How do you make sprites?

[LucasJay]

Hey guys. I was wondering, how do you make sprites?
Im sorta a bad artist. But i wanna learn how to make sprites.
Here is a sample of my art:

yes thats a real game. I made it. if you wanna play it you need 2 things...
1. PM me
2. you have to have game maker 8.0

So could someone make a tutuorial or tell me how please? thanks

[Singidava]

In my very limited experience making sprites can be very different depending what kind of game you're going to use them in. It's not only the size that changes. In some games you must edit the palette too and work with indexed colour -mode. So if you don't specify what kind of game you're going to make them for, I can't help you.

[Singapore123]

I know there is a thread on the French section.
I can translate for you.
You want to know how to animate sprites or animate custom sprites?(In GIMP.)

[ThePaSch]

Hey guys. I was wondering, how do you make sprites?

First of all, don't use paint if you neither have a graphics tablet, nor want to pixel-edit. If you want to pixel-edit, you can use paint if you want.
Then, there's a nice thread on the CR forums. I'll just leave the link here.
http://forums.court-records.net/sprites ... t3931.html

[Mr. Incognito]

First of all, don't use paint

You don't know what you're talking about.
Also, making sprites = pixel editing.

[paradoxinparticles]

First of all, don't use paint

You don't know what you're talking about.
Also, making sprites = pixel editing.

I think he means pixel-by-pixel editing. Since Paint is so straightforward, you have to edit pixel-by-pixel (which gets rough when you need fading edges for things). Other graphics programs can do that for you, but very few of them are free.
I use RealWorld Paint right now, but I think before the end of the summer I'll shell out the bucks for Adobe PS8. Free programs are okay, but nothing really beats a professional one...and you have to pay for those.

[Mr. Incognito]

fading edges? Oh please.
pshh...Don't use automated gimmicks when creating sprites.
This just ruins the sprite itself, Brush tools, blur tools, all the same crap.
Gs sprites are crisp and clean, not brushed/faded. etc.

Seriously, It doesn't matter what program you use, for GS sprites. Paint will do just fine.

The program doesn't make the sprite good, it's the skill of the user.

[Broocevelt]

I work by pixel-art.

Paint is good, indeed, but it isn't enough to make really good sprites EASILY.
It just hasn't got enough tools, and its useability is... somehow low. And you can only cancel changes 3 times. If you made it 4 clicks ago, you're screwed.

I work with Easy GIF Animator, which I think it's by far one of the best editors you can find, if we don't talk about GIMP.
I recommend you work by pixel-art. Long, but effective.

The technique is, take a pre-made sprite with a similar style about what you want your sprite to be. (When I talk about styles, Style means "TWEWY"/"AA"/"Trauma Center" styles, etc...)
Then see the borders of it's inner and outer lines, see how they are made.
Then you can start making a base, and add the details using the technique of the sprite you saw

[Mr. Incognito]

Really? You people keep dismissing paint so easily?

Ok, fine then.
How about this, show me one of your sprites you've done in your "superior' program of choice.
And I'll show you something I made solely in paint.

Let's say, a character sprite.

[Broocevelt]

Can you make a DA trucy with paint? Just asking.

Normal - No Talk


Normal - Talk


Serious - No Talk


Serious - Talk


Think - No Talk


Think - Talk


These are prety old, though...

[Mr. Incognito]

It may not be a flipped Trucy, but here you go, a DA Grossberg.

Spoiler : :

[Broocevelt]

(Forgot you are Ceres )

Yes, but the problem is that with paint, you have to work frame by frame, but I mean more than seperately.
You can't really interact between frames, unless you have hundreds of opened windows.
With Gif editors/animators, you can easily interact with frames, copy/paste sections, and most important, make transparence around the sections you cut, instead of cutting the square and having to fill the corners of your selection.
Most important, less work, seeing as you are working in the animation itself, and not in independent frames, that you will have to import later.
Helps also to see easily how your anim looks like.

[Trybien]

I personally think it doesn't matter which one you use, it just depends what you work with best.

Spoiler : off topic :

You need to finish some more trucy sprites for twaa

[Mimi]

I use paint to edit sprites because I don't know how to use photoshop or those fancy programs. Problem is, they're stills. I do that old fashioned pixel editing... it's not that hard to mimic the "brush/fade" effect... unless you're doing the entire body, yeah...

[Wooper]

*great revival plays*

I personally use pain for the basic sturcture of the sprite (outline, base colors, etc.). I find it easier to do than in gimp or most other programs (haven't tried them all, but I still prefer to stick with paint for that). It's also easier to apply shading GS style in paint, where you can use the backet fill to fill in just one color, unlike in GIMP where you have to select by color and carefully go over the section you want shaded. However, I do use gimp for a few things. One of which is to make the colors blend together better. I'm pretty sure that in GS4/Apollo Justice they use blur effects in their sprites, so I've been doing that, but not overdoing it. I also use it to animate, since you can't exactly do that in paint. Hpwever, I still think that paint is a viable tool that has many usees and is easier to use sometimes than GIMP.