Daragh Carroll
@dkc1011.bsky.social
Full Time Software Developer, Part Time Pixel Artist and Games Developer.
Currently working on Castle Dornstein with Digital Mosaic Games 🏰 @digitalmosaicgames.bsky.social
He / Him 🇮🇪
Currently working on Castle Dornstein with Digital Mosaic Games 🏰 @digitalmosaicgames.bsky.social
He / Him 🇮🇪
BTS for this post I was making it in bed and got Kaitlyn to make a graphic for it on her ipad and she sent it back to me via Instagram
I found out today that IG doesn't give you a 'downloading' notification so I was mashing it like why no dl
Lil bro printing digital fliars ready to hit the streets
I found out today that IG doesn't give you a 'downloading' notification so I was mashing it like why no dl
Lil bro printing digital fliars ready to hit the streets
November 19, 2025 at 11:43 PM
BTS for this post I was making it in bed and got Kaitlyn to make a graphic for it on her ipad and she sent it back to me via Instagram
I found out today that IG doesn't give you a 'downloading' notification so I was mashing it like why no dl
Lil bro printing digital fliars ready to hit the streets
I found out today that IG doesn't give you a 'downloading' notification so I was mashing it like why no dl
Lil bro printing digital fliars ready to hit the streets
Moving house, no pixel art for the moment, rare physical sketches to scratch the art itch
August 6, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Moving house, no pixel art for the moment, rare physical sketches to scratch the art itch
I hope this thread has been somewhat helpful for anyone interested in learning Pixel Composer. Here's an overview of all of the nodes if seeing that helps.
For more Castle Dornstein news 👉: @digitalmosaicgames.bsky.social
#Tutorial #GameDev #PixelComposer #PixelArt #PointAndClick #Aseprite #NoAi
For more Castle Dornstein news 👉: @digitalmosaicgames.bsky.social
#Tutorial #GameDev #PixelComposer #PixelArt #PointAndClick #Aseprite #NoAi
July 24, 2025 at 9:57 AM
I hope this thread has been somewhat helpful for anyone interested in learning Pixel Composer. Here's an overview of all of the nodes if seeing that helps.
For more Castle Dornstein news 👉: @digitalmosaicgames.bsky.social
#Tutorial #GameDev #PixelComposer #PixelArt #PointAndClick #Aseprite #NoAi
For more Castle Dornstein news 👉: @digitalmosaicgames.bsky.social
#Tutorial #GameDev #PixelComposer #PixelArt #PointAndClick #Aseprite #NoAi
Then, to finish off, everything I have done above gets fed into a composite node that just combines the background, the animated hand and the burning book. I fiddled with the timings for a while, passed it through a Vignette node to give it a dark rim, and exported the frames back to Aseprite.
July 24, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Then, to finish off, everything I have done above gets fed into a composite node that just combines the background, the animated hand and the burning book. I fiddled with the timings for a while, passed it through a Vignette node to give it a dark rim, and exported the frames back to Aseprite.
That Particle was then combined with the original book using a Blend node. The Book is the background, The Particle Node from before is the foreground. I hide the particle until the frame I want the burning to start (It so happens, after the spark comes from the quill we made in a previous post)
July 24, 2025 at 9:57 AM
That Particle was then combined with the original book using a Blend node. The Book is the background, The Particle Node from before is the foreground. I hide the particle until the frame I want the burning to start (It so happens, after the spark comes from the quill we made in a previous post)
I used this expanding shape created in the Blend Node as the background for a particle. I spawn the fire particles around an animated path which simply extends with the edge of the shape.
See this video also by Makham for more on how to make fire in PixelComposer 👉:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP1N...
See this video also by Makham for more on how to make fire in PixelComposer 👉:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP1N...
July 24, 2025 at 9:57 AM
I used this expanding shape created in the Blend Node as the background for a particle. I spawn the fire particles around an animated path which simply extends with the edge of the shape.
See this video also by Makham for more on how to make fire in PixelComposer 👉:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP1N...
See this video also by Makham for more on how to make fire in PixelComposer 👉:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP1N...
