Looking for a pixel artist to create some kick ass game art for your next project? or maybe you’re looking for game sound effects? Well, in this article I’m going to share some pretty useful online resources that I stumbled upon over the last few years.

Pixel Artists

The two sources I mainly use for finding pixel artists are:

• pixelation.org
• artstation.com

Pixelation has a community forum where you can post threads for job recruitment or showcasing your game…and some other things but that’s mainly what I use it for. Artstation does not have a community forum but you can browse artists portfolios, follow artists and interact with artists through the comments system. Each of these sites is worth exploring if you’re serious about finding pixel artists for your game projects.

Sound Effects

When it comes to sound effects i mainly use the following sites to find foley or 16-bit retro sfx:

• pond5.com
• zapsplat.com
• soundrangers.com
• assetstore.unity.com
• gamedevmarket.net

Pond5 has a pretty good library of foley effects and the price for an individual effect varies but they also have a subscription plan. Zapsplat is similar to Pond5 and even though the selection isn’t as good its entirely free. Soundrangers has been around for a long time and even though there website hasn’t been updated in decades they still offer a decent library of sound effects. The Unity Asset store offers some pretty good retro sound packs and foley packs for reasonable prices and Gamedev Market also has some pretty good sound packs as well.

Free/Affordable Resources

If you’re on a tight budget, or need some temporary graphics for your game prototype, then check out the following sites for free/affordable pixel art and sound effects:

• opengameart.org
• gamedevmarket.net

OpenGameArt is a decent website if you’re looking for free artwork and sound effects but don’t expect to find anything mind blowing and GameDevMarket is a good choice if you need game art for a prototype or a low budget game.

Online Forums

If you’re looking to promote your game online there are some good online forums you can check out:

• forums.tigsource.com
• pixelation.org
• gamedev.net

TIG Forums has been around for a while and it has a pretty large community of indie game devs so if you’re looking to spread the word of your new game then definitely join this community. And as I mentioned earlier in this article Pixelation is another great source for promoting your game with like minded individuals who share a passion for pixel art.

Well that’s it for now…but ill most likely make updates to this article sometime in the future as I stumble upon more useful resources.

Cheers!