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I kinda want to move away from pixelart for my next project.
My idea is to draw my character in a higher resolution and then animate it in spriter/spine.
Would you recommend using illustrator (can see the benefits of vectors, although I dont really like the clean and shiny mobile look most of those graphics have) or should i use photoshop which allows me to use textures and effects, but has less tools for actually drawing?
Or is there a other tool that is widely used for computer graphics that i'
m not aware of?
generally speaking, what would be best is determined by what you're actually trying to make and what you're used to.
vector graphics can be done in illustrator, inkscape (if thats still a thing), and technically alchemy but that's more of a ink-blot abstract art program.
general-purpose artmaking can be done with photoshop and GIMP.
more painting-centric programs are krita, paint tool sai, mediBang, corel painter, mypaint, and technically artrage but im not sure if youd be able to transfer whatever you draw in there easily, etc. there's a lot.
and i think paint.net is still around if you want something like MSPaint but with transparency and AA.
most people use a mix of programs to get what they want, btw. so get whatever you need rather than trying to stick with just one. im not sure what you mean by format.
One more option is to render parts of your graphics in a 3d application like Blender. The final renders can be post-processed for all sorts of effects, and Blender itself allows the artist to render cell-shaded line art as well. It may save a tremendous amount of time, because high resolution graphics take exponentially more time to create compared to simple(r) pixel art. As a matter of fact, many comic book artists and smaller game studios/indies use similar methods to speed up art assets creation. Works very well for background elements.
If you're working by yourself take any shortcut you can, I'd say.
Gimp 2 can do everything Photoshop does for free. It's what I use 95% of the time to create digital artwork.
Inkscape is also a worthy free substitute to Illustrator, and I believe it has the same amount of features.
The thing that connects Illustrator & Photoshop (which have the same amount of features, mind you) to me specifically is:
I've used both programs. They make me livid.
The complexity is overkill for people just looking to make something without hassle. There's an extreme level of sub-menu surfing that's a turn-off.
They're expensive, and I really think they're overrated.
I suggest you try out alternatives before using those programs, but know that GameMaker 2 has trouble accepting vector graphics from other programs that are not Illustrator, and the like.
The only 3D program I know that contains 0 BS is Autodesk 123D Design, which is 100% free, but has been discontinued by Autodesk. It's not really good for "modeling", but if you're able to slice and dice objects you may pull it off. That kind of thing is far too inefficient however, and Design's strength is structure construction, such as vehicles, robotics, or buildings. Since it's been pretty much forgotten by Autodesk you'll have to hunt for the download link.
I would offer a hefty vote of support in favour of Inkscape if you're intending to go down the vector path; it's (to my knowledge and use) every bit as powerful as Illustrator, yet simpler to use and completely free. It also has the option to export to non-vector based formats.
If you're looking for a raster based editor, both Photoshop and Pain.net have their own strengths and weaknesses. If your program requires 'glowy' aesthetics PS may be preferable because the layer fxs are more developed than pain.net, though I would suggest in favour of using gaussian blur anyway (which from memory both utilities can use). At the same time, Paint.net has a realy handy palette tool that is much more accessible than Photoshop's colour tools.
If you're planning to use static backgrounds and the like, it might be worth investing in Open Canvas. That has a very handy tool that allows you to 'peg' your drawing to a ruler / stencil, simulating 2pt, 1pt or 3 point perspective, which makes illustrating rooms and backgrouns (particularly for visual novels and the like) much more fail safe.
I'd be interest to know if you turn up any new programs!
It can work well, though I'm not sure my skills are up to it!
Mainly interested in available software (free or paid), and peoples experiences with them. Any small examples done in those packages would be great (in that spirit, attached an Inkscape example of a boss I sketched, created in Inkscape then ported into game last week).
i'm not sure if you're looking for vector or raster based programs.
based on my experiences using them for short periods of time...
Artrage - probably useless for game development, and imo is outclassed by more modern programs in simulating traditional media anyway. you'll still find it pop up when you search "art programs" and stuff though. but basically, it's major problem is that its really limited.
Alchemy - unless you're making a game with experimental graphics this is probably useless. BUT, ive used it and i do know it can be useful for coming up with unique shapes and whatnot if you need help with character design and stuff. so worth grabbing purely for that if that's up your alley.
Fire Alpaca - somewhere between Krita and Paint.NET. i found it a bit too basic for my tastes but at the time i was used to GIMP then Photoshop, it is a big step down from that imo. i think it's more suited to anime or cartoons. does come with interesting mirror and grid functions though. (e.g. want to make a circle? you can set a path and simply trace it, the brush will automatically "cling" to this path letting you draw a perfect circle with no effort.)
MediBang - imo this is basically Fire Alpaca but with anime comic templates and tools, also has some good mirror, grid, perspective, and other things like that.
Paint 3D - crashes a lot, but its probably already on your computer if youve got Windows. (^=
MyPaint - i don't know if these software still exists but i used to come across people who would swear by it. it sports an infinite canvas but is sorely outclassed by like everything imo. basically MSPaint with GIMP-like brushes. pretty useless for game development imo.
Paint Tool SAI - mostly used for animu, but honestly you can use it for general purpose painting IF you can figure out to work the ing brush system. lordy is it aggravating (for me, at least). has brush stabilizers and . also has the best canvas rotation ive come across thus far, meaning if you need to tilt your "paper" while you draw you'll have an easier time with this than any other program.
