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Rene van Belzen

Pixel art

  • The idea was quick sketches of one minute to speed up my drawing. I failed on the first one, which was more like 30 minutes. Ah well, still 11 to go…
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    160 by 144 pixel art drawing with text Gone in 60s, twelve 32 by 32 white squares, one of which has a portrait drawing

  • I suppose I need to practice a lot a lot to even approach the level of a videogame character designer. I comfort myself by stating that, from now on, it only can get better, right?
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    160 by 144 pixel art drawing of two fighting characters in a videogame

  • I clearly lack the skill and experience of the artists of Street Fighter Alpha, which I need to complete my weekend project 😅 I’m smelling a big F here…
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    screenshot of original pixel art from street fighter alpha next to my rendition at lower resolution

  • This work in progress shows I have still a lot to learn. How in tarnation did they draw these game characters? My guess is that this piece of mine will land in the 🗑️ soon enough 😔 Back to the 🎬 I mean.
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    160 by 144 pixel art of fighting arena with badly drawn fighter in business suit against a big floating question mark

  • Planning my ambitious weekend project of sideline commentary on bulbous sacrilegious smrq* between tech silo ceos.
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    *: shameless male raging quibble

    screenshot of pixel art app Pixaki with base drawing and several reference photos of Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, their social networks and a cage fight

  • I’m trying to draw smaller than 32 by 32, which should teach me to make every pixel have at least one function, as well how to make clumps of pixels be something that can be interpreted through imagination. I still have a long way to go.
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    24 by 24 pixel art drawing of a gorilla

  • While trying to improve it’s disheartening that the artist lacks an overview of their progress, since they go from artwork to artwork, never seeing a breakthrough, nor an overnight success. What remains is the joy of drawing. Of course, that can easily be had without intent of getting better at it.
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    32 by 32 pixel art of sitting mouse, grooming

  • Pixeling on a 32 by 32 pixel canvas is getting easier with every next attempt. Of course, the movie Terminator (1984) has already an 80s look to it, and a 2D platformer on a game console would not surprise me.
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    32 by 32 pixel art of the Terminator flesh robot from the movie on a black background with white rim lighting

  • It is said that good artists draw everything. So I drew a bike on a 32 by 32 pixel canvas using a limited color palette. Of course, I used a reference.
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    32 by 32 pixel art of Dutch bike on red asphalt in the Dutch countryside, without rider

  • I suppose when taking symbolism too seriously it turns into stereotyping. Here I combined some of the state symbols of Texas ⭐️ into a 16 by 16 pixel character.
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    32 by 32 pixel art 🖼️ of Texas: lone star, long horn, mockingbird, and bluebonnet

  • I used a photo reference I took myself of my cat Aziz and tried to recreate a somewhat realistic piece in pixel art on a 32 by 32 canvas. The light is coming from the left and the cat is grounded by a shadow. I’m happy I could capture his cautious nature.
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    32 by 32 pixel art of a bengal cat sitting

  • I don’t put myself above tracing to better understand what I’m drawing. It’s a shortcut used by artists since the invention of the camera obscura, and known to be popular around the second half of the 16th century. It’s like with cheat sheets in school; not needed if you’ve written enough of them.
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    32 by 32 pixel art of a golden haired dog

  • Not caring so much about the final result doesn’t always bring greatness, but it brings results which may turn out to be great, or at least descent. Art is as much about the making as it is about showing what you made. Artists, great or not, ship.
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    32 by 32 pixel art of a Yorkshire terrier's head

  • I remember The Man from U.N.C.L.E. as a great spy series from the early 1960’s, starring Robert Vaughn and David McCallum as American Napoleon Solo and Russian Illya Kuryakin. So I drew Solo in pixel art from reference. I haven’t seen it in ages, so I don’t know if it holds up to today’s standards.
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    32 by 32 pixel art of Robert Vaughn in his younger years as Napoleon Solo in the tv series the Man from U.N.C.L.E.

  • It is sometimes said that practice makes perfect, but a better saying is that practice brings improvement. This is even without a conscience effort—i.e. an art self-critique—to improve. In pixel art readability is always an issue, as with any stylized art. It often relies on shape and contrast.
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    32 by 32 pixel art drawing of a brown rabbit

  • The funny thing is how much you need to compromise your art to keep a likeness if your canvas is only 32 by 32 pixels. Still, it IS possible to cram a whole scene into it, if you put your mind to it and squint a lot. I’ll be so happy once I’m able to do that.
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    32 by 32 pixel art drawing of a Yorkshire terrier on a sunny lawn

  • Another pixel portrait, building on some of the art fundamentals I refreshed recently, and really need to do more of to continue. Still using the 16 bit art nouveau palette, which I like a lot. More in the alt description.
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    32 by 32 pixel art portrait of actor Tom Hanks in his younger years

  • This is still a crude study of a master painting by a 19th century animal painter under the pseudonym “Raphael Olaria”, which I partially painted over with pixel art (256 x 173) on my iPad with a limited color palette called “16 color art nouveau."
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    19th century portrait of two mischievous puppies, partially covered by 21th century pixel art

  • I suppose one has to start somewhere. My animal drawing is still lacking, especially of those long-haired breeds. Still, I gave it my best attempt. Maybe I need to study some master paintings.
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    pixel art of a small long-haired dog, 48 by 48 pixels

  • This one of 32 by 32 pixels took me several hours and two iterations to complete.
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    pixel art portrait of smiling woman