kenzi-koffee

[kenzi-koffee]

Original Comic, ‘My Friend’

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A little idea I had to showcase a bit of the backstory of my Webcomic character Valrius. Finniby is a magical sea snake that witnessed the fall and arrest of his Draconic lord, he followed him to the bottom of The Forbidden Sea.

There, while Valrius remained imprisoned, Finniby kept him company for over a hundred years until the day he could regain his freedom and his sentence was over…

[kenzi-koffee]

🌒🌙 Fleeting Light (Version 2) 🌙🌒

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More Astarion Art with two versions available.

I wanted to do some painting featuring some interesting lighting and here we are. Super proud of how this piece turned out. Astarion is slowly making me conquer my fear of drawing short curly hair as well 😂

[kenzi-koffee]

🌒🌙 Fleeting Light (version 1) 🌙🌒

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More Astarion Art with two versions available.

I wanted to do some painting featuring some interesting lighting and here we are. Super proud of how this piece turned out. Astarion is slowly making me conquer my fear of drawing short curly hair as well 😂

[kenzi-koffee]

*Blood Warning!*

🥀 Held, Even in Ruin…and Safe, Until The End. 🥀

Decided to turn this little hand study into some angsty art for my OCs from a personal project I’ve been working on~

More to come soon!

[kenzi-koffee]

💫 Commission for the lovely @a.r.schilling! This concept is from the second book titled Stellar Betrayals. Go check out her page and her newly released book Stargazer’s Salvation!

It was so much fun getting to draw this character! Can’t wait to finally get around to reading this series! 👏

[kenzi-koffee]

🌙 🖤 Night Orchids 🖤🌙

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Some Shadowheart fanart!

Loved getting to work on this piece! The night orchid itself was especially fun to draw, and her glowy white hair of course~

[kenzi-koffee]

🐺 I decided to go ahead and draw a new D&D token for myself hehe. This is Silas, he is my cursed Barbarian character! I loved finally getting to draw him. He was originally intended to be a novel character but I decided to go ahead and adapt him for a D&D campaign as well hehe.

Here’s a little story blurb for anyone interested in his character:

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He had meant to summon a guardian—a protector to shield his city, to shield her—from the looming terror threatening to take all he loved from him. But in reaching for power through dark magic, he lost everything he had sworn to protect. The ritual turned on him, the unruly magic searing through his veins, corrupting his blood. His bones snapped, and his fingers became unrecognizable beneath the black claws that had taken their place. He was reshaped by the curse, twisted into a creature the people came to fear. Now, exiled from the life he once held dear, he wanders the world in search of redemption. If he can break the curse of his lycanthropy—if he can become a man once more—perhaps she will see him again, not as the beast he became, but as the man who loved her still.

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[kenzi-koffee]

🗡️ The Price Of Freedom 🗡️

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I decided I liked the opposite Astarion Portraits enough to make a combo-print friendly art piece combining the two of them! Very happy with how it turned out!

[kenzi-koffee]

This graphite piece took a little longer than expected but hey, we made it eventually. 😂

More Astarion art, this was a piece meant to be themed around the idea of how he is still trapped by the past despite power gained. He believes he knows what he wants but it leads to a path that causes ruin to himself and everyone around him.

Inspired by an evil dark urge playthrough I had done recently~

[kenzi-koffee]

🥀 Cost 🥀

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During my expression practice the other day I decided to doodle Astarion with a more nefarious expression, I liked it enough to render it out. I feel it’s a good contrast to my other happier piece to show how different his story can end in the game.

Making a combo piece of the two portraits to make prints out of soon! So stay tuned! 🦇

[kenzi-koffee]

🌹 Freedom At Last 🌹

Astarion has become my comfort character it would seem, I just love drawing his face. I needed to practice face sketching and what better character to choose haha. I Figured since my last piece was angsty, I should draw a bittersweet or happy portrait instead. Perhaps this is how he felt on the inside after experiencing the warmth of the sun on his face for the first time after two centuries of darkness.

