4 Pixel Art Animation Recommendations for Video Game Design

Looking for inspiration in the world of animation? Add this list of pixel artists to your reference library

Pixel art is a form of digital art that involves editing images at a pixel level (the minimum digital dimension of color) and using them to design video games with an old-school aesthetic. It is achieved by creating characters and 2D graphics using state-of-the-art software such as Pyxel Edit.

If you are a designer, illustrator, or animator, or you want to learn the pixel art technique to animate video games, check out the following four animators as recommended by Daniel Benítez (@dabntz). Daniel is a 2D and 3D art director specializing in pixel art and the co-founder of Fourattic, an independent video game studio founded in 2014 in Seville.

4 leading pixel art animators to inspire your video games

A Domestika teacher, Daniel has worked on Starr Mazen in the past. His latest and most ambitious creation, Crossing Souls, is an action video game with vintage aesthetics designed with only gamers (not clients) in mind and is available on most major platforms. Below, Daniel shares a list of the artists, projects, and animation studios that have influenced him most when creating and designing pixel animations in his video games.

Paul Robertson

Paul Robertson is a pixel artist whose ability to create complex animated loops is fascinating. "I could spend hours analyzing his animations," says Daniel. Paul has also made many interesting short films and done various collaborations making him one to watch.

According to Daniel, Paul Robertson is the "kingpin" in the pixel world. "He creates infinite loops in GIFs that I haven't seen any other artist do," he says. This Australian animator has worked on animation and dark humor series such as Adventure Time, The Simpsons, and Rick and Morty. The Domestika pixel art expert is sure that Paul will become a reference for you too.

Vambleer

Vambleer is an independent video game studio that is characterized by the feel and fluidity of their animations. In their games, we can see the careful combination of animation and programming. This trailer of Nuclear Throne is an excellent example to introduce you to their style.

Daniel particularly likes this video game studio "because of how they create their characters. They animate them in such a way that the feeling you get when you are controlling them is as if you were in the game." Even though the characters are minimalist, their animations are far from simple.

Jeremie Perin

Jeremie Perin is an animator and director who has produced several unique pixel artworks.

Although he also works in more traditional animation styles, in pixel art, he stands out for the incredible (albeit somewhat raunchy) creativity of the Truckers Delight videoclip (+18). Check out the impressive use of transitions and the ability to bring his illustrations to pixel art in the following trailer for Starr Mazer.

Studio Ghibli

Last but certainly not least, this inspiration list concludes with Studio Ghibli. Perhaps one of the most important animation studios to have ever existed, Studio Ghibli is a reference not to be missed.

While they do not use the pixel art technique, Daniel recommends films such as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Howl’s Moving Castlefor their animation and their storytelling.

Did you know these pixel art animators? If you want to learn how to create and give life to characters in Pixel Edit frame by frame, sign up for the online course Pixel Art Character Animation for Video Games, where art director Daniel Benitez teaches you the techniques and processes to animate a video game character and its surroundings using the Pyxel Edit tool. This is one of many online pixel art courses available at Domestika.

Become a video games animator:

1. Discover the secrets of one of today’s most exciting industries and become a designer of your video games with these 11 Online Courses to Learn Video Game Design in 2023.

2. Be it for a video game project, illustration, or animation, learn to master All The Apps You Need to Create Pixel Art.

3. Finally, is it possible to create a video game without previous programming knowledge? The answer is yes. Discover 5 Free Apps for Video Game Creators (Who Can’t Program).