I then added a Draw Shape node and animated it, just a simple diamond that grows, to act as the radius for the fire. I ran that through a blur node to soften the edges. That shape acted as a mask for blending the book, burnt texture and the book to slowly reveal a burned area.
July 24, 2025 at 9:57 AM
I then added a Draw Shape node and animated it, just a simple diamond that grows, to act as the radius for the fire. I ran that through a blur node to soften the edges. That shape acted as a mask for blending the book, burnt texture and the book to slowly reveal a burned area.
Great. Hand sorted. Now for the burning book...
I started by using the Book's shape as a mask for a Noise node, which just generates random pixels as noise. I coloured it to be darker as well. This is to represent the parts of the book that have already been burned. The black paged aftermath.
I started by using the Book's shape as a mask for a Noise node, which just generates random pixels as noise. I coloured it to be darker as well. This is to represent the parts of the book that have already been burned. The black paged aftermath.
July 24, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Great. Hand sorted. Now for the burning book...
I started by using the Book's shape as a mask for a Noise node, which just generates random pixels as noise. I coloured it to be darker as well. This is to represent the parts of the book that have already been burned. The black paged aftermath.
I started by using the Book's shape as a mask for a Noise node, which just generates random pixels as noise. I coloured it to be darker as well. This is to represent the parts of the book that have already been burned. The black paged aftermath.
I then animated the hand with some slight movement, and used a Particle node to generate a spark at the end of the quill for when the fire starts. The particles have a very slight gravity applied to them so they rise and fall slightly over their lifetime. They also fade out over time.
July 24, 2025 at 9:57 AM
I then animated the hand with some slight movement, and used a Particle node to generate a spark at the end of the quill for when the fire starts. The particles have a very slight gravity applied to them so they rise and fall slightly over their lifetime. They also fade out over time.
First, I dealt with the hand. I broke it up into layers by part so I could rig it with an armature. This gave me the freedom to rotate the arm and move the finger and thumb independently, as well as have the quill flop back and forth slightly if desired.
July 24, 2025 at 9:57 AM
First, I dealt with the hand. I broke it up into layers by part so I could rig it with an armature. This gave me the freedom to rotate the arm and move the finger and thumb independently, as well as have the quill flop back and forth slightly if desired.
I imported everything into Pixel Composer, which is Node based VFX software designed specifically for pixel art. It can take in Aseprite files directly, which are then broken by layer into individual Nodes to be edited.
More info here in Makham's video here 👉:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_MZ...
More info here in Makham's video here 👉:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_MZ...
July 24, 2025 at 9:57 AM
I imported everything into Pixel Composer, which is Node based VFX software designed specifically for pixel art. It can take in Aseprite files directly, which are then broken by layer into individual Nodes to be edited.
More info here in Makham's video here 👉:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_MZ...
More info here in Makham's video here 👉:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_MZ...
Then I started painting in Aseprite. All done free hand. I get the grainy look by painting in big blobs of flat colour, adding gradients between (using the darker colour with lowered opacity), and then using the Aseprite jumble tool in the transitions to create that pixel-ey dithered look.
July 24, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Then I started painting in Aseprite. All done free hand. I get the grainy look by painting in big blobs of flat colour, adding gradients between (using the darker colour with lowered opacity), and then using the Aseprite jumble tool in the transitions to create that pixel-ey dithered look.
All good closeups start with Reference and A Sketch. I didn't have an evil bible or a quill, so what you're seeing in the photo is my chubby little hands, an Ainsley Harriot cookbook with a printed Codex Gigas page on it, and a snake plant leaf wrapped around a pencil.
📸 @kaitfwhite.bsky.social
📸 @kaitfwhite.bsky.social
July 24, 2025 at 9:57 AM
All good closeups start with Reference and A Sketch. I didn't have an evil bible or a quill, so what you're seeing in the photo is my chubby little hands, an Ainsley Harriot cookbook with a printed Codex Gigas page on it, and a snake plant leaf wrapped around a pencil.
📸 @kaitfwhite.bsky.social
📸 @kaitfwhite.bsky.social
I wanted to make a thread explaining how I put together a complex closeup scene for our point and click adventure game, Castle Dornstein, using @aseprite.org and @makham.itch.io's excellent Pixel Composer.
