2D Game Artist: Design Pixel Art From Scratch Online Course

Learn How To Make 2D Art for Video Games Using GIMP. Master GIMP's interface & Create Greate 2D Art From Scratch.

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GIMP is a super powerful, free, 2D art package. It's also 'open source' which means it's owned by the community, and constantly updated. Most of the features of the much more expensive Photoshop are available, giving you the power to create industry strength 2D art.

The challenge with this package is it can be intimidating for beginners, especially those who don't have much confidence in art or drawing. We make learning from scratch easy with our simple step-by-step process.

Even if you have no prior experience in drawing, or computer art, we'll take you from the very basics. By investing in a structured course like this you'll learn faster and more effectively than on your own, just check-out our latest reviews.

We provide challenges in every video to cement your knowledge, an active community of students and instructors to help you if you get stuck, and continuous updates to the course to improve the learning journey.

How is the course structured?

We start by helping you master GIMP's interface
Then we constrain you to just 8x8 pixels, to get you started
Moving on we add colour, contrast and more to bring your images alive
In section 2 we increase our canvas to 32x2 and beyond
By the end of the course you'll be able to create great looking 2D icons.

Looking for 3D art, Blender, Unity or more? Check out our other courses, let the green leaf logo be your guide :-)

Also included with the course...

Access to our thriving community forum, and live chat server
Use of our custom built texture sharing service
Daily responses to your Q&A.

2D artwork is in demand, and now's a great time to get into GIMP.

Ben & Michael

What you'll learn on this course:Master GIMP's powerful interface

Convey meaning through shape and colour
Use GIMPs fundamental drawing tools
Work with layers for complex images
Create gradients, drop shadows and reflections
Organise and professionally export your work
Work to a specification like a pro
Create pixel art assets for your games
Create your own character
Becoming a digital artist

Your Instructor

Ben Tristem

Ben has a degree in computing from Imperial College London, and a physics diploma from the Open University.

He started working for himself at the age of 15, and never looked back. He's explored careers as varied as being a commercial pilot, stunt-man, rock climbing instructor, and more. None of these provided a continued challenge, and stable income in the same way technology did.

After building and selling a home computer support business, he became an angel investor and business mentor in Cambridge UK. He fell in love with teaching game development through one of his investments, and now spends all of his time sharing this passion with people like you.

He can't wait to help you experience the fulfilment, and financial freedom, that having a deep understanding of technology brings.

So why not start learning to make games with him and the GameDev.tv now?

Course Curriculum (18+ hours)

Emotion Icons - Get Creative At 8x8 Pixels (1 hours 32 minutes)

Available in days

days after you enroll

Preview
Introduction To Section 1 (2:03)

Start
Getting GIMP Installed (3:19)

Start
Getting Comfortable In GIMP (16:50)

Start
How To Share & Ask Questions

Start
Using GIMP At High Resolutions (6:36)

Start
Black And White Outlines (13:45)

Start
An Outline Story (11:24)

Start
Exporting Your Work (12:53)

Start
Introduction To Value (11:26)

Start
A Splash Of Colour (13:11)

Start
Quiz 1

Start
Section 1 Wrap Up - Congratulations! (1:17)

Game Icons - Creating 32x32 Pixel Art (4 hours 11 minutes)

Available in days

days after you enroll

Preview
Section 2 Introduction (1:13)

Start
Working To A Specification (9:44)

Start
Drawing Straight Lines (6:53)

Start
Introduction To Layers And Alpha (17:57)

Start
Using The Eraser (13:29)

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Using Pallets For Consistency (14:23)

Start
Using The Paintbrush And Airbrush (17:19)

Start
Quickly Selecting An Existing Colour (8:33)

Start
Filling An Area With One Colour (20:00)

Start
Using The Selection Tools (19:05)

Start
Shading With Gradients (14:57)

Start
Quiz 2

Start
Moving Images And Layers (9:08)

Start
Rearranging an Image (4:14)

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Modifying Your Selections (11:13)

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Using Selection Modifiers (12:15)

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Combining Multiple Images (11:11)

Start
Making A Composite Image (7:41)

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Moving Selections (9:03)

Start
Drop Shadows and Reflections (11:46)

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Floating Selections (8:10)

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Keeping Yourself Organised (12:11)

Start
Creating A Game HUD (8:47)

Start
Quiz 3

Start
Section 2 Wrap Up (1:50)

Start
What Now?

