Tutorial on Anti-Aliasing(AAing)

[DustyPorViva]

Ok, this is going to be mainly directed to "pure-pixelists" because, well, there is a tool to do it with programs.

So, let us carry on.

Anti-Aliasing, now going to be referred to as AAing, is used to smooth out two contrasting colors, and make them easy on the eyes.

Step one:

I've made an example of something that is in desperate need of AA.


Look at how harsh that black looks against that easy white. It almost hurts to see those rough corners.

Step two:

Maybe some people, that saw a picture that used AA, will try it, but not really understand the logic of it, will try it.
They might end up with this.


Hmm, you gave it a 50% mixed outline. Nah, that's not working.
It doesn't make it any smoother, just extends the harshness one more pixel in width.

Step three:

Let's get onto how we actually do AAing.
You'll want to get some color selection, that ranges in a mix of the two colors. In this case, grey will be fitting.
Now that you know what your going to be using, lets get on to using it.
The main things that give that rough edge are those protruding edges. That is your main aim here. Find them and take that mid-color, and stretch it from the darker color, to the lighter. BUT, do not bring it to the edge. leave maybe one pixel if it's short, if it's a long line, just draw it half-way.

Here is how the corners should look:


And the image as a whole:


If your limiting color count, and only want to use 1 color for the AAing, make sure you get a 50% mixed color between the two.

Otherwise...

You can choose a gradient of colors between the two.
75%, 50%, 25% and so on.

This always helps it look smoother.



And here is how you go about doing that:

Take the old AAing you did, with the single 50% color, and change that to the lesser color your using now.
In this example I used 25% grey. Now, take the next color you plan on using(darker) and perform an interior AA of the previous AAing and darker color.



This gives an even smoother transition.

I guess that concludes this tutorial. I can't get into the technical spefications of AAing, such as gamma, because I am unaware of them. But even without knowing that, you can still pull it off with an artist's eye.

Any questions?
I hope this helps. I know AAing really should be used more often.