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Rene van Belzen

Pixel art

  • 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

  • I used this Flickr photo as my reference to draw a Game Boy compatible pixel art portrait in the Simpsons art style. She will travel in space when she grows up.
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    Game Boy pixel art with smiling girl in Simpsons art style

  • I used this reference from Flickr to draw in an art style of The Simpsons animated sitcom. It’s compatible with the Nintendo Game Boy handheld game console (160 by 144 pixels, 4 colors).
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    pixel art drawing of a man in Simpsons art style standing in a backyard

  • I waited until I was exited enough to continue my Amsterdam cityscape (2 days). I suppose this happens when doing projects that aren’t commissioned. Still only 2 whole and 2 half house to go for the layer with the merchant houses. It’s taking a lot longer than I expected.
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    pixel art of merchant townhouses on a blue background

  • Drawing from a reference on Flickr in Game Boy pixel art (160 by 144 pixels, 4 colors), with process animated GIF. Drawn in ibis Paint X, pixeled in Pixaki.
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    Game Boy pixel art of a boy looking up animated GIF of drawing process in ibis Paint X

  • Pixel art for the Game Boy.
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    pixel art of a cat sitting besides a ball of whool

  • This could be cover art for a Viking war game.
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    pixel art of Raging Viking crying Hrafnagud

  • I notice within myself a slight reluctance to continue this project, which reluctance is quite normal, I believe. As long as the desire to see this through is greater than doing much of the same thing day after day, I think I’ll manage the mental resistance to continue.
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    pixel art with merchant townhouses on a blue background

  • Another day, an additional house. Paying attention to details, but especially adjusting what’s in the reference to what’s already drawn, takes a huge amount of time. I went with another color of brick to add variety. It’s all imagined, so I get to pick and choose.
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    pixel art of three merchant townhouses against a blue background

  • You’d think we’d developed something against male pattern baldness by the 24th century
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    pixel art of Star Fleet captain in Simpsons cartooning style

  • Another house added, plus the previous house edited. Creation is mostly revising what you previously made. Anyway, it’s giving me vibes of a Dutch city in summer. Only six whole and two half houses to paint before I get to invent the background.
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    pixel art of two merchant townhouses on a blue background

  • Game Boy Advance pixel art with Game Boy color palette
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    pixel art of a squirrel, a leave and an acorn

  • There are so many details to even a single house with a step gable to copy from an illustration, that it took me almost 2 hours to make it. Next, I’ll try a neck gable, then a clock gable from reference. There are other architecture styles I noticed collecting photos. It’s a slow process overall…
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    pixel art of single merchant townhouse with step gable

  • It doesn’t seem much, yet it represents hours of studying Midieval merchants' townhouses for their generic building plans and reasons for their dimensions. For actually understanding their historical relevance I’d have study much more, in the order of months.
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    digital drawing of a row of narrow and tall blocks, representing merchants' townhouses

  • I was thinking “cityscape”, so I got some references of Amsterdam cityscapes, basically houses alongside canals. It turned out drawing a single house was already a big thing. I had to leave out so much details. I also forgot to add a human analog for scale, though the door is perhaps good enough.
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    pixel art of a 16th century Amsterdam merchant house