Animated Sprites (5 hours 15 minutes)

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days after you enroll

Preview
- Section 3 Introduction (1:54)

Start
What is Animation (4:21)

Start
Setting Up Gimp For Animation (12:31)

Start
Deciding On Frame Rate (17:55)

Start
Layer Animation Parameters (12:43)

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Layer Boundaries (13:19)

Start
Squash And Stretch (14:43)

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Making a Bouncing Ball (17:24)

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Multi Layer Images And Animation (13:11)

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Straight Ahead And Pose To Pose (9:24)

Start
GIFs And Layer Groups (15:38)

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Slow In And Out (13:11)

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Two Different Feeling Animations (15:26)

Start
Quiz 3

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Colour Change Over Time (16:30)

Start
Making An Animated Sunset (16:19)

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What Is A Sprite Sheet (17:35)

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Creating A Basic Sprite Sheet (9:24)

Start
Too Many File Types (8:36)

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Checking Your Sprite Sheet Works (3:16)

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Manually Installing GIMP Add ons (8:21)

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Add On Fuse Layers (9:32)

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Add On Sprite Sheet (10:03)

Start
Easy Repeating Elements (8:27)

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Building a Modular Wall (11:46)

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Mocking Up A Scene (13:29)

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Nested Layer Groups (6:12)

Start
Blending Animation (5:19)

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Quiz 4

Start
Section 3 Final Challenge (7:20)

Start
Section 3 Wrap Up (1:27)

Character Sketch (5 hours 49 minutes)

Available in days

days after you enroll

Preview
Section 4 Introduction (1:14)

Start
Section 4 Specification (2:43)

Start
Drawing Options (8:50)

Start
Basic Shapes (7:04)

Start
The Paths Tool (14:01)

Start
First Principle References (4:30)

Start
Using Building Blocks (19:25)

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Toolbox Transforms (6:25)

Start
Bone Structure (11:11)

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Proportions (18:20)

Start
Basic 3D Shapes (19:59)

Start
Quiz 5

Start
Importing Line Work (11:07)

Start
Pacing Yourself And Staying Motivated (4:18)

Start
Presence Through Use Of Value (14:09)

Start
The Free Select Tool (18:18)

Start
Surfaces and Overlap (17:39)

Start
Caging (11:06)

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Presence Through Use Of Perspective (11:06)

Start
Lighting Basics (13:33)

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Avoiding Tangents (8:12)

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Exploration Through Studies (8:12)

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Understanding Anatomy (9:47)

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Study Of The Head (9:47)

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Study Of The Eyes (17:41)

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Study Of The Eyes Challenge (17:41)

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Study Of The Nose (16:36)

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Study Of The Mouth (19:10)

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Study Of The Hands (13:19)

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Quiz 6

Start
End Of Section 4 Challenge (11:39)

Start
Section 4 Wrap Up (2:17)

Bonus: Tiling Textures (1 hours 31 minutes)

Available in days

days after you enroll

Preview
Bonus Section Introduction (3:05)

Start
What Is A Digital Image (14:40)

Start
Colour Channels (14:40)

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Layer Math Modes (14:40)

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Tiling Textures Introduction (14:40)

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Quick Win Tiling Textures (14:40)

Start
Quiz 7

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Tiling Textures Wrap Up (14:40)

Extras (0 hours 0 minutes)

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Preview
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Frequently Asked Questions

When does the course start and finish?

The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.

How long do I have access to the course?

How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.

What if I am unhappy with the course?

We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.

Reviews

Hope

"This course was so much better than expected when I first started. It's brilliant and thorough and easy to get along with!"

Chin Jieh Chen

"This course has so far been a great introduction to making pixel art with GIMP. The challenges provided really help to reinforce my learning (do them!) and I found that I was gradually getting more fluid in working with GIMP. That being said, the best part about this course is the instructor. He is highly motivating, energetic, and encouraging, and that makes me want to continue and learn more about pixel art!"

Lukas Stateczny

"Drawing was never my strong suit let alone animating, but with this course I am getting more confident with it. If you're not confident in drawing 2D art like myself this course can definitely change that."

James Chrzanowski

"I have had experience with 2d drawing before. And I really needed to increase my skills in drawing 2d for video games so I can make one. I have reached the half way mark and my skills have improved massively. With the experience I have had with this teacher before I am confident I will get everything I want from this course."

Nicholas Reynolds

"Great course Ben. Very clear and detailed instructions on the fundamentals of digital art. I would not in a million years of figured the power of Gimp without these tutorials and it will be a great reference to refer back too. Thanks and well done, will now check out your Blender course."