I've always wanted to learn how to draw pixel art. I grew up on the adventure games of the 1990s, but even beyond the nostalgic appeal I find the idea of creating art within limitations deeply compelling. It's the same reason I enjoy structured poetic forms, writing exercises, or even the 140-character limit of Twitter.
But I'm no artist, and I've never really been sure where to start. So it was with great interest that I read about the Kickstarter for Pixel Art Academy, an adventure game about attending a school to learn pixel art, which actually teaches you pixel art.
You play as a student at the Retropolis Academy of Art, a school that welcomes both experienced illustrators and amateurs. You'll be given tasks—watch a video, read an article, make a drawing—that teach you about basic tools and skills, or assigned to create certain types of art and then upload your creations.
Created by Matej "Retro" Jan, Pixel Art Academy will run in your browser, and also be a multiplayer game, which means that you'll be able to share your work with other students and see theirs as well. The Kickstarter campaign has already been funded 22 times over, and you can get your own copy—due out in January 2016—by backing it for $10.
The Offworld Collection, presenting the very best features and essays from Offworld, is finally available to buy directly from Campo Santo for $40. I had the pleasure of designing and illustrating this splendid 250-page hardcover volume, but it’s the excellent writing, edited by Leigh Alexander and Laura Hudson, that makes it an essential buy. You […]
This week, our partnership with Critical Distance brings us reading on parenting via Tomb Raider, the utility of the word ‘gameplay’, and experiences from Nintendo ‘play counselors’ from the 1980s and 90s.
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Website building apps are all about one thing — helping you craft a great-looking, fast-running website without having to mess with all that back-end code. However, nobody wants their site to look just like a template, so customization is all but a must. So how easy is it to make those changes and still not […]
In our modern world, our usual first approach to combating an oncoming cold is to medicate it into oblivion. Sometimes, that carpet bombing pharmaceutical attack plan can knock out the congestion and discomfort of an illness before it settles in. But there’s always something to be said for trying to put down the effects of […]
