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The 2D Game Artist: Design Simple Pixel Art From Scratch

Make 2D art for games. From icons to animations. Using GIMP - the free Photoshop alternative.

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"This course has been an incredible introduction to GIMP. The instructor explains each lecture in a concise and engaging manner. Thank you for this course, it has been a great experience :)"

- Fernando Ortiz

GIMP is a super powerful, free, 2D art package. It's also 'open source' which means it's owned by the community, and constantly updated. Most of the features of the much more expensive Photoshop are available, giving you the power to create industry strength 2D art.

The challenge with this package is it can be intimidating for beginners, especially those who don't have much confidence in art or drawing. We make learning from scratch easy with our simple step-by-step process.

Even if you have no prior experience in drawing, or computer art, we'll take you from the very basics. By investing in a structured course like this you'll learn faster and more effectively than on your own, just check-out our latest reviews.

We provide challenges in every video to cement your knowledge, an active community of students and instructors to help you if you get stuck, and continuous updates to the course to improve the learning journey.

How is the course structured?

  1. We start by helping you master GIMP's interface
  2. Then we constrain you to just 8x8 pixels, to get you started
  3. Moving on we add colour, contrast and more to bring your images alive
  4. In section 2 we increase our canvas to 32x2 and beyond
  5. By the end of the course you'll be able to create great looking 2D icons.

Looking for 3D art, Blender, Unity or more? Check out our other courses, let the green leaf logo be your guide :-)

Also included with the course...

  • Access to our thriving community forum, and live chat server
  • Use of our custom built texture sharing service
  • Daily responses to your Q&A.

2D artwork is in demand, and now's a great time to get into GIMP.

Ben & Michael


"Fantastic course as with all GameDev.tv courses! Michael is a fun instructor and I love learning graphics from his courses! As a programmer with zero art skill throughout my life, courses like these are essential. Thanks to GameDev team for giving me a fantastic avenue to become a well rounded game developer."

- Matt Black

What you'll learn in this course:

  • Master GIMP's powerful interface
  • Convey meaning through shape and colour
  • Use GIMPs fundamental drawing tools
  • Work with layers for complex images
  • Create gradients, drop shadows and reflections
  • Organise and professionally export your work.
  • Work to a specification like a pro
  • Create pixel art assets for your games
  • Create your own character
  • Becoming a digital artist

"This is once again one of Michael's brilliant courses. I tried a few other "Gimp-like" courses, but never learned to "draw". With him explaining it in so much detail, I now can, without doubt, use this knowledge in not only Gimp (Michael has won me over to Gimp), but in other programs as well. Thank you for an amazing experience. Now back to Blender. :-)"

- Rina Bothma

Your Instructor


Ben Tristem
Ben Tristem

Ben has a degree in computing from Imperial College London, and a physics diploma from the Open University.

He started working for himself at the age of 15, and never looked back. He's explored careers as varied as being a commercial pilot, stunt-man, rock climbing instructor, and more. None of these provided a continued challenge, and stable income in the same way technology did.

After building and selling a home computer support business, he became an angel investor and business mentor in Cambridge UK. He fell in love with teaching game development through one of his investments, and now spends all of his time sharing this passion with people like you.

He can't wait to help you experience the fulfilment, and financial freedom, that having a deep understanding of technology brings.

So why not start learning to make games with him and the GameDev.tv now?



Course Curriculum (18+ hours)


  Emotion Icons - Get Creative At 8x8 Pixels (1 hours 32 minutes)
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  Game Icons - Creating 32x32 Pixel Art (4 hours 11 minutes)
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  Animated Sprites (5 hours 15 minutes)
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  Character Sketch (5 hours 49 minutes)
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  Bonus: Tiling Textures (1 hours 31 minutes)
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  Extras (0 hours 0 minutes)
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Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.

Get started now!