slynyrd

Pixel Minis series selection round 10

Wow, round 10! So happy to still be doing these. For this series, I'm feeling the urge to get back to my comfort food with a machine theme. Choose your vehicle!  

Shape of the Universe - 15

On goes another coat of paint. I'm surprised how many more details I've been able to add since the last version, sure I can push it even farther now.

I squeezed in this update, but I can't wait to show you what I've been spending most of my time on this past week. I've officially started working on a new game! Gango, the same two man team behind Hyper Echelon is gearing up for a grand new adventure! After months of daydreaming and brainstorming, a tangible vision has begun to take hol...

Shape of the Universe - 14

Got some more sessions in on this piece, and I'm quite pleased with the way it's shaping up. You can see the difference since the last update in the process gif. Mostly been working on improving the lighting and colors as I work in more details. Lot of cool animation ideas for this one, if I get there.  

To summarize the project so far, this is the 6th scene I've made. I originally planned to do 10 scenes, and since I've made it this far I feel encouraged to push through to the en...

No Fences

Another calm Kansas landscape scene I can add to my realism section of the portfolio. It all starts with a good reference. I like to crop and modify colors of a photo to get as close as I can to the final look I'm going for. Then, it's a matter of spotting the best colors from the image and recreating the composition in a manner that best suites the pixels. Not creative in concept, but a great deal of personality comes through in the clusters, color treatment, and tweaks in composition. While...

August Schedule 2022

What, how could it already be a new month? These hot summer days all blend together and time just seems to slip away. On the positive side, time flies when you keep busy. Much better than being bored and falling into the dog days of summer. With that said, let's keep the action going!

First up this month, I will complete the realism study I shared the other week. Next, I want to finish the current scene for Shape of the Universe, and figure out where I want to go with this project. La...

Tutorial - 109 - Sci-fi Dungeon

This bright and clean style is super fun to design with. Give it a try!

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Tutorial - 108 - Sci-fi Character Portraits

Pretty faces...

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Tutorial - 107 - Sci-fi Character Sprites

A nudist colony takes to the stars... Gotta strip em down for proper anatomy study!  

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Sci-fi RPG Source Files

Includes Tutorial 107 source file (Photoshop), and Sci-fi Dungeon source file (Pixel Edit).

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Sci-fi RPG Assets Pack

Includes virtually all assets presented in Pixelblog 39. Files are .png format with transparent background in native resolution.

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Pixelblog - 39 - Sci-fi RPG

Phantasy Star inspired tutorials and a trip down memory lane. Tutorials include top-down character sprites, portraits, and sci-fi dungeon tiles.

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Human Anatomy Source Files

Per request, the source files for Pixelblog 17, are now available for download. Enjoy!

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Realism Study WIP

Hey folks! Got a little curve ball for you. Instead of the Shape of the Universe update scheduled for today, I want to share another realistic landscape piece I started on earlier this month. Taking the pixel art trope of a little shack to the next level with real perspective and lighting! I was just kinda messing around for practice, but I definitely think it's worth finishing. Dim lighting and night scenes are a rarity for me, so it will be a nice addition to the mix.

230x97px
cu...

Shape of the Universe - 13

The princess is a space time traveler? What universe is she escaping from? New meanings and mysteries emerge as the tale progresses.

As I mentioned in the latest schedule post, I'm eager to start releasing this project to the public as soon as possible. However, I still don't want to rush it and squander the epic scope I had in mind. I plan to finish this piece, then go back and complete every scene so far with animation and soundtrack. After that I can decide to start releasing them a...

Dot Gals - Complete Gallery

Here's the final collection of gals! I did some touch ups and I'm tempted to polish more, but I want to keep some of the evolution across the series. Notice how the hair started out as minimal anime style, and becomes more detailed and realistic in the second half of the batch.

My goal with DG was to become more proficient in something a bit out of my comefort zone, and as with all series, to make enjoyable art. Furthermore, taking a studious approach, I made sure to explore a range of...

Dot Gals - 9

Here's the last gal to finish the series. I'll share the complete gallery and my thoughts on the series in the next scheduled post.

64x64px 128x128px canvas
12 colors
Photoshop  

July Schedule 2022

Hey folks! Here's a look at the plan for July. Little late with the update from celebrating 4th of July holidays. It was good hot fun as usual, now it's time get back to business.

First up, I will share the final Dot Gals entry, then create a complete gallery collection of them, which will include a final round of polishing.

Next, I will delve into some work on Shape of the Universe. Honestly, I've been getting restless with the project lately; overthinking things and losing c...

Here and Then

Kayaking down the local creek at dusk, I look east to see brilliant warm colors hitting the old grain elevator. This is typical, but far from mundane. Immense peace washes over me, feeling I'm right in the place I should be. It's a moment of meaning.

Getting reacquainted with realism to share my passion for the calm sights of the Kansas prairie. I tried to keep the clusters simple while using a relatively high color count to achieve a realistic look. This creates a striking dualism of...

Dot Gals - 8

How does she get that luscious shine? Only one more gal to go before I complete the series.

64x64px 128x128px canvas
16 colors
Photoshop

Shape of the Universe - 12

Got in a couple more sessions on this piece. You can see the evolution since the last update in the process gif. As I was planning in the last post, I enlarged and redid the King. Also modified the throne and cloaked figures. Much stronger presence and feeling of intimidation I think. In the polishing phase now, it's nearing final form.

There's a learning curve with these detailed compositions. Seems there's always a point right in the middle of the process where it still looks ugly a...

Dot Gals - 7

This sun kissed cutie is ready for the summer.

*Revised 6/16/2022 - Total redo on the hair, added earring, and minor changes to facial details. Original hair style felt too drab, so I took a can of hair spray to it for some 80's magic.  

64x64px 128x128px canvas
14 colors
Photoshop

Shape of the Universe - 11

Worked in a few more phases of detail on this piece. You can see the progress since the last update in the process. Getting into the nitty gritty details at this point, but I'm thinking about further enlarging the king. He's supposed to be much larger than an average human, as are the cloaked figures, but the perspective makes it hard to gauge the scale. Not sure, will continue to experiment as I develop the details. More soon!

 

June Schedule 2022

As always, for your pledges of support, I pledge to continue producing new original content on a regular schedule. Hoping to make good progress on my two ongoing series this month, and what's this, mystery content? Leaving one slot open to random content. Could be a Pixelcast, Pixelmotion, or some random one off artwork. Keeping things open to let my inspiration guide me when the time comes, as the best art seems to manifest spontaneously. So let me plan weeks in advance to do something maybe...

Tutorial - 106 - Alien Underground

Are you prepared to enter the alien underground?

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Tutorial - 105 - Alien Beasts

These critters mean business.

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Tutorial - 104 - Bounty Hunter

A familiar orange suited design. Learn more in the full feature.

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Metroid Study Source Files

This download includes Tutorial 104 source file (Photoshsop) and Alien Underground source file (Pyxel Edit)

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Metroid Study Assets Pack

This assets pack includes all sprites and tiles presented in Pixelblog 38. Files are png format with transparent background in native resolution.

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Pixelblog - 38 - Metroid Study

Fresh Metroid riffs, including character animation, enemy design, and tiled environments. Roll out!!

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Shape of the Universe - 10

Think I've about captured the right vibe for this throne room scene. Started out too bright and welcoming, as I want it to feel daunting, maybe even frightening. The projection wasn't really working for me, so I totally redid everything using one point perspective. I rarely use actual perspective with my pixel art because it's hard to avoid unpleasant pixel rhythms in the perspective lines, also called jaggies. However, if you place things just right you can maintain clean ratios. Shadows nee...