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Pixel Art B-Day Gift (Ideas/ art assets)

k-mapsk-maps I wish I could find the Karnaugh map for love.2^<3Registered User regular
edited June 2010 in Help / Advice Forum
Okay, so I got one of these sweet Mario Bros. pixel art dot pin sets., and I want to use it to create a custom birthday card for my gf. Brainstorming for ideas I've decided on doing this sprite from Super Mario Bros. 2, but I'm not exactly sure as to how to break it down to it's pixel-by-pixel representation. Sure I could attempt to reverse-engineer it using my eyes, but I was wondering if there are any 8-bit pixel artists out here who know of an elegant technique/tool for breaking down sprites to a nice grid I could work with(I've never been good with visual art of any kind). I would like to know that I could actually fit the sprite before attempting to recreate it on the pin grid.

Also, would appreciate any alternate ideas for awesome celebratory 8-bit pixel art assets/ideas.

k-maps on

Posts

  • UberFlopUberFlop Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    78801361_7eb133057d.jpg

    You're welcome. =D

    UberFlop on
    wwmmd-1.jpg
  • LieberkuhnLieberkuhn __BANNED USERS regular
    edited June 2010
    Do you own Photoshop? It's very easy to overlay a grid using that; the following instructions are for CS2 but any version should work roughly this way:

    View -> Show -> Grid
    Then
    Edit -> Preferences -> Guides, Grid and Slices...

    This will bring up a window with a box containing "Gridline every: [number] [measurement]". Simply set [number] to 1 and [measurement] to pixels. If your image has been enlarged to make individual pixels easy to see, just adjust the number to match the scale of your image (2 for 200%, 3 for 300%, etc).

    You'll probably want to print your image to make working easier. If so, Photoshop won't include the grid on your printout. There might be a way to include the grid, but I don't know it; what I do know, however, is a workaround: hit the Print Screen button, open a new file, and paste.


    Edit: I just checked MS Paint and it has a grid too! Zoom in and select View -> Zoom -> Show Grid. The grid is automatically 1x1 pixels, doesn't appear to be customisable, and is only visible while zoomed in. However it should be sufficient for your purposes, and the printing trick I mentioned above will still work.

    Lieberkuhn on
    While you eat, let's have a conversation about the nature of consent.
  • k-mapsk-maps I wish I could find the Karnaugh map for love. 2^<3Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    Duh, Thanks....When in doubt, MS paint never fails. I still contend it's the most impressive software MS has ever created. Keep the ideas coming if you got any.

    k-maps on
  • cj iwakuracj iwakura The Rhythm Regent Bears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
    edited June 2010
    Have you been to The Spriter's Resource?

    It's pixel art heaven.

    cj iwakura on
    z48g7weaopj2.png
  • k-mapsk-maps I wish I could find the Karnaugh map for love. 2^<3Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    Holy shit, that website is awesome...If only I knew what I was looking for. Whenever I see a website like that I get that overwhelming kid in a candy store response. However, I already started working on something, so I should have it finished/posted on the this thread for critique by tonight. Thanks.

    k-maps on
  • k-mapsk-maps I wish I could find the Karnaugh map for love. 2^<3Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    So what do you guys think?
    bday.jpg
    I decided to go with a comic strip idea. It's rife with inside jokes so I don't expect you to get it, and some of the "composition" was determined by the limited materials(pins)/space but I was wondering if the general aesthetic is nice.../adequately cool b-day gift.

    k-maps on
  • Pixel BluePixel Blue Registered User regular
    edited March 2013
    -

    Pixel Blue on
  • k-mapsk-maps I wish I could find the Karnaugh map for love. 2^<3Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    Well thanks for all the help in this thread. The MS paint "technique" ended up being the best/easiest way of drafting up an image to work with.

    She better like it, as it took up my entire dot-pin arsenal!

    k-maps on
  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    Consider using perler beads in the future, awesomely cheap

    Improvolone on
    Voice actor for hire. My time is free if your project is!
  • LieberkuhnLieberkuhn __BANNED USERS regular
    edited June 2010
    That looks good! If it's full of inside jokes then I'm sure she'll love it; hand-made inside jokes easily make the best gifts.

    Lieberkuhn on
    While you eat, let's have a conversation about the nature of consent.
  • k-mapsk-maps I wish I could find the Karnaugh map for love. 2^<3Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    Improvolone wrote:
    Consider using perler beads in the future, awesomely cheap
    See, I don't think they look as good, even though that and Lite-Brite are essentially the same idea. Doesn't have the same authentic 8-bit feel to it. But definitely way more practical.

    k-maps on
  • corelinecoreline Registered User new member
    edited June 2010
    I don't really like MS paint, the last time I worked on my photos using it as I wanted to turn photo into painting, I had no luck.

    coreline on
  • k-mapsk-maps I wish I could find the Karnaugh map for love. 2^<3Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    Haha, well I guess I should have qualified that with "for all your basic image editing needs (cropping, resizing etc.)".

    k-maps on
  • MushroomStickMushroomStick Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    I present Bricksaic. Its intended for planning out lego mosaics, but should work really well for this too.

    MushroomStick on
  • k-mapsk-maps I wish I could find the Karnaugh map for love. 2^<3Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    Oooh...cool, but a bit of an overkill for sprite tweaking purposes. Will def keep this in mind for future, albeit more ambitious projects.

    k-maps on
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