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« on: September 22, 2012, 03:29:10 pm »
I've been doing pixel art for a few years now and while I like to think I'm competent, I still have a long ways to go.
This isn't to deter you, but any skill-set requires time to get good at it. If you're going to go into pixel art, I suggest a few things:
1) Start off small. Like, really small. 16x16. This will get you used to how pixels interact with one another and how even one pixel can change things.
2) Study games that you liked as a child to see how they drew things/draw inspiration from them.
3) MS Paint is all you'll ever really need. It provides the basics for putting pixels down; you need to bring the rest to the table. Some prefer Graphics Gale, some use Gimp, others even use Photoshop.
4) Whatever graphics-making tool you choose, it ultimately comes down to you to make things look good. Fancy blurring tools and other things may seem like it makes whatever look good, but if you can't use it correctly you're going to end up with sub-par material.
5) When drawing/animating in general, use real life references or images off the internet to help you. I've posed in the mirror/acted out things I wanted my character to do multiple times to get the idea down. Of course, this is just my method; whether you want to do that is your choice. Videos on youtube, especially in slow-motion also can help tremendously when trying to animate something.
To address your questions directly:
1. If you want to do things on your own and be independent, pixel-art is one of the 'easier' styles to use in games. Most like using this because they either grew up with games using this style, or take a lot of inspiration from them and old-school techniques. This is why there are a plenthora of indie games out there doing pixel art.
As for Paint-style art, it depends. I personally believe that as long as there's some artistic merit/technique any kind of game could be interesting graphic-wise. I think that if you went for a more loose, paint-style art it may be easier to do in some aspects, but harder in others. Hard to say, since I haven't tried something like that before.
2. ^ (3) See above.
3. Heard of people practicing that way before. I don't really recommend it unless you're actively learning while doing so. (Learning how the body moves, anatomy, etc.) Otherwise, you can get used to drawing just be doodling, copying, then putting your own spin/testing yourself.
One other choice is to hire an artist on commission. If you have a friend that's into pixel art and is willing to work on this with you for free, that's very helpful. More often though artists will ask for half of a certain amount before, and the other half once the job is done. Game projects are dropped often, and artists want to walk away with some money for the work they've done.
Hope you gained some insight from this. :]