Recreating a MANGA page as PIXEL ART

I thought it’d be fun to take a page from Akira and reinterpret it as pixel art - and in the process, I discovered some neat practice with composition, perspective, and portraits!
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0:00 Introduction
0:30 Finding the Canvas Size
1:21 Panel Composition
2:44 Complete Panel Workflow
6:38 Angled Perspective
8:26 Portraits
10:29 Two-Point Perspective
11:49 Characters and Finishing Details
13:50 FINAL ARTWORK
14:55 CRT Time
15:40 VID OVER
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Check out my art here:
/ brandonjamesgreer
/ bjgpixel
► SHOP: rdbl.co/bjgpixel
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Software used: Adobe Photoshop (CS6)
Need help picking a pixel art program? Watch this: • What Program to use fo...
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Title sequence theme music by Failpositive:
www.failpositive.bandcamp.com/
/ failpositiv
Chiptune music by mcguy215/Concrete Castles:
www.fiverr.com/mcguy215
/ mcguy215
Other music featured throughout this video was obtained from the KZbin Audio Library.

[@Cubeorithms]

This looks so good! its crazy how much detail you can carry over into the pixel art version. Very inspiring!

[@shelducktv]

I did not think I would see cubeorithms here

[@MarlandoCrosdale]

And he uses a trackpad, can you believe it🤯🤯. Ssssshhheeeessshh👍👍💯

[@huneebajer1098]

Looks hard especially with using the touchpad

[@Misspelled_Etahn]

Why is blue here?

[@katherinedobbs52]

This seems like such a cool practice exercise for making pixel art comics and learning another artist's style! Now I want to try it too...

[@CodemasterJamal]

The fact that you did all this off of a laptop is even more impressive. This is incredible.

[@OWmofat]

On a Mac no less.

[@5thkiechannel]

Oddly enough that’s his preferred control scheme

[@キラキラくりくり頭]

Using a track pad seems like a recipe for insanity.

[@mikeuk666]

He prefers it

[@jcnot9712]

@@mikeuk666 as someone who’ll stop at nothing (even constrained workspaces) to use a mouse for stuff, I’m curious as to why he prefers trackpad.

[@RupeeRhod]

@@mikeuk666 I refuse to believe that, a tablet or proper mouse will always be better for speed and posture. He might say he prefers it, but he's wrong about what he likes then :D

[@georgealain7269]

@@mikeuk666 don’t you wonder why?

[@williamruiz5965]

@@RupeeRhod He said in another video that he prefers it.

[@mmati14]

Last night I went to bed really annoyed bc I'm making a Tetsuo pixel art and it's giving me a big headache (I'm pretty new to making pixel art), and today I woke up to THIS

[@BJGpixel]

Thanks dude, good luck with your Testuo piece!

[@emzedjiklool511]

this just makes me want to get better at pixel art to be able to do this. good job man

[@PirataGalactico]

Imagine a world where AKIRA was read through CRT TV in a 256x360 resolution...

[@sm_uadib]

You know exactly how to please me every single video i cant put into words how great these videos are

[@montecrysto33]

Your videos have so much production value: entertaining, informative and edit with timelapses and CRT time

[@unlimiteddd]

Agreed.

[@heyojinko]

me checking my notifications: "surely no one would be uploading at nine in the morni-"

[@tl1882]

same but 1

[@mikeuk666]

You can set thd time to post recorded vids......

[@samochreno]

timezones exist

[@prollybee]

I'll never get over just how much pixel art thrives on a crt

[@sillonar]

I wanna see what you can do with Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror. Lol

[@HyperTheKappa]

I second this

[@RealityMasterRogue]

Very cool! I like how you specifically made it feel like a pixel art version and not a scaled down version, theres a lot of interesting subtle changes that you had to do to make it work

[@theillegaltaco6]

Im always amazed by how mangas are able to get so much detail and depth into art with nothing but grayscale, then you go and combine that with another form of limitation. I really like the outcome and it sort of makes me wish there was an entire manga in this style.

[@nigelhill74]

Wow, you did this really well. You translated the style of the art really nicely to a more cartoonish look, not just straight up recreating it at a lower resolution. I love it.

[@Adrian-hj7ih]

It's really cool how diferent tradicional drawing and pixel art is, and at the same time share some of the fundamental concepts

[@xCheezMuffnx]

What a terrific video. The workflow in this is so smart and thoughtful. Thanks for taking the time to share this.

[@Gobi445]

woww! you're incredible! Great inspiration for art exercises as well and i love your perspective on practicing! you really go into the "why" part which I think is great for an artist at any level.

[@jcnot9712]

I always learn so much from your videos. Not only are you good at pixel art but you’re highly skilled at documenting your thought process and presenting the video in an educating manner. Thank you for these videos.

[@mesolagic]

Dude this is really amazing. I absolutely love comics and manga done in pixel art. The instagram artist Sukinapan does a lot of those which first got me into it, but seeing your step by step process is beautiful. Definitely one of my favorites from you!

