How to create your own sprites

[dercheezle]

It is actually much easier to create sprites than most people think. Here's what you do:

1. Open up a photoshop or macromedia fireworks program and create a new file.

2. Set the resolution really low (I usually go around 40 pixels per inch)

3. Set the artboard size (the image size) really low, in pixels. Like 32 x 32.

4. Set the background color to transparent.

5. Open up the file and zoom in a lot, as the artboard is probably really small.

6. Select any pencil or brush tool and set its diameter to about 1 pixel.

7. Start drawing your sprite! Yay, the fun part! :)

8. Save your file to a .PNG (it has to be a .PNG because that's the only flash-compatible,
transparency-enabled bitmap file format.)

9. Import the sprite into your version of flash and make your own sprite movie / game, and have fun!

Here's an example of one of my sprites:
(*note* if it appears really small, then its resolution is goofed up.)

[crazerfish50]

....uumm...orry, but...you didn't tell us ANYTHING on how to make a sprite....

[narf]

i have to draw at a low res?!!! Damn i knew i was doing something wrong, thanks dude :)

[dercheezle]

uhh, oops. :(

well, I really was just telling people how to set up the programs for making sprites and how to save them correctly. But you have a point...

OK!

To actually start drawing a sprite, I greatly suggest:

1. You either start with a stick-figure to help you get the general shape and structure down.
OR- 1.5 Scan and paste a drawing you or someone else made into your file as a base.

2. Then make a simple outline of your sprite and its shapes in black. This gives you a good structure to
work with.

3. Fill in the sprite with simple base colors.

4. For parts you want to be shiny: add little areas of lighter color on the sprite's parts that are facing the light source.

5. For part syou want to be shaded:
a.) for lighter shading: make a checkerboard pattern of darker colors on the parts you want to be lightly shaded.
b.) for darker shading: simply fill in the area with a darker color (than its base).

I hope that that satisfies you. Just remember that i'm NOT an expert on this or anything, I just know how to do it and i thought that some sprite movie makers might like to know how to do their own sprites.

Here's another one of mine:

[dercheezle]

Everyone, feel free to showcase your sprites as well! :)

[dodo-man-1]

I don't have any Photoshop programs! I only have MS Paint!

[TurkeyOnAStick]

The tutorial I'm using. Whoever gave me the link is a godsend.

And for quick and easy backgrounds in Photoshop, nick photos off the web, put em together, Posterize then fix colours and shit.

[EkkieBurt]

This thread is pretty damn pointless. Plus the pixel art isn't anything to rave about, except for Toasts piece.

[dercheezle]

I never said my art was good at all. I'm just trying to tell people who don't know how to create sprites how to do it.

[StoneColdSoul]

No, just no.

[BlackmarketKraig]

At 9/30/07 02:13 PM, StoneColdSoul wrote: No, just no.

Thanks for the insight. Really, your posts are like gold.