My Pixel Dailies Art + Process

Pixel Dailies is an art group on Twitter that was created in 2014. It's a great group to practice the drawing skills and to meet other pixel art enthusiasts. All of the pixel art in this post was created by me.

Pixel Art

Pixel art is an art form where each pixel in a drawing has a purpose. The strictest forms don't allow special effects like blur or layer blend modes. However, as with any art form there are various styles and many <b?interpretations of the topic.

Personally I have a loose pixel art style, because I value the aesthetic look over the rules. Moreover, I'm still experimenting and having fun without one distinct style.

For those who wish to know more, I recommend this article.

What is Pixel Dailies?

There is a new theme every day, sometimes it's rather abstract like "comfy" other times it can be a famous character or a simple item like a "lamp". Occasionally there are contests sponsored by game companies.

"Cactus"

To join you need a twitter account and follow Pixel Dailies. Once the theme is tweeted, you need to upload your artwork with the tags “@Pixel_Dailies” , “#pixel_dailies” and the theme. If you search #pixel_dailies on twitter you will find a huge collection of previous art.

"Alchemy"

My Art Process

Ghibli fan art was my first ever Pixel Daily in 2016 and it's still one of my favorite artworks. I spent a whole day drawing it, luckily I kept all of the layers separate and even some of the initial sketches.

"Ghibli"

"Geisha"

"Steampunk Weapon"

Animation

For those considering pixel art animation I highly recommend checking out Aseprite. It's not free, but definitely worth the price. If you're planning to loop an animation, it's easiest to use even frames and multiples of 4. "Wands"

This a was a fun but labor intensive animation. I made it in Pyxel Edit with 22 frames. I used the original cartoon for reference. I did not draw each frame from scratch, rather paste the previous frame, move it a certain amount and fill the new area.

"The Simpsons"

"Zodiac"

"Gargoyle"

Less Successful Pixelart

Personally, I'm not fond of the following couple of drawings. However, without practice and mistakes I would probably never improve. I spent a lot of time trying to salvage the drawings. It's a good thing that the deadline for each theme is just one day. Once it's done, it's time to move on to the next one. Another advantage of Pixel Dailies is if they retweet your art, it is seen by a lot of people. Making it much easier to get followers and get noticed.

"Storm"

"Turtle"

Simple

Not all drawings have to be complex. Sometimes I draw a Pixel Daily just to get warmed up before work. So I keep the drawing simple and to the point.

"Bird"

Simply have fun and do a Pixel Daily when you feel inspired. If the theme doesn't particularly inspire me, I often end up unhappy with my final drawing. However, it's good to practice drawing whenever you choose to, not waiting for an inspiration that might never come.

"Pirate"