interesting. i never felt like aseprite forced me to draw every pixel. in fact, that's part of what i love about it! it's definitely not as automated as doing a fully shaded ball with one click, but i've even done some high-res-ish art with it, with no plugins. gonna try out photopea tho, even though it's browser-based
Yeah, I felt it was a little disingenuous to say that you could make that ball with one click. You obviously have to set everything up to do that. It's like saying you can make a sprite with one click when you save it lol
@@siriusleto3758 and a Photoshop/Photopea pro would be right back at it, surely. I consider myself an amateur, and Photoshop has been my go to, including when making rotations. Of course I go the longer way around, without using any of these new tricks that I never knew, as I followed more of the old guides and restrictions in a manual approach. The only time I tried Aseprite... It didn't work for me... Still gave the devs my money out of respect, however.
@@abweichung1 case with sprite is different, what you set up in ball is only settings like shadows lights etc. in sprite you draw every single pixel by hand and then save it
THe Argument aginst Aseprite feels so dumb, there is a tool for everything, if im going to do super high resolution art, or scenary ill use Photoshop or Krita, if ill create small art, ill choose Aseprite. Most of the Art you will find in Pixel Joint is super high res art. High res art and low res art doesnt mean good or bad. If there is more art in Pixel Joint being produced in photoshop, krita, etc. Doesnt mean the other tool is worst. A lot of indie developers and pixel artist me included use Aseprite, Its maybe more the skill that other thing :)
I didn't say Aseprite is the worst. I said it is overrated (considering that it is a paid software). 0:38 Is that high-res for you? You can do low-res in Photoshop and Krita.
@@Zizaco I’m saying that the hall of fame examples in pixel joint are high res and it’s self explanatory why is photoshop used. Yeah of course, you can do low res, but do you really need a heavy software for that?
and do you really need a paid software for that? XD I mean, DmitryDeceiver uses MS paint. BTW: I checked your channel and you got some nice pixel art over there! =)
@@Zizaco No, actually you can compile Aseprite and have it for free i did that a lot of times but after a while using it just felt like supporting the development, but im pretty open to learn other tools, like pixelorama and this photoshop like version looks nice, ill probably give it a try :)
I absolutely agree with this comment. I would also add that a tool that gives you "one-click solutions" isn't always better. Aseprite has many features that can enhance your workflow, but none will make pixel art for you. Although many Aseprite plugins can do significant parts of your work, I understand if some people prefer only using the maintained features from the tool they are using. I think Aseprite is a very comfortable tool for people who "just want to make pixel art" and have reliable pixel art skills, but it's definitely possible to make pixel art with other tools and I can see why some people would prefer to do that.
Rome is not build in a day. You can use what you think it is best for your workflow. I prefer aseprite after spending hours. You can become efficient when you master all the shortcuts. Also, a good pixel art takes time.
The majority of the pixel art examples you provided *were* drawn "one pixel at a time"! It's standard technique for pixel artists to focus on creating smaller groups of differently-colored pixels to form larger shapes- each individual pixel counts! Using lots of layer filters and effects may save time in making something *usable*, but relying on them hinders artists from making something genuinely good.
That's debatable. The initial phases when defining shapes and shades can be accelerated with these techniques. Of course the final touch is done pixel-by-pixel.
@@Zizaco sure, but it's not just "accelerating": it's skipping. that initial trial-and-error phase of a new artist working with shape, form, and lighting may be frustrating, but it's extremely important to learning good design principles. without it, new artists will miss out on the fundamentals and not understand why they aren't improving. for instance, you show your pink ball with filters applied to it only to immediately show an aesprite example of a ball that, while nothing crazy, already looks better design-wise.
@@ZizacoIt's not debatable. The Secrets of Grindea guy you used as an example literally plops each pixel down by hand from the start. There are videos of them doing it. They use photoshop because they like it's animation tools and it's just what they've always used.
@reggieisnotadog4841 I did not claim that he uses the same techniques that I described here. But it looks like he does make some adjustments to shadow blending / palette and such: www.secretsofgrindea.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/09-1.gif
Aseprite does have a lot of hidden features that lie beneath the surface. It took me a while to figure out these existed but now aseprites amazing to make something quick.
That's true. Aseprite is a great software. When I say "overrated" I don't mean bad, it's just that there are other softwares with a lot more features that don't get the same level of attention.
@@Zizaco Please which ones you know ?, I´m looking for recommendations to check and test. Personally I use Aseprite and Clip studio paint. Very happy with the combo.
I would recommend learning how to use Aseprite before making claims like 'you have to colour every pixel'. In the background aseprite footage you could achieve what you were doing with one stroke of the Shading tool with the circle's pallete selected. The sphere example you cook up in photoshop is relatively simple to do in aseprite too, again with the shading tool. Step 1: Create a circle. Step 2: Shade in each lighting layer. Step 3: Dither, if you're using a tablet with pressure senitivity you can combine this with Step 2 using Dynamics>Pressure>Gradient. Want to change hue? Edit>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation, or just Control+U if you want to get to the tool quickly. Cracks? Shading tool again, invert the shading order to reduce light. Eyes? Just draw. It takes me one minute to create a sphere with cracks, gradient shading, lighting and eyes equivalent to the drawing you made. Forgive me for asking, but when you sped up your photoshop footage, how much did you speed it up by, and how long did it originally take? If my guess of how much you sped up the footage is correct, we spent about the same amount of time making the same shape, with the tools we are both familiar with. Our familiarity gives us speed and efficiency, as you said, swapping to new programs is hard and takes time. You should take more time to learn the ins and outs of your tools before discarding one for another.
Of course, you can get the same result in Aseprite, MS Paint or even Notepad (editing a .bpm file), but it takes longer. Thanks for the step-by-step, but the part you didn't get was that It was ONE CLICK to get Outline, Dithering, Color-Ramp... and that they are all Non-Destructive (which doesn't exist in Aseprite. See: community.aseprite.org/t/auto-outline-layer-setting/11427/2 ) Also, in 1:14 , if you pay close attention you will see that the shading actually changes the colour ramp (optional), not only the colours of existing pixels. This is possible because of the Non-destructive -> HD Index Painting. ("HD" index painting is not possible to do Aseprite, just regular index painting). To do similar "Adjustments" in Aseprite, you would have to draw pixels. Watch this video to see what I mean by that: ruclips.net/video/YVUPgiyB6iM/видео.htmlsi=v7mFnrGK40ajvWKX The outline, the dither, and the number of colors in a color ramp can be adjusted when you use Krita, Photoshop & Photopea. With Aseprite you have to modify them by editing pixels. You can get the same result, taking ~5x longer. Thanks for the advice, but I did learn Aseprite and other art software. That's how I know Aseprite's limitations.
Ive never really seen blockbench as a 3d modeler, only as a software for creating models to put into Minecraft datapacks and bedrock add-ons. I saw that it had an option outside of Minecraft but always though it was just blocks like the Minecraft part and not any more
These are all very cool, but in my opinion, aseprite is still one of the best tools for pixel art. Specially for small sprites. I think its just a me thing but it just feels good to work in. Very cool video though!
I know, right? Aseprite is good software. It's just that for a "paid" software it's a bit overrated IMO. Definitely the cute pixel art interface and the whole "build for purpose" marketing works. Its success shows how presentation and packaging are very important.
It's not an option for everybody(building c++ can be daunting), but you can get aseprite for free if you build it yourself from source. There is also a less up to date fork of it called libresprite which is an opensource version.@@Zizaco
@@Zizaco "paid" because you totally cant compile it from source for free (this is sarcasm. go compile it from source if you dont wanna pay). and its not overrated, because it offers everything (and more through plugins) that any pixel artist would need. theres even a plugin that lets you use it with blender to get a similar result to blockbench and crocotile3d
Hello Zizaco, I'm a total beginner on this field, but i'm really pumped about making my own video game (as a hobby). Your video gave all the elements I was looking for. Thanks a lot for this video, it has been so helpfull and interresting !!
Hey MrAzarice, I'm glad that you found the video helpful and are motivated to create your own game! I wish you the best of luck in your journey! Even though there are alternatives, Aseprite is good software.
I kinda disagree with Aseprite being overrated. First, you yon't have to draw every single pixel in Aseprite either. A lot of people use larger size brushes (sometimes with drawing tablets) and rough it out before adding details, and it doesn't often come down to every single pixel. There are a lot of texture brushes that can achieve exactly what you were showing with the sphere very easily. And second, a lot of people who use pixel art used Grafx2 or GraphicsGale (from what I've heard), both of which are free. Aseprite basically has all the features those have and more. (and you can literally compile aseprite for free on your own, there's tutorials on it) ehhh just wanted to say that Aseprite isn't that overrated (and it kinda turned into a long comment, whoops). idk if people are marketing it as the "best" thing for pixel art, so it's understandable if you get the feel that it's overrated but it can do basically all you need or want for pixel art. Your choice on what tool you prefer though because really almost any tool can be good for pixel art in the end.