[@venni4881]

this is what i’ve been trying to get for ages, top notch

[@DawnsDeparture]

I love seeing this. Pixel art is the only art I'm comfortable at but I've always wanted to try comics, so seeing this construction of a pixel art manga page is unbelievably helpful and inspirational.

[@So0fer]

I think that it's a really nice touch adding camera shots of you actually drawing the art, adds so much to the video!

[@AmeHart]

This looked like SUCH a fun project. Feels very faithful to not only the source material but also the rest of the era surrounding it -- if Akira were made to view on small resolutions, this would be it !! Such a neat project and I would love to see more like it.

[@greccc]

gahhh your videos are so encouraging and calming it's really hard to find someone who makes walkthroughs like this!!!! thank u for being u :"

[@skroachd]

i love your videos so much, your art work is so inspiring!!!

[@EezhamDemon]

Wow amazing work. Loved how thorough you were about the process!

[@frstwhsprs]

This is so good. The fact that you displayed it on the CRT makes it look like there's an e-comic service for the NES long time ago

[@EliMagaziner]

Amazing work and commentary, I LOVE IT.

[@humaira11223]

u never fail to amaze me omg each video is always better than the previous ♡♡

[@gonzzzalo1844]

amazing man, I totally thought you´ll paint on top of the manga page (which is totally fine) and you surprised me. Second surprise came when I saw you drawing with the trackpad, you mad lad.

[@haydenap]

I've had the thought of trying to make a pixel art comic for fun lately but I didn't really know how to begin. Copying a manga or comic to get a feel for how it might work is a great idea. Awesome video!

[@bbimo]

never fail to amaze me with your creativity, u keep on inspiring, big ups to you and your channel!

[@98perova]

Amazing video!! It was really fun to watch!!

[@slizzwhizz2549]

i am so incredibly happy and fanatic abouut your videos THANK YOU VERY MUCH

[@zariahnongrata2257]

This is so awesome! I love your videos so much.

[@ottogaijin2295]

OMG! I always wanted to try this stuff but struggled because of complexity and lack of experience. But now, I can use your video as a guide! Thank you so much!

[@psyboyo]

Excellent practice idea! Loved it!

[@janthummler3548]

Wow, what an awesome idea! And of course beautiful execution

[@roxasmalice5563]

It would be really cool to see you do a full length manga in this style! maybe a one-shot or something! Love your art!

[@CKTDanny]

I've always appreciated these videos for the information that they convey, especially the lessons that can be taken beyond pixel art and I feel like this practice had so much of that! I especially enjoyed learning about those composition lines and how you identified them. Excellent presentation, man 😎 Totally agree with the mindset of building up these panels from a visual reference rather than tracing it out too! It'd be totally interesting to explore that telephone idea with more artists 😱

[@BJGpixel]

Thanks! Yeah I had no idea starting this how many things there'd be to unpack as far as composition and the way to translate that to pixel art - but it was awesome to discover a lot of this and made the idea of more complex perspectives a little less intimidating ✨ Gotta do more of this kind of thing to see what else can be found! :D

[@CKTDanny]

@@BJGpixel Haha totally! And these concepts - when presented in other forms - seem to go over my head more easily. Maybe it's cuz I've become so familiar with pixels from watching your vids, but either way it's been easier for me to pick up on it here! 😁

[@BJGpixel]

@@CKTDanny Haha that's nice to hear! Exploring broad art fundamentals through pixel art has been a good education for me also, and most of it feels applicable to any art medium. But somewhere within a piece you eventually reach a divergence where it's like "oh but also it's made of squares, so there's something else to consider here too" 😂

[@MaxxDee]

It’s crazy that you do that with the track pad, and you are really a master in this, wow!

[@Th3G3kk0]

Amazing work, as per usual!

[@mdjubaer2745]

this is such a cool concept, i immediately subscribed !

[@martink938]

I saw video you're like once year back, but now I am biggest fan of pixel-art!

[@warrengerding636]

I can now say that I've seen it, but I still can't comprehend how you can do this with a track pad! Crazy!

[@ll_esha]

Amazing work! Recently I decided to create my first visual novel in comic book style and use pixel art as a medium. However after thinking it over and some pixel sketches, I concluded that I wouldn't be able to fit enough detail with a resolution that still resembles that nice pixely feel. So now I'm doing it with digital high-res drawings. But your skill is beyond boundaries! Very inspirational video, thank you.

[@noxturne16]

Wow that is insanely detailed and impressive for pixel art, I love Akira

[@MrLordRike]

Awesome! Great content and as always really inspiring. My next exercise will be translating a panel from one piece!

[@Snow-sj7xz]

Awesome as usual!

[@flikkie72]

Oooooh this looks like a lot of fun! Definitely going to find something to do this with as well!

[@Cyanide_03]

Dude I love your work!

[@lucasvmz]

Brandon you are a absulute genius!!! You're so skillful!

[@CheesyPaninie]

This makes me want to do this too! Good Job! I've wanted to make a pixel art comic for the longest time.

