Add Shading and Depth
Turn a flat shape into a soft character with one clear light source.
Your result
A slime with a small upper-left highlight and a connected lower shadow.
01What you will learn
- Choose a single light direction.
- Shade with connected color clusters.
- Keep the body color dominant so the sprite stays readable.
Start with: Your flat-color slime from lesson three, or the palette practice file.
02See the technique
Flat color
16 × 16 pixels
Light from the upper left
16 × 16 pixels
03Follow the steps
- 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.
04Practice in Pikanim
Keep your silhouette and face. Add an upper-left highlight and a darker lower edge using the two colors you reserved.
Opens a 16 × 16 canvas with the lesson's starting pixels. Your work saves in the Workspace.
05Check your result
Compare your own work with these checkpoints. Check each one when your result is ready.
Progress saves in this browser. No account needed.
06Continue learning
Keep these references handy
Pixel Art Shading Guide
Pixel art shading that reads: one light direction, connected shadow clusters, selective outlines and highlights placed where they tell a story.
What Is Dithering?
Dithering in pixel art explained: checkerboard blending, when it adds texture and depth, when it turns sprites into noise, and modern alternatives.