How do I make sprites like the ones in Megaman X, Megaman 9, etc.?
Author
I want to make a 2d game as a start in game programming.
For this game I need sprites and I thought: "Why not making them myself!" The Problem is: I don''t know how to do such high detailed sprites like those in the Megaman-games for the SNES! I know how to make them with a 3D Programm but I want this natural look for the sprites!(My main problem is that I can''t draw the same guy/thing in two different actions without having the guy/thing not looking like its counterpart...)
Can anyone give me some hints on creating this kind of sprites?(Are they drawn on paper first?)
skrwX
They are pixeled (that is, drawn pixel by pixel)
The artist starts out with blobs of color, then refines the blobs of color until it has the basic shape he wants.. then he keeps refining them.. adding more details.. and anti-aliasing (by hand!) until it has the desired look
then to create more frames of the animation, the artist would take the picture from the last frame, and only change the parts that need changing (ie.. move one leg forward a little or whatever)
it takes a lot of talent.. i''ve watched it being done.. but I can''t do it myself :/
The artist starts out with blobs of color, then refines the blobs of color until it has the basic shape he wants.. then he keeps refining them.. adding more details.. and anti-aliasing (by hand!) until it has the desired look
then to create more frames of the animation, the artist would take the picture from the last frame, and only change the parts that need changing (ie.. move one leg forward a little or whatever)
it takes a lot of talent.. i''ve watched it being done.. but I can''t do it myself :/
Hmm what do mean by "natural look for the sprites" Do you mean you want them to look cartoonish? If that''s the case most 3D packages can produce that type of look. Just animate the character the way you want him/her/it to be and render with some type of flat shading. You could always take the individual images and process them by hand after rendering. Just my 0.0000002 cents worth. I hope that helps a bit.
When doing little character animations for shoot ´em ups it´s much easier doing your characters by hand because (if you look at Megaman for instance) you don´t need a lot of frames. Especially the old SNES games never had more than 6 frames for a running character. If you want it to look smooth and nice I would suggest you use about twelve frames. (You could use one of the animations that comes with the Animation shop as a starting point)
Just scale ´em down and draw over them. It works ok and you can get results fast.
As for the other stuff (shooting, jumping ... ) you have to do that by hand but these aren´t many frames, so I guess you should be set within a day or two. Just don`t lose patience.
Just scale ´em down and draw over them. It works ok and you can get results fast.
As for the other stuff (shooting, jumping ... ) you have to do that by hand but these aren´t many frames, so I guess you should be set within a day or two. Just don`t lose patience.
http://cosmigo.com/promotion/
Fantastically good utility for drawing classic ''16 bit'' sprites, (that I use for commercial work), unfortunately it has a few rather essential disabled features, tho'' it only costs $60 and it''s the best package I''ve come across.
It also has a lightbox feature, which though it wont compensate for your commented lack of drawing skills, it certainly will make things easier.
Rest begards,
On Off
Fantastically good utility for drawing classic ''16 bit'' sprites, (that I use for commercial work), unfortunately it has a few rather essential disabled features, tho'' it only costs $60 and it''s the best package I''ve come across.
It also has a lightbox feature, which though it wont compensate for your commented lack of drawing skills, it certainly will make things easier.
Rest begards,
On Off
DeluxeAnimate - the animation version of DeluxePaint was the tool of choice for over five years.
There are times when I miss that old warhorse.
$0.02
There are times when I miss that old warhorse.
$0.02
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