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Getting into Spriting
http://45.55.195.193/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=17929		 Page 1 of 3
Author:  spungypirate [ Wed Feb 24, 2010 6:30 am ]
Post subject:  Getting into Spriting
So, last night after downloading more mods I decided to try my hand at making a gun based off of a vanilla one. I ended up with an error message and kinda gave up. However, I really enjoyed making the sprite for my gun, the Glock 18 Fully Auto. So, I wanna post it here and get some criticism on it and hopefully some pointers on how to make better sprites. Also, what kind of programs are best, I just opened a Coalition Pistol and went from there in MS Paint.

Attachments:
File comment: Heres my gun.
G18.bmp [1.29 KiB]
Not downloaded yet
Author:  alphagamer774 [ Wed Feb 24, 2010 6:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Getting into Spriting
actually, paint=win

despite the lack of features, it still works.
BTW nice model! have you tried it in-game to compare size? it looks kinda small, but that could just be me.

if you need help doing that, pm me :)
Author:  Grif [ Wed Feb 24, 2010 6:38 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Getting into Spriting
MS Paint works fine for low level graphic stuff.

Your sprite: the overall shape is pretty good, though a bit heavy on straight lines.

Your shading is, well, nonexistent. Try to vary what colors you use, and, especially on a small sprite like that, don't put the same color next to itself too many times. Try to break up the solid outlines; it lends a lot more 'realism' to a sprite.
Author:  Geti [ Wed Feb 24, 2010 7:28 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Getting into Spriting
you can use MSPaint, for larger scenes (HA) you'll probably want either GIMP or photoshop.
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/ for pixel art learning and lots of pretty examples, but otherwise it's fairly dependent on how you see things and your artistic ability. The actual artist for the game does most of his work at 500% and scales down.
Author:  spungypirate [ Thu Feb 25, 2010 1:24 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Getting into Spriting
Thanks, I was actaully having trouble making the gun, so never got to see what it looked like ingame, so if someone could help me, I would really appreciate it. As for the shading, I was concerned that since the actual gun is almost purely green, if I used different colors, it would be too hard to tell what color it was.
Author:  linkfan23 [ Thu Feb 25, 2010 3:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Getting into Spriting
You don't want to use different colors, only different shades. Like light green then green then dark green.
Author:  Contrary [ Thu Feb 25, 2010 3:22 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Getting into Spriting
Hey that's pretty good for a start, but remember, CC is pretty cartoonish so you can mess with proportions and make things huge for better readability.

I did a quick edit of your sprite.

Attachments:
g18.PNG [346 Bytes]
Not downloaded yet
Author:  spungypirate [ Thu Feb 25, 2010