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Post Your Graphic Design tips


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I never got around to finishing the graphics guide. Maybe instead we can start to use this thread for tips on making graphics for Sonic fan games.

I'll start by adding an online tool I just found. Adobe Kulur. It uses a bunch of customizable rules to help you pick colors that go well together. Just click create on the upper left of the screen and try it out.

Unfinished Guide on Sonic Graphics:

https://sites.google.com/site/sonicgraphicsguide/sonic-graphics-guide

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Um I didn't think I'd get far enough to have something worth posting. But lucky me I did, its all about understanding what makes Sonic graphics well Sonic graphics. Its very WIP so for now I'll keep it on a Google Site.

https://sites.google.com/site/sonicgraphicsguide/sonic-graphics-guide

Comments are appreciated, and I'm not perfect so if you can think of any additional "rules" to add I'd love to hear.

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as for rules:

64 colours on screen at once, which is basically 4 sets of 16 colour palettes. However, it's more like 61 colours and 4 sets of 15 colour palettes as there's going to be one colour reserved for transparency.

Most of the megadrive sonic games can be broken down into 8x8 tiles, though these days it's probably easier to work with 16x16 or 32x32 tiles.

also:

I hate using photoshop for sprites, I find it just too sluggish. I REALLY recomment graphicsgale.

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If you want to give something a round or spherical appearance in Sonic games, you'll commonly want to use an off-centered white dot to give the apperance of shine. On the opposite side of the object/sphere, you'll want to fade into black. For a Chaotix style, you'll want to use a fairly heavy contrast, but for other Genesis Sonic games, a 1-pixel black outline in the opposite corner works.

Here's an example of what I mean:

shadingexample.png

It's not perfect, of course, but it's a step in the right direction.

Also, when it comes to badniks, you'll commonly want to use round eyes with spherical shading, even if they're simple machines that don't resemble animals. The Mega Man series does this as well, but Mega Man baddies have eyes with various shapes and sizes and are often covered up partially by armor plates and other such things. Sonic badniks have eyes that simply "stick" on top, at least most of the time.

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as for rules:

64 colours on screen at once, which is basically 4 sets of 16 colour palettes. However, it's more like 61 colours and 4 sets of 15 colour palettes as there's going to be one colour reserved for transparency.

Most of the megadrive sonic games can be broken down into 8x8 tiles, though these days it's probably easier to work with 16x16 or 32x32 tiles.

I touched on this a little in the section I wrote. But I plan on showing people how do do levels on a 128x128 scale mostly. I tend to do a mix of a few big 256x256 tiles and 128x128.

As far as color, this is more for fan games than it is for hacks. So while I'll mention this I'll leave it up to the user. Some of the stuff I'm planing on covering like using very simple drop shadows in photoshop on grass kinda go against that lower color count.

I hate using photoshop for sprites, I find it just too sluggish. I REALLY recomment graphicsgale.

I use a mix of MS Paint and Photoshop I have tried Grahicsgale a few times and I didn't care for it.

@Stife while what you said is true and helpful. I'm not sure I can find a place for it in the guide. Right now this is strictly for level graphics and I obviously am no good badniks. However if you wrote a small section on making badniks I would definitely add it to this with credit.

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I touched on this a little in the section I wrote. But I plan on showing people how do do levels on a 128x128 scale mostly. I tend to do a mix of a few big 256x256 tiles and 128x128.

As far as color, this is more for fan games than it is for hacks. So while I'll mention this I'll leave it up to the user. Some of the stuff I'm planing on covering like using very simple drop shadows in photoshop on grass kinda go against that lower color count.

I use a mix of MS Paint and Photoshop I have tried Grahicsgale a few times and I didn't care for it.

@Stife while what you said is true and helpful. I'm not sure I can find a place for it in the guide. Right now this is strictly for level graphics and I obviously am no good badniks. However if you wrote a small section on making badniks I would definitely add it to this with credit.

Yeah of course, GG isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea :P there are other programs like Grafx2, Allegro Sprite Editor and Paint.NET.

I'm not trying to go overboard with the limitations, but bear in mind most of the genesis sonic games' graphics were made most likely with Deluxe Paint on the amiga.

In your manifesto you mentioned you wanted to explain choice of colours.

