Hello again, this here is an addition to the last tutorial I wrote on backround art. This is just a quick little how to on making 320x200 aliased backrounds. It's really very simple and quite similar to things you already learned in my last tutorial. So let's begin:


the sketch

First thing we're gonna do is open up our sketch again. Take the backround sketch and copy it to clipboard. Then open a new blank image and size it to 320x200. Paste the backround sketch in and choose:

edit | transform | scale

or CTRL T for free transform.

While holding SHIFT make the image as small as possible, shift will keep the aspect ratio of the image while resizing so that you can't accidentaly squash it or stretch it.


pasting the large image into a 320x200 workspace
is just the start of scaling goodness

just because the entire image isn't shown or selected,
doesn't mean it won't get scaled

here I am, scale me like a hurricane.

So when the sketch is where you'd like it to be, hit enter and that is where it shall remain.

So now, basically, we go about what was covered in the earlier tutorial, outlining the image and colouring it in. But this time, I suggest using a line weight of 1 and nothing higher, because when this is shown on screen the pixels will be a little bigger and my make the picture look bad.

Also, since this is a tutorial for 320x200 aliased backrounds, remeber to turn Anti-Alias off on all tools you use and to use the pencil tool for the outlining.

And with that in mind, I begin...
As I was tracing, I noticed that it's harder to get the pixels to do what you want in some situations, like with small detail especially, I found myself doing a lot of erasing and retouching before things like the lens looked good enough for me.
I would also suggest, instead of using the lasso tool to cut away areas of light and dark, to just use the pencil tool and outline an area of light or dark and then fill it in after. It's easier to control the pixels that way I feel. The lasso tool can't be trusted with working this small.

click me for larger version
So this is about as done as it's gonna get. I tried a new style of clouds, I don't know how I feel about it yet. [this is where eric points out all the problems with the drawing so that no one can tell him later, cause he already knows]I know I messed up on the lighting a bit but I still think it looks fairly decent. I went pretty quickly on this one so I left off the door and the window in the second small tower and all the detail in the moon also I didn't put as much detail into the cliff face as I would if this were a backround I was seriously working on. Also, there is a large wide open space of nothing in the upper right sky... That just comes from poor planning and I have no clue what to put in there, so it stays empty, but I think you get the idea.
I hope this helped a little bit. I personally enjoy sketching on paper and then transfering it to the computer, my mind just works better on paper sometimes than it does on the screen.

I think that is all. If there is a better way to do all of this than feel free to email me or write your own tutorial. Also, if you have any suggestions for future tutorials, gimme a holler. Thanks.

-eric