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First steps with 2D

In this tutorial, we will explore a basic workflow for creating a 2D project in PixelOver.

Creation of a new project

You can create a new empty project in two ways:

  • click New... on the home page, or
  • use File > New... from the top menu.

New project

A dialog will open where you can choose the canvas size.

  • Keep the layer type set to 2D
  • We will add a shader manually later

Click Create to generate the project.

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

Empty project page

The project contains a Canvas and a 2D Layer.
Next, we will import an image.

Open an image

To import an image, you can either:

  • use File > Open..., or
  • drag and drop the file directly into the PixelOver project page.

You can download the same image used in this tutorial here:
\assets\tutorials\sword_man.png

By default, the imported image may be larger than the canvas.

Opened image

You can scale it down using the resize grabbers:

Resize image

For more precision (especially for pixel art), you can also set the size directly in the Object properties panel.

Info

If you prefer to keep the image at its original resolution, you can instead resize the canvas:

  • select the Canvas in the scene tree
  • increase the page size

Resize canvas

Warning

If you are using native pixel art and notice blurriness when rotating or scaling, check the Resampler section:

Pixel resampling off

In most cases, PixelOver adjusts this automatically. If not:

  • disable Filter
  • disable Mipmaps
  • select a pixel scaling algorithm such as Omniscale

Pixel resampling

Setup the layer shader

In the right panel, you will find the current layer shader settings.
These properties let you control the final look of the layer, including colors, color indexing, outlines, and more.

Feel free to experiment with the parameters.

You can also load shader presets from the shader folder located next to the PixelOver executable.
For this tutorial, open the preset called sweetie_plus using:

Shader > Open...

Open shader

You should now see the shader applied to the current layer, along with the updated shader properties.

Applied shader

For more advanced color workflows, check the How to Use Indexation tutorial.

Export

When you are happy with the result, you can export your project using:

Project > Export...

More details are available in the Export documentation.

If you are using the free version, exporting is not available.
However, you can still save your project using Project > Save and export it later if you upgrade.

To go further

If you want to animate your image, check out the bones animation tutorial.

You can also continue with the next tutorial if you want to explore 3D workflows in PixelOver.