Posted
Illustrator is great for creating clean vector objects, but unless you know how, making pixel art may be a challenge. And we all know you’ve been wanting to make some pixel art! Don’t worry, I am here to help you through some of the technical hurtles and get you on your way to making your pixel dreams a reality. The first step is to get inspired! One of my all time favorite examples of truly great pixel art is the game Sword and Sworcery. If you haven’t already checked it out do so immediately after reading this article.
The second step is to open illustrator! In your file you will want to turn on the grid and also turn on snap to grid. This will help you make consistently sized squares/pixels that sit right next to each other without fear of unplanned gaps or overlapping. You’re able to adjust your grid in Preferences then “Guides and Grid” if needed.
Now it’s time to make some art! Select the Rectangle tool (M) and click and drag within one tiny grid space to make a square/pixel. You can also select an individual square or group of squares and use the arrow keys to move them around the grid (if you click and drag they will not snap to the grid). Now Roughly block out whatever it is you’re drawing… I’m going to draw a self-portrait as my example.
Keyboard shortcuts become essential when using this workflow. I constantly switch between the Square tool (M), Arrow tool (V), and Eyedropper (I) Now start adding highlights, shadows and details. You can do this easily by selecting on of your main colors with the Eyedropper then adjust the brightness slightly up or down. For highlights I typically turn down the saturation a little as well.
And that’s a process for making pixel art in Illustrator. Now that you’re finished pat yourself on the back and go play Sword and Sworcery…
