Whew, it’s about time to turn off the computer and grab a cold beer. But not quite yet! The last part is what separates an ethusiastic amateur from a hardened professional.

Step back and take a good long look at your sprite. Chances are, it’s still a little rough. Take the time to refine it and make sure that everything is perfect. Give or take how tired you are, this can actually be the most fun part. Add little details to make your sprite more interesting. Your skill and experience with pixelling will show through here.

You may have been wondering why the Lucha Lawyer’s eyes have been missing this whole time, or why the supoena he was holding was blank. Well, it’s because those were small details that I wanted to save until the end. Also take notice of the trim I added to his armbands, the fly I added to his pants, and… well, what would a man be without his nipples? I also darkened the lower half of his torso so that his left hand would stand out more against his body.

You’re finally done! The Lucha Lawyer weighs in at an impressively light 45 colors (or perhaps ultra-heavyweight, depending on your palette restrictions) and has dimensions of approximately 150 by 115 pixels. Now you can have that beer!

The Entire Process

This is always fun. Here’s an animated .gif that shows the evolution of our sprite:

Closing Thoughts

1. Learn the fundamentals of art and practice with traditional mediums. All the skills and knowledge involved in drawing and painting will apply to pixelling as well.

2. Start with small sprites. The hard part is learning how to cram a lot of detail into a few pixels, not making huge sprites (that just takes time).

3. Study the work of the artists whom you admire and don’t be afraid of being unoriginal. Biting off other people’s work is the best way to learn. It takes time to find your own style.

4. If you don’t have a tablet, get one. Repetitive stress injuries from clicking the mouse are no fun and will not impress the ladies (or dudes, as it were). I’m using a tiny Wacom Graphire2 that suits me just fine - I enjoy how little room it takes up on my desk and how portable it is. You may feel more comfortable with a larger tablet, though. Test drive it first!

5. Share your artwork with others and get feedback. And who knows, you might just meet some new, geeky friends!

6. If you ever make money off your pixel skills, send some of it to me!