover leaf, and two reference photos on the side of guinea pigs

  • Pixel art version of this reference photo. I simplified the shapes so it was easier to draw on such a small canvas and so few colors (160 x 144 pixels, 4 shades of green). I think it got the message across, though.

    pixel art drawing of a tabby cat lying in front of concrete stairs

  • I used this photo as my reference for both a 160 x 144 and 64 x 64 pixels versions of this portrait. I went for a more anime art style, which made the likeness suffer a bit.
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    pixel art portrait of a laughing young girl, both large and small versions

  • Besides changing my color palette I also bought (unlocked) a new pixel editor I hadn’t heard of before, Pixquare. There are others, but this one and Pixaki seem the most user-friendly. Some apps are just pushing too hard into in-app purchases. The harsh greens are a bit off-putting, though.
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    iPad screenshot of two pixel editors side-by-side, Pixaki and Pixquare

  • Pixel art study, WIP. I hope I got the proportions right this time for a semi-realistic style drawing, nudging towards an anime art style. At least, that’s what I’m going for. I’m taught that studying proportions is key for a successful portrait drawing. Next, I want to simplify it into 64 x 64.
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    screenshot of a pixel art drawing and a reference photo next to it, in which the drawing shows the proportions from the reference photo

  • Portrait study in a more realistic style, based on this photo and in Game Boy format (160 by 144 pixels, 4 shades of green).
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    pixel art portrait of a middleaged man in realistic art style

  • A very rough work-in-progress of a Game Boy compatible pixel art portrait study. I’m struggling to get the proportions right without tracing. As with any realistic portrait, it takes time and patience, measuring, a lot of zooming, and breaks for a fresh look, as well as accepting I’m not perfect.
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    screenshot of work in progress pixel art portrait and a reference photo

  • When I made yet another Simpsons character from a reference, I thought it would be boring and predictable. It turned out quite challenging. I started with the bust pose, enlarged it to full body pose quadrupling the canvas, then shrank it back to Game Boy size (160 x 144 pixels). Not easy at all.
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    Game Boy pixel art, a bearded man in both full body and head shot

  • Taking breaks from something that will take a long time to complete feels certainly wholesome. Of course, now it will take even longer, but my experience is that if I try to use brute force to complete, I will simply cast the project on a pile of things I’ll once complete (probably never).
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    pixel art with merchant houses on a blue background