This scene takes place about midway through the game. Pretty dramatic. Let's take a look 🧵👇
This scene takes place about midway through the game. Pretty dramatic. Let's take a look 🧵👇
July 24, 2025 at 9:57 AM
I wanted to make a thread explaining how I put together a complex closeup scene for our point and click adventure game, Castle Dornstein, using @aseprite.org and @makham.itch.io's excellent Pixel Composer.
This scene takes place about midway through the game. Pretty dramatic. Let's take a look 🧵👇
This scene takes place about midway through the game. Pretty dramatic. Let's take a look 🧵👇
He's a full time skeddadler
July 9, 2025 at 9:19 PM
He's a full time skeddadler
A little cozy scene I've been working on for Castle Dornstein <3 (Also just wanted to test how Screen2Gif worked for exporting to blusky, huge win!)
July 1, 2025 at 9:25 PM
A little cozy scene I've been working on for Castle Dornstein <3 (Also just wanted to test how Screen2Gif worked for exporting to blusky, huge win!)
The last two pages are dedicated to the Teaser Trailer which was released in June 2020. I'm still immensely proud of the hand drawn animation in this trailer, but it makes sense that the game has taken so long when I let myself be distracted by such things!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuNp...
8/9
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuNp...
8/9
June 15, 2025 at 1:38 PM
The last two pages are dedicated to the Teaser Trailer which was released in June 2020. I'm still immensely proud of the hand drawn animation in this trailer, but it makes sense that the game has taken so long when I let myself be distracted by such things!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuNp...
8/9
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuNp...
8/9
These are an addition from the past year which are a heap of fun to do, POV Shots! Getting to look through Hemlock's eyes makes a huge difference I feel. Fun fact, the deer's head is based on a real Buck head I saw in Muckross House in Killarney! We did many such research trips to old estates
7/9
7/9
June 15, 2025 at 1:38 PM
These are an addition from the past year which are a heap of fun to do, POV Shots! Getting to look through Hemlock's eyes makes a huge difference I feel. Fun fact, the deer's head is based on a real Buck head I saw in Muckross House in Killarney! We did many such research trips to old estates
7/9
7/9
A few more pages in the same vain! I was hugely overwhelmed when I started the project, there's something like 50 unique backgrounds in the game. Always break it down into the smallest possible unit of work for yourself. Block out the shapes first and the rest will fall into place.
6/9
6/9
June 15, 2025 at 1:38 PM
A few more pages in the same vain! I was hugely overwhelmed when I started the project, there's something like 50 unique backgrounds in the game. Always break it down into the smallest possible unit of work for yourself. Block out the shapes first and the rest will fall into place.
6/9
6/9
These pages illustrate a point that may be useful to adventure game devs. I think the biggest hurdle starting a project is realizing just how many backgrounds you need to draw. Doing a pre-viz setup like I describe here was hugely helpful as Vince can implement while we work on the details.
5/8
5/8
June 15, 2025 at 1:38 PM
These pages illustrate a point that may be useful to adventure game devs. I think the biggest hurdle starting a project is realizing just how many backgrounds you need to draw. Doing a pre-viz setup like I describe here was hugely helpful as Vince can implement while we work on the details.
5/8
5/8
These pages look at the animation process somewhat. Every frame of animation in Castle Dornstein is drawn by a human hand, specifically my sausage-y fingers. There are some I'm immensely proud of, some less so! I've had to come to terms with a flawed product, but I think its better for it.
4/8
4/8
June 15, 2025 at 1:38 PM
These pages look at the animation process somewhat. Every frame of animation in Castle Dornstein is drawn by a human hand, specifically my sausage-y fingers. There are some I'm immensely proud of, some less so! I've had to come to terms with a flawed product, but I think its better for it.
4/8
4/8
These pages describe some of the earliest development of the game's style in pixel art. Its a really fun process to build out a style for a game like this and to really interrogate your inspirations. Its been so long!
3/8
3/8
June 15, 2025 at 1:38 PM
These pages describe some of the earliest development of the game's style in pixel art. Its a really fun process to build out a style for a game like this and to really interrogate your inspirations. Its been so long!
3/8
3/8