Can you use a 65px brush on Aseprite? xD AFAIK GrafX2 allows you to do something close to what I showed in the video: Non-destructive effects, indexed colors and palette manipulation. I've heard that the technique I showed comes from Deluxe Paint but I'm not sure. While I have not personally used the old-school amiga tools (Deluxe Paint and Brilliance), I'm not sure Aseprite has all the features those had.
@@Zizaco 65px XD true! Aseprite does have both non-destructive effects and palette indexing. The effects are in the layer properties (right click on the layer -> properties) and come with the effects I've seen in other software like Procreate and Krita (darken, multiply, hue, saturation, color, etc.). I'm not sure if it has everything that the software you use have but it seems to cover everything. And the indexed palette is a color mode (Sprite -> Color Mode -> Indexed). As for your particular technique shown, I'm not sure but it seems like a similar effect could be achieved with the shading tool and the outline command? I'm not really sure it's not something I've really tried before (I have a different style with less dithering so idk much about aseprite's tools in regard to that). So I'd say give Aseprite a second chance! If you'd rather not though that's totally fine, you seem very comfortable with the tools you currently use, and if they have the features you need then Aseprite probably won't make much of a difference. ^.^
Darken, multiply, hue, saturation, color, etc is a minor part of what you can do in these softwares: helpx.adobe.com/content/dam/help/en/photoshop/using/layer-effects-styles/ps-layer-style-dialog-box.png.img.png There is no hd index painting in Aseprite... Unfortunately, there is no way around feeling like a downgrade 😅
Asesprite is a gem of a tool for pixel art, but the beauty of indie game dev is that you can choose the tools that best fit your workflow, vision and budget. Thanks for sharing some interesting software to look in to! Personally my softwares of choice are asesprite, affinity designer, clip studio paint and dragonebones… with a bunch of other interestingapps for music and documentation, etc. Great to see a fellow Construct user on RUclips though! I really think the engine needs more RUclips love!
Thanks for sharing! Indeed Aseprite is a good software, but it doesn't mean that one have to use it as their sole art software. You are nailing it by having a multi-software workflow it with dragonbones and more : )
I'm not 100% sure what the example for the Asesprite thing was supposed to mean, just because it looks like the argument was that with other software you can start with an asset and then play around with it, but you can do that already with Asesprite no issue. Nothing stops you from using a base model just like that and then editing it just as you did in the second example. PS not trying to hate or anything, love the video, just curious if I missed a point or something.
The thing is, it was not an "asset"! If you pay close attention to the way I edit it (and the way it reacts to the changes), you'll see that you can't do that in Aseprite. I made a deep-dive in my video about illegal pixel-art techniques
I'll check out the video. That's a lot for the reply, for real super cool to actually get a follow up. I personally tend to take on the make 3D models, then pixelate them approach just because I'm more of an animator than an artist, and I have someone else that makes the textures. But it's fascinating understanding how these things are done. @@Zizaco
what about the jaggies, that ball you drew was covered in them, but it didn't matter because of its scale but what about a smaller scale? ... how does your preferred tool create 16x16 and 32x32 size sprites?
Indeed it was not perfect. But that was one click. I could smooth it out in a number of ways. It works well for 16x16 32x32 sprites too. The thing is, these tools can do these techniques I showed, but they can also do traditional, pixel-by-pixel placement just fine : )
"pixelization"(filtering) method not a "real pixel art"!:D fast, but sterile,uniform,etc. When you learn how to use Aseprite, you'll be at the speed of light! Can make your own brushes(different dithering style) and speed up the drawing process. Not to mention the millions of add-ons and scripts!:D
"sterile", "uniform"? Compared to what? One can't tell which technique was used unless you watched an uncut live stream of the artist. You'd be surprised to learn that a certain artist/game uses this technique. Check out Chasm and let me know if that is not "real" pixel art. For sure one can be trained in Aseprite. I didn't say it was a bad software, I said it is overrated (which is very different). One can be trained in Photoshop, Photopea and Krista and make art at "the speed of light" too.
@@Zizaco the dithers of your sphere example are not nice either. this is a conversion. I tried this technique ~10-15 years ago, but for me it was more of a step backwards. Aseprite is a simple program, that's the good thing about it.
This technique allow for changing the dithering thresholds and patterns. There's also an option not to use dithering. I agree that Aseprite is a simple, yet good program.
I'll stay with Godot and Unity, although I might look into Construct 3. Very nice of you to show Photopea, I can do some things Aseprite ain't good at without spending a huge amount of money. Never heard of it before. Blockbench, cool! I will also try that. I'll try audacity as well, I hate what it looks like, but I see we can have custom skins to have it look more modern so it's nice
I use GIMP now, but my old WinXP machine has Photoshop 5.0 with Eye Candy plugin. Old news, but still so very good! However, for Pixel art, GIMP is great. Thanks for all these suggestions, I haven't heard of some of them.
Please do a breakdown of how you use TS in Construct 3! I've been a user for 8 years or so, and would love to get into it! (Also the feature is really new and there's not much docs)
Very interesting method of creating pixelart u showed in the video! Ive seen this kind of thing with those bitmap and layer effects but I've never personally got to use it. Imo aseprite is still perfect for pixelart, but it absolutely comes down to the artist itself, and artsoftware can help you work faster, but it can't make you better. Altho I do have to say there are just a couple things I wish aseprite had like more brush options, cuz u cant really apply any patterns to a brush the way photoshop does it, and also I think ur max brush size is 64px wich is very limiting ,so sometimes I just have to switch to Photoshop. But Because Photoshop is so old and is made to achieve so many things outside of just photo editing, it is very useful to create different workflows and ways to get what you want if you do pixelart or whatever else. At the end it depends on what you want to achieve and u have to figure out how to get there.
In my workflow I use blender, photoshop/gimp, and then aseprite. The latter is very useful to automate task writing lua scripts. For a programmer like me that is valuable option. In any case, I don't like online tools. So, for me Photopea is not an option. I'm interested in Krita. Other tool I would like to use is PixelOver, but I still haven't learned to use well.
I don't think aseprite is overrated. I agree that It is not the best paint tool and that for some tasks It's better to use other software. But it's a very powerful tool if you know how to extend it!
Even when extending Aseprite there are limitations. Its support for "non-destructive" operations is very limited, even if you write your own extensions.
Aseprite -> "Ay-sprite" Photopea -> "Photo-pee" GIMP and GrafX2 for 2D sprite art, Audacity and custom tone and noise generating code for audio, custom engines for each game. This is the way, at least for me.
Nice gatekeeping the pronunciations of the applications. Surely you would be better suited to the Godot community - people fight with knives over how to pronounce that name ;)
@@nailbomb420 What's wrong with correcting someone's pronunciations? I don't see any gatekeeping here. Maybe you have the word mixed with something else.
This is really interesting! What do you think of GIMP? I've heard a couple people talk about how they like it, but it always just feels like it was designed to be as annoying as possible
I like the fact that it's open source. But I'm not a big fan of how Gimp tries to be so distinctive in it's UX (for no particular reason). I found in Photopea what I expected from Gimp (Free Photoshop)
Brasil mano, parabéns pelo conteúdo, de qualidade em! Estudei programação a alguns anos, mas voltei querendo criar jogos que é um sonho bem antigo! Valeu a ajuda.
Saying Aseprite is overrated (meaning that it's not effecient at it's intended workflow) while using index painting techniques is like using Visual Scripting because writing every word in coding is "inefficient"... (And as someone who uses Construct 3 but chose to Script manually, you know why this isn't necessarily the case.) Which is (if you extrapolate the reasoning) the same argument as saying drawing and coding anything in general is inefficient if an AI can do it for you. To add to the point I'm actually trying to make (and not mindlessly bash someone else's reasonable, personal opinion, just because I somewhat disagree and he happened to share it in video form): Art Sharing Websites rarely have functioning Game Art on their Platform. Certainly not in the Top lists. They are just that. Composed pieces of Art (which happen to be in Pixel Art Style. More so "Retro Aesthetic", rather than a true Pixel Art Style sometimes). I would guess that if you compare the number of Assets made for actual games you'd find a lot more of them would be made in Aseprite. For differing reasons. I personally use Aseprite over Photoshop or Krita etc. because there's out of the box simple to remember shortcuts that are TAILOR MADE for Pixel Art and Game-Integration. Like Selecting a few Frames on a single Layer I can do a Box selection and move the selection. It will apply that movement to every selected layer/frame/box selection I want it to. Moving a layer (usually flattened image after resizing the canvas to reduce draw costs of unused Space for the engine) I can easily see it's distance in pixels towards the edges, making centering content something I don't even have to think about or dabble into differing helper menues each time. Ofc. the biggest argument for why I'm using it is because of the Animation Process, which encompasses all these little details that make it actually easy and simple to use. Stress Testing everything in Game Jams, I am able to dish out some remarkable Animations in a very short time. That being said, these are just my personal reasons. I wholeheartedly Agree with your 3D Assessement. Learning basic Blender handling is always a massive bonus to your 3D workflows of any kind (as a Solo dev) and keeping it as simple as possible goes a long way there. And in a way, I guess that is where you are coming from for 2D Art as well, but the 2D game art space has become so competitive, you have to stand out. And you cannot really stand out by cutting as many corners as possible in the long run. (Imho) The Audio Section hurt my soul a little bit, as that is my forte, so to speak... But it's fair game. You play to your strength, and circumvent the weaknesses, which is admirable.
