Pixel Artist - Techniques

Techniques

The total number of pixels (image resolution), and the amount of information in each pixel (often called color depth) determine the quality of an image. For example, an image that stores 24 bits of color-information per pixel (the standard for computer displays since around 1995) can represent smoother degrees of shading than one that only stores 16 bits per pixel, but not as smooth as one that stores 48 bits. Likewise, an image sampled at 640 x 480 pixels (and therefore containing 307,200 pixels) will look rough and blocky compared to one sampled at 1280 x 1024 (1,310,720 pixels). Because it takes a large amount of data to store a high-quality image, computer software often uses data compression techniques to reduce this size for images stored on disk. Some techniques sacrifice information, and therefore image quality, in order to achieve a smaller file-size. Computer scientists refer to compression techniques that lose information as lossy compression.

Modern computer-monitors typically display about 72 to 130 pixels per inch (PPI), and some modern consumer printers can resolve 2400 dots per inch (DPI) or more; determining the most appropriate image resolution for a given printer-resolution can pose difficulties, since printed output may have a greater level of detail than a viewer can discern on a monitor. Typically, a resolution of 150 to 300 pixel per inch works well for 4-color process (CMYK) printing.

Drawings usually start with what is called the line art, which is the basic line that defines the item the artist intends to create. Line arts can be either traced over scanned drawings or hand drawn on the computer itself by the use of a mouse or a graphics tablet and are often shared among other pixel artists in diverse websites in order to receive some feedback. Other techniques, some resembling painting, also exist, such as knowledge of the color theory. The limited palette often implemented into pixel art usually promotes the use of dithering in order to achieve different shades and colors (when necessary); hand-made anti-aliasing is also used for smoother purposes. A pixel artist will exponentially increase the zoom of whatever they are working on to make adjustments as needed and then view the results until desired changes are achieved.