I had a lot of fun painting him and I have a few more ideas in mind so stay tuned 👀

[kenzi-koffee]

🗡️ 🥀 “In a thousand years, when I’ve all but forgotten how to love yet again, you’ll flit back into my heart, and I’ll weep, wondering what happened to my mad love.” 🥀 🗡️

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I saw this dialogue between Astarion and Dark Urge Tav, and I had to draw a scene inspired by it. This is my interpretation of the epilogue after everything is over, (if Tav doesn’t kill Astarion right away of course…) He is visiting Tav’s grave built to remember who they once were while the Slayer form of Tav stalks him, preparing to strike their once beloved.

[kenzi-koffee]

🪿 Honk! I’ve fell into a bit of a Baulder’s Gate 3 addiction at the moment; I heard this audio and simply had to test out my new holographic film on this new sticker idea! Super happy with how they look! More #astarion and holographic stickers to come~

Who is your favorite Baulder’s Gate 3 character? If you don’t play Baulder’s Gate 3…can you recommend some other of your favorite RPGs so I can possibly have some hope of escaping this game? 😂

[kenzi-koffee]

Kodaav, a character sheet commission! Super happy with how this character turned out. It’s been so long since I’ve gotten to design a character! I had a lot of fun using these purple colors and designing the axe as well.

I know I’ve been away for a little while! I’ve been held up with projects I can’t fully post and I’ve gotten sick a few times over the past few months which slowed progress down a little haha. I also hope to start streaming again soon! Be on the lookout for updates regarding that. 👀

[kenzi-koffee]

Color Theory Basics

Color Theory Basics for Beginners

A growing artist's understanding of color theory

Introduction

     I don’t know about you, but the understanding of color and more so learning how to apply it to art feels intimidating and perhaps even scary. I’m going to try and avoid overwhelming your brain with technical facts about color theory and focus more on applying it to your artwork, because if you’re anything like me…you’ve been avoiding this topic in fear that it’s too linear and technical for us creatives to grasp. Color theory shows us how colors mix and contrast with one another, so I believe it’s essential to have some idea of how to implement it in your work. 

  The Color Wheel

     The color wheel is based on red, blue, and yellow. Sir Isaac Newton developed the first circular diagram of colors in 1666. There are a lot of opinions regarding the color wheel and how to use it, but I’ll just give you the basics so you know what terms to use when discussing your art and some ideas on how to implement them into your work. 

Categories of the colors based on the color wheel: 

Primary colors: These colors are used as the base for the color wheel, Red, Blue, and Yellow. All other colors are derived from these three colors.

Secondary colors: Green, Orange, and Purple. These colors are formed by mixing the primary colors.

Tertiary colors: Yellow-Orange, Red-Orange, Red-Purple, Blue-Purple, Blue-Green, and Yellow-Green. These colors are formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color.

Properties of Color:

Value: Describes the lightness or darkness of the color. 

Hue: Refers to color in its pure state, it also determines a color's position on the color wheel.

Intensity: The brightness or dullness of a color based on its saturation. A color is most intense in its purest form, (or hue). Intensity becomes lower when a pure hue is mixed with a complementary or neutral color. 

Complementary Colors

     A complimentary color is a color that is the opposite of a color on a color wheel. If you choose any color on the wheel, you’ll be able to find its complement by just dragging your finger straight through the center until you reach a new color. The complimentary color for red is green, the complimentary color for blue is orange, and so on. 

Color Temperature:

     Color temperature can greatly impact the mood of a piece, it can be

used to create contrast between subjects or separate pieces. Warmer colors are usually deemed striking, energetic, or happy. Cooler-themed pieces are often considered peaceful, sad, or moody. 

    If you draw a line across a color wheel, half of it will be considered ‘cool’ and the other half will fall into the ‘warm’ category. 

Examples of cool colors are Purples, blues, and deep greens.

Examples of warm colors are Reds, Yellows, and Oranges.

     Warm and Cold are not limited to bright colors, greys can even have a warm or cool tone to them. 

