Add Shading and Depth

Lesson 4 of 6 · Beginner · 8 min

What you will make
A slime with a small upper-left highlight and a connected lower shadow.

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Lesson checklist

Compare your own work with these checkpoints. Check each one when your result is ready.

All of my highlights agree on an upper-left light source.My shadows and highlights form connected clusters.The original body green still covers most of the slime.

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Keep your silhouette and face. Add an upper-left highlight and a darker lower edge using the two colors you reserved.

Practice in the editor

Open a 16 × 16 practice canvas with lesson examples and onion skin enabled. Your work saves automatically to My projects.

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Starter files and backup import

Follow the steps

Turn a flat shape into a soft character with one clear light source.

Start with: Your flat-color slime from lesson three, or the palette practice file.

1
Choose where the light comes from
Imagine a lamp above and to the left of the slime. Surfaces facing it will be lighter; the base and lower-right edge will receive less light. Keep that rule for every mark you add.
One consistent lighting decision.
2
Paint a connected shadow
Choose the shadow green and add a narrow cluster along the lower body. Let it rise a little on the right. Avoid outlining the entire body with shadow: equal darkness everywhere makes the sprite look flat again.
A darker base that gives the body weight.
3
Add a small highlight
Use pale mint for a small cluster on the upper-left dome. Keep the highlight inside the silhouette and away from the eyes. A few adjacent pixels say more than many isolated white dots.
A clear reflection on the side facing the light.
4
Compare before and after
Zoom out and ask whether the shaded slime feels more rounded. If the highlight competes with the eyes, reduce it. Preserve generous areas of the original body color.
Depth without losing the character's simple read.

See the technique

Flat color

Light from the upper left

The silhouette and face stay in place. A pale cluster near the upper-left dome suggests a reflection, while the darker lower edge makes the body feel rounded. The middle green still covers most of the character; shading supports the form without taking it over.

Learning notes and references

Choose a single light direction.
Shade with connected color clusters.
Keep the body color dominant so the sprite stays readable.

Pixel Art Shading Guide What Is Dithering?

Follow the steps

Turn a flat shape into a soft character with one clear light source.

Start with: Your flat-color slime from lesson three, or the palette practice file.

Choose where the light comes from

Imagine a lamp above and to the left of the slime. Surfaces facing it will be lighter; the base and lower-right edge will receive less light. Keep that rule for every mark you add.

One consistent lighting decision.

Paint a connected shadow

Choose the shadow green and add a narrow cluster along the lower body. Let it rise a little on the right. Avoid outlining the entire body with shadow: equal darkness everywhere makes the sprite look flat again.

A darker base that gives the body weight.

Add a small highlight

Use pale mint for a small cluster on the upper-left dome. Keep the highlight inside the silhouette and away from the eyes. A few adjacent pixels say more than many isolated white dots.

A clear reflection on the side facing the light.

Compare before and after

Zoom out and ask whether the shaded slime feels more rounded. If the highlight competes with the eyes, reduce it. Preserve generous areas of the original body color.

Depth without losing the character's simple read.