Pix'n Design

I'm going to be honest in return: this particular job is a difficult one for a first pixel animation project. Everything is 32x32 pixels in a fixed 16-colour palette, with 8 directions of the same character that have to stay consistent frame to frame. It's quite far from vector and skeletal work, and I don't think it would be fair to either of us for me to hand that over as a first pixel job.

I'd genuinely be glad to look at your Godot animation work anyway, and if you get into pixel art later on, do get in touch again. Good luck with it!

itch.io Community » Game Development » Help Wanted or Offered · Created a new topic Pixel artist wanted — 3 characters, 96 sprites, 16-colour palette (retro action game)

Pix'n Design3 days ago

Hello,

I need three animated characters for a top-down action game:

Hero: 8-direction walk, 4 frames each = 32 sprites
Enemy: 8-direction walk, 4 frames each = 32 sprites
Boss: 8-direction walk, 4 frames each = 32 sprites

96 sprites total, 32x32 pixels.

The constraint (the interesting part)

The game runs on real 1980s hardware (Atari ST/ Amiga / Megadrive), so everything must fit a fixed 16-colour palette, which I provide as exact hex values. Delivery is indexed PNG on a magenta background. No alpha, no partial transparency, and no colours outside the palette. Dithering is welcome.

I have a full spec document ready: the palette, the delivery format, the naming convention, the direction order, and a written description of each character.

The style

Bitmap Brothers, The Chaos Engine in particular. Dark medieval fantasy: the black plague, forests, graveyards. Warm and dark palette, stone grey, brown, amber, with the hero's lantern as the only bright point. Strong readable silhouettes, because the game scrolls fast and the sprites are small.

Budget

Around 1000 EUR for the three characters. I'm a solo developer, so that's what I have, and I'd rather say it upfront than waste your time. Send me a quote and tell me what you can do with it.

How I'd like to work

Start with the hero only, paid, as a first commission. If we get on well and the style works, we continue with the other two, and there's more work after that.

This is a real game, not an idea

The engine has been in development for years and runs on real hardware. You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/@mrfreeze-gaming

If you're interested, reply or DM me with your portfolio and a rough quote. Happy to send the full spec document so you can price it properly.