                Shadows and highlights in art:

    A common way to use color theory is in how you apply it to shadows and highlights in your artwork. For example, it’s common that in an environment that has warm highlights (like a bright sun), then the shadows will actually reflect the complementary color of the highlight. If the sun is your highlight source, then your highlight color is probably yellow. The complementary color to yellow is purple and blue, so you can use this knowledge to find the color that best suits the mood of your scene. -show some examples-

     You can also swap this around if your highlight color is a cool icy light in the blueish-grey range, then sprinkling some deep yellows and oranges throughout the piece will help it pop. 

     You’ve reached the point in color theory where it’s up to opinion and preferences. If you want a really ‘cold’ and ‘dreary’ feeling, then only using cool colors might benefit you more than attempting to use a blue-complimentary color. Rules in art only exist so we know the fundamental structure of how they work, once you have that understanding, breaking the rules can be beneficial to your art. Don’t be afraid to get creative and try something new once you’ve figured out the basics. 

How Color changes based on the environment

    Colors will obviously look different depending on the setting of the subject. Human skin is a fascinating topic when it comes to this logic. For example, it is redder in areas where the skin is thin. It picks up the blood and veins underneath it, or the warm glow of the sun behind it depending on its transparency. 

     Color and light bounce off of different objects in different ways, so that’s where photo reference comes in. If you can find images of your subject in the environment you’re wanting to paint, you’ll have a better understanding of how color interacts with itself. If something is sitting outside in the grass, for example, it will have the warm yellow highlight of the sun. However, it may also have green gently bouncing up from the grass and onto your subject. It may also have blues from the sky reflecting off of the grass and onto your subject. Color is truly fascinating when you start observing it from an artist's perspective. 

    A lot of this isn’t directly linked to color theory, but rather lighting, ambient occlusion, and so on. I just thought it would be good to hint at it here as well. I plan to write more on the topic of lighting and ambient occlusion in the future so be on the lookout for that if this subject interests you. 

Using other Artists as a reference

     I always recommend beginners, and even non-beginners, to look at their favorite artists to better understand their process. Color is no different when it comes to that. Look at your favorite artists with the knowledge you’ve taken from this article and see how they’ve applied it to their works. Did they use primarily cool colors, with just a patch of warm colors to emphasize a point as they did here? Did they use saturation or desaturation to help draw the eye into where they want your attention? There are many different ways to use color to your benefit, and the more you expand your visual library by looking at other artists' work, the more you’ll be able to imagine unique color combinations and set-ups to benefit your work and growth as an artist. 

Summary

    Color is an extensive topic that could span across many many articles and fills multiple encyclopedias, however, the basics are pretty simple to grasp and I feel that unless the topic calls to you–are all you need to get started with color in your art. Your eye for color will develop over time as you look at the work of artists you admire and challenge yourself to try new things. 

[kenzi-koffee]

⭐ So you want to learn pixel art? ⭐

🔹 Part 1 of ??? - The Basics!

Hello, my name is Tofu and I'm a professional pixel artist. I have been supporting myself with freelance pixel art since 2020, when I was let go from my job during the pandemic.

My progress, from 2017 to 2024. IMO the only thing that really matters is time and effort, not some kind of natural talent for art.

This guide will not be comprehensive, as nobody should be expected to read allat. Instead I will lean heavily on my own experience, and share what worked for me, so take everything with a grain of salt. This is a guide, not a tutorial. Cheers!

🔹 Do I need money?

NO!!! Pixel art is one of the most accessible mediums out there.

I still use a mouse because I prefer it to a tablet! You won't be at any disadvantage here if you can't afford the best hardware or software.

Because our canvases are typically very small, you don't need a good PC to run a good brush engine or anything like that.

✨Did you know? One of the most skilled and beloved pixel artists uses MS PAINT! Wow!!

🔹 What software should I use?

Here are some of the most popular programs I see my friends and peers using. Stars show how much I recommend the software for beginners! ⭐

💰 Paid options:

⭐⭐⭐ Aseprite (for PC) - $19.99

This is what I and many other pixel artists use. You may find when applying to jobs that they require some knowledge of Aseprite. Since it has become so popular, companies like that you can swap raw files between artists.

Aseprite is amazingly customizable, with custom skins, scripts and extensions on Itch.io, both free and paid.

