slynyrd

Pixelcast - 30

The king's indomitable gaze casts a stiff unease among the empire.  

Thyrian Defenders - 14

Moving on in the intro sequence, I'm now creating a scene with some interior details of the Titan being powered up and throttled out of the launch bay. 

This is a rough plan for the cells in this scene. A hand pushes some buttons, dials and gauges light up, a hand pushes the throttle forward, and you see the thrust from behind the titan flare up. I'm thinking to change the order so the lar...

February Schedule 2019

Hey folks! One month already in the books for 2019, and another sweet line up of pixels coming your way this February. No major surprises in the schedule. TD updates won't come every week, but I want to try to fit at least 3 a month. I find having at least one quiet week a month is critical for planning my content, and ensuring quality.

January was a very productive month with a considerable influx of new patrons. Thank you all so much! As support grows, so does my creative drive and a...

Hartwell

This is a commissioned piece I made for an alt rock band last year. Unfortunately, it seems the band called it quits before the ep was released, but we can still enjoy the artwork!

Luckily, the band and I agreed to share the rights to the design, so I can still share and even sell the design on my store! 

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Thyrian Defenders - 13

Ok, I've put together all the cells in one connected sequence. The flow is pretty good but I think the fade transitions don't do the comic book style justice. I think I'll try some kind of masked wipe on/off animation for the cells.

The atmosphere will be much stronger with the soundtrack. Scorching electric guitar should kick in about the time the Titan makes its appearance.

Next set of cells we'll go into the cockpit to show systems powering on, and blast off!

In oth...

Tutorial - 29 - Mountains

Mountains are some of the most majestic features of the planet. With this simple technique you can create convincing mountain ranges.

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Tutorial - 28 - Rock

I tend to use this outline approach when creating larger stone sprites, as the angular lines lead to a sharp, hard look. Use it to create stones and outcroppings of all kinds.

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Tutorial - 27 - Rock Types

A reference describing the 3 basic rock types and some examples. Understanding how rocks are formed and familiarizing with specific examples can help you design environments with more accuracy.

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Rocks Assets Pack

Rocks asset pack includes all the rock sprites associated with Pixelblog 13. This collection of detailed stones can be put to good use in your pixel art studies or personal game dev projects (not for commercial use). Enjoy!

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Pixelblog - 13 - Rocks

Rocks are everywhere! Better learn how to draw them. Tutorials and tips on how to draw rocks, mountains, and more! 

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Thyrian Defenders - 12

Been busy making some new tuts for you all, so not much progress on the story this week. However, I have been working on some odds and ends.

This is a new look for your shield when you reach max level. 8 frames for on, 8 frames for off, and 10 frames for idle. Gameplay wise, nothing really changes but we want the final stage of all the upgrades to feel special. We also want to try and include a particle trail of sparkles flowing off from the shield. 

2019-01-18 15:55:29 +0000 UTC View Post

Quiet Transformations

Isolated but not lost, I wear solitude like a warm blanket.

Static artwork from Pixelmotion 13. 

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Pixelmotion - 13

Quiet Transformations

Pixelmotion makes its first appearance on Youtube! Usually, I create my animated scenes completely in Photoshop, but this time I decided to experiment with animating some scaled up elements in After Effects. This allows me to break the pixel gird and create very smooth slow moving objects. In this case the motion of the clouds, rain, and path of the birds is created in After Effects, while the grass movement, splashes and bird flapping is all frames created in pho...

Thyrian Defenders - 11

Hey everybody! Back with some TD updates.

Above is a rough motion test of the first frame of the intro. Everything in the game revolves around a plasma resource derived from crystals and Kraken, so I thought it most appropriate to open with a shot of that. Right now, I'm creating everything and animating in Photoshop, but eventually everything will be animated in Unity.

Added some more ...

Limestone Castle

Featured artwork from Pixelcast 29. I was quite ambitious with this piece. Usually I like to complete a piece for a Pixelcast in 1 or 2 hours, as editing it down into a few minutes while capturing the important details can be very tedious. However, I spent 3.5 hours on this one, resulting in a couple days of editing.

Back in late November, while exploring the countryside as I often do, I discovered an abandoned farmstead on lands with impressive limestone formations. Ever since, I've b...

