http://i.imgur.com/frFaH.gif

awesome work elk

You had to use some type of tools on this, no? MS Paint just doesn't seem believable, I mean.. there's shades of colors in there that aren't even visible to the eye. o_O And that seems like an IMMENSE amount of pixels to be placing by hand.. But, great work either way Elk. Keep it coming!

thats why you can zoom, no?
it took over 500 hours already though

pixel art is pixel art bro

Ask some of the Japanese fellows.

There are some programs that reduce the amount of effort to do monotonous tasks though. Dither brushes and so on. Some programs like Deluxe Paint are a little controversial because they blur the line between between pixel art and digital painting. It basically gives you the same tools/power as Photoshop but with stricter palette control, giving the outcome a crisp/pixelly look but done in a digital-painting sort of way.

I mean I have no experience with Deluxe Paint itself, but it's very easy to spot something done with that as there tends to be A LOT of dithering/heavy AA and faux gradients everywhere.

You're right, but digital art != pixel art. There's a huge difference between placing every pixel by hand and having a tool do it for you. I'm not trying to down Elk or anything, I was just curious because I'd like to learn something from it. :confused:

Pretty good. But 'masterpiece'? I suggest toning down a bit with your arrogance, just a tip.

I would also like to express my confusion in the need for pixel art in this day and age (it's almost 2013). No need to limit your colours like that and the market for pixel-art games is way too slim, so why are you wasting your time?

Who cares about this market ^^?

Climbing the mountain is what makes it exciting, not the goal. I completely understand Why Elk does it, and Why he has chosen MSPaint to do it.

There are plenty of folks who still enjoy the look of pixel art and a good pixel art game. Just because you don't see the need or like the style doesn't mean that everyone else agrees with you. :asleep:

This one. ^^

Would be interesting to see the steps you take to get to that...
Also when you do a large piece like that, how do you know where to start? o.o

One of the first results I could find on Google(since I myself have no training/knowledge of composition:

http://edsitement.neh.gov/curriculum...ts-right-place

The same as when you approach everything else, you start roughly and go into the matter/complexity, first, its pure abstractness, then you give it form/shape and from then on you go further and further and further untill everything reaches the desired level of detail... some might say my compositions may lack some things, but the general composition that is taught by industrial people, is not so good, because it isn't that unique, its for mass-production and everything looking equal... thats how my things stand out :0 I use my own kind of method to compose things that isn't really explainable