If you have ever used any art software before, it has most of the same features and should feel fairly familiar to use. It features a robust animation suite and a tilemap feature, which have saved me thousands of hours of labour in my work. The software is also being updated all the time, and the developers listen to the users. I really recommend Aseprite!

⭐ Photoshop (for PC) - Monthly $$

A decent option for those who already are used to the PS interface. Requires some setup to get it ready for pixel-perfect art, but there are plenty of tutorials for doing so.

Animation is also much more tedious on PS which you may want to consider before investing time!

⭐⭐ ProMotion NG (for PC) - $19.00

An advanced and powerful software which has many features Aseprite does not, including Colour Cycling and animated tiles.

⭐⭐⭐ Pixquare (for iOS) - $7.99 - $19.99

Probably the best app available for iPad users, in active development, with new features added all the time.

Look! My buddy Jon recommends it highly, and uses it often.

One cool thing about Pixquare is that it takes Aseprite raw files! Many of my friends use it to work on the same project, both in their office and on the go.

⭐ Procreate (for iOS) - $12.99

If you have access to Procreate already, it's a decent option to get used to doing pixel art. It does however require some setup. Artist Pixebo is famously using Procreate, and they have tutorials of their own if you want to learn.

🆓 Free options:

⭐⭐⭐ Libresprite (for PC)

Libresprite is an alternative to Aseprite. It is very, very similar, to the point where documentation for Aseprite will be helpful to Libresprite users.

⭐⭐ Pixilart (for PC and mobile)

A free in-browser app, and also a mobile app! It is tied to the website Pixilart, where artists upload and share their work. A good option for those also looking to get involved in a community.

⭐⭐ Dotpict (for mobile)

Dotpict is similar to Pixilart, with a mobile app tied to a website, but it's a Japanese service. Did you know that in Japanese, pixel art is called 'Dot Art'? Dotpict can be a great way to connect with a different community of pixel artists! They also have prompts and challenges often.

🔹 So I got my software, now what?

◽Nice! Now it's time for the basics of pixel art.

❗ WAIT ❗ Before this section, I want to add a little disclaimer. All of these rules/guidelines can be broken at will, and some 'no-nos' can look amazing when done intentionally.

The pixel-art fundamentals can be exceedingly helpful to new artists, who may feel lost or overwhelmed by choice. But if you feel they restrict you too harshly, don't force yourself! At the end of the day it's your art, and you shouldn't try to contort yourself into what people think a pixel artist 'should be'. What matters is your own artistic expression. 💕👍

◽Phew! With that out of the way...

🔸"The Rules"

There are few hard 'rules' of pixel art, mostly about scaling and exporting. Some of these things will frequently trip up newbies if they aren't aware, and are easy to overlook.

🔹Scaling method

There are a couple ways of scaling your art. The default in most art programs, and the entire internet, is Bi-linear scaling, which usually works out fine for most purposes. But as pixel artists, we need a different method.

Both are scaled up x10. See the difference?

On the left is scaled using Bilinear, and on the right is using Nearest-Neighbor. We love seeing those pixels stay crisp and clean, so we use nearest-neighbor. 

(Most pixel-art programs have nearest-neighbor enabled by default! So this may not apply to you, but it's important to know.)

🔹Mixels

Mixels are when there are different (mixed) pixel sizes in the same image.

Here I have scaled up my art- the left is 200%, and the right is 150%. Yuck!

As we can see, the "pixel" sizes end up different. We generally try to scale our work by multiples of 100 - 200%, 300% etc. rather than 150%. At larger scales however, the minute differences in pixel sizes are hardly noticeable!

Mixels are also sometimes seen when an artist scales up their work, then continues drawing on it with a 1 pixel brush.

Many would say that this is not great looking! This type of pixels can be indicative of a beginner artist. But there are plenty of creative pixel artists out there who mixels intentionally, making something modern and cool.

🔹Saving Your Files

We usually save our still images as .PNGs as they don’t create any JPEG artifacts or loss of quality. It's a little hard to see here, but there are some artifacts, and it looks a little blurry. It also makes the art very hard to work with if we are importing a JPEG.

For animations .GIF is good, but be careful of the 256 colour limit. Try to avoid using too many blending mode layers or gradients when working with animations. If you aren’t careful, your animation could flash afterwards, as the .GIF tries to reduce colours wherever it can. It doesn’t look great!