Pixelcast - 29

Thanks to fan support, Pixelcast makes a return after a six month hiatus. I knew we could reach the goal! As long as I remain above 75 patrons, I pledge to produce new episodes monthly. If you are new to Pixelcast, it's a series of process videos, in which I record the creation of my pixelart. I then speed up and edit the footage into a time-lapse video that can easily be digested in a few minutes. Also, I compose almost all of the music, although I'm happy to feature tracks from other compos...

Garfunkle House

Felt like doodling something. Made this. Thought I'd share.

Colors pulled from Planemo 8 

January Schedule 2019

Hey everybody! Best wishes for 2019! Kicking off the new year with some fresh pixels! This month I'm bringing all the usual content, along with the reintroduction of Pixelcast. In order to fit it back in the schedule I removed the Thyrian Defenders post from the first Friday, but you should still get weekly game updates the following weeks. It's been a while since I've created a Pixelcast and it's taking some time to get back in the workflow, but production is well underway. Can't wait to sha...

Thyrian Defenders - 10

Hey folks, hope you’ve been enjoying the holidays. While productivity slowed a bit, I’m grateful for time spent with family. 

I was able to make bit of progress on the story scene. Here’s a tease of the Titan emerging from the hanger bay of the Star Hulk. The animation is just the dry motion and I plan to add some more details and effects if possible. Also, probably add on to the top of the scene, showing more of the tower of the Star Hulk, then I can pan down on the hangar b...

Into the Sun

A befitting theme for what is most likely my last Pixel_Dailies entry of the year. Taking a minimalistic approach here with a 6 color palette and fairly small canvas(112x128). I intentionally wanted it to be a bit abstract, more focused on the design, and therefore, no references were used. I like the impact of the simple composition, and how movement is created with few elements.

The color is also a bit abstract and conceptual. I wanted the the sun to be bright, but also uncomfortable...

Trail End

Reflecting on the staggering amount of content I put out over the year and feeling incredibly grateful to be able to share what I love, everyday. Thanks for your support! 2019 promises to be even bigger!  

Thyrian Defenders - 9

After scrapping several concepts, I think I've finally figured out how to present the cutscenes. As you can see in the above image, I'm breaking the scenes into cells to create a comic book style presentation. Each cell will appear one at a time and include some animated elements. For example, in the first cell a reflective sheen casts across the crystal as the kraken drifts up and out of the cell. The second cell appears and the kraken drifts past the foreground, revealing behind it the Star...

Tutorial - 26 - Spacecraft

A modular approach I often use to make spacecraft and many other mechanical designs. Try to come up with your own designs for the wings, tail, cockpit shape, and so on. Then you can easily mix and match the pieces to create spacecraft variants.

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Tutorial - 25 - Celestial Bodies

I stuck to the common space objects here, but you can come up with all kinds of bizarre and impossible worlds. Have fun! 

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Tutorial - 24 - Starscapes

Here are some elements I often use for space backgrounds.

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To the Stars Asset Pack

This month I’m sharing all the assets associated with Pixelblog 12. These planets, stars, and spacecraft can be put to good use in your pixel art studies or personal game dev projects (not for commercial use). I even broke down all the spacecraft modules so you can play with your own variations. Enjoy!  

2018-12-18 13:26:05 +0000 UTC View Post

Pixelblog - 12 - Into the Stars

It’s about time we got off this rock and ventured into outer space. Tips for making space backgrounds, planet sprites, and spacecraft. Enjoy, bold pixel explorers! 

Thyrian Defenders - 8

Following along the trail of destruction tread by the Exodon, our heroes now find themselves plunging into the severe atmosphere of an ice covered planet. This is no winter wonderland folks!

Briefing -

Cultural treasures of a utopian civilization remain preserved beneath the tundra of this frozen world. However, it must be the stores of plasma crystal that interest the Exodon. We cannot afford to lose this advantage!      

The Titan can barely han...

Stardust Desert

Static version of Pixelmotion 12 

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Pixelmotion - 12

Stardust Desert

A hopeful treasure hunter sets out for a day on the dunes.

228 Frames (0.05s frame duration)
40 colors(bright future)
228x154px(4x)
Photoshop

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