slynyrd

Mondo - 2

Mecha Culture Fest

The Japanese school year is filled with many events and ceremonies. Sports day has the kids competing in physical group based challenges. Everyone takes it very seriously, injuries add up throughout the day and tears are shed among the winners and losers. There is also a music festival where every class performs a choir song. The talent pool is so deep every class has at least one student who is responsible for the piano accompaniment, and one for the conducting. The op...

Tutorial - 8 - Size and Scale

This reference should help you in selecting a canvas size and deciding how much to scale your art. It just depends what look you're going for, but I think anything over 4x in this example is too chunky.

More info on size and scale in the Pixelblog 5 

Pixelblog - 5 - Back to the Basics

I attempt to answer your most frequently asked questions in a sweeping overview of pixel art fundamentals. Lot's of info here. Take your time and enjoy the read.  

Palette - Planemo 8

Time for another palette share! Download the complete 140 color palette used in Thyrian Defenders. This is the first custom palette I ever made a few years ago specifically for the game. It might take some getting used to all the colors but you'll discover some really brilliant combinations.

The download includes...  
.aco file can be loaded into the swatch panel in Photoshop.
.ase file can be loaded into Aseprite, Illustrator and some other Adobe programs.
.png file can ...

Prairie Churches - Complete Gallery

All my little churches have assembled for a group photo. What a fun collection this was! I found it very relaxing translating these exquisite structures into cute top-down pixel art. I was already familiar with about half of these churches, but it was fun to discover and learn about the ones I didn't know of. I'm actually not religious, but I dig architecture and churches are by far the most interesting buildings in the region. With few other structures of great interest around here this seri...

Mondo - 2 (WIP2)

Round 2 in the books and this piece is right on track. The composition and main elements are all pretty well in place now. I spent a fair amount of time developing the trees and plant life, which really bring the school to life. Growing up in Kansas where trees are sparse, I was always astounded by the level of vegetation in Japan. Even a mundane place like a public school is interwoven with charming gardens and even some crops. Always nice for a day dreamer like me to be able to look out from a...

Control Room Nexus

Static version of Pixelmotion 5. See the animated version for more info. 

Prints & Merch 

Pixelmotion - 5

Control Room Nexus

Commander Sterling and his talented operators manipulate the battle from a distance.

I usually hand sketch a thumbnail of the basic composition I want before I go digital, but you never know how it's going to feel when you start translating into pixels. This is one of those cases where I didn't have such a clear vision and pretty much hit the canvas raw with the basic idea to make a control room scene. As soon as I made a few shapes the vision popped in my head a...

Prairie Churches - 9

Sacred Heart - Park, KS

Clean lines and aggressive angles come together to create strong movement to the heavens. I especially like how the angles of the facade are broken into steps, just like angled pixel lines. 

Mondo - 2 (WIP1)

Okay, let's jump into a new Mondo scene! This time I'm capturing a slice of school life with a fairly accurate depiction of the junior high school I taught at. While I rotated to a few different schools throughout the years most of my time was spent here and I became quite fond of the faculty, students, and the property itself. When all the teachers are obligated to help clean and maintain the school, one develops a sense of pride in the workplace. Well, I mostly goofed off with the kids during ...

Pixel Minis series selection round 3

Cast your vote for the next Pixel Minis theme! Remember what doesn't get picked is likely to appear in a future poll so it's not lost forever. 

Sunday Flyers

This is the featured artwork in Pixelcast 26. I made a few thumbnail sketch ideas before I started, but this is a free design I mostly let take shape on the canvas. References are great and I often use them when called for, but I have the most fun when I let the forms flow directly from my imagination. Can never make enough aircraft! 

Prints & Merch 

Pixelcast - 26

Coming back at you with a new original artwork and music track for this episode. Occasionally, I will pull from my archives but recently I'm always making a new music track to pair with the visuals. The order of creation varies. Sometimes I make the art first then come up with a track to fit the mood, but it usually comes together best if I have the music first then let the vision be inspired by it, as was the case for this episode. I enjoy composing music but I also welcome guest tracks. If you...

Prairie Churches - 8

Our Lady of Perpetual Help - Concordia, KS

Fanciful rounded features make this structure feel like a little palace. It even includes an overhanging turret called a bartizan.

May 2018 Schedule

The month of May has always been one of my favorite times of the year. Here in the northern hemisphere warm climate makes a welcome return. But I also like May because it's the last month of the school year in public schools around here. I was never a big fan of school as a kid and I rejoiced the chance to escape the institution. Even as an adult without the privilege of a 3 month vacation, I still get excited at the potential of the season and the return of greenery.

The schedule starts ...

Mondo - 1

Welcome to Lucky River

Without further ado, I’m proud to present the first complete artwork of the Mondo series. I’d say I dropped about 50 to 60 hours in this thing, but I’m just starting to have fun! I’ve really enjoyed sharing the process with you over the month and it’s helped me stay motivated. Normally, if I spend 50+ hours on the same artwork I can’t stand looking at it anymore, but with this I‘m ready to spend another 50 hours if I have to. I won’t do that th...

Tutorial - 7 - Isometric House

Let's create our farm house in isometric style! 

Tutorial - 6 - Isometric Cube

Here is a very basic style guide for isometric pixel art. If you can make a cube you can eventually make anything. 

Pixelblog - 4 - Graphical Projection Part 2

Get ready for round 2 of graphical projection. This time I focus on one of the most iconic pixel art styles. Learn how to make isometric pixel art! 

Prairie Churches - 7

Holy Cross Shrine - Pfeifer, KS

Considered to be the finest example of gothic architecture in the state. Very pointy.

Mondo - 1 (WIP2)

I chose the usual route to a visa as most foreigners in Japan and became an English teacher. The first day of school started in only a few days and I was still waiting for my assignment, not not knowing exactly what age group I would be teaching and where. Good news came just in time. I was assigned to a junior high and elementary school in a small city on the outskirts of Tokyo.

Several meetings were arranged and I was quickly introduced to the city and my superiors in the workplace. It's a t...

Saline Valley Docking

Static version of Pixelmotion - 4. Not true open air, but I wanted to capture the feeling like I painted this on the spot. It's actually an imagined scene based off real references. I was a bit looser with my cluster work than usual to create a more varied organic look. However, if you look close there's no meaningless noise and all the pixels are placed with care, as should always be the case with pixel art. 

2018-04-11 17:10:17 +0000 UTC View Post

Pixelmotion - 4

Saline Valley Docking

Not the best day to take out your airship. I based this scene off a river valley near my home. The geography is so lovely around there but it would be so much nicer if we could replace all the oil pumps with windmills and airships. This is my vision of a cleaner world.

256 frames
Made in Photoshop

Prints &...