First steps with 2D

In this tutorial, we'll explore a basic workflow for a 2D project.

Creation of a new project

You can create an empty new project by clicking on the New... button on the home page or by navigating through the top bar File > New....

This dialog will open where you can choose the canvas page size. Leave the layer type as 2D, and we'll add a shader manually later. Click on the create button.

You should now have an empty project page similar to this one:

The project just contains a canvas and a 2D layer. Now we will open an image.

Open an image

To open an image, you can navigate through the top bar File > Open..., or you can directly drag and drop the file from your computer onto the PixelOver project page.

You can download the same image I used here.

By default, the image size can be higher than the canvas page size.

You can use the resize grabbers to scale down the image.

Or you can set the size directly in the object properties panel for more precision, especially in pixel art where specific sizes are needed.

Info

On the other hand, if you want to maintain high resolution, you can select the canvas in the scene tree and increase the page size.

Warning

If you're using native pixel art images and notice blurriness when rotating them, check the resampler section. By default, it should automatically adjust, but if not, uncheck filter and mipmaps and use a pixel scaling algorithm like Omniscale.

Setup the layer shader

In the right panel, you'll find the current layer shader properties. You can adjust various parameters here, including colors, color indexes, lines, etc.

Feel free to experiment with these parameters. Additionally, you can find presets in the shader folder next to the executable directory. Open the one called sweetie_plus through the top bar Shader > Open....

You can now see the shader applied to the current layer and the modified layer shader properties.

For more advanced techniques, you can check out the How to Use Indexation tutorial.

Export

When you're satisfied with the result, you can export the project through the top bar Project > Export... (more details on the export). If you have the free version, you can only save the project Project > Save so you can keep it and export it later if you decide to get PixelOver.

To go further

If you're interested in animating your image, check out the bones animation tutorial.

You can also explore the next tutorial if you're curious about using 3D.