[@_psydude]

Great Video Mate! Keep it up

[@elrana6887]

wow... really... this look so beutiful!!!... amazing job!!! congrat. : )

[@_Jarkor]

Very inspiring. Thanks!

[@Vagossssssssss]

holy this is so nice dude

[@darksentinel082]

This is a really cool idea and I love the result

[@aidengoesham3970]

I’m not an artist nor am I a pixel artist, but for some reason these videos are so interesting a fun to watch! Thank you for the entertainment!

[@user-ik8vy1rg8f]

Looks really nice. You did a great job.

[@Laborejo]

After all these videos I finally got the joke. Tea-time! CRT Time!

[@pacomatic9833]

!!

[@woleayo]

i still don't get it :(

[@lonestarr1490]

@@woleayo The CRT stands for Cathode Ray Tube. That's the technology those old TVs use, hence their called CRTs themselves. The T is pronounced as 'tea', so we're having a (CR)Tea-time (see also the little monkey with a cup of tea in the logo).

[@guys_animations]

cr tea time huh

[@crowbarska]

Your work is always great but this one is on another level.

[@samuelfarach]

This is brilliant. I got to try it! :3 Thanks ♥

[@ramiroarduz]

With a trackpad!!!! 🤯 Amazing work!!!

[@TheAsadJK]

This is incredible and now I wish there was a pixel art manga out there i could read

[@jaredjohnston1259]

Intentional Pixel ART > Resized Image... This x 9,000! Amazing work as usual. Keep it up!

[@mromanuk]

Wow! that's amazing, I love it

[@anderpikkewyn]

Pixel manga is something I never knew I needed in my life until this video.

[@turnburner2204]

This absolutely amazing.

[@ytPEDROjoao]

You really pushed yourself to bye heights with this work! Congrats

[@Vegarcade]

This is so cool! I want to try something like this.

[@ranska_x9965]

I'm impress that you do all of that with a track pad and more than that you are very strait forward on your job.. no back and forward ... no big undo... 👍nice

[@angrypotato_fz]

"Akira at home", hah, nice, i like your distance to your own work :)

[@Aetila]

Looks amazing!

[@dschuno]

This is pretty fantastic!

[@PirataGalactico]

You reminded of the Famicom game which has some sweet sweet pixelated art recreations. The first time i played it there wasn't a translation yet so i just clicked everywhere just to see more of it.

[@karlsmith1469]

Just finished reading AKIRA volumes a couple of weeks ago, was so good

[@delilu]

absolutely amazing :0

[@FefoAlvarez]

Very nice work! CRT time is the best! :D

[@ARDIZsq]

This is amazing. We GOTTA see some more anime/manga pixel art. I'm VERY biased towards it being something from Evangelion, but of course, you get to decide in the end.

[@dargonmasterman27]

this inspires me to make my own original manga chapters in pixel art

[@Yumaja]

This is fantastic!

[@poopypig551]

I've watched the video till the end and it was amazing cuz am a big fan of pixel art. and what makes me happy at the end of it is the music of Gnawa. I'm Moroccan and Gnawa is a popular music in my country it's actually part of my culture am so glad I hear it in such an awesome video, sorry my English is bad 😊

[@quimera963]

Amazing, i will give it a try

[@prollybee]

this is so cool!!

[@JoaoGuilherme-vk6bk]

I love it! more manga adaptations!!!

[@VaporNinjaVD]

I'm amazed you can do this with just a trackpad. I could only imagine what beast would be unleashed had you used a graphics tablet, pen and all.

[@MiTexcel]

Always happy to see more love for Akira, especially the manga

[@diegomedeiros456]

Ok is so awesome to me how he translade the visuals from the manga. Bc in pixel art you cant have everything. He makes the pixel art so much fascinating.

[@adibrahman9297]

Nothing is better than this 💕

[@ramdarass]

love the compostion in your b-roll shots. great colorful lights in the background and i'm surprised your laptop screen wasn't over exposed. great bts and "tutorial" like always, but great video editing and sound too, homie! i was hooked from the jump of the video. how did you capture the timelapse? I would have just exported periodic versions maybe turn layers on and off etc., but i bet you have a more simplified and planned out approach.

[@parinamais]

this channel is awesome!!!!!!

[@saultoons]

This is super cool, I liked the timelapse shots of you working on it too! The perspective on the middle panel is really sweet, a nice trick extending the canvas too! Now we need a full BJG comic book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

[@BJGpixel]

Thanks so much dude! A full comic would be so much work but a really fun undertaking (a 'fun-dertaking' if you will) :D

[@saultoons]

@@BJGpixel Good story idea too... The Fundertaker! Fighting evil with one fun at a time

[@ponderingForever]

Oh this is a fun one!

[@CondePablo]

its already hard work in pixel art... i CANT bealive you dont use a tablet! you came from another planet my friend!

[@puffcap_]

this is a really really good idea

[@jdfleblanc]

Sooo impressive!

[@marbles8246]

this is so dope!!!!!!

[@tdacostadesign7311]

Love it!