#tutorial (?)

[simspaghetti]

i aspire to edit like you - please give me some advice so i can be as good as you = where do you get all those cute phone things / emails / icons / boxes etc. ps. love you <3

Hiya lovely!! Thank you so much that's really kind of you to say <3<3

You asking this made me realise I haven't done a full resource list for editing yet :O

Before I start, I'm gonna give a BIG shoutout and recommendation to Honeywine sims' Sims 3 Resources for Storytelling & Screenshots list - if you're looking to improve your screenshots then the tutorials linked on there are a very very good place to start :)

Anyway, here is just the stuff I personally use:

My Simblr Editing Resource List:

TS3 Ultimate Icon Collection from MTS

Trait Images from TheSimsWiki OR Here by Hexagonal Bypyramid

TS2 High-Quality Icon Pack by EddySims

Sims 4 Icon Collection

Sebastian Hyde's Sims Icon Portfolio (requires a bit more editing as you need to erase the background & isolate the icon - but the TS3 ones tend to be much higher quality, so for certain stuff it's worth the effort)

Created by me:

Blackout UI Gameplay PSD Collection (includes moodlet, wish & career templates) - CleanUI Versions here: Moodlet & Wish / Career

Photography / Camera Template

Interaction Box Templates

Notification Templates

Location Templates

Any more PSDs I create in the future can always be found linked here

Created by others:

AwkwardWhims PSD Collection (I have made a personal edit of these to make them dark-mode)

Windslars PSD Collections (both versions - again I've edited these for personal use)

Simblr trading card - I have borrowed the Skill Template from these

LoeySims PSD

Sterina-Sims' PS Action

The full tutorial on how I made my editing bases is here (aka making the curved outline and combining the PSD & action templates)

BePixeled Gradient Backgrounds - I use these for photoshoots etc.

I use Photopea to edit everything - It's a free, online alternative to adobe photoshop

I have a folder on my desktop with alllll the PSDs & resources I need in it

Then inside that I have a sub-folder containing my main editing bases & any of the UI PSDs I use super regularly

When I go to start an editing session, I open up the sub-folder (called 'quick editing access' - I have it pinned to my file explorer as well) and just select all the PSDs to open altogether in Photopea

Then I go from there just going with vibes & screnshot framing to judge what size template to put my screenshots in

I know some of ya'll will just want the links to resources, so I've kept my editing advice behind the cut for those who are curious ⬇️

My (kind of embarrassing) Credentials:

Here is a comparison of what my edited content used to look like back when I first started Simblr 5 years ago VS. what it looks like today - I'm gonna now dissect what made the biggest difference for me in improving my editing game

Obviously adding visual interest to your screenshots with icons, UI elements etc. does help them look more interesting - but for me the biggest difference between these two pictures actually comes down to colour grading, lighting, camera angles and overall staging

To break down the differences more visually:

So, how did I make my screenshots better?

1: Work out what visual style you want your simblr to be, and start emulating that style in your game

A lot of this actually comes down to the aesthetic things you do in-game before even taking the screenshots (eg: what skin you use, the kind of outfits and colour-scheme you dress your sims with and how you furnish their homes)

I'm sure you know a few simblrs off the top of your head that you like the content of, look through their posts and figure out what stands out about the ones you particularly like Is it the colour scheme? How are they staging their camera angles? How are their sims styled & dressed? Most simblrs have resource pages you can scroll through which will tell you exactly what aesthetic mods they are using to make their game look the way it does & sometimes they also have CC finds blogs where you can find similar clothing & cc to the stuff they use

To break this down in practice: I realised that I really like a maxis-match style when it comes to how my sims & their homes look, I want it to look simple, kind of cartoony and visually quite colourful So, when I went on a CC shopping spree to do a visual overhaul in my game a few years ago, and I only downloaded stuff that fit into that style I was looking for skins and hairs which had flat, less detailed textures, and objects / clothing that had been converted from other sims games to TS3 - if you like alpha style instead then you can only shop for stuff that fits in with that, or if you like a specific vibe (such as cottagecore) then only look for themed cc etc. etc.

2: Use Reshade, seriously!

