I actually used the 3 step approach layout technique with the four colors, and WOW it made my first Sprite sooo much better than just winging it! And I only used five shades of black and gray so I wouldn't go overboard with colors. Thanks Mort!
0:45 note that later Pokemon games (Black/White and Black 2/White 2) use an angle closer to 22.5 for the sprites, as it works better in 3D environments.
Enjoying your stuff right now! I will say, the challenge with 8-direction is not 8-direction movement per se, but making the attack animations for every direction is rough. I did not know I could have the animation playing constantly as I make changes, awesome find!
I've learnt almost everything I know about pixel art from you. I was just looking how to draw top down RPG and I realized this was uploaded not so long ago. Thank you, MortMort! You deserve all the love
Finally, changing out all the placeholder sprites in my game, this was very helpful as its my first time doing animated sprite design. Just bought a copy of Aseprite to follow along with your video and can recommend it too.
I don't even have a computer to work on right now, but as someone who's really looking forward to make an RPG game with an EarthBound-ish style, I wanted to thank you in advance for these tips :P
Good video. I'm going to make some mannequins like this. The cool thing about making characters like this is that you can use them as a template for other characters. Different color hair, different hairstyles, different armor, different weapons. You could probably flush out half a game's content with a few templates.
alex Well but if you want the character to do a 360 turn, you might need (depending on how you do it) the front view two times. Otherwise the character might be looking to the side at the end of the rotation.
This tuts is crazy, i love the way you explain something obvious, but with a lot a deep reflection in it! Its is so clear and clever!!! Kudos MortMort!
You made a 9 minute and 8 second video teaching us lots about animation in pixel art, but only spent 20 seconds doing your 'shameless self promotion'. This is why your channel is so awesome. You actually provide so much quality teaching, you could have easily gotten away with spending 1 minute or 2 on the promotion but you kept the ratio much lower. Thanks for this.
Thanks man. I've been putting off animation for soo long this is just what I need to get back into it. You among replaying Grandia really inspired me to try pixel art. That and tablets are expensive. Glad to see these tutorials.
This helped me so much :D I was trying to use earthbound sprites as a reference, but not work. but the way you taught me to sort limbs (like the left arm red and right arm blue) helped me SO MUCH!
Saved my dev rpg life. Thank you. I really wanted some guide for character body and how much sprite i need, them i can make a default for every character
thank you man, im lately interested in pixel art, so i start drawing my character but when it came for the walking animation i felt it looked so weird so i found your channel and learnt from you a lot *i was surprised im kinda doing the same thing as u do :3* best channel for pixel art great job
Really nice video MortMort! I make aps for mobile phones so one thing I like to do before proceeding with animations is to load the character into the phone to get an early feel of how it looks on the target medium.
Subbed! I have just recently bought Aseprite after literally decades of using MsPaint for my Pixel art. Muscle memory's my enemy right now but This program hasn't really had THAT much of a learning curve for me so far. Your videos help out a whole lot too! and this video about using 4 colors to animate with is super helpful!
This is the first time you've done something where I think I could do better or at least as good--which should be the case considering I have a frikin' honors degree in animation & electronic media. Nice to know you are in fact human, and I'm not completely useless. lol
Brilliant tutorial! I was wondering, could the left and right walk motions be used for 2D side-scrollers?? If not, I don't suppose you or anyone know a good tutorial on designing anything like that? I'm awful at designing characters and need a bit of practice!
Great vid MortMort! The tutorial is great! I've tried the sectioning of limbs thing you do here before, and to be completely honest it's really hard for me to do effectively. lol, but That comes from the years of doing everything by outline... You are definitely right about reference though... I still reference sprites all the time even though I have good experience, referencing for animations you aren't comfortable with is a great way to get comfortable with them. (Currently working on gb-zelda-like sprites, and I had to reference for how the somersault/jump animation was done, as well as the attack animation)
Hey Mort, great video ! Though, at 7:06 you have the info box saying "I will live a link" instead of "I will leave a link". Not a big issue though, just thought you'd like to know.
Your video as well as the website you recommended are so amazing! I don't like copying other people's work, so some handful of references would be very helpful!
I don't think the same about copying. Publishing something you've copy is wrong, but copying something to know how to do it can be a nice and usefull way of learning.
Feel like learning blender would be easier then you can make your enemy/player render as pixels and edit movements easier and the 8 directions movements
It's ok if you can't, but it would be awesome if you could make a platformer character tutorial, I've been having trouble with that style. BTW, love your videos :) !
