A great read on Pixel art design in jRPG from the late 90s

I found this very interesting tutorial and thought I would share it with everyone here:

http://petesqbsite.com/sections/tutorials/tuts/tsugumo/default.htm

It is written for RPG game pixel artists, and it takes apart SoM3 in various sections and explains how the great pixel artists from the Super Nintendo era were able to create such amazing pixel art. Something to note is the resolution of the actual tiles, which is 16x16, which seems like a standard from articles I've been reading. Lots of 80s and 90s tiles were made in 16x16... James, why did you choose 20x20 for OHR.RPG.CE?

Having smaller tiles can make more detailed maps, and make a map look less blockly. Yes you can make a 20x20 tilemap look less blocky, but it takes much more work, and more than likely more tiles.

An interesting idea would be to first make your tiles in 10x10 in an external program, then combine them into 20x20 blocks to finally import into CUSTOM. You can mix and match all these 10x10 tiles to create great looking 20x20 tiles.

That is an old version of that tutorial; it was recently (6 years ago) updated; the official version is http://www.yarrninja.com/pixeltutorial/

We have links to many more tutorials on the wiki at How do I learn to draw better graphics? though it looks like we're missing links to many other tutorials that have posted in OHRRPGCE forums and webzines over the years; anyone want to go hunting for them?

While I can't speak for James, I believe the 20x20 tile size is for technical reasons: it allows splitting a 320x200 video page neatly into blocks. Also unlike 16x16 tiles it allows more walking speeds which divide evenly into 20.

Yes, exactly correct.

it throws me off how it's not in units of 8, but 5's are better and easier to brain about.

---

dOn'T MiNd mE! i'M jUsT CoNtAgIoUs!!!
Play Orbs CCG: http://orbsccg.com/r/4r6x

Ah, Tsugumo, where would I be without you. His was perhaps the first tutorial on pixel-art that I ever read. That was way, way, way back in high school. And now here I am, still learning, hopefully better than I was, but still looking to learn.

As for the 20x20 tiles, I rather like them. Sure, they're not traditional, but they give me quite a lot of space to work with.

And making a bunch of 10x10s in an external program and then combining them into 20x20 blocks? That seems like a lot more work than it's worth. Especially the mixing and matching part. But who knows? I haven't tried it, so I can't really speak from experience.

---

Being from the third world, I reserve the right to speak in the third person.

Using Editor version wip 20170527 gfx_sdl+fb music_sdl

I like that the 20 x 20's aren't traditional. It has it's own sort of look to it, and I think that counts for something.

and also - the speed thing. Good thinking that.

16x16, 8x8, and 32x32 (ugh) are common tile sizes just because they fit evenly into square 128/256/512/etc. pixel sheets. So that too is originally for technical reasons, not artistic ones. 16x16 is better for variety, just because the tiles are smaller, and it definitely does feel more nostalgic. But 20x20 is better for tiling patterns (for the same reason it allows more walking speeds) and gives OHR games their own flavor, which is nice.

It would be interesting to try odd sized tiles, 15x15 or something. It would have the advantage of having an actual center, but some definite downsides in terms of evenly tiling textures. Or get real freaky weird, like 15x9 or something.

Most OHR walkabouts tend to actually be constrained in a 16x20 box, probably more due to emulating the look of SNES games than anything. Sprites that utilize the full width in the OHR tend to look kind of awkwardly chubby, especially if the face is wide. It is done well in Spellshard, and many sprites in Vikings of Midgard.