I put off using reshade for the longest time because I thought that it was complicated to install & use - and while (like with everything) there is a learning curve, I got my head round it really quickly and now I use it without thinking

Again my advice for finding presets would be to look at simblrs you admire and find what presets they're using - or search up 'Reshade Preset' on tumblr and just pick one you like the look of - this will really come down to personal preference & what kind of vibe you're going for in your game

3: Colour-Grading & aesthetic design

I'm not the greatest decorator or home builder when it comes to creating something entirely off the top of my head with no reference, so when I'm building homes or decorating a room I always like to look on websites like Pinterest for inspiration

For example, here is a bedroom I recently designed based off a pinterest room - I added in some decor objects which are more specific to my sim's personality, but you can see the basic colour scheme & vibe is very similar to the other photo

In terms of picking a colour scheme for sims & their homes, I always use their favourite colour & traits as a guiding tool - this makes all of my sims look more unique and have a clear & defined sense of personal style that really helps me when coming up with ideas for decorating

Can you guess my sim Betty's favourite colour? lol - but having red as a starting point seriously helped me when deciding what vibe to go with for her bedroom, I just looked up 'cosy red bedroom' and that picture popped up - she's also a Snob and a Virtuoso, so I decided she'd probably be a classical music buff & a fan of old Hollywood - and I incorporated those aesthetics by using vintage posters and some music decor objects such as the CDs on the floor

I know this probably seems like it’s not relevant to photo editing but it 100% is - you need to have well-designed rooms and sims in order to take good photos!

4: Experiment with camera angles

This one is really difficult to describe but I'm gonna give a recent example of a screenshot I took:

You can see the second one (from a higher angle) is much more visually interesting and IMO just looks a lot better With the first one, I'd probably be inclined to put a moodlet or something over the empty space - whereas the second picture is full enough on its own not to need anything else

5: Useful mods & game cheats for you to know...

Game Cheats: -> hideheadlineeffects ON hides most of the headline effects like speech bubbles, plumbobs etc. -> moviemakercheatsenabled TRUE You need to do testingcheatsenabled true first but this cheat basically allows you to direct your sims to do any animation you want, which is useful for posing or storytelling purposes -> moveobjects ON I assume you already know about this cheat, but I use it all the time for moving my sims to a better location for screenshots - you do have to reset the sim afterwards though otherwise they will get stuck in the floor lol

Mods: -> no drift / lower level camera mod Allows you to get to those more interesting angles I was talking about earlier! -> Create your own visual effects mod Follow the instructions and create your own custom mod to remove the effects that you don't like the look of (eg: I got rid of the university life social boost things cos they annoy me) -> No camera fade Allows you to get way more up close & personal with your sims! -> Sethour cheat Suuuuper useful for scenery pictures or photoshoots

I hope that's useful, honestly, just keep at it! Keep experimenting, keep posting and make mental notes of what performs well vs. not well - the only way to get better is with lots and lots of practice in my experience

Like 5 years ago I had no idea how to use anything on photoshop - and now I'm really familiar with most of the tools - It took me a long time to get to this point, so don't beat yourself up if you're just starting out and stuff isn't looking how you want it to - just use it as motivation to try and get better!

Youtube / blog tutorials and other simblrs resource lists are your best friends when it comes to learning how to improve your game style & when learning how to use photo-editing tools :)

Also, an important final note is that I really really enjoy photo editing, it's part of the fun of playing the game for me! - If you don't, that's totally fine! Don't force yourself to do something you don't enjoy, you can just post your screenshots no matter how they look, this is simblr after all, we're all posting about games which are decades old atp, it's really not that serious :P

[97smol-dreams]

Hello everyone! I finally finished the swimsuit tutorial for the adult sized critters :D As always, i tried my best to explain the process but, if needed, i will still answer any questions to the best of my ability :3 Thank you to @quin-weasel for checking if its written clearly too!

The pattern:

[beanie-baby-0218]

Part 2 of my pjsk card edit tutorial !! For anyone who missed it, part 1 just focuses on recolouring a card

[mellosdrawings]

I just wanna say I really admire your art. I was curious if you had any art tips on getting good dynamic poses and such.

Hiya dear Potato-san! Thank you for the kind words <3

I think I can ramble a bit about dynamism. Hopefully it'll be understandable.

When it's for research purpose or fast comics, the simplest way to get good dynamic poses is basically just to let your hand go wild. Take a sharpie bigger than what you're used to work with, and sketch fast poses. The sharpie won't let you erase, so the art as a whole will feel more instinctual compared to big illustrations. It's a very good first base to prepare comics.

If you freeze before even starting (because drawing something that can't be erased can do that), draw the vaguest bit of directory lines first. That will be the main dynamic of your pose. The two big base shapes are usually straight and pointy (triangle), or soft curves (circles). If you want something dynamic, the first shapes will be needed. If you want something cozy, make sure your main dynamic line is a smooth curve.

The best practices to get used to drawing dynamic poses are either to draw people dancing, or to draw Spiderman poses (I'm not kidding).