Here's an old piece from 2021 where I experienced .GIF lossiness, because I used gradients and transparency, resulting in way too many colours.

🔹Pixel Art Fundamentals - Techniques and Jargon

❗❗Confused about Jaggies? Anti-Aliasing? Banding? Dithering? THIS THREAD is for you❗❗

As far as I'm concerned, this is THE tutorial of all time for understanding pixel art. These are techniques created and named by the community of people who actually put the list together, some of the best pixel artists alive currently. Please read it!!

🔸How To Learn

Okay, so you have your software, and you're all ready to start. But maybe you need some more guidance? Try these tutorials and resources! It can be helpful to work along with a tutorial until you build your confidence up.

⭐⭐ Pixel Logic (A Digital Book) - $10 A very comprehensive visual guide book by a very skilled and established artist in the industry. I own a copy myself.

⭐⭐⭐ StudioMiniBoss - free A collection of visual tutorials, by the artist that worked on Celeste! When starting out, if I got stuck, I would go and scour his tutorials and see how he did it.

⭐ Lospec Tutorials - free A very large collection of various tutorials from all over the internet. There is a lot to sift through here if you have the time.

⭐⭐⭐ Cyangmou's Tutorials - free (tipping optional) Cyangmou is one of the most respected and accomplished modern pixel artists, and he has amassed a HUGE collection of free and incredibly well-educated visual tutorials. He also hosts an educational stream every week on Twitch called 'pixelart for beginners'.

⭐⭐⭐ Youtube Tutorials - free There are hundreds, if not thousands of tutorials on YouTube, but it can be tricky to find the good ones. My personal recommendations are MortMort, Brandon, and AdamCYounis- these guys really know what they're talking about!

🔸Where To Post

Outside of just regular socials, Twitter, Tumblr, Deviantart, Instagram etc, there are a few places that lean more towards pixel art that you might not have heard of.

⭐ Lospec Lospec is a low-res focused art website. Some pieces get given a 'monthly masterpiece' award. Not incredibly active, but I believe there are more features being added often.

⭐⭐ Pixilart Pixilart is a very popular pixel art community, with an app tied to it. The community tends to lean on the young side, so this is a low-pressure place to post with an relaxed vibe.

⭐⭐ Pixeljoint Pixeljoint is one of the big, old-school pixel art websites. You can only upload your art unscaled (1x) because there is a built-in zoom viewer. It has a bit of a reputation for being elitist (back in the 00s it was), but in my experience it's not like that any more. This is a fine place for a pixel artist to post if they are really interested in learning, and the history. The Hall of Fame has some of the most famous / impressive pixel art pieces that paved the way for the work we are doing today.

⭐⭐⭐ Cafe Dot Cafe Dot is my art server so I'm a little biased here. 🍵 It was created during the recent social media turbulence. We wanted a place to post art with no algorithms, and no NFT or AI chuds. We have a heavy no-self-promotion rule, and are more interested in community than skill or exclusivity. The other thing is that we have some kind of verification system- you must apply to be a Creator before you can post in the Art feed, or use voice. This helps combat the people who just want to self-promo and dip, or cause trouble, as well as weed out AI/NFT people. Until then, you are still welcome to post in any of the threads or channels. There is a lot to do in Cafe Dot. I host events weekly, so check the threads!

⭐⭐/r/pixelart The pixel art subreddit is pretty active! I've also heard some of my friends found work through posting here, so it's worth a try if you're looking. However, it is still Reddit- so if you're sensitive to rude people, or criticism you didn't ask for, you may want to avoid this one. Lol

🔸 Where To Find Work

You need money? I got you! As someone who mostly gets scouted on social media, I can share a few tips with you:

Put your email / portfolio in your bio Recruiters don't have all that much time to find artists, make it as easy as possible for someone to find your important information!

Clean up your profile If your profile feed is all full of memes, most people will just tab out rather than sift through. Doesn't apply as much to Tumblr if you have an art tag people can look at.

