Step-By-Step Pixel Art Tutorial

STEP 1

To start off this tutorial, first you need to make a new document in Photoshop. You are going to want to set the width and height to 16pt and "Pixel" for each. Create your own name for your project and click "OK."

STEP 2

The background should look very small right now, that's alright. Set the "Zoom" to 3200% and it should be at a normal size now. Unlock the background by double-clicking it and press "OK." In order to get a better look at your "Pixel artwork" try filling the background with a darker color than white. (Grey, light blue, etc.) Now create a new layer above your background. This will be your "Work-space layer."

STEP 3

Next you need to set your Brush tool to "Pencil" with the size at 1px (pixel) and the Hardness to 100pt. Do the same to the Eraser tool. Once you have done that, we will need a guideline to help draw the pixels in the right spot. Go to: Edit>Preferences>Guides, Grid, & Slices. Look at the section labeled "Grid" and change the following settings: Gridline every: "1"  Subdivisions: "1"  Dropdown on the right to: "Pixels"
Then click "OK"

STEP 4

To activate your new grid, go to: View>Show>Grid. There should be a grid that is 16x16 on your artwork now. Don't worry, you can disable the grid at any time by repeating what you just did. Now go online and find a pixelized (8-Bit) character you like, or you can create your own. Depending on how many pixels your character is, you may need to change the canvas size by going to Image>Canvas

STEP 5

If you have a good idea what your character looks like, you are finally ready to start drawing! With your grid enabled, and your work-space layer selected, grab your pencil tool and draw inside the grid squares. If you make a mistake, use the Eraser tool to erase one pixel at a time. Also, if you draw in the wrong area, but there was color there before, instead of going to the color wheel to replicate that color, use the "Eyedropper" tool (Two tools up from the Pencil tool) to select the desired color.

STEP 6

In order to keep the hard edges on your imge when you save it, you need to go to Edit>Preferences>General and select "Image Interpolation" as "Nearest Neighbor (Hard Edges)" This setting will allow the viewer to see this picture without a blur.

STEP 7

Once you have finished your masterpiece, you are going to want to save it. To save as a transparent picture (Without the background) disable/delete your background and go to Image>Trim, and switch to "Transparent Pixels" and click "OK." Save as a PNG file and you are good to go!