Creating Tilesets and Sprites Newbie Query

[elements-dev]

So I decided to jump ship from game maker studio to rpg maker instead because my art skills are limited and my available time even more so. I'd like to use some of the available tilesets to save time but I want to make my own sprites and objects from time to time. It seems one item block is 32x32 in XP, and the sprites are the same height.


My question is, how do experienced peeps go about getting enough detail and enough of a natural look in terms of curved areas for hair and body etc. with such a small resolution? Do you start bigger and then rescale your sprites/objects? Obviously there will be a learning curve, I'd just like to know. Any cheap program recommendations for creating sprites and tilesets would also be appreciated!

 

[Shaz]

Going to move this to Art, Literature and Music, because it's got nothing to do with game mechanics, and the resource forums are really about providing/requesting resources.


In XP, the tiles are 32x32 but the characters are 32x48 by default.  Characters can be any size really - smaller or larger.  If you look around, you might be able to find some character bases that are available for use.  There's also Game Character Hub which is a character generator and does XP-default-sized sprites.  Might be worth checking out if that's included in the sale that's currently running (I know there are discounts on the engines and on resources, but I'm not sure if GCH is included)

 

[Sharm]

One of the advantages of pixel art is the crisp and defined look of something with a very small amount of information.  Because every single pixel is chosen with care, each pixel is also clear and important.  Sizing things down at a small resolution won't get you that look, and sometimes will result in something blurrier than what you would get if drawing at the actual size.  This is part of the reason why MV, even with the larger resolution, still uses pixel art for the sprites.  XP only uses pixel art, so if you try something else it won't match in style.


Getting detail into small areas is an interesting struggle.  It has a lot more to do with what a thing looks like than what a thing is, and there's a lot of implying.  Hair for example.  Trying to draw individual strands will define what it is, but you'll end up with a mess that isn't at all what hair looks like.  So look at some hair.  What makes it look like hair?  The drape?  The shine?  Where the strands clump together and split apart?  What about those things implies other things?  How does a shine imply smoothness while at the same time showing that it's not one solid mass?  Don't be afraid to look at pixel examples as well, see how other people solved the same problems.  Don't copy, you'll want to look up lots of different solutions and come up with your own, but also don't feel like you have to reinvent the wheel.


Another thing to keep in mind is that sometimes there just isn't room for everything.  You'll want to show or imply anything really important, but there are a lot of things that you just won't be able to show in a sprite.  Sometimes that means dropping information, and sometimes that means actually altering things to be simpler just so that the sprite isn't too jammed with information.

 

[elements-dev]

One of the advantages of pixel art is the crisp and defined look of something with a very small amount of information.  Because every single pixel is chosen with care, each pixel is also clear and important.  Sizing things down at a small resolution won't get you that look, and sometimes will result in something blurrier than what you would get if drawing at the actual size.  This is part of the reason why MV, even with the larger resolution, still uses pixel art for the sprites.  XP only uses pixel art, so if you try something else it won't match in style.


Getting detail into small areas is an interesting struggle.  It has a lot more to do with what a thing looks like than what a thing is, and there's a lot of implying.  Hair for example.  Trying to draw individual strands will define what it is, but you'll end up with a mess that isn't at all what hair looks like.  So look at some hair.  What makes it look like hair?  The drape?  The shine?  Where the strands clump together and split apart?  What about those things implies other things?  How does a shine imply smoothness while at the same time showing that it's not one solid mass?  Don't be afraid to look at pixel examples as well, see how other people solved the same problems.  Don't copy, you'll want to look up lots of different solutions and come up with your own, but also don't feel like you have to reinvent the wheel.


Another thing to keep in mind is that sometimes there just isn't room for everything.  You'll want to show or imply anything really important, but there are a lot of things that you just won't be able to show in a sprite.  Sometimes that means dropping information, and sometimes that means actually altering things to be simpler just so that the sprite isn't too jammed with information.

thanks! this really answers my main issue