Hello, I am new here and trying to create my first directX game. I know how to program the game I want and use Sprites with Alpha Blending. But, what I can't figure out is the other aspect of the game development, graphics. How do I create an image of something that I want to make and provide animations? Is there a specific program that is used to create graphics? I tried using GIMP to make a spaceship, but did not turn out so well :). I would like just to make a 2D image that has highlights for a sense of light, and a shadow. Any advice on graphics and animations and how to make things from scratch? Regards, Adjutor

Quote:Original post by Adjutor
I am new here and trying to create my first directX game. I know how to program the game I want and use Sprites with Alpha Blending. But, what I can't figure out is the other aspect of the game development, graphics. How do I create an image of something that I want to make and provide animations? Is there a specific program that is used to create graphics? I tried using GIMP to make a spaceship, but did not turn out so well :). I would like just to make a 2D image that has highlights for a sense of light, and a shadow. Any advice on graphics and animations and how to make things from scratch?

You can use any program, I'm a fan of Paint.NET myself.

2D animation is often done by creating several frames on a single image, and then just using a portion of the texture to actually render.

For shadows, you can either embed the shadow in the image (A 50% alpha'd part of the sprite or something), or you could make it a totally separate sprite - that'd allow you to move the shadow independently - for instance for a 2D platformer you'd probably want the shadow to be a separate sprite so you can keep the shadow on the ground below the player when they jump.

Hello Evil Steve :),

Thank you for the reply. I downloaded the program you suggested, looks nice, simpler too. The problem for me is I would like to make the image, but I have a hard time to make things look right. Basically, I can't draw. I think I'm wording stuff the wrong way, but I have my "idea" of what I need to draw, but I just can't actually draw it and have it look good, 2D, with highlights. Here is an image I found, which I would consider "ideal":

http://www.tutorialhero.com/click-35208-space_ship.php

And here is my "attempted" spaceship:

http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr290/Adjutor_msdn/spaceship_04.png

Anyway to make things look right?

Regards,
Adjutor

I'll move this topic to the Visual Arts forum, you should be able to get a better response there about different techniques for doing art.

Ok, thank you.

Regards,
Adjutor

"How to make stuff look right" is a pretty deep question, you know. I can only say that so far your biggest problem seems to be lack of painting skill - the edges are not straight, the highlights/shadows aren't well executed, etc. The best way to fix this is to use a vector drawing program. It will take care of making lines and polygons with straight edges for you (all you have to do is click to plot points), and it will also take care of shading for you when you use gradients. Thus, while your graphics still will not look ideal (vector art takes a lot of skill also), it should be noticably better. I believe GIMP should have some vector drawing tools, but not having used it for several years, I don't know the specifics.

Also, I think I recall seeing an article in the Arts section that said an easy way to make good looking art for beginners is to draw in very high resolution and then scale down, which will smooth out messy curves and shading.

If I were you, I would also try to draw by hand first and then scan and paint over digitally instead of going digital from scratch.

I don't think GIMP has any support for vector drawing, but what it does have is paths. You can drag around arbitrary curves until you are happy with the line, and then have the program fill in some pixels underneath. Very useful.

You should also consider which you prefer: programming or art. Focus on one to begin with. The study of either will take you several years to get right.

If you choose programming, then just grab some art from websites that offer them up for free. Then spend all your time programming.

If you choose art, then just grab an engine that you can easily mod. Then spend all your time learning & practicing art.

It's no coincidence that the programmer and the artist of a game are only rarely the same person. Very few people are good at both (probably mainly to do with how long it takes to train for either [smile])

-me