Ok, so this is my guide on making pixel art.
Design:
Before even starting to make something, you need to know what you're making. I have noticed that a lot of people who have showed me graphics they have made for Legacy are great at shading and drawing, but they lack good design. Design is very important.
You need to find your own “style” that you like to draw with. I have this sort of final fantasy/anime-ish style. When I first started out and didn't have my own “style” of graphics, what I often did before making something was search around the internet for pictures of stuff similar to what I was making to get ideas. http://www.deviantart.com is a great site I use a lot. I would take these ideas, merge them together with my own ideas, and sketch something on paper. I would then use my sketch to make graphics. I used to do this a lot. Now that I've better established my own style of graphics, I can sketch stuff on paper straight out of my head and come up with some really crazy stuff. Though I still check out artwork on the internet from time to time to find even more ideas that I've never thought of.
When I'm designing something that I want to use for higher levels, I use a lot of detail. Simple things can look really good, but generally more detail = cooler. To get more detail, I don't just draw in random lines everywhere. I add in extra things like belts, buttons, pockets, spikes, chains, cuffs, shoulder pads, bandages, etc. Just watch out, because too much detail on something too small doesn't work out too well (I've noticed I kinda overdid it on some of the avatar stuff).
Ok, so onto the tutorial:
I will be running through the process of making a piece of clothing for Legacy. I'm assuming you know the basics of Paint and Paint Shop Pro. I start in paint, because it is easier to work with for pixel art.
So I have my basic template opened up in Paint, all ready to go. Notice how the background is an extremely bright lime green. I need to use a background color that won't be used in my clothing, because later I'll make that color transparent. I don't want stuff in my clothing becoming transparent. Purple is another good choice.
I start by outlining the shape of what I'm making. I use mostly the straight line tool, and I stay zoomed in all the way. If something is symmetrical, I'll draw only one side, then select it, cut it, and flip it to save time.
I then fill it in, and add more details. I use solid, 1 pixel-thick black outlines on everything.
Then I color it in. Finding a good color scheme is very, very important. I can't stress this enough. The colors you choose can be the difference between something really cool and something really ugly. Avoid using only the default colors in paint. They are too bright and will make stuff look tacky. Use colors that “blend” together. Even though it's a very basic example, look at what I have above. The white and the blue look nice together. Nothing clashes. Don't try to use a different color for each detail on your clothing, or your character will be a walking rainbow.
Notice the shade of blue I use. I like to tone the color down a bit, so it's not such a bright blue. Instead it's a nice, faded blue. It looks much better than the bright ugly blue in the picture below, don't you think?
Ok, so now that I've done all that I can in paint, I copy and paste my image into Paint Shop Pro.
I use the magic wand tool to select the first coloured area I want to shade. I use the dropper and right click the color, then left click it. I then have that color in both of my colour slots. I make one slot slightly darker, and one slightly lighter, as shown above.
Then I scribble on it with the two shades. The picture above shows the shading pattern I use most on clothing. The zigzagging done on the shirt gives it the effect of wrinkles. You basically just wing it and try to make it look right. Think of where light will hit the object (with g2 graphics, we assume the light comes from the left side), and just make sure you cover the whole area with shading. Even if your shading is a bit off, it's better than having your clothing looking flat.
