Pixel Glossary
Here you can find definitions of almost every pixel art term imaginable. References to other terms aren't linked because they would clutter the page. Or I'm lazy. Which do you think is more probable?
AA:
See Antialiasing.
Antialiasing:
This is a technique used to smoothen curves and lines in pixel art. Tutorials: Mine, St0ven's
Brightness:
How bright or dark a color is.
Color:
A color, in the context of pixel art, is one palette entry: a single set of RGB values defines a color and a secondary restriction of pixel art is that it uses as few colors as possible. This is done through such techniques as dithering and palette unification.
Color Count:
A pixel art piece's color count is the number of palette entries used in the piece. If not for the ability of computerized images to be transparent, this term would be self-explanatory. However, pixel art is digital and thus CAN be transparent, (though generally alpha transparency is frowned upon) and so this raises the question of whether or not transparency is a color. Some will say yes, as I do, others disagree, and still others say that it is only in the context of limitation, such as when making sprites for use on a system that supports only 16 colors, 15 "real" colors and transparency. Really, there is no right answer, and it's a matter of opinion. Go crazy.
Contrast:
Contrast means the difference between colors. The highest possible contrast is found in a black-and-white piece, while something with most colors close to a 50% grey has very little contrast.
Dimensions:
The size, in pixels, of the canvas of a piece of pixel art. Often in the form widthxheight and also known as resolution.
Dirty Tools:
"Dirty" tools are tools used in image manipulation that are not allowed in pixel art due to the fact that they increase color count massively and produce results that could not be replicated perfectly by a pixel artist using a one-pixel brush at 100% opacity and automatic antialiasing off. These two requirements, maintenance of colorcount and manual reproduceability, are the criteria for a tool usable in pixel art and no tools that do not fit these criteria are allowed. As a note, tools such as contrast adjustments that affect the whole pixel artwork and do not add colors to the palette, just edit the RGB/HSV values in the palette, are permissible.
Dithering:
Dithering is a pixel art technique used to transition between colors as well as make the appearance of more colors than exist. One transitions colors by creating a gradient of patterns of color in vertical, horizontal, or diagonal rows of pixels: the number of pixels of the first color decreases as it nears the boundary of the second color, and vice versa. Dithering as a method of producing the illusion of a higher color count is simpler, as one simply repeats the same dither pattern in the area in which they want the color intermediate to the two colors they are dithering with. Several tutorials for dithering exist, such as St0ven's, and this Pixelation topic is a good source for inspiration about dither patterns.
Freelancer:
Someone who does pixel art (or art in general) as their method of employment, but is not affiliated with any specific company. Freelancers are paid by the hour or by the job and do not work for a salary.
Highlight:
An area on an object on which light falls so that a large portion of it is reflected into the viewer's eyes. This results in the appearance of a bright area on a face of the object, known as a highlight.
HSV/HSL:
HSV (identical to HSB) and HSL (the differences are minor but existent) are methods of color selection based on the color's hue, saturation, and value (brightness) or lightness.
Hue:
The hue of a color is the actual "color" aspect of the shade: a brown and a orangish color may have the same hue but differing brightness and saturation values, while a red and green of identical saturation and brightness vary in hue.
Isometric:
A method of projection (displaying a 3D object in 2D space) that is based on lines deviating from horizontal by 30 degrees along the axes of length and depth, and vertical lines for height. However, in pixel art, this produces jagged lines that vary in the length of their sections. Therefore, in pixel art, the lines are at angles of about 26.565 degrees and a circle on a circle or square on a length-depth plane (such as the ground) is distorted so that it is twice as wide as it as tall. This page provides information about isometric, planometric, and axonometric projections.
Lighting:
The act or process of giving an object a light source defined in space and shading the object according to the reflections of the light source's light off that object.
Luminosity:
The brightness of a color.
Palette:
"Palette" is the term used to describe the set of colors (each is one set of RGB values) used in an image. Generally, with palettes, smaller is better; palettes exceeding 64 colors are something that are found only exceptionally, and usually pixel art images contain around 16 colors. Palettes, though not truly "proprietary," are generally not to be used without permission if they are the original creation of an artist and intended for a single piece. However, looking at the HSB/HSL/RGB colors of a palette you admire and analyzing those to learn is not only allowed but encouraged.
Palette Unification:
Palette unification is the practice of using a color (palette entry) in several objects of different visual color--an example of this would be the use of a dark brownish color as the shadow tone of both an orange shoe and the red gloves of a character. This practice helps to decrease color count and add unity to the artwork.
Pillowshading:
Pillowshading is an erroneous shading method that is characterized by a dark outline of shapes that is evenly blended into a lighter color in the object's center, as if every object were a distortion of a front-lit sphere.
Planometric:
A method of projection (displaying a 3D object in 2D space) that is based on lines deviating from horizontal by 30 degrees along the axis of length and 60 degrees along the axis of depth, and vertical lines for height. However, in pixel art, angles of 30 or 60 degrees produce jagged lines that vary in the length of their sections. Therefore, in pixel art, the lines are at angles of about 26.565 or 63.435 degrees deviation from horizontal. Circles or squares on length-depth planes appear stretched along the 30-degree axis. This page provides information about isometric, planometric, and axonometric projections.
RGB:
A color selection method that defines a color as the sum of its Red, Green, and Blue components.
Saturation:
Saturation is the inverse of the measure of a color's greyness. Your pure grey has a saturation of zero, but a bright red or blue has full saturation. The following image demonstrates saturation: the colors at the top are fully saturated and those at the bottom are completely desaturated.
Selective Outlining:
Helm, a respected pixel artist, defines selective outlining (aka SelOut) as "...darkening the contours of a shape towards a middle shade so it'll read well on any sort of background." This technique is generally frowned upon due to the fact that many of those that try to use this technique simply antialias their outlines to black. The ridicule that followed put a negative stigma on the term and it has retained that negativity, although "SelOut" emphasizes it more.
SelOut:
Short for Selective Outlining. This term holds slightly more of the negative connotation of the improper use of the technique.
Shading:
See lighting.
Toolshading:
Toolshading is shading done by dirty tools