@MortMort or anyone really. I have been using Pro Motion NG for some months now, Asperite has many different features and I am considering it. What influenced you to choose Asperite over Pro Motion NG ?
I think the engine I'm using, rpgmaker, only has up down left right. Shame maybe I'll try making a 9 direction base in the future even if I can't use it.
Hey Mort nice video, very useful! Could you give me some advice about sprites without outline? I tried adding some backlights on my character and sometimes it was difficult to distinguish it from the background. Also, it would be great to see some ilumination tutorials. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for the vid:) it's very helpful! I have a question i can't seem to find the answer to: how do i go about creating interchangeable outfits and hairstyles for my sprites? Do i have to make a complete animated sprite for each and every combintion of outfit + hairstyle, or separate files with the animated outfit and hair that will he overlaying with the base sprite file? I'm trying to figure out what assets i need to create for a game that would have a character able to change hairstyles and outfits. But since im not a programmer i dunno how it works when it comes to integrate the assets into che game. Thank you!
I'm having trouble with the outlining. Whenever I try to put the black outline on something I previously had colored in the first step, it doesn't show up. I was only able to outline the outside, but not the inner arms or the part of the face that's connected to the torso. How do I fix this?
i need help getting a template or a border structure as a base for my top down characters, want something adventure rpg-like, something inbetween zelda and pokemon (gba ones), I've looked at the sprites but since the are already coloured and shaded it's hard for me to distinguish :( any clues or tips? (like basic head should be around 8x8 pixels, limbs position/proportions)
I actually used the 3 step approach layout technique with the four colors, and WOW it made my first Sprite sooo much better than just winging it! And I only used five shades of black and gray so I wouldn't go overboard with colors. Thanks Mort!
💖
0:45 note that later Pokemon games (Black/White and Black 2/White 2) use an angle closer to 22.5 for the sprites, as it works better in 3D environments.
Easy solution: Make a 5-Directon character. Up, Right-Up, Right, Right-Down and Down. To the other 3 directions, just flip horizontally the designs.
That's a really cute blank character! xD This is so helpful, love the way you break down your process!!
Thanks Jesse
@@MortMort np
@TheCodeMaster And... no one listened :(
@@Polomanart why would anyone listen
th-cam.com/video/6fDTnaKLSpc/w-d-xo.html
You don't know how long I've been waiting for this. Thank you so much.
How cool is the little dog running at the bottom line of the video? :D
It represents the run time of the video
@@tusharuchil8220 Really? Wow, that's amazing. Thanks for telling us.
I'd also like to add my input about the dog...it represents the runtime of the video.
@Joris Neber Apparently you can't identify facetious remarks, which is why you will forever be an Inspector Lestrade.
@Joris Neber A fantastic retort, Lestrade, bravo.
I was literally making RPG Sprites like one minute ago and this video pops up.
me too
Sorry I'll stop reading minds now!
MARK ZUCKERBERG HAS TAKEN CONTROL OF TH-cam ITSELF
@@mason3872 *P - Prediction*
God hired this man to help you with your dreams.
Enjoying your stuff right now! I will say, the challenge with 8-direction is not 8-direction movement per se, but making the attack animations for every direction is rough. I did not know I could have the animation playing constantly as I make changes, awesome find!
I've learnt almost everything I know about pixel art from you.
I was just looking how to draw top down RPG and I realized this was uploaded not so long ago.
Thank you, MortMort! You deserve all the love
Finally, changing out all the placeholder sprites in my game, this was very helpful as its my first time doing animated sprite design. Just bought a copy of Aseprite to follow along with your video and can recommend it too.
I don't even have a computer to work on right now, but as someone who's really looking forward to make an RPG game with an EarthBound-ish style, I wanted to thank you in advance for these tips :P
Non-Pixel Artist: cool, but it's just pixel art
Beginner Pixel Artist: god please teach me your ways
true
Good video. I'm going to make some mannequins like this. The cool thing about making characters like this is that you can use them as a template for other characters. Different color hair, different hairstyles, different armor, different weapons. You could probably flush out half a game's content with a few templates.
How is it 9 direction? I think you mean 8.
Other than that, this is a very helpful tutorial.
Oh yeah, ofc 8 direction my bad.
9 for full rotation. Front, quarter, side, quarter, back, quarter, side, quarter, front.
Zezzreth Vhaorik which is, to my counting, still 8. 4 straight ones (N, E, S and W) and 4 diagonal ones (NE, SE, SW and NW).
HeroicOutlaw, he said front twice.
alex Well but if you want the character to do a 360 turn, you might need (depending on how you do it) the front view two times. Otherwise the character might be looking to the side at the end of the rotation.