Thanks for the comment. I agree with you on several points. Audio is something I want to explore more in the future! I'm working on a more serious project right now, and for this one I might dab a bit more into the music : ) Indeed, I'm just a guy on the internet, so it's ok if we disagree : ) Regarding the analogy you made, I see things differently. In my opinion, using Aseprite would be like using notepad.exe, while the other image editing software is like editors designed for coding. Notepad is certainly easier to learn, has more straightforward shortcuts, and even displays the number of characters in the status bar, making it very useful. If even show the column that you are in, so you don't have to think about or dabble into differing helper menus when indenting your code. It was TAILOR MADE for text editing... no more, no less. In the same analogy, my other video (about pixel art techniques) is equivalent to giving tips about IntelliSense and other valuable functionalities available in a code editor. Finally, anyone skilled in a real code editor would rather avoid using Notepad for anything other than a basic scratchpad for copying and pasting. Sorry for the rant, but this comment section is full of people arguing that the "lack of syntax highlighting" and the requirement to "manually indent lines" will somehow make art look more "pure and beautiful." Many argue that having a large number of "undo" actions makes me lazy. Furthermore, "IntelliSense" makes my final artwork seem like I took shortcuts and lacks character. 🙄
Wow, thank you for this video. I didn't even know that VS Code is a thing. Visual Studio took up a lot of space on my computer and took a long time to update and install.
This is awesome! I'll have to rewatch to grab the name of that 3d modeling software. One game I want to make is heavily inspired by GC&N64 style graphics, and that looks perfect for it!
Pixel Joint member since 2005 here. First, thank you for bringing up our little community. However, your bit about "one click" pixel art, is a bit misleading, they have poor clustering and are overdithered. Pretty much every top of the line pixel artist does their art pixel by pixel, most of the time. Index painting has it's uses, especially for game assets, but over-relying on it, is poor practice. I can't speak for the viability of Aseprite, as I am a photoshop user since over 25 years, but bringing up the Hall of Fame on Pixel Joint as evidence that "pr0" artists don't use Aseprite, when the majority of Hall of Fame pieces are from before Aseprite even existed in the way it exists today. Furthermore, a great artist is not a great artist because he uses photoshop or any other tool. A great artist can achieve great results no matter the tool.
Hey Squirrelsquid, thanks for the comment! I agree that the example I showed was not ideal. I posted a video drawing a metal slug character that better illustrates my point. I believe that being a talented artist is not necessarily dependent on the tools used. However, it is important to consider that the tools can hinder one's potential and may increase the time required to create art, thereby potentially slowing down the artist's growth.
As a pixel artist and a normal illustrator as well this might be good for programmers but kinda not dumb for any artist the reason we like pixel by pixel is because we can design what we are making to be of right size make proper animations for it and export it properly well my drawing software can kinda do that its alot harder to navigate something like photoshop for pixels😅 ...... I think this guy just wants clicks cause I actually don't think people probably use that too if there making sprites ....... Also if anyone is interested in a 3d pixel software I use magic voxle ...... 😊
I agree. However, tools are not mediums per se. My point is not that one should do "one-click"; it's just to show that Aseprite is more limited than most people realize.
@@Zizaco not for pixel art no asprite is what every artist wants also you don't have to just click one by one they have bucket and line tools as a artist we value making those changes that makes things feel cohesive or a story blend together well using a illustration program makes the resolution funky you can't export it in animation order gifs nor is the frame by frame animation in illustration apps easier too and if you actually want to make it look right you have to do so much where as asprite knows what its made for it dosnt it for you the other programs well i do use them are best made for other salutions styles in pixel art are just as important witch can only be done pixel by pixel they communicate storys forground from characters where your supposed to land sucontiontiously asprite is actually perfect for what its made for
I disagree with you. I made another video on techniques that are not possible with Aseprite. Also, other software does allow you to go "pixel-by-pixel" too. Aseprite is very limited and lacks many QoL features. Using it for serious workl feels like using a pen to paint a chapel ceiling.
Alright, pretty interesting video. Just wanted to say, you never ended up finishing that 3D vr game? I might be more of the old skool types of graphics, but even without the focus on VR it looks really good, I'm actually interested what it was about and how the gameplay was.
While I was part of the team working on it (C++ developer) I don't own the rights. So that's not for me to decide. Plus being an unfinished game from 2008, I'm not sure it aged well.
ah ma sei italiano 😂😂 l'ho notato a 3:58 perchè la copia della cartella ha aggiunto copia invece che copy. Comunque video molto utile e ben fatto continua così!
Even with deep pockets, Blender will likely still be somewhere in your 3D pipeline or just flat out your main tool. There are many things that Blender just does better and/or faster than the alternatives.
>one click bruh look at your effects layers and everything, unless they magically sprung into existence with no setup whatsoever, it wasn't just 'one click'.
I generally use Aseprite and Photoshop CS5 (yes old but it's legal) and occasionally Pyxel for tilesets... I'm looking at Krita, but I don't see how you're doing the automatic dithering... What you're doing looks great, but I'm unclear on how you are doing it.
If I really wanted to do pixel or demo scene art again I'd go for my trusty grafx2. after all, it's like DPaint which I used since the mid 80s. Everything 2D: Photoshop and Painter Everything 3D: Zbrush and Maya
I've been randomly scrolling videos and found this one - and I found my model featured here (5:57)! It feels so awesome and got filled with joy because it was so out of the blue! :-) Awesome video and thanks for showing it. @mcVancient if anyone wants to see some more stuff - this inspired me to go back to modelling and pixel art again
I loved watching this video, you gave a lot of useful tips too!! I'm still fascinated by Marco's AI, if you could do a tutorial on it that would be great
I have tried several times to make an AI that resembles that of Super Smash Bross for my platform game, but I can't find an effective method or one that works anyway
Marco's AI appears more impressive than it actually is. Have you downloaded the source-code? You can examine how the waypoints scattered throughout the level make the AI work. (which works differently in the boss fight btw) I think that in a game like "Smash Bros", having well-placed waypoints scattered throughout the level is crucial to make the AI seems inteligent.
Aseprite might lack many features Photoshop has, but it's not "one pixel at a time" you can use brushes, patterns and tiles. Definitely not the most complex tool but not all games need that, and Aseprite has been used to produce VERY high quality pixel art games. Photoshop is definitely better software, but a big part of its popularity in Pixel Art is how established it is in the current market. Anyways, you got my view, your clickbait title worked, cheers.
I agree with you. Aseprite is good software. It's just that it's a bit more limited. The intend was not to be clickbaity, but to share my thoughts and tools. : )
I don't have too much experience with GIMP. I like the fact that it's open-source, but other than that I prefer Photopea. From what I remember, GIMP's layer styles and filters were considerably more limited than what you can find in Photoshop/pea and Krita.
I don't have too much experience with GIMP. I like the fact that it's open-source, but other than that I prefer Photopea. If I'm not mistaken, its options of layer blending styles and filters were more limited.
Man, you triggered the Aseprite casual users so hard with your video, lol. I do also think Aseprite is way overrated. The sadly defunct Hexels from marmoset is way better in many areas, I'm currently using Pixelmash and it's fantastic. People really think that all the pixel art games are done in Aseprite and that's ridiculous.
Thanks for the comment! I was expecting Aseprite users to be curious, not triggered. I was very wrong xD! Pixelmash looks awesome. It seems to be a time saver for making pixel art. Cool!
@@justsomerandomguy6042 There are free engines like Godot or Raylib, you don't have to make an entire engine. Nonetheless if you're aiming to become a game engine engineer and learn the inner workings rather than only making games, then you're in the right direction.
Might be faster to create pixel art in this way but personally for me it feels like a shortcut. I like the feeling that i made it instead of the program so even though it might be slower, it works for me. But overall stuff like this is also prefrence, i think if i do it "pixel by pixel" i get my style across better.
