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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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This one of 32 by 32 pixels took me several hours and two iterations to complete.
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More creativity, I suppose?
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I suppose it’s good to try being creative…
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Seat

The red and blue chair, designed by Gerrit Rietveld between 1919 and 1922. It was an attempt to make good minimalist furniture available to the masses. It was priced in 1923 at ƒ15 (± €126 nowadays). Professionally made replicas retail for €1500 and up.
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Silly idea in pixel art 🎨 for a Strava profile pic. I won’t be using it, though.
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Aside from the clear spelling error.

More experimenting. I made a frame of 120 x 108 mm on paper in my notebook and sketched a fox from a photo reference with ballpoint pen. Next I scanned it and tried to create a pixel art outline, which I filled with flat colors. 🎨 It’s too many steps to feel “easy to do."
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