How To Create Pixel Art Animation Videos

Growing upwardly during the 80s and 90s, video games were definitely a huge source of entertainment for most kids back then. Super Mario, Contra, Pac-Man, Game male child, and Tetris were some of the virtually popular games.

Only, exercise you know what these games had in mutual too beingness super fun and exciting?

Well, it was Pixel art- the root of computer graphics and digital art as nosotros know them today.

Wondering why the name? Well, because every art made on a computer back so was the event of pixel-by-pixel artwork, created using sometime hardware with 'n' number of limitations. Even so, as computers evolved, non just the number of those constraints became negligible, but the ability to return images besides got more advanced.

Now the question is: why acquire pixel art when we can easily create whatsoever digital art grade?

Of course, Pixel fine art is no longer a necessary arroyo; however, going back to the roots and creating something within the boundaries of old applied science volition definitely assist y'all as an artist. Besides, the kicking you will get recreating those retro designs is bound to accept you on a whole different level of nostalgia.

Set to create your ain 8-bit video game fine art? Let'south get started!

What is Pixel art?

Pixel art is a unique and interesting form of digital fine art that enables the artist to create a broad range of assets for a game. Pixel art is very different from virtually other fine art styles where the art is drawn with brush and stroke. Instead, pixel art is created past placing down blocks foursquare by square and has a minimal color palette.

Pixel art can be dated dorsum to the oldest arcade games, like Pac-Man. It was pixel art that fabricated those games unique, and it worked pretty well for those games.

Pixel art was originally used in video games considering of the limitations of technology during that time. Before there were pixel art animation software like After Furnishings, i had to programme each pixel to create their 8-bit designs. However, all you need today is a few effects layered over your assets to make your footage look like information technology came directly out of a Gameboy.

How to create pixel art in After Effects?

At present, permit's walk you step-by-step on how to brand pixel art blitheness in After Effects to create your own 8-chip look.

Step 1: Posterize event

For the beginning step, import the assets or create a shape you would similar to turn into pixel art. For this, I chose a gold money because this makes me remember the Super Mario game. Yous can go for a motion graphic or a title sequence, whatever suits your project.
Adjacent, you need to create an adjustment layer over your timeline and add on the Posterize Effect. This will limit the number of color tones that your object has.

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For instance, if y'all take a gradient in your graphics, you will be able to come across diagonal lines of different colors unique to those 16-fleck color video games. You can stay between a level of five to 15:5 for a more retro wait or xv for more of a modern await. For personal taste, I chose 12.

Footstep ii: CC cake load

Now to get the whole "pixelated" and "detailed" look, we will utilize the CC Cake Load effect for perfectly square pixels.
Add together the CC Block Load event to the adjustment layer, and prepare the Completion setting to 0.
At present, set the Scans value to three and uncheck the Beginning Cleared selection, and your motility graphic will now get that retro pixelated wait.

Pace three: Tint

If y'all're looking for monochrome similar the Nintendo game, utilize the Tint effect to change the colour palette.
Gear up the Map White to any color of your choice. You tin can go for a moss green color to get the "Gameboy" wait. I have set the tint to 95%.
This will change the color of your limerick to the selected color palette, making y'all nostalgic almost the tiny tinted screens yous might have seen while playing video games in your childhood.

Footstep 4: Grid

Pixel is commonly in a cake shape. Notwithstanding, we can't draw blocks i by one, and then we volition take to add some dimension to the CC Cake Load outcome.

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You lot won't attain that retro look without a border on each pixel. And so, drop the Grid effect onto the aligning layer, and set the blending mode to Normal to add a border.
At present, select a dark shade for your color, and change the border dimension to 2.
If yous desire to narrow down your grid size to the pixel dimensions, you lot can ready the Anchor position to (0,0) and the Corner size to (8,8). And, your grid will at present be in perfect union with every individual pixel.

Stride v: Posterize time

Most 8-bit video games tin can non be displayed in 24 frames per second. Therefore, yous need to suit your graphic's frame rate.
Add the Posterize Time effect to your aligning layer, and switch down the frame rate to effectually 8 fps.
The motion in your limerick will now seem a bit more than blocky, which is what we are aiming for here.

Step vi: Animate

Starting time, create a 3d shape and so extrude the shape to requite a 3d depth to the coin.
At present, create a null object and add it to the 3d layer.

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At present, rotate the null object in the y-axis and add together the keyframe on the get-go frame.
And so at two seconds, rotate information technology to 360 degrees, and add an easy ease keyframe.
At last, add the expression to rotation value loopOut().
Congratulations, your pixel art animation is set up!

Final Say

I hope now y'all understand what it takes to blueprint and animate characters in pixel fine art. Now, you tin can experiment to create your version of pixel art or go your hands dirty to create pixel art character animation and employ those graphics in a retro video game! So, what are you waiting for? Let the gamer in you have accuse and relive the childhood memories!

If you experience coming up with an animation character design and all of this is as well tiresome for you to do, go far touch with united states now, and nosotros volition create amazing graphics for you lot.

Editor: Richa Sharma