So much tools, there must be an application that does all that on one, with several good free 3D and 2D Softwares, like UPBGE, i'm amaze we there's still the need for several tools.
The ellipse tool in Krita is crippled tho (in combination with any pixel brush, that is) and the issue has been kept unresolved for years now. It's so annoying!
I. am SO looking forward to that pixel art guide for its Krita content. Pixel art with a drawing tablet? Am I working with a tablet pen or a magic wand!?
Yes why not pixel art with a drawing tablet? It’s just another I put as a mouse. Like pixel art was made with tablets even before there was mouse usage. It was either tablet or joystick back then
Thanks for telling me, I'll check it out now! I don't know if mine is an old model but the part on it that says "Wacom" has me pretty confident in its brand and I've had it for a while lol@@Zizaco
You make a compelling argument, but you voiced it in questionable way. "The best pixel artists use these techniques"... they don't, they either place it pixel by pixel, or create a more organic shape and chisel it down to a more refined sprite. Now if you said "The best pixel art game developers use these techniques" it would be a lot more correct although still arguable. Also I noticed all tools in your list are free, have you ever used Libresprite? It's the free and open-source alternative to Aseprite, literally forked from Aseprite back when it has an GNU open-source license.
Yes, I've tried both Libresprite and Aseprite. My other video (about illegal pixel art techniques) shows why I prefer to stick to Krita & Photopea. You are correct, it's not correct to claim "the best use these", but rather, many of the best use this (especially in the context of games). Thanks!
People always strive to speed up the process of creating something. I think in the future,(+ 100 years), there will also be people who will draw pixel-by-pixel graphics. And this work will be much more valuable than the garbage generated by neural networks or any other tools that speed up work.
why would you use construct if it costs money and then you make a video about using free software instead of using software that costs money use Gdevelop its free and it uses visual scripting like construct
Software that costs money is a factor to consider, but it is not an immediate "NO" for me. I even pay for Photopea (which can be used for free). It's all about the cost of your own time. Sometimes it's worth paying for things that will save you many hours, days, or even months of work
Most of the pixel art examples you showed were drawn one pixel at a time. The pixel art discourse regarding what or what cannot be defined as pixel art goes back to 2004 in the Pixelation & Pixel Joint forums, and many of the artists that sit at the top of the ranks participated in such discourse. The main definition they agreed to was that pixel art is any digital artwork with pixel-by-pixel level of detail. Most of these people did not cut corners in any way, and many didn't even use tools like Photoshop, instead going for older and more limited software like GrafX2, often because of familiarity (which is also the reason why some artists like 8pxl or Fool still use Photoshop nowadays). On the other side, most of the artworks you showed weren't game-ready. Speed is an important factor in game development (even more so nowadays), so trying to cut corners is often a must. But when it comes to pixel art, knowing how to cut these corners is extremely important - not only for aesthetic purposes, but also for the sake of readability. Aseprite is densely packed with features designed to accelerate the art process without loss on pixel art quality. Depending on the type of work, there also exist several useful extensions like isometric guidelines or more advanced animation tools. There's a reson it's the most popular pixel art tool right now, and it isn't its interface.
I 100% agree with the first two paragraphs. However, as I show in the Illegal pixel art techniques video, there are many techniques that go beyond what Aseprite can offer, and we don't hear enough about them. I wouldn't say it's "packed with features", quite the contrary. My opinion is that Aseprite is the most popular pixel art tool thanks to beginners (and to how easy it is to get started with). For example: good luck trying to find footage of pixel-by-pixel timelapse on games like sea of starts 😅
Hey is there a way you could send a link to that game design document template? it looks very expanded and could very much help keeping my next idea organized. thank you in advance.
Trello is overrated, IMO. I've used Pivotal, Jira, Trello, and many similar tools in my IT career. In my opinion, nothing beats an online spreadsheet (like Google Sheets). These fancy tools usually try to lock you in, so you pay a subscription for what would be a few rules in a spreadsheet.
When I tried the free version I found it too limiting. I can't even get a report of how many tasks I moved from column B to C within a time-frame. I had to count things manually 🙄 (or pay for the premium)
This video is silly lol Those jaw dropping pieces you showed at the beginning are made pixel by pixel, not with some weirdly automated brush that will do everything for you. Every pixel has a purpose, and you can't control that if you just use the smudge tool on an indexed palette
Sure! Check my other video: ruclips.net/video/YVUPgiyB6iM/видео.html to learn a few interesting tricks. Also, @GDQuest has some good pixel art tutorials for Krita
Google for "git cheat sheet" there are many versions available but they are essentially the same. Just stick to the basics and you'll find that it's simpler than it seems. :)
For everyone asking why I think Aseprite is overrated, watch this: ruclips.net/video/YVUPgiyB6iM/видео.html
interesting. i never felt like aseprite forced me to draw every pixel. in fact, that's part of what i love about it! it's definitely not as automated as doing a fully shaded ball with one click, but i've even done some high-res-ish art with it, with no plugins. gonna try out photopea tho, even though it's browser-based
Yeah, I felt it was a little disingenuous to say that you could make that ball with one click. You obviously have to set everything up to do that. It's like saying you can make a sprite with one click when you save it lol
It would be interesting for an ASeprite professional to take excerpts from this video and show all the errors and failed techniques.
you never felt that way because thats all you had known lol hope you got to try out a better app!
@@siriusleto3758 and a Photoshop/Photopea pro would be right back at it, surely.
I consider myself an amateur, and Photoshop has been my go to, including when making rotations. Of course I go the longer way around, without using any of these new tricks that I never knew, as I followed more of the old guides and restrictions in a manual approach.
The only time I tried Aseprite... It didn't work for me... Still gave the devs my money out of respect, however.
@@abweichung1 case with sprite is different, what you set up in ball is only settings like shadows lights etc. in sprite you draw every single pixel by hand and then save it
THe Argument aginst Aseprite feels so dumb, there is a tool for everything, if im going to do super high resolution art, or scenary ill use Photoshop or Krita, if ill create small art, ill choose Aseprite. Most of the Art you will find in Pixel Joint is super high res art. High res art and low res art doesnt mean good or bad. If there is more art in Pixel Joint being produced in photoshop, krita, etc. Doesnt mean the other tool is worst. A lot of indie developers and pixel artist me included use Aseprite, Its maybe more the skill that other thing :)
I didn't say Aseprite is the worst. I said it is overrated (considering that it is a paid software). 0:38 Is that high-res for you? You can do low-res in Photoshop and Krita.
@@Zizaco I’m saying that the hall of fame examples in pixel joint are high res and it’s self explanatory why is photoshop used. Yeah of course, you can do low res, but do you really need a heavy software for that?
and do you really need a paid software for that? XD I mean, DmitryDeceiver uses MS paint.
BTW: I checked your channel and you got some nice pixel art over there! =)
@@Zizaco No, actually you can compile Aseprite and have it for free i did that a lot of times but after a while using it just felt like supporting the development, but im pretty open to learn other tools, like pixelorama and this photoshop like version looks nice, ill probably give it a try :)
I absolutely agree with this comment. I would also add that a tool that gives you "one-click solutions" isn't always better. Aseprite has many features that can enhance your workflow, but none will make pixel art for you. Although many Aseprite plugins can do significant parts of your work, I understand if some people prefer only using the maintained features from the tool they are using. I think Aseprite is a very comfortable tool for people who "just want to make pixel art" and have reliable pixel art skills, but it's definitely possible to make pixel art with other tools and I can see why some people would prefer to do that.
Rome is not build in a day. You can use what you think it is best for your workflow. I prefer aseprite after spending hours. You can become efficient when you master all the shortcuts. Also, a good pixel art takes time.
Rome wasn't built with sticks and stones, they used the most advanced engineering techniques they had discovered
@@dnaderelmasry7973 you have a point but aseprite isnt equivalent to sticks and stones, you just need to use it effectively
The majority of the pixel art examples you provided *were* drawn "one pixel at a time"! It's standard technique for pixel artists to focus on creating smaller groups of differently-colored pixels to form larger shapes- each individual pixel counts! Using lots of layer filters and effects may save time in making something *usable*, but relying on them hinders artists from making something genuinely good.
That's debatable. The initial phases when defining shapes and shades can be accelerated with these techniques. Of course the final touch is done pixel-by-pixel.
@@Zizaco sure, but it's not just "accelerating": it's skipping. that initial trial-and-error phase of a new artist working with shape, form, and lighting may be frustrating, but it's extremely important to learning good design principles. without it, new artists will miss out on the fundamentals and not understand why they aren't improving. for instance, you show your pink ball with filters applied to it only to immediately show an aesprite example of a ball that, while nothing crazy, already looks better design-wise.
@@ZizacoIt's not debatable. The Secrets of Grindea guy you used as an example literally plops each pixel down by hand from the start. There are videos of them doing it.