Post regularly, and repost Activity beats everything in the social media game. It's like rolling the dice, and the more you post the more chances you have. You have to have no shame, it's all business baby

Outside of just posting regularly and hoping people reach out to you, it can be hard to know where to look. Here are a few places you can sign up to and post around on.

/r/INAT INAT (I Need A Team) is a subreddit for finding a team to work with. You can post your portfolio here, or browse for people who need artists.

/r/GameDevClassifieds Same as above, but specifically for game-related projects.

Remote Game Jobs / Work With Indies Like Indeed but for game jobs. Browse them often, or get email notifications.

VGen VGen is a website specifically for commissions. You need a code from another verified artist before you can upgrade your account and sell, so ask around on social media or ask your friends. Once your account is upgraded, you can make a 'menu' of services people can purchase, and they send you an offer which you are able to accept, decline, or counter.

The evil websites of doom: Fiverr and Upwork I don't recommend them!! They take a big cut of your profit, and the sites are teeming with NFT and AI people hoping to make a quick buck. The site is also extremely oversaturated and competitive, resulting in a race to the bottom (the cheapest, the fastest, doing the most for the least). Imagine the kind of clients who go to these websites, looking for the cheapest option. But if you're really desperate...

🔸 Community

I do really recommend getting involved in a community. Finding like-minded friends can help you stay motivated to keep drawing. One day, those friends you met when you were just starting out may become your peers in the industry. Making friends is a game changer!

Discord servers Nowadays, the forums of old are mostly abandoned, and people split off into many different servers. Cafe Dot, Pixel Art Discord (PAD), and if you can stomach scrolling past all the AI slop, you can browse Discord servers here.

Twitch Streams Twitch has kind of a bad reputation for being home to some of the more edgy gamers online, but the pixel art community is extremely welcoming and inclusive. Some of the people I met on Twitch are my friends to this day, and we've even worked together on different projects! Browse pixel art streams here, or follow some I recommend: NickWoz, JDZombi, CupOhJoe, GrayLure, LumpyTouch, FrankiePixelShow, MortMort, Sodor, NateyCakes, NyuraKim, ShinySeabass, I could go on for ever really... There are a lot of good eggs on Pixel Art Twitch.

🔸 Other Helpful Websites

Palettes Lospec has a huge collection of user-made palettes, for any artist who has trouble choosing their colours, or just wants to try something fun. Rejected Palettes is full of palettes that didn't quite make it onto Lospec, ran by people who believe there are no bad colours.

The Spriters Resource TSR is an incredible website where users can upload spritesheets and tilesets from games. You can browse for your favourite childhood game, and see how they made it! This website has helped me so much in understanding how game assets come together in a scene.

VGMaps Similar to the above, except there are entire maps laid out how they would be played. This is incredible if you have to do level design, or for mocking up a scene for fun.

Game UI Database Not pixel-art specific, but UI is a very challenging part of graphics, so this site can be a game-changer for finding good references!

Retronator A digital newspaper for pixel-art lovers! New game releases, tutorials, and artworks!

Itch.io A website where people can upload, games, assets, tools... An amazing hub for game devs and game fans alike. A few of my favourite tools: Tiled, PICO-8, Pixel Composer, Juice FX, Magic Pencil for Aseprite

🔸 The End?

This is just part 1 for now, so please drop me a follow to see any more guides I release in the future. I plan on doing some writeups on how I choose colours, how to practise, and more!

I'm not an expert by any means, but everything I did to get to where I am is outlined in this guide. Pixel art is my passion, my job and my hobby! I want pixel art to be recognized everywhere as an art-form, a medium of its own outside of game-art or computer graphics!

This guide took me a long time, and took a lot of research and experience. Consider following me or supporting me if you are feeling generous.

And good luck to all the fledgling pixel artists, I hope you'll continue and have fun. I hope my guide helped you, and don't hesitate to send me an ask if you have any questions! 💕

[kenzi-koffee]

Ansul stared back into the dead eyes of the ghost. A harrowing sorrow overwhelmed him; it felt as though he was being swallowed whole by emptiness. His words died on his lips and he could not answer the question. ‘What was left?’ --------------------- Original Character art of a story I'm working on. :)