Pixel pushing?

[worldlydave]

I've recently seen a lot of job postings for cell phone game development artists. I just wanted to know if anyone out there in the industry could elaborate on their process. Are there any specific issues to consider when putting images together? At the moment I'm trying to develop a feel for it. I've been working in Photoshop at about 48x48 then crunching it down. I've had mixed results though. I would just like to know how it’s generally done.

David

[Atomick]

I've had a fair amount of experience doing this kind of thing, and lemme tell ya, is it ever its own beast! Takes a whole new mindset if you're not used to it.

For example, this is the kind of work the mouse was made for, not the stylus! Styluses are next to useless for efficient work (IMO, of course).

Some stuff I reduce down, as you describe, but then I usually go pixel by pixel on a new layer, sampling the color below.

Some stuff I actually draw as vectors and then rasterize them in Illustrator. For stuff that has to be reproduced at various sizes, this can be a boon (a client just yesterday requested 80x80 and 16x16 versions of the same icon, great example of how a vector master file can be useful).

[Locrian]

pixelation.swoo.net

A whole message board community dedicated to pixel art critiquing. There are some amazing artists over there and a few of them work with cell phone and GBA stuff. Generally its usually done using only the pencil, paint bucket, and line tools (all with anti-aliasing turned off). Color limitations becomes a big factor when working with these two gaming platforms so shrinking down painted images is usually a waste of time.

[worldlydave]

My first animated sprite. I followed a couple of tutorials I found, shrinking down a drawing, then going back in by pixel. It's a bit large for actual use, bit like I said, it's my first, so I'm still in the getting a feel for it stage.

http://www.dhillustrations.com/manga/images/mechsmall_2.gif

And my reference image.

http://www.dhillustrations.com/manga/images/cyborg_2.jpg