How To Use Gimp For Pixel Art

If you've ever played whatever old video games, you're probably already familiar with pixel art. Only even in more modernistic times, games similar Stardew Valley and Terraria have shown that the viii-scrap art fashion nonetheless maintains a sure charm.

In this context, 8-bit refers to the color depth of the images. The more bits yous use for storing color data, the more complex your colors can be, although pixel art is no longer automatically limited to an extremely basic color palette the style it was on old gaming consoles.

Fifty-fifty though GIMP is typically used for photo editing, it's besides flexible enough to be used for making pixel art.

In order to save yourself a lot of fourth dimension and frustration, I've compiled a few essential tips on which tools are all-time to utilise, how to configure your workspace to save time, and how to save and consign your files when your pixelated masterpiece is complete.

Creating Files For Pixel Art In GIMP

I'thousand bold you want to create some new pixel fine art from scratch, and so the first affair to exercise is open GIMP and create a new file to piece of work in by opening the File menu and choosing New.

*I've called 32 x 32, but you can set information technology to anything yous desire*

Nigh pixel fine art pieces tend to be fairly small and square, although y'all can choose any size yous desire. As you lot can encounter above, I've prepare mine to a 32-pixel square. It'due south probably all-time to continue things simple for your outset pixel art project in GIMP, but it'due south upwards to you.

My previously-used PPI setting was 72, but you tin can adjust this later without negatively impacting your image in any fashion, then don't worry virtually information technology for now.

Click OK, and permit's move on to the side by side tip.

Setting Upwards Your Workspace For Pixel Fine art

GIMP will create your epitome, only you'll encounter immediately that there'due south a bit of an issue – everything is too small to work on!

*Uhh, GIMP? I know this is what I asked for, but…*

You'll need to zoom in dramatically to be able to draw your pixel art, probably to an extremely high level such as 800% or even 1600% in some cases.

Nonetheless even when yous're zoomed in very far, y'all're yet working on a blank white canvas. To brand things easier, GIMP provides an overlay grid option that can be totally customized. Beginning, turn the grid on by opening the Edit carte and enabling the Show Filigree selection.

The default settings create a ten-pixel grid, and that's non quite detailed enough for what we demand.

To customize the filigree, open the Image menu and choose Configure Grid.

*I don't know why the Show Grid and Configure Grid options should be in different menus…*

In the Spacing section, modify both the Horizontal and Vertical pixel settings to 1.00. The second row allows you lot to ascertain using a different unit of measure, simply we merely care about pixels at the moment.

Y'all can also customize the colour and the line style of the grid pattern if you want to make it a bit less noticeable but still visible.

*This filigree is matched to the size of each pixel, displaying at 2300% zoom*

In one case you lot're happy, click OK and the grid will update. Yous're fix to start drawing!

The Best Tools for Pixel Fine art in GIMP

GIMP has impressive castor-based tools, merely they await so good considering they employ a number of techniques such equally antialiasing and interpolation over big pixel areas to create the illusion of smooth curves and fuzzy edges – but we tin can't use any of those techniques in pixel art!

Well, I mean, nosotros could, just it sort of defeats the purpose of the pixel art style – and information technology might not wind upwardly technically compatible if yous're creating your pixel fine art for use in games or other projects that demand specific image formatting.

*Time to suspension out the digital pencil*

Instead of using fancy tools, we're going to become one-time-school with the Pencil tool. It's nested nether the Paintbrush tool in the toolbox, or yous can use the keyboard shortcut Northward. The Pencil tool is useful because it doesn't have any antialiasing or other castor dynamics that could interfere with your pixel grid.

*This chicken is absolutely from Stardew Valley, and not my original work!*

To start drawing, change your castor size to i pixel and choose your color. As you start drawing, you lot'll run into that the Pencil tool's strokes lucifer your overlay grid perfectly.

If they don't, something's gone wrong and yous should revisit the previous section on setting up your workspace.

It can be hard to go a sense of how your pixel art will wait when finished if y'all're zoomed in as well far. Exist sure to master your zoom keyboard shortcuts so that y'all can quickly change between zoom levels:

Hold the Ctrl central and spin your mouse wheel to zoom in and out (employ the Control key on a Mac)
Use the + and – keys on your keyboard to zoom in and out
Employ the number keys 1-v to speedily spring between zoom levels

*Zoomed dorsum out to 400% and it looks gear up to go*

When zoomed out a bit and with the grid, overlay turned off, I tin can finally tell if the craven is fully cooked or not.

How to Export Your GIMP Pixel Art Properly

JPEG is the most popular prototype format at the moment, but information technology'due south a lossy format, and saving your pixel fine art in the JPEG format will change its colors and quite possibly ruin it. In order to keep your pixel art looking as well-baked equally the 2nd y'all finished it, information technology's of import to export your image file in a lossless format.

Use the PNG format or the GIF format for proper indexing of your color palette. Both of these are lossless formats that too support transparency, which makes them the perfect choice.

Before exporting, let's save a re-create of your work (although y'all already should have been saving forth the mode!). Open the File menu and cull Save Every bit, and save your file using the default XCF format that GIMP uses.

At present that it's safe, it's time to export information technology as a concluding image in your called format. Open the File bill of fare again, but cull Export As this time.

*Make sure the As animation setting is disabled!*

Finalize your settings, and you're done!

A Terminal Word

Pixel art can be a real artistic challenge, even for artists who are experts in more than traditional media, and even those who already know GIMP well. Selecting what areas of your image to simplify and how to stand for them properly using but a few colored squares tin requite you a whole new perspective on drawing.

Happy pixelating!

I've been working with digital images since the year 2000 or and then, when I got my showtime digital photographic camera. I've tried many image editing programs. GIMP is a free and powerful software, merely non exactly convenient until you get comfy with it, and I wanted to make the learning procedure easier for you lot hither.