We're being inspired by the genesis here, so I think it's rational to start by looking at the genesis palette:

RGB_24bits_palette_color_test_chart_9bpp.png

Now, this palette is fucking ugly. But you have to realise that when making all of the beautiful backgrounds from sonic 1 - 3 and even Ristar, they only had these colours.

My personal opinion is that even if your computer can provide millions and millions of colours, it doesn't mean you have to use them willy nilly.

The best pixelart you'll find tends to have very few colours in it, because of the small scale.

If you look at the background from Hydrocity Zone Act 1 you'll see what a beautiful little background it is. And the thing only uses around 9 colours.

I've broken the top part of this map (above the pillars) into 16x16 tiles.

tiles.pngtiles2x.png

I think these are gorgeous, they make wonderful use of colour and let the lighting do the work.

The majority of these 16 tiles are mirrored, which results in 32 tiles altogether.

What I'm basically trying to say, is that by breaking down all these backgrounds and sprites, you can learn a hell of a lot - and I think this goes to show that you can do a lot with very few colours - which also greatly increases the readability of sprites.

here's another one from hyrdrocity:

tileshydro.png

these use an entire 16 colours, so that's where a whole palette went :D

a lot of the tiles are actually the same, just with different colours, which could be a nice little touch :D

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@Stife while what you said is true and helpful. I'm not sure I can find a place for it in the guide. Right now this is strictly for level graphics and I obviously am no good badniks. However if you wrote a small section on making badniks I would definitely add it to this with credit.

Nnnnnot a problem. ^_^ The bit about shading spherical badniks could also apply to level tiles too, though it's really more of a fundamental shading technique rather than something exclusive to Sonic game styles.

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@Ristar this is will be a great addition to the tutorial. I'll probably just basically copy what you said if that's alright. Also one huge problem I have is finding colors that go together. When making STT levels I usually try limit myself to about 4 colors and expand only as needed. Except I always cheat at the shadows its way easier to do in photoshop.

@Strife Yeah I didn't plan on this being so much a pixel art tutorial as much as a remixing tutorials. But I do plan on showing how simple it is to apply a shading style from one tile to another as that is essential for good remixing of course. A section on different shading techniques would therefore probably be more useful than one specifically about badniks.

I'm really glad you guys are taking an interest in this. We spend so much time making sure everyone has excellent engines. Only to have new members come in and show off games with terrible graphics. But who can blame them there's nothing to teach them better.

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Cheers dood :D

something I should have mentioned about colour selection:

this is NOT a solid rule, I should say that before I start.

when shading, don't just darken a colour i.e. move it towards black on the slider. If the light source is a warm colour (the sun for example), then you should darken the colour, but also shift it to a cooler colour as well as slightly desaturating it.

when adding highlights, you can lighten it, but shift it more towards yellow and slightly desaturate.

with this, your sprites should have a much more vibrant colour scheme and will generally look more professional.

I also NEVER like to use pure black when I sprite. The darkest I go is a very very dark, desaturated purple... almost grey.

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@Ristar more great stuff I'll add thanks. I am a little bit sure where to add this stuff though. The first post for example talks about Genesis Sonic colors and graphics so I wonder if that wouldn't fit with my explanation of Sonic graphics. But it will also kinda fit in the color section I have yet to write. Hmm....

I updated the guide. I still haven't gotten into making actually graphics, instead I added ideas and places to get ripped graphics.

The next step will be some examples of remixed graphics and kinda explaining a good thought process behind remixing. If you've got any really cleaver remixes you think would make good examples post them along with any sources and how you used the sources. For example I plan on using this clock.

RemixClock.png

Which I made when I noticed that the shield from Act Raiser looked kinda like a clock.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Not really an update to the guide but I wanted to give away these. The multicolored tracks are in the shape of some of Star Light Zones more interesting slopes. This these tracks should allow you to easily shade simplistic tracks similar to white and green band in Star Light.

Perfect%20Sonic%20Shapes.png

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I suppose you can use it if you want. It wasn't really intended for others to use it is for a level in Sonic Time Twisted. Here I was just using it as an example of the a more complex object that these guides would assist in making. The whole point is with the guides you should be able to make your own slope tracks.

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