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and some that i've worked with more closely...
examples...i really don't like posting art, and none of these are intended for use in game but rather concept art for mods and environments (except the first one, idk what the hell it is) but i happen to be in a position to offer artwork from diverse origins and hopefully show a bit of what the programs can do.
thus just in case there's a lack of availability in satisfying to your question, these may be fractionally beneficial to you and others here in search of a program to accommodate your needs but can and certainly shall be removed if this is grossly missing the point of your request. (just let me know).
ok so...this is from 2009 and thus cannot possibly showcase the program's abilities quite as well as id like but it is all i got, unfortunately.
that being said, this is a great program for producing simple artworks imo, and it's far better to go with this than, say, photoshop if thats all you're looking for. to save yourself the bloat, i mean.
this is also one of the few programs you can use comfortably without a drawing tablet, so its just better in general if you want something simple and nice.
Sketchbook is weird because it can produce high-detail art but tbh i find it more suited for something looser, like a compromise between simple cartoons and high-detail artwork.
basically requires a drawing tablet tho.
i don't have anything that showcases more game-specific usage, i apologize. i used GIMP for years but i cannot seem to find anything. GIMP can do anything from cartoons to highly detailed work, however, so hopefully this at least shows its not too limited or anything like some other programs. can export animated .GIFs.
it is a bit difficult to work with, many people find the UI terrible and clunky. i also could not get GIMP to actually work with a tablet when i got one, so at least in my experience everything had to be drawn with my trackpad (or a mouse, if you have one).
however, GIMP does indeed have pathing tools where you don't have to rely on a freehand brush tool. these are especially excellent for cartoons.
well, it's photoshop. it has a lot of brushes, a lot of textures, tons of places to get more brushes and textures, filters to give your work a little spice, and plugins. can export animated .GIFs. very slow and eats up tons of memory for even artworks of modest size, though, so you might find it difficult to work with on a weak computer.
basically the same deal as GIMP in regards to usage, you have a pathing tool and stuff but it actually does work with tablets in my experience.
Krita can basically achieve the levels of detail that GIMP and Photoshop can with the same amount of ease, and maintains the diversity of being suitable for cartoony styles as well as more realistic styles. however, it lacks the extensive filter and plugin system found in photoshop. also, it really likes transparency and i don't think there's an easy way to lock alpha. but that doesn't normally matter for spritework so...yea. also has a few different layer types, masking, and so on like Photoshop.
i have no idea if Krita has a path tool, but it does have brush stabilizers iirc so if you have a shaky hand you can get assistance in creating smooth lines. which would be helpful for certain types of sprites. i have no idea how to turn it on tho so ive never used it to test its quality.
i hope this might help pique your interest in one or more of these programs.
I combine Photoshop (raster based) + illustrator (vector based). I use both for all of my graphic designs for years since i was recommended to use both of them at the university years ago, that's why i hardly use the built in GMS image editor, instead of just importing the files created using the external image editors.
Some artists (me sometimes) also prefer using Wacom stylus pen to help a part of or the whole process which is faster and cleaner to do, than by doing the sketch manually on a paper or drawing/coloring with a mouse.
Some professionals i know also use iPad Pro to draw their non pixel art style of graphics. Some other people i know also still use traditional tools and still able to produce outstanding work. I always think it is not the tool that matters the most, but the creative (+hard working) person behind the tool (gun). If we invest our time to use our desired tools for long time, we are good at doing it using our favorite tools automatically.
I use Affinity Designer for all my game projects. I used Illustrator but when Adobe went monthly and since I wasn't doing any money with illustrations I tried something else. Affinity is paid but it's not expensive and you pay only once. Now I won't go back to Illustrator...
I use Affinity Designer for all my game projects. I used Illustrator but when Adobe went monthly and since I wasn't doing any money with illustrations I tried something else. Affinity is paid but it's not expensive and you pay only once. Now I won't go back to Illustrator...
Surprised to see no-one mentioned Gravit Designer yet. It's a free Illustrator/Affinity Designer alternative that is very simple to use, and reminds me a bit of how Fireworks and Freehand worked (Gravit Designer is actually the spiritual child of those old Macromedia applications). The export options are great, and it is easy to set up. I have been integrating it more and more in my pipeline.
Can be used online as well as offline. Mac, Linux, Windows. There's even a ChromeOS edition available.
I left Adobe products years and years ago. Renting software is just a bad idea in the long run, and at the end you are left with nothing, unless you keep paying.
A good Photoshop replacement (minus animation, 3d, and video) is PhotoLine. I prefer this over either Affinity Photo or Gimp. The beauty of PhotoLine is that it also supports real vector layers, smart objects, and its workflow is mostly non-destructive. Gimp is much too limited, but I use it as a kind-of plugin for PhotoLine, which allows me to set up Gimp as an external application. Same for InkScape: I can send layers from PhotoLine to Inkscape, work on them with specific Inkscape effects and options, and then send it back to PhotoLine. It's a pretty powerful and convenient workflow.
For indexed pixel art I use ProMotion NG. Nothing else compares (well, Asesprite is quite nice too, but that pixel GUI drives me insane) for pixel art creation. It's the "Photoshop industry standard" for pixel art.
3d work I do in Blender. Free, and incredibly powerful - more powerful than some of the commercial alternatives, or on par with them for the most part.
For animation/digital painting I use OpenToonz, ClipStudio, and Krita. For video editing and FX the free versions of Davinci Resolve and Fusion, Natron, and Blender.
Yeah, and this was mentioned before, I wouldn't be able to do anything without my Wacom Pro Large.