You will naturally have a dynamic here. Your first step will be to find the main line, as stated earlier. Then you put your shapes following the main line you found.

If you have a particularly dynamic artstyle, or like exaggeration, you can increase the shapes you see. A lot of art is exaggeration. It goes for the main line (see below, I accentuated the bow of her back), or the body shapes (legs and arms are very easily malleable to convey sharp dynamics).

The main point when you draw something really dynamic (like fights or dancing) is to ignore the usual, realistic shapes of the limbs to instead focus on the feeling of direction you want the reader to follow. When you do semi-realistic (like me for my COD art) it can be a bit hard to find the right balance between realistic proportions/shapes and the dynamic you want, but then that's just trial and error until you get what you want.

Well, there you go. Sorry if it's messy ^^'

TLDR: Have a really strong and easily identifiable direction line. And exaggerate. Always exaggerate.

[balkanradfem]

Just in case someone needs this, you can download tumblr videos on your computer/phone. Go to this website, and then copy the original url with the video, you need the op's link. For instance this link would work, but sometimes a reblog wouldn't.

Paste the link on the website, click enter, and it will offer you a download. You can right click -> Save Link As, or click the link and it takes you to a website that is just the video, and then you right click on the website -> Save page as, and it will download the video.

Have fun hoarding videos! You do need this specific link to the site, when I try to find the site from the search engine for some reason it doesn't work.

[never-obsolete]

Microsoft Productivity Pack for Windows (1992)

[yyshcul]

could you please do a tutorial on how you do your risograph style drawings? they look so cool 😭😭

[shencomix]

How to Be The Dominant Male in Any Situation

Let's say you walk into a party.

You are wet and pathetic. Not only are you a worm, but even among worms you are the runt of the litter.

There's a way to fix that. Even you can be the alpha male in every situation you're in. Here's how:

Alpha Male Rule 1: Stand Tall or Very Short

In some things in nature, like rats and giraffes, the biggest creature in is leader.

However, in other things in nature, like the mafia, which has large goons but a small boss, the smallest creature is the leader.

You need to lean into whichever option is closest to you. If you are almost short, try wearing a big suit like a mob boss would wear to also make yourself wider like a mob boss. If are you almost tall, like I am, trying wearing these bad boys:

Now, I know what you're thinking: "High heels?? But isn't that for women???" Women have been hiding them from us men because they are afraid of how powerful we would be with them. But, why do women alone get to augment so much about themselves?? Look at all the eyeliner and mascara they need to even begin to mimic the power and seductiveness of our male eyelashes:

So, let's take a look at how we're doing now having applied just this one piece of advice:

It's a whole new situation. Let's move onto rule 2:

Alpha Male Rule 2: Always Get What You Want But Never Ask For It

I notice the man next to me has cookies. I would like one. Not only that, but there's also a woman next to me, watching. Asking another man for a cookie is extremely un-alpha behavior, so here's how you go about this situation:

1) Point out that someone else has something that you want

2) Cry until they give it to you

If everything has gone according the plan, you now have a cookie, and the woman is thinking something like this:

Let's move onto the last rule.

Alpha Male Rule 3: Always Up the Ante

Whatever you want to do or say, do or say it at least 3 times as hard as a regular person. When your coffee is $3, you should give $9 to show how wealthy you are. When you say "I'll be back in 5 minutes" you should actually be back in 15 minutes -- but really, you should say "I'll be back in 15 minutes" and be back in 45 minutes.

You should also start every task at step 3 rather than step 1. So, a normal (read: beta) guy might tell a girl "I think you're pretty" and then later ask "will you be my girlfriend?' But you should just say this:

99% of women will say yes, but if she needs further convincing, it can be helpful to offer her a small present, like a trinket or snack.

Congratulations. You have now learned how to be the most dominant male in any situation. Here are a few more tips for the road:

Claim to be descended from an ancient king or emperor. You can make a map or your lineage and fold it up to carry it in your pocket, so that you may unfold it whenever it needs to be presented.

If a woman takes a genuine interest in you, do the full body blush animation rising from bottom to top like you're a cup filling up, then run away, leaving behind a small cloud and a few speed lines. The idea that woman can actually like you is a lie perpetuated by Big Women.

If you want to further increase your height, try wearing bunny ears.

[nikoco11]

my recipe for drawing hands!

(small note that this is a shortcut that is more abt style and ease than anatomical accuracy. it helps to take time to really properly study hands, makes it easier to bend the rules a bit like this and have it still look good!!)

