Pocket Monsters Inc. (The General Spriting Thread)

[Wave⁂]

So I discovered today (very possibly unoriginally) that all you have to do to make a higher quality looking sprite is to blur where different shades of the same color meet. Not a big deal, but I find it pretty entertaining and it can come out looking pretty cool.
Before and after:

I did those pretty carelessly so don't hate.

Did you do this through Photoshop? I'm pretty sure Paint.NET's built-in filters don't have very precise blur options. Maybe Gimp?

 

[Tacel]

I used Photoshop Elements, but I'm pretty sure GIMP has a blurring tool that's decent. I've never used Paint.NET because I'm on a Mac.

 

[Firus]

Wow, that's actually a really nifty technique. I don't sprite much at all anymore, but I'll keep that in mind in the future. Makes for a very nice effect in the sprites.

Thanks for sharing your findings.

 

[Spire]

There's a sanctity to preserving the pixels, but this blurring effect is beautiful, adding a very subtle layer of realism to these cartoon monsters. Gengar looks fantastic.

Also: best gravedigging I've seen in a long time. Well, I guess this was only dead for a few months. Regardless, the CPS will live forever!