They use photoshop because they like it's animation tools and it's just what they've always used.
Wow so many experienced and successful pixel artists in these comments
@reggieisnotadog4841 I did not claim that he uses the same techniques that I described here. But it looks like he does make some adjustments to shadow blending / palette and such: www.secretsofgrindea.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/09-1.gif
Aseprite does have a lot of hidden features that lie beneath the surface. It took me a while to figure out these existed but now aseprites amazing to make something quick.
That's true. Aseprite is a great software.
When I say "overrated" I don't mean bad, it's just that there are other softwares with a lot more features that don't get the same level of attention.
For example?
@@Zizaco Please which ones you know ?, I´m looking for recommendations to check and test. Personally I use Aseprite and Clip studio paint. Very happy with the combo.
@@LoerisOtter ..its literally in the video lmao
@@rudolof8540 did you watch the video my guy
I would recommend learning how to use Aseprite before making claims like 'you have to colour every pixel'.
In the background aseprite footage you could achieve what you were doing with one stroke of the Shading tool with the circle's pallete selected.
The sphere example you cook up in photoshop is relatively simple to do in aseprite too, again with the shading tool.
Step 1: Create a circle.
Step 2: Shade in each lighting layer.
Step 3: Dither, if you're using a tablet with pressure senitivity you can combine this with Step 2 using Dynamics>Pressure>Gradient.
Want to change hue?
Edit>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation, or just Control+U if you want to get to the tool quickly.
Cracks?
Shading tool again, invert the shading order to reduce light.
Eyes? Just draw.
It takes me one minute to create a sphere with cracks, gradient shading, lighting and eyes equivalent to the drawing you made.
Forgive me for asking, but when you sped up your photoshop footage, how much did you speed it up by, and how long did it originally take?
If my guess of how much you sped up the footage is correct, we spent about the same amount of time making the same shape, with the tools we are both familiar with.
Our familiarity gives us speed and efficiency, as you said, swapping to new programs is hard and takes time. You should take more time to learn the ins and outs of your tools before discarding one for another.
Of course, you can get the same result in Aseprite, MS Paint or even Notepad (editing a .bpm file), but it takes longer.
Thanks for the step-by-step, but the part you didn't get was that It was ONE CLICK to get Outline, Dithering, Color-Ramp... and that they are all Non-Destructive (which doesn't exist in Aseprite. See: community.aseprite.org/t/auto-outline-layer-setting/11427/2 )
Also, in 1:14 , if you pay close attention you will see that the shading actually changes the colour ramp (optional), not only the colours of existing pixels. This is possible because of the Non-destructive -> HD Index Painting. ("HD" index painting is not possible to do Aseprite, just regular index painting). To do similar "Adjustments" in Aseprite, you would have to draw pixels.
Watch this video to see what I mean by that: ruclips.net/video/YVUPgiyB6iM/видео.htmlsi=v7mFnrGK40ajvWKX
The outline, the dither, and the number of colors in a color ramp can be adjusted when you use Krita, Photoshop & Photopea. With Aseprite you have to modify them by editing pixels. You can get the same result, taking ~5x longer.
Thanks for the advice, but I did learn Aseprite and other art software. That's how I know Aseprite's limitations.
There's always a way to enjoy the versatility of Photoshop without the price downside at all 😉
true, but you can help making it not the standard anymore :)
The secret ingredient is crime
My man
photopea (photoshop but online)
Literally crack it.
Ive never really seen blockbench as a 3d modeler, only as a software for creating models to put into Minecraft datapacks and bedrock add-ons. I saw that it had an option outside of Minecraft but always though it was just blocks like the Minecraft part and not any more
Ops!
These are all very cool, but in my opinion, aseprite is still one of the best tools for pixel art. Specially for small sprites. I think its just a me thing but it just feels good to work in.
Very cool video though!
I know, right? Aseprite is good software. It's just that for a "paid" software it's a bit overrated IMO.
Definitely the cute pixel art interface and the whole "build for purpose" marketing works. Its success shows how presentation and packaging are very important.
It's not an option for everybody(building c++ can be daunting), but you can get aseprite for free if you build it yourself from source. There is also a less up to date fork of it called libresprite which is an opensource version.@@Zizaco
@@Zizaco There's always LibreSprite tho
@@leonoliveira8652 what are the differences between the two?
@@Zizaco "paid" because you totally cant compile it from source for free (this is sarcasm. go compile it from source if you dont wanna pay). and its not overrated, because it offers everything (and more through plugins) that any pixel artist would need. theres even a plugin that lets you use it with blender to get a similar result to blockbench and crocotile3d
Hello Zizaco,
I'm a total beginner on this field, but i'm really pumped about making my own video game (as a hobby). Your video gave all the elements I was looking for. Thanks a lot for this video, it has been so helpfull and interresting !!
Hey MrAzarice, I'm glad that you found the video helpful and are motivated to create your own game!
I wish you the best of luck in your journey!
Even though there are alternatives, Aseprite is good software.
I kinda disagree with Aseprite being overrated. First, you yon't have to draw every single pixel in Aseprite either. A lot of people use larger size brushes (sometimes with drawing tablets) and rough it out before adding details, and it doesn't often come down to every single pixel. There are a lot of texture brushes that can achieve exactly what you were showing with the sphere very easily.
And second, a lot of people who use pixel art used Grafx2 or GraphicsGale (from what I've heard), both of which are free. Aseprite basically has all the features those have and more. (and you can literally compile aseprite for free on your own, there's tutorials on it)
ehhh just wanted to say that Aseprite isn't that overrated (and it kinda turned into a long comment, whoops). idk if people are marketing it as the "best" thing for pixel art, so it's understandable if you get the feel that it's overrated but it can do basically all you need or want for pixel art. Your choice on what tool you prefer though because really almost any tool can be good for pixel art in the end.
Exactly, you don't have to put something down to put something else up, it's the tool it's the artist
Can you use a 65px brush on Aseprite? xD
AFAIK GrafX2 allows you to do something close to what I showed in the video: Non-destructive effects, indexed colors and palette manipulation. I've heard that the technique I showed comes from Deluxe Paint but I'm not sure.
While I have not personally used the old-school amiga tools (Deluxe Paint and Brilliance), I'm not sure Aseprite has all the features those had.
@@Zizaco 65px XD true!
Aseprite does have both non-destructive effects and palette indexing. The effects are in the layer properties (right click on the layer -> properties) and come with the effects I've seen in other software like Procreate and Krita (darken, multiply, hue, saturation, color, etc.). I'm not sure if it has everything that the software you use have but it seems to cover everything. And the indexed palette is a color mode (Sprite -> Color Mode -> Indexed).
As for your particular technique shown, I'm not sure but it seems like a similar effect could be achieved with the shading tool and the outline command? I'm not really sure it's not something I've really tried before (I have a different style with less dithering so idk much about aseprite's tools in regard to that).
So I'd say give Aseprite a second chance! If you'd rather not though that's totally fine, you seem very comfortable with the tools you currently use, and if they have the features you need then Aseprite probably won't make much of a difference. ^.^
Darken, multiply, hue, saturation, color, etc is a minor part of what you can do in these softwares: helpx.adobe.com/content/dam/help/en/photoshop/using/layer-effects-styles/ps-layer-style-dialog-box.png.img.png
There is no hd index painting in Aseprite... Unfortunately, there is no way around feeling like a downgrade 😅
@@Zizaco oh I see what you mean, yeah I don't think it has that ^^"
Asesprite is a gem of a tool for pixel art, but the beauty of indie game dev is that you can choose the tools that best fit your workflow, vision and budget. Thanks for sharing some interesting software to look in to!
Personally my softwares of choice are asesprite, affinity designer, clip studio paint and dragonebones… with a bunch of other interestingapps for music and documentation, etc.
Great to see a fellow Construct user on RUclips though! I really think the engine needs more RUclips love!
Thanks for sharing! Indeed Aseprite is a good software, but it doesn't mean that one have to use it as their sole art software. You are nailing it by having a multi-software workflow it with dragonbones and more : )
I'm not 100% sure what the example for the Asesprite thing was supposed to mean, just because it looks like the argument was that with other software you can start with an asset and then play around with it, but you can do that already with Asesprite no issue. Nothing stops you from using a base model just like that and then editing it just as you did in the second example.
PS not trying to hate or anything, love the video, just curious if I missed a point or something.
The thing is, it was not an "asset"! If you pay close attention to the way I edit it (and the way it reacts to the changes), you'll see that you can't do that in Aseprite.
I made a deep-dive in my video about illegal pixel-art techniques
I'll check out the video. That's a lot for the reply, for real super cool to actually get a follow up.
