Hello everyone, I recently took an interest in programming and pixel art. HTML and CSS were not programming languages, but got me excited about programming. I have started learning Python using Code Academy and Invent with Python. I have also been following tutorials on pixel art on youtube and deviantart.

I was wondering if tools such as Blender and other high-end programs were too much for making low resolution graphics such as these:

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I found this thread with tons of tools, though I already picked my tools (photoshop and after effects) for 2d art and animation.

http://www.gamedev.net/topic/202348-3d--2d-software-information-check-here/

It looks like it was a sticky actually, though I googled it. I found it very helpful. I googled around, but obviously this is a specific question. I couldn't find anything referring to this exact question.

Thanks, if anyone can answer me it would be very helpful.

Please don't say I shouldn't learn art and programming at the same time, I really enjoy both so far (even if programming is tedious!). The people of reddit kept telling me I was an idiot for doing both.

Please don't say I shouldn't learn art and programming at the same time, I really enjoy both so far (even if programming is tedious!). The people of reddit kept telling me I was an idiot for doing both.

If you enjoy both, and are progressing in both, just continue with it! I often (including less than 15 minutes ago) make 2D art in-between compiles, and as programming breaks. It's a different enough skillset that it uses different parts of my brain and switch from one to the other doesn't feel like work.

Please don't say I shouldn't learn art and programming at the same time, I really enjoy both so far (even if programming is tedious!). The people of reddit kept telling me I was an idiot for doing both.

If you enjoy both, and are progressing in both, just continue with it! I often (including less than 15 minutes ago) make 2D art in-between compiles, and as programming breaks. It's a different enough skillset that it uses different parts of my brain and switch from one to the other doesn't feel like work.

Yes, I usually program for an hour or two, following lessons on Code Academy and Invent with Python, and then go do Pixel Art for an hour and come back. I think that Pixel Art is a good thing to learn while not programming because it allows you to see what you have made while you are making it. This makes it feel rewarding and fun with instant results, unlike programming, where the whole completed creations feels rewarding.

Maybe its just me but I was amazed when my attempt at a FloatBuffer pool in Java just flat out worked (access to buffer collections needs some tweaking though). There was no frame rate difference, neither I tried to check memory usage, I just saw the change of "used buffers: 12. not used buffers 0" to "used buffers 5. not used buffers 7" and finally "used buffers 5. not used buffers 0". I was like "OMG it works!"

I think programming wouldn't be fun at all if you're only impressed with the final project rather than the evolution of all the tiny parts the project is made of.

Blender and other high-end packages can make anything from high-poly PS3 models to low-poly DS models.

It's not overkill. Pick your favourite package and make some cool low-poly graphics.

A similar comparison would be using Photoshop for pixel art, like you're doing right now. It's totally acceptable.

EDIT: In those videos you linked, the primary reason for the "old school" look is the use of low resolution textures, like 128², paired with Nearest-Neighbor filtering (Unity calls this filter mode as "Point"), which keeps your textures crisp and pixelated, further improving the look. This type of filtering you control in your material's textures or render-state settings in your game engine.

These small textures filtered like this and applied to low-polygon models guarantee you the old school look.

If you like low poly, check this great artist: http://tommytallian.blogspot.com.br/

Blender and other high-end packages can make anything from high-poly PS3 models to low-poly DS models.

It's not overkill. Pick your favourite package and make some cool low-poly graphics.

A similar comparison would be using Photoshop for pixel art, like you're doing right now. It's totally acceptable.

EDIT: In those videos you linked, the primary reason for the "old school" look is the use of low resolution textures, like 128², paired with Nearest-Neighbor filtering (which keeps your textures crisp and pixelated, further improving the look). This type of filtering you control in your material or render-state settings in your game engine.

These small textures filtered like this and applied to low-polygon models guarantee you the old school look.

If you like low poly, check this great artist: http://tommytallian.blogspot.com.br/

Thanks for the link and the advice! I really dig the art that person has made.

Blender is perfect for low-poly models; I've never found anything easier/faster for that kind of thing, with the exception of SketchUp, and that's really only for rough architectural visualization/mass modeling (it does not like working with organic shapes or provide tools for doing so efficiently--but boy, can it ever extrude rectangles). You know what else I like about Blender? You don't have to sell your car (nor your soul) to get a copy; it's free and completely unaffiliated with the Autodesk monopoly.

Please don't say I shouldn't learn art and programming at the same time, I really enjoy both so far (even if programming is tedious!). The people of reddit kept telling me I was an idiot for doing both.

Those people at reddit are bad. I mean, I wouldn't go so far as to get degrees in both like I did (BS-Architecture, now working on MS-CS), but there's no harm and quite a lot of benefit in being able to both program and produce your own assets. You'll still need to recruit additional artists to finish a reasonably sizeable game, of course, but I assume they'd be easier to get on board if you could show them an impressive demo and/or concept art.

I agree, plus, the upside of learning high-end packages is that if you should wish to do more complex models in the future, you'll already know the basics of the software, making the learning process onwards a lot less frightening :) 3d software interfaces are daunting at first, so best to get used to them straight away. Plus, you can use it to do cool cut-scenes and stuff using a bit more refined lighting than the in-game one, should you wish to do so.

Keep going man, and if you have any questions about 3d in general, just shoot me a PM. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of experience in Blender, but I've used maya and 3dsmax for years.

I can't afford any of the Autodesk products right now, so I'm learning Blender. The latest version is quite polished, and Blender can pipeline for most major game engines that support either .Blend or .FBX files.

I'm following this Wikibook for Blender, I recommend it: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro#Table_of_Contents