July 18, 2013

EarthBound on Wii U!


Excuse me while I shut all real-world productivity down for a while. I must go play my favorite game in the entire history of the world. Again. And probably again after that.

What are you waiting for!? Go buy it!

July 17, 2013

Pixel Painting - Dinosaur Land (Super Mario World)


This one was an early experiment in doing an entire scene, not just a sprite-on-background. It turned out really well, I think. In retrospect, I wish I had made the clouds whiter, because it's easy to lose them in the background buildings. Otherwise, I don't think I'd change anything.

But I probably won't ever touch the clouds up, because of the simple fact that painting dithering pixels sucks. A lot. Once per project is more than enough, and there was way more than I would have liked in this one.

I set all the sprite locations myself, and thankfully I made a final decision to put in that berry. It needed that splash of red. During the initial planning stages in my head, I figured Mario's hat would be enough. However, upon actually setting everything up, I was relatively surprised to find out that his hat is really three shades of pink. I suppose when he's so small on a TV while everything is moving and you're focusing on other things, it'd be easy not to notice something like that up front.

The whole painting is pretty big, too. It was definitely hard to let this one go.


Commissions are always welcome. Price varies based on the size and complexity of the sprite/scene. I moderate comments, so leave one with your contact email and request.

July 10, 2013

Pixel Painting - Brothers in Arms (Chrono Trigger)



My first multi-canvas painting! I really liked how this one turned out.


I have played Chrono Trigger more times than I can count, and to have a chance to work on a painting with elements from the game was something I was more than willing to do.


It was tough, though, to decide what exactly to focus on. I find doing static sprites of the main characters (for any game) to be uninteresting most of the time. I always try to do something that's unique, carefully considered, instantly recognizable, and will make the viewer/buyer smile.


My final two ideas were this project, and something with a Nu and a cat. I still might do that one sometime in the future if I feel like it. It was really a tossup between something serious or something lighthearted.


I am starting to shy away from solid color backgrounds. They're usually pretty boring. However, I felt for this project I should use a solid color for all three, because it really helps tie the whole thing together.


The sprites from this entire game impress the hell out of me.


Not to mention the game itself.


Just need a background color.


Masa and Mune each measure 18 x 18".


The sword measures 18 x 14".


It's tough to let some of this stuff go once it's finished, because it looks so damn awesome. I wouldn't do a project twice, because then it loses its individuality. It also takes a long time for any 16-bit project, and I'm not really up for repeating one when I could start on something totally new. I would probably lose interest less than halfway through.


These are going to look pretty slick up on a wall somewhere. Now I can put full effort into my next project. It is Star Fox-related, and I am pumped to see it finished.




Commissions are always welcome. Price varies based on the size and complexity of the sprite/scene. I moderate comments, so leave one with your contact email and request.

July 9, 2013

Pixel Painting - Four Warriors of Light (Final Fantasy)


Ugh. This is a perfect example of a good idea being poorly executed. This painting is from a few years back, I just found it buried in my basement. It's one of my earliest attempts at figuring out how to do these paintings.

The use of space and technique is embarrassing, but I still like the core idea.

I really want to go back and try to salvage this project at some point. I think I could eventually turn it into something presentable. I'll probably set it as a side project, because I have too many new projects to think about that are way higher on my priority list. I might even be better off taking the core idea and starting from scratch. Something to muse on, I suppose.

I do remember that the text is in the actual game font, and that it was a total bitch to paint, mainly due to my method at the time. The frame border is also the actual window border in-game, and the corner spheres are the four elemental orbs. Thankfully I've gotten way better at these projects at literally every step of the process.

Gah, it's so hideous!!!

Commissions are always welcome. Price varies based on the size and complexity of the sprite/scene. I moderate comments, so leave one with your contact email and request.