I personally tend to take on the make 3D models, then pixelate them approach just because I'm more of an animator than an artist, and I have someone else that makes the textures. But it's fascinating understanding how these things are done. @@Zizaco
what about the jaggies, that ball you drew was covered in them, but it didn't matter because of its scale but what about a smaller scale? ... how does your preferred tool create 16x16 and 32x32 size sprites?
Indeed it was not perfect. But that was one click. I could smooth it out in a number of ways.
It works well for 16x16 32x32 sprites too.
The thing is, these tools can do these techniques I showed, but they can also do traditional, pixel-by-pixel placement just fine : )
Now i need tutorials to learn how to set up these custom brushes for pixel art on Krita and Photopea
"pixelization"(filtering) method not a "real pixel art"!:D fast, but sterile,uniform,etc.
When you learn how to use Aseprite, you'll be at the speed of light!
Can make your own brushes(different dithering style) and speed up the drawing process.
Not to mention the millions of add-ons and scripts!:D
"sterile", "uniform"? Compared to what? One can't tell which technique was used unless you watched an uncut live stream of the artist.
You'd be surprised to learn that a certain artist/game uses this technique. Check out Chasm and let me know if that is not "real" pixel art.
For sure one can be trained in Aseprite. I didn't say it was a bad software, I said it is overrated (which is very different).
One can be trained in Photoshop, Photopea and Krista and make art at "the speed of light" too.
@@Zizaco the dithers of your sphere example are not nice either.
this is a conversion. I tried this technique ~10-15 years ago, but for me it was more of a step backwards.
Aseprite is a simple program, that's the good thing about it.
This technique allow for changing the dithering thresholds and patterns. There's also an option not to use dithering.
I agree that Aseprite is a simple, yet good program.
@@Zizaco this "techniqe" by me the converting category. but its fine for game making the process.
That +20% more expensive got me 😂
I'll stay with Godot and Unity, although I might look into Construct 3.
Very nice of you to show Photopea, I can do some things Aseprite ain't good at without spending a huge amount of money. Never heard of it before.
Blockbench, cool! I will also try that.
I'll try audacity as well, I hate what it looks like, but I see we can have custom skins to have it look more modern so it's nice
Noice! Subbed! Would definitely love a tutorial on how you use Photopea and Krita to do Pixel Art!
Noted!
Posted!
I use GIMP now, but my old WinXP machine has Photoshop 5.0 with Eye Candy plugin. Old news, but still so very good! However, for Pixel art, GIMP is great.
Thanks for all these suggestions, I haven't heard of some of them.
Please do a breakdown of how you use TS in Construct 3! I've been a user for 8 years or so, and would love to get into it! (Also the feature is really new and there's not much docs)
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try to make a video on the subject!
:) @@Zizaco
7:49 That's Arch btw
Very interesting method of creating pixelart u showed in the video! Ive seen this kind of thing with those bitmap and layer effects but I've never personally got to use it. Imo aseprite is still perfect for pixelart, but it absolutely comes down to the artist itself, and artsoftware can help you work faster, but it can't make you better.
Altho I do have to say there are just a couple things I wish aseprite had like more brush options, cuz u cant really apply any patterns to a brush the way photoshop does it, and also I think ur max brush size is 64px wich is very limiting ,so sometimes I just have to switch to Photoshop. But Because Photoshop is so old and is made to achieve so many things outside of just photo editing, it is very useful to create different workflows and ways to get what you want if you do pixelart or whatever else. At the end it depends on what you want to achieve and u have to figure out how to get there.
Do you have a link on tutorial on how he does it.
In my workflow I use blender, photoshop/gimp, and then aseprite. The latter is very useful to automate task writing lua scripts. For a programmer like me that is valuable option. In any case, I don't like online tools. So, for me Photopea is not an option. I'm interested in Krita. Other tool I would like to use is PixelOver, but I still haven't learned to use well.
I don't think aseprite is overrated. I agree that It is not the best paint tool and that for some tasks It's better to use other software. But it's a very powerful tool if you know how to extend it!
Even when extending Aseprite there are limitations. Its support for "non-destructive" operations is very limited, even if you write your own extensions.
I learned so much from this video. I would love a tutorial on your art process!
There you go : )
Aseprite -> "Ay-sprite"
Photopea -> "Photo-pee"
GIMP and GrafX2 for 2D sprite art, Audacity and custom tone and noise generating code for audio, custom engines for each game. This is the way, at least for me.
Nice gatekeeping the pronunciations of the applications. Surely you would be better suited to the Godot community - people fight with knives over how to pronounce that name ;)
@@nailbomb420 What's wrong with correcting someone's pronunciations? I don't see any gatekeeping here. Maybe you have the word mixed with something else.
beepbox is my preferred tool for creating music
it's very simple but great for "8-bit" music
Thanks for the suggestion. I might give it a chance for my next game : )
This is really interesting! What do you think of GIMP? I've heard a couple people talk about how they like it, but it always just feels like it was designed to be as annoying as possible
I like the fact that it's open source. But I'm not a big fan of how Gimp tries to be so distinctive in it's UX (for no particular reason).
I found in Photopea what I expected from Gimp (Free Photoshop)
Brasil mano, parabéns pelo conteúdo, de qualidade em!
Estudei programação a alguns anos, mas voltei querendo criar jogos que é um sonho bem antigo!
Valeu a ajuda.
Wow! Your workflow on 1:00 looks like an advanced/tweaked version of Dan Fessler's HD Index painting method. I would love a tutorial!
Found Dan's method thanks to you. This is awesome!
Exactly! And you can't do that on Aseprite ;)
@@Zizaco I'm still in love with Aseprite myself (used to pixel in Photoshop before), but that's so true
can you share the psd of that sphere to see how you achieved that? @@Zizaco
I just posted a tutorial including PSDs
Saying Aseprite is overrated (meaning that it's not effecient at it's intended workflow) while using index painting techniques is like using Visual Scripting because writing every word in coding is "inefficient"... (And as someone who uses Construct 3 but chose to Script manually, you know why this isn't necessarily the case.)
Which is (if you extrapolate the reasoning) the same argument as saying drawing and coding anything in general is inefficient if an AI can do it for you.
To add to the point I'm actually trying to make
(and not mindlessly bash someone else's reasonable, personal opinion, just because I somewhat disagree and he happened to share it in video form):
Art Sharing Websites rarely have functioning Game Art on their Platform.
Certainly not in the Top lists.
They are just that. Composed pieces of Art (which happen to be in Pixel Art Style. More so "Retro Aesthetic", rather than a true Pixel Art Style sometimes).
I would guess that if you compare the number of Assets made for actual games you'd find a lot more of them would be made in Aseprite.
For differing reasons.
I personally use Aseprite over Photoshop or Krita etc. because there's out of the box simple to remember shortcuts that are TAILOR MADE for Pixel Art and Game-Integration.
Like Selecting a few Frames on a single Layer I can do a Box selection and move the selection. It will apply that movement to every selected layer/frame/box selection I want it to.
Moving a layer (usually flattened image after resizing the canvas to reduce draw costs of unused Space for the engine) I can easily see it's distance in pixels towards the edges, making centering content something I don't even have to think about or dabble into differing helper menues each time.
Ofc. the biggest argument for why I'm using it is because of the Animation Process, which encompasses all these little details that make it actually easy and simple to use.
Stress Testing everything in Game Jams, I am able to dish out some remarkable Animations in a very short time.
That being said, these are just my personal reasons.
I wholeheartedly Agree with your 3D Assessement. Learning basic Blender handling is always a massive bonus to your 3D workflows of any kind (as a Solo dev) and keeping it as simple as possible goes a long way there.
And in a way, I guess that is where you are coming from for 2D Art as well, but the 2D game art space has become so competitive, you have to stand out.
And you cannot really stand out by cutting as many corners as possible in the long run. (Imho)
The Audio Section hurt my soul a little bit, as that is my forte, so to speak...
But it's fair game.
You play to your strength, and circumvent the weaknesses, which is admirable.
Thanks for the comment. I agree with you on several points. Audio is something I want to explore more in the future! I'm working on a more serious project right now, and for this one I might dab a bit more into the music : )
Indeed, I'm just a guy on the internet, so it's ok if we disagree : )
Regarding the analogy you made, I see things differently. In my opinion, using Aseprite would be like using notepad.exe, while the other image editing software is like editors designed for coding. Notepad is certainly easier to learn, has more straightforward shortcuts, and even displays the number of characters in the status bar, making it very useful. If even show the column that you are in, so you don't have to think about or dabble into differing helper menus when indenting your code.
It was TAILOR MADE for text editing... no more, no less.
In the same analogy, my other video (about pixel art techniques) is equivalent to giving tips about IntelliSense and other valuable functionalities available in a code editor.
Finally, anyone skilled in a real code editor would rather avoid using Notepad for anything other than a basic scratchpad for copying and pasting.