(learn rules b4 u break them or whatevah)

[officialspec]

spec. spec. spec youve changed the game. i never realized your pointer finger and your wrist artery are the same. holy shit. im going to draw hands thank you

aasdjsd its not really an artery but its a useful landmark to facilitate the Flow of a pose imo

[iheartgod175]

@blazing-shadows This is awesome 😎

hot artists don’t gatekeep

I’ve been resource gathering for YEARS so now I am going to share my dragons hoard

Floorplanner. Design and furnish a house for you to use for having a consistent background in your comic or anything! Free, you need an account, easy to use, and you can save multiple houses.

Comparing Heights. Input the heights of characters to see what the different is between them. Great for keeping consistency. Free.

Magma. Draw online with friends in real time. Great for practice or hanging out. Free, paid plan available, account preferred.

Smithsonian Open Access. Loads of free images. Free.

SketchDaily. Lots of pose references, massive library, is set on a timer so you can practice quick figure drawing. Free.

SculptGL. A sculpting tool which I am yet to master, but you should be able to make whatever 3d object you like with it. free.

Pexels. Free stock images. And the search engine is actually pretty good at pulling up what you want.

Figurosity. Great pose references, diverse body types, lots of “how to draw” videos directly on the site, the models are 3d and you can rotate the angle, but you can’t make custom poses or edit body proportions. Free, account option, paid plans available.

Line of Action. More drawing references, this one also has a focus on expressions, hands/feet, animals, landscapes. Free.

Animal Photo. You pose a 3d skull model and select an animal species, and they give you a bunch of photo references for that animal at that angle. Super handy. Free.

Height Weight Chart. You ever see an OC listed as having a certain weight but then they look Wildly different than the number suggests? Well here’s a site to avoid that! It shows real people at different weights and heights to give you a better idea of what these abstract numbers all look like. Free to use.

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

how to wave magic wand by 街头尬术师【魔法披风】

[laboratoryrats]

Excellent tutorial to drawing cubby body types

“Some chubby guide for y’all!”

Source: paggiart on twitter

[tofupixel]

⭐ So you want to learn pixel art? ⭐

🔹 Part 1 of ??? - The Basics!

Edit: Now available in Google Doc format if you don't have a Tumblr account 🥰

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 (30% off with code 'tofu'!!)

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.

⭐⭐ ReSprite iOS and Android. (free trial, but:) $19.99 premium or $$ monthly

ReSprite is VERY similar in terms of UI to Aseprite, so I can recommend it. They just launched their Android release!

🆓 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❗❗ << it's a link, click it!!

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!

🔸 How to choose a canvas size

When looking at pixel art turorials, we may see people suggest things like 16x16, 32x32 and 64x64. These are standard sizes for pixel art games with tiles. However, if you're just making a drawing, you don't necessarily need to use a standard canvas size like that.

What I like to think about when choosing a canvas size for my illustrations is 'what features do I think it is important to represent?' And make my canvas as small as possible, while still leaving room for my most important elements.

Imagine I have characters in a scene like this:

I made my canvas as small as possible (232 x 314), but just big enough to represent the features and have them be recognizable (it's Good Omens fanart 😤)!! If I had made it any bigger, I would be working on it for ever, due to how much more foliage I would have to render.

If you want to do an illustration and you're not sure, just start at somewhere around 100x100 - 200x200 and go from there.

It's perfectly okay to crop your canvas, or scale it up, or crunch your art down at any point if you think you need a different size. I do it all the time! It only takes a bit of cleanup to get you back to where you were.

🔸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! 💕

My other tutorials (so far): How to draw Simple Grass for a game Hue Shifting

[gammagoop]

ive been wanting to make smth like this for a little while now and i finally finished it up ^_^ hopefully my tricks are helpful

EDITS: since this post is gaining a lot of traction, i want to highlight some of the suggestions and addendums that other people have made. i'm imperfect, which is why i recommend that you use references of real people along with my simple tips!

as many have pointed out, the yellow in the last diagram should cover the entire body, especially around the stomach area. the only parts of the body that are consistently bare are the palms of the hands and the bottoms of the feet

check out this reblog from @proxykiwi for a diagram of the distribution of hair on the back of the body

the texture of the hair can differ between the head and the body-- much of the time body and beard hair is curlier than the hair on the head

like when drawing head hair, its helpful to break up facial hair into descriptive shapes, and add lines for texture as needed. i tried to communicate that in the images, but i think its also useful to write it out

check out this reblog from @jodjuya for a detailed explanation of how beards tend to grow throughout teen-adult years

thank you to everyone who's suggested and added things! i encourage people to look through the replies and reblogs of this post for more information