This tuts is crazy, i love the way you explain something obvious, but with a lot a deep reflection in it! Its is so clear and clever!!! Kudos MortMort!
You made a 9 minute and 8 second video teaching us lots about animation in pixel art, but only spent 20 seconds doing your 'shameless self promotion'. This is why your channel is so awesome. You actually provide so much quality teaching, you could have easily gotten away with spending 1 minute or 2 on the promotion but you kept the ratio much lower. Thanks for this.
i was helping my brother make a rpg game and this came out at the right moment xD
Is @ElPichon your brother
is eipchon your brother tho
No lol
Thanks man. I've been putting off animation for soo long this is just what I need to get back into it.
You among replaying Grandia really inspired me to try pixel art. That and tablets are expensive.
Glad to see these tutorials.
I was fixated on the small doggo at the bottom of the screen, so cute!
This helped me so much :D I was trying to use earthbound sprites as a reference, but not work. but the way you taught me to sort limbs (like the left arm red and right arm blue) helped me SO MUCH!
The small crawling thing measuring time is cute
Saved my dev rpg life. Thank you. I really wanted some guide for character body and how much sprite i need, them i can make a default for every character
Yes, I use this website whenever I want to understand something better.
You make great videos and streams.
Keep it up. ; )
what website is it?
That is this website www.spriters-resource.com/ Its very cool =)
0:04 Really legend arrow cursor animation
thank you man, im lately interested in pixel art, so i start drawing my character but when it came for the walking animation i felt it looked so weird so i found your channel and learnt from you a lot *i was surprised im kinda doing the same thing as u do :3*
best channel for pixel art great job
Bro im so thankful for finding your channel, nice tutorials, pretty easy to follow!
This was literally what I needed - you’re now my go to for Pixel Art :D
4:44 I work only with 2 directions: left and right, lol. And that even for isometric games, not only for platformers
Really nice video MortMort! I make aps for mobile phones so one thing I like to do before proceeding with animations is to load the character into the phone to get an early feel of how it looks on the target medium.
Amazing tutorial! And i have to confess that im in love with the little doggie at the bottom ♡♡♡
I love this thank you, I needed this for my RPG, dungeon crawler game
This is fairly helpful yet simple, Really liked these kind of pixel arts tutorial
Wow, you've explained this better than any of my teachers. Thank you!
also 2:49 notice the shadows and the smooth motion caused by the underlying transparent previous frame
Subbed! I have just recently bought Aseprite after literally decades of using MsPaint for my Pixel art. Muscle memory's my enemy right now but This program hasn't really had THAT much of a learning curve for me so far. Your videos help out a whole lot too! and this video about using 4 colors to animate with is super helpful!
Eventually you'll go back to MS Paint and start trying key commands only to find they don't work XD
Thanks Mort! I´m learning a lot with your videos.
Thank you for the bases. Really helpful for non-artsy people like me
I seriously needed this tutorial, thanks a million...
I like the little dog that is at the bottom of the video.
Another great video as always. Just what i needed.
This is the first time you've done something where I think I could do better or at least as good--which should be the case considering I have a frikin' honors degree in animation & electronic media. Nice to know you are in fact human, and I'm not completely useless. lol
Inspired me a lot.
Omg i needed this os much! you are the best mort!!
This dude ASMR without even trying XD
I feel so motivated! 🙌
You just gained a new subscriber man, great video.
Solid tutorial, mate. Very useful for beginners and also more experienced pixel artists!
Very helpful!! I'm so excited to keep learning. Have an awesome weekend
I used your base as a reference. Thank you so much! I made a bandit! Realy easy to make something nice. It took some time but it looks great!
When you start a new file, what size should you make your layout for your sprite sheet?? What size was yours??
Late reply for could help others reading it. His seems to be 32x32 but if you want bigger you can make 64x64 just makes you have more room
3:56 plot twist: the 9th direction is the dog at the bottom
Have you ever subscribed to a TH-cam channel only after watching ONE of there videos?? Because that's what I did, after watching this! Thanks SO MUCH!
Brilliant tutorial! I was wondering, could the left and right walk motions be used for 2D side-scrollers?? If not, I don't suppose you or anyone know a good tutorial on designing anything like that? I'm awful at designing characters and need a bit of practice!
Great vid MortMort! The tutorial is great! I've tried the sectioning of limbs thing you do here before, and to be completely honest it's really hard for me to do effectively. lol, but That comes from the years of doing everything by outline... You are definitely right about reference though... I still reference sprites all the time even though I have good experience, referencing for animations you aren't comfortable with is a great way to get comfortable with them. (Currently working on gb-zelda-like sprites, and I had to reference for how the somersault/jump animation was done, as well as the attack animation)
Talented and handsome... What a guy... 😳
Such a good tutorial thank you very much for this! Has helped me tremendously!