Sorry for the rant, but this comment section is full of people arguing that the "lack of syntax highlighting" and the requirement to "manually indent lines" will somehow make art look more "pure and beautiful." Many argue that having a large number of "undo" actions makes me lazy. Furthermore, "IntelliSense" makes my final artwork seem like I took shortcuts and lacks character. 🙄
Wow, thank you for this video. I didn't even know that VS Code is a thing. Visual Studio took up a lot of space on my computer and took a long time to update and install.
You're welcome! : )
This is awesome! I'll have to rewatch to grab the name of that 3d modeling software. One game I want to make is heavily inspired by GC&N64 style graphics, and that looks perfect for it!
Wow, it is impressive how just one click can do such an amazing art! Please do more tutorials for pixel art!!!
Pixel Joint member since 2005 here. First, thank you for bringing up our little community. However, your bit about "one click" pixel art, is a bit misleading, they have poor clustering and are overdithered. Pretty much every top of the line pixel artist does their art pixel by pixel, most of the time. Index painting has it's uses, especially for game assets, but over-relying on it, is poor practice. I can't speak for the viability of Aseprite, as I am a photoshop user since over 25 years, but bringing up the Hall of Fame on Pixel Joint as evidence that "pr0" artists don't use Aseprite, when the majority of Hall of Fame pieces are from before Aseprite even existed in the way it exists today. Furthermore, a great artist is not a great artist because he uses photoshop or any other tool. A great artist can achieve great results no matter the tool.
Hey Squirrelsquid, thanks for the comment!
I agree that the example I showed was not ideal. I posted a video drawing a metal slug character that better illustrates my point.
I believe that being a talented artist is not necessarily dependent on the tools used. However, it is important to consider that the tools can hinder one's potential and may increase the time required to create art, thereby potentially slowing down the artist's growth.
one thing i love about you is that you hyperly optimizing your games, you dont get to see that a lot with youtube devlogers.
Thanks. I don't think I'm not hyperly optimizing my games. What I'm trying to optimize is the process of making games :)
As a pixel artist and a normal illustrator as well this might be good for programmers but kinda not dumb for any artist the reason we like pixel by pixel is because we can design what we are making to be of right size make proper animations for it and export it properly well my drawing software can kinda do that its alot harder to navigate something like photoshop for pixels😅 ...... I think this guy just wants clicks cause I actually don't think people probably use that too if there making sprites ....... Also if anyone is interested in a 3d pixel software I use magic voxle ...... 😊
Other tools are better suited for other mediums
I agree. However, tools are not mediums per se. My point is not that one should do "one-click"; it's just to show that Aseprite is more limited than most people realize.
@@Zizaco not for pixel art no asprite is what every artist wants also you don't have to just click one by one they have bucket and line tools as a artist we value making those changes that makes things feel cohesive or a story blend together well using a illustration program makes the resolution funky you can't export it in animation order gifs nor is the frame by frame animation in illustration apps easier too and if you actually want to make it look right you have to do so much where as asprite knows what its made for it dosnt it for you the other programs well i do use them are best made for other salutions styles in pixel art are just as important witch can only be done pixel by pixel they communicate storys forground from characters where your supposed to land sucontiontiously asprite is actually perfect for what its made for
I disagree with you. I made another video on techniques that are not possible with Aseprite. Also, other software does allow you to go "pixel-by-pixel" too.
Aseprite is very limited and lacks many QoL features. Using it for serious workl feels like using a pen to paint a chapel ceiling.
Alright, pretty interesting video. Just wanted to say, you never ended up finishing that 3D vr game? I might be more of the old skool types of graphics, but even without the focus on VR it looks really good, I'm actually interested what it was about and how the gameplay was.
While I was part of the team working on it (C++ developer) I don't own the rights. So that's not for me to decide.
Plus being an unfinished game from 2008, I'm not sure it aged well.
ah ma sei italiano 😂😂 l'ho notato a 3:58 perchè la copia della cartella ha aggiunto copia invece che copy.
Comunque video molto utile e ben fatto continua così!
Grazie! Ma non sono italiano... There are other languages where "copy" is "copia" 😅
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the video
I love pixal art, and i'm planing to include it in my future animation videos, thanks for the video, it was so helpful.
shit, I think blockbench is just the thing I've been looking for. great list
Even with deep pockets, Blender will likely still be somewhere in your 3D pipeline or just flat out your main tool.
There are many things that Blender just does better and/or faster than the alternatives.
I agree!
Love to see Blockbench there
>one click
bruh look at your effects layers and everything, unless they magically sprung into existence with no setup whatsoever, it wasn't just 'one click'.
You're right! 😅 It took longer to set up. The idea was to demonstrate how fast it can be once you learn how to use the tools.
I can't seem to do full screen preview in Photopea, unlike Aseprite. Otherwise I'm tempted to switch.
@@Mercymurv Try pressing "F" or "Tab".
: )
I generally use Aseprite and Photoshop CS5 (yes old but it's legal) and occasionally Pyxel for tilesets... I'm looking at Krita, but I don't see how you're doing the automatic dithering... What you're doing looks great, but I'm unclear on how you are doing it.
It should be doable on Photoshop CS5. It is a dither patter with low opacity + a posterize layer effect on top.
can you make a video tutorial on how you set up the filters and such for pixel art on krita or photopea?
Affinity Photo or Designer are both good alternatives to Photoshop that are cheaper/have perpetual licenses
If I really wanted to do pixel or demo scene art again I'd go for my trusty grafx2. after all, it's like DPaint which I used since the mid 80s.
Everything 2D: Photoshop and Painter
Everything 3D: Zbrush and Maya
Cool! Grafx2 (and Deluxe Paint) are the true classics!
Looking forward for the next video!
Coming soon!
I've been randomly scrolling videos and found this one - and I found my model featured here (5:57)! It feels so awesome and got filled with joy because it was so out of the blue! :-) Awesome video and thanks for showing it. @mcVancient if anyone wants to see some more stuff - this inspired me to go back to modelling and pixel art again
You did an amazing job with that model! : )
I just added proper credit to the description after realizing it was missing in the video.
I loved watching this video, you gave a lot of useful tips too!! I'm still fascinated by Marco's AI, if you could do a tutorial on it that would be great
I have tried several times to make an AI that resembles that of Super Smash Bross for my platform game, but I can't find an effective method or one that works anyway
Marco's AI appears more impressive than it actually is. Have you downloaded the source-code? You can examine how the waypoints scattered throughout the level make the AI work. (which works differently in the boss fight btw)
I think that in a game like "Smash Bros", having well-placed waypoints scattered throughout the level is crucial to make the AI seems inteligent.
Aseprite might lack many features Photoshop has, but it's not "one pixel at a time" you can use brushes, patterns and tiles. Definitely not the most complex tool but not all games need that, and Aseprite has been used to produce VERY high quality pixel art games.
Photoshop is definitely better software, but a big part of its popularity in Pixel Art is how established it is in the current market. Anyways, you got my view, your clickbait title worked, cheers.
I agree with you. Aseprite is good software. It's just that it's a bit more limited.
The intend was not to be clickbaity, but to share my thoughts and tools. : )
@@Zizaco Played a bit of Marco, cool game!
Thank you for the video, really insightful.
Had no idea of filtering to do pixel art.
Glad it was insightful!
If you tell me that you do your video montage on Davinci Resolve I'm definitively in love of you
I do use Davinci Resolve!
What about GIMP? How does it compare against Krita and Photopea?
I don't have too much experience with GIMP. I like the fact that it's open-source, but other than that I prefer Photopea.
From what I remember, GIMP's layer styles and filters were considerably more limited than what you can find in Photoshop/pea and Krita.
I honestly use GIMP mostly, though without having used the program Zizaco does I cannot say how they compare.
I don't have too much experience with GIMP. I like the fact that it's open-source, but other than that I prefer Photopea.
If I'm not mistaken, its options of layer blending styles and filters were more limited.
Use whatever tool works for you,
I use aseprite for the price and it’s practical.
Great video! Thanks!
Is the vscode icon theme "file-icons"?
Thanks Fernando.
Yes, precisely : )
Man, you triggered the Aseprite casual users so hard with your video, lol. I do also think Aseprite is way overrated. The sadly defunct Hexels from marmoset is way better in many areas, I'm currently using Pixelmash and it's fantastic. People really think that all the pixel art games are done in Aseprite and that's ridiculous.
Thanks for the comment!
I was expecting Aseprite users to be curious, not triggered. I was very wrong xD!
Pixelmash looks awesome. It seems to be a time saver for making pixel art. Cool!
1:00 I don't think I have ever seen someone's credibility spike through the roof like that. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW?" ... "Oh. Okay."
I like aseprite for the animation
The animation workflow in Aseprite is indeed very intuitive!
