Graphic design advice

Community Forums/General Help/Graphic design advice

Xerra(Posted 2015) [#1]
I've been messing with Blitz for years but I'm devoid of any artistic talent whatsoever, and have very limited knowledge on using custom graphics in games etc. I want to start making things look a little better with the games I tinker with so I'm looking for any kind of back-to-basics tutorial on how to put graphics into games without having problems like the background colours being incorrect, image sizing and stuff like that.

Does anyone know of a resource or tutorials that might help with this and advice on a good tool for learning to do graphics better for someone who's been used to stuff like Deluxe Paint on the old Amiga, rather than layer stuff like Photoshop?

Thanks in advance.


GfK(Posted 2015) [#2]
You can use GIMP or Paintshop - both use layers, both optionally. Use the pencil tool and hey presto - it's just like Dpaint.

As for image sizes - as much as is possible try to keep them square and dimensions 2^n; i.e. 32x32, 64x64, 512x512. Not so much of an issue nowadays but some older cards don't like images that don't fit the above.

Oh, one more thing - use PNG format. JPEG is fine for full-screen background images if you don't mind the compression artefacts, but for anything that has a transparent background, PNG (24-bit + alpha) is the very thing you need - the compression is lossless so no artefacts, and the filesize isn't that much more than a JPEG equivalent.

Ultimately, the only way you'll learn is to get stuck in and try - there is no "magic book" that's going to make you able to draw stuff overnight.


RemiD(Posted 2015) [#3]

As for image sizes - as much as is possible try to keep them square and dimensions 2^n; i.e. 32x32, 64x64, 512x512.


Are you sure about this ? I thought that this rule was only for textures...

For an image maker/editor i recommend Photofiltre 7


Henri(Posted 2015) [#4]
Hi,

there is some talk about graphics design (although in animation disguise), and a link to a book for dpaint fans in this thread.

-Henri


tonyg(Posted 2015) [#5]
If you want to learn pixel art then there's lots of excellent tutorials out there. The most referenced is
So you want to be a pixel artist . The Ari Feldman book it mentions is now available as a free download.
There *was* a gamedev article for 'Game art for programmers' (or something) but can't find it.
If you're *really* artistically challenged you might look at World Creator which can do many different styles.
A number of people have used animation software to create their sprite packs . Anime Studio for example You might get an old debut version for £20 or so.


Xerra(Posted 2015) [#6]
I thought I'd left a reply here but I guess I didn't save it before switching web sites. Thanks for your advice guys. I've been reading some of the info posted here to help me along. Sorry I didn't say thanks earlier, but I do appreciate you all taking the time to post.