Thanks man this really helped and I was able to make a sprite for the game I'm making
I needed this a lot ! Thank you so much m8.
7:18 MortMort trying not to look at baloon kirb
Hey Mort, great video ! Though, at 7:06 you have the info box saying "I will live a link" instead of "I will leave a link". Not a big issue though, just thought you'd like to know.
Whoops :P well it's not a Mort Mort video without a y mistakes hahaha
fu
You're the best man. Thanks for this
Thanks it really helps for a somewhat game dev like me
Very helpful information! Thanks, MortMort!
1 min into the vid I already love what I'm seeing
The Jazza of pixel art
This was really helpfull, you sir deserve more subs!
What if I want to sprite something like a lizard? Or something with a generally bizarre head to nose/snout ratio?
Excellent tips and a great tutorial. Thanks!
you are an inspiration! Much respect!
The poor guy you chopped his feet right off!
Can u make a 67.5 character left and right view please
Love everything about this
I might attempt the 9 direction sprite.
Which direction is the ninth direction?
Up, Down, Left, Right, NW, NE, SW, SE.
I only count that as eight directions! :P
Thank you so much for this tutorial! 😁
Your video as well as the website you recommended are so amazing! I don't like copying other people's work, so some handful of references would be very helpful!
I don't think the same about copying. Publishing something you've copy is wrong, but copying something to know how to do it can be a nice and usefull way of learning.
Like i said you learn so much more from opserving, just don't rip and copy past. :)
Ah yes, Top down...
I never get it right, that's why I am always making sidescroll games. ^^
Anybody else watch the little dog at the bottom of the screen? That was a cute Easter egg 😁
AH THE LITTLE DOG AT THE BOTTOM IS AWESOME! Is that jake?
what software would you recommend for beginners? preferably cheap or inexpensive
you mean a 8 directional character not 9 right?
You earned my subscription
just found your channel and I loved it! +1 subscriber, keep the great work!
Can you make a another video for animation but go over it with some details
(like side walking)
Feel like learning blender would be easier then you can make your enemy/player render as pixels and edit movements easier and the 8 directions movements
Thank you for sharing your skills! very useful for me🙏
my dilemma: do i choose an even or an odd number of pixels for my sprite?
I'd recommend even but that's up to you.
I live your videos and your accent!
Danish People 4 life!
The literal programs color features remind me of that terrible fetish furry game that was never meant to be made.
This was so awesome to watch as I'm learning how to pixel art and animate. Are these 32x32 sprite sizes? Thanks Mort!
It's ok if you can't, but it would be awesome if you could make a platformer character tutorial, I've been having trouble with that style. BTW, love your videos :) !
@MortMort or anyone really.
I have been using Pro Motion NG for some months now, Asperite has many different features and I am considering it.
What influenced you to choose Asperite over Pro Motion NG ?
I think the engine I'm using, rpgmaker, only has up down left right. Shame maybe I'll try making a 9 direction base in the future even if I can't use it.
Hey Mort nice video, very useful! Could you give me some advice about sprites without outline? I tried adding some backlights on my character and sometimes it was difficult to distinguish it from the background. Also, it would be great to see some ilumination tutorials. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for the vid:) it's very helpful! I have a question i can't seem to find the answer to: how do i go about creating interchangeable outfits and hairstyles for my sprites? Do i have to make a complete animated sprite for each and every combintion of outfit + hairstyle, or separate files with the animated outfit and hair that will he overlaying with the base sprite file? I'm trying to figure out what assets i need to create for a game that would have a character able to change hairstyles and outfits. But since im not a programmer i dunno how it works when it comes to integrate the assets into che game.
Thank you!
MortMort means "deaddead" in french
it means resignresign in transformice
It means "mortmort" in russian
also its swear in turkish
so that's how characters are made.
I'm having trouble with the outlining. Whenever I try to put the black outline on something I previously had colored in the first step, it doesn't show up. I was only able to outline the outside, but not the inner arms or the part of the face that's connected to the torso. How do I fix this?
i need help getting a template or a border structure as a base for my top down characters, want something adventure rpg-like, something inbetween zelda and pokemon (gba ones), I've looked at the sprites but since the are already coloured and shaded it's hard for me to distinguish :( any clues or tips? (like basic head should be around 8x8 pixels, limbs position/proportions)