Hey @cartman48 , I tried Krita's animation tools and I made a video about it. I think you will find it interesting : )
great video please do more..
Thank you! Will do!
These were some nice tipps. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching!
Dude this video was recommended to me and blowed my mind by who it came from! haha
Vr arena ftw!!
😁 hail VR arena!
If I'm not wrong Construct 3 isn't totally free, so I'm staying on the harder but entirely free way, with sdl.
sdl is free if you don't value your time
@@Zizaco I mean, without money you don't have much more options than use your time in the hardest way possible. You don't learn without some pain.
@@justsomerandomguy6042 There are free engines like Godot or Raylib, you don't have to make an entire engine.
Nonetheless if you're aiming to become a game engine engineer and learn the inner workings rather than only making games, then you're in the right direction.
Might be faster to create pixel art in this way but personally for me it feels like a shortcut. I like the feeling that i made it instead of the program so even though it might be slower, it works for me. But overall stuff like this is also prefrence, i think if i do it "pixel by pixel" i get my style across better.
That's a fair point!
That first example is like that meme "how non artists think digital art works" but for real, you just brush a ball or dither. What the
I like your videos and i want to be agame developer.......keep it up dude
So much tools, there must be an application that does all that on one, with several good free 3D and 2D Softwares, like UPBGE, i'm amaze we there's still the need for several tools.
wow. your workflow is like 99% of other indie devs.
I'm not sure about that. I don't see many devs using Photopea, Blockbench or Construct.
He was being sarcastic@@Zizaco
@@ItsNothingAmazing 😅
The ellipse tool in Krita is crippled tho (in combination with any pixel brush, that is) and the issue has been kept unresolved for years now. It's so annoying!
That's true. Ellipses are indeed kinda bad in Krita (for pixel art) x)
Interesting vid! Still using aseprite, but nice vid
Cool, thanks!
Overrated does not mean it's bad. Aseprite is good software. :)
I. am SO looking forward to that pixel art guide for its Krita content. Pixel art with a drawing tablet? Am I working with a tablet pen or a magic wand!?
Yes why not pixel art with a drawing tablet? It’s just another I put as a mouse. Like pixel art was made with tablets even before there was mouse usage. It was either tablet or joystick back then
uh, in my experience it's not great to do that if you want the lines looking right, staircasing i think the term is called? that issue.@@litjellyfish
I just posted a tutorial on some of these techniques.
I use a wacom drawing tablet (old model)
Thanks for telling me, I'll check it out now!
I don't know if mine is an old model but the part on it that says "Wacom" has me pretty confident in its brand and I've had it for a while lol@@Zizaco
Always cool to see someone else's workflow. Sign up link for the mailing list seems to be missing - anyone have it?
I have just realized that the link was not visible to everyone. My bad!
It should be visible in the description now.
You make a compelling argument, but you voiced it in questionable way. "The best pixel artists use these techniques"... they don't, they either place it pixel by pixel, or create a more organic shape and chisel it down to a more refined sprite. Now if you said "The best pixel art game developers use these techniques" it would be a lot more correct although still arguable.
Also I noticed all tools in your list are free, have you ever used Libresprite? It's the free and open-source alternative to Aseprite, literally forked from Aseprite back when it has an GNU open-source license.
Yes, I've tried both Libresprite and Aseprite. My other video (about illegal pixel art techniques) shows why I prefer to stick to Krita & Photopea.
You are correct, it's not correct to claim "the best use these", but rather, many of the best use this (especially in the context of games). Thanks!
Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast
1:00 I want to learn how you manage this with Photopea. Upcoming video?
Yes
What software is that that you use to do a one-click shaded sphere, and be able to modify it so quickly?
It's Photopea. It's the Layer Styles & Blending options technique that I show in my "illegal pixel art techniques" video.
People always strive to speed up the process of creating something. I think in the future,(+ 100 years), there will also be people who will draw pixel-by-pixel graphics. And this work will be much more valuable than the garbage generated by neural networks or any other tools that speed up work.
I hope you are right
Based. It's all about speed.
why would you use construct if it costs money and then you make a video about using free software instead of using software that costs money use Gdevelop its free and it uses visual scripting like construct
Software that costs money is a factor to consider, but it is not an immediate "NO" for me. I even pay for Photopea (which can be used for free).
It's all about the cost of your own time. Sometimes it's worth paying for things that will save you many hours, days, or even months of work
Well now I want a tutorial on how to set photoshop to do that lol is it just custom brushes and a limited palette?
Have you checked my other video about the Illegal techniques? :D
BRABISSIMO MEU CARO, GOSTARIA DE VER UM TUTORIAL DE COMO USAR
i use krita for pixel art.
except i use the square tool for every pixel
Now don’t spite me, but I prefer Procreate for pixel art and other art alike.
ok, do you have any tutorials on how to configure photopia for pixel art like that?
Not yet, but I may make one in the future. Subscribe if you don't want to miss it :o)
@@Zizaco That video alone made me sub before you asked, I'm VERY curious about what you'll publish about that.
Just dropped the tutorial
@@Zizaco AW YEEEEAH
Kitra is free, and/or on Steam... oh, he talks about Kitra lol. Well personally I use GIMP, and I love it. Its free, but not on steam 😢
Also, don't use audacity, use tenacity, it's a fork, but not run by villains. (aka muse group, they are not nice people)
Thanks for the suggestion! I'll check tenacity
@@Zizaco It's pretty much exactly the same, so...if you like audacity, you'll like tenacity.
amazing recommendations, thanks
Glad you like them!
Shot Blockbench looks very good - thx
Awesome!! Thank you!! How did you do that with one click ??!
Love and blessings!
I'm working on a tutorial that will be out soon. Stay tunned : )
@@Zizaco grateful and excited!
Most of the pixel art examples you showed were drawn one pixel at a time. The pixel art discourse regarding what or what cannot be defined as pixel art goes back to 2004 in the Pixelation & Pixel Joint forums, and many of the artists that sit at the top of the ranks participated in such discourse. The main definition they agreed to was that pixel art is any digital artwork with pixel-by-pixel level of detail.
Most of these people did not cut corners in any way, and many didn't even use tools like Photoshop, instead going for older and more limited software like GrafX2, often because of familiarity (which is also the reason why some artists like 8pxl or Fool still use Photoshop nowadays).
On the other side, most of the artworks you showed weren't game-ready. Speed is an important factor in game development (even more so nowadays), so trying to cut corners is often a must. But when it comes to pixel art, knowing how to cut these corners is extremely important - not only for aesthetic purposes, but also for the sake of readability.
Aseprite is densely packed with features designed to accelerate the art process without loss on pixel art quality. Depending on the type of work, there also exist several useful extensions like isometric guidelines or more advanced animation tools.
There's a reson it's the most popular pixel art tool right now, and it isn't its interface.
I 100% agree with the first two paragraphs.
However, as I show in the Illegal pixel art techniques video, there are many techniques that go beyond what Aseprite can offer, and we don't hear enough about them. I wouldn't say it's "packed with features", quite the contrary.
My opinion is that Aseprite is the most popular pixel art tool thanks to beginners (and to how easy it is to get started with).
For example: good luck trying to find footage of pixel-by-pixel timelapse on games like sea of starts 😅
Hey is there a way you could send a link to that game design document template? it looks very expanded and could very much help keeping my next idea organized.
thank you in advance.
Hey @omega_the_iii8606
Sure! Google "GDD Template Written by: Benjamin “HeadClot” Stanley"
Thought you used Trello for project management
Trello is overrated, IMO. I've used Pivotal, Jira, Trello, and many similar tools in my IT career. In my opinion, nothing beats an online spreadsheet (like Google Sheets). These fancy tools usually try to lock you in, so you pay a subscription for what would be a few rules in a spreadsheet.
Why do you say Trello is overrated? I use the free version and it works pretty well for me
When I tried the free version I found it too limiting. I can't even get a report of how many tasks I moved from column B to C within a time-frame. I had to count things manually 🙄 (or pay for the premium)
I can’t believe you are such a new channel I’m an instant new subscriber! Really good and unique content!
Welcome aboard!
This video is silly lol
Those jaw dropping pieces you showed at the beginning are made pixel by pixel, not with some weirdly automated brush that will do everything for you.
Every pixel has a purpose, and you can't control that if you just use the smudge tool on an indexed palette
can i ask something?, I have krita but i can't use it to make pixel arts. Can you teach us to use it?
Sure! Check my other video: ruclips.net/video/YVUPgiyB6iM/видео.html to learn a few interesting tricks.
Also, @GDQuest has some good pixel art tutorials for Krita
Any tips on how to learn all of the console commands for github?
Google for "git cheat sheet" there are many versions available but they are essentially the same.
Just stick to the basics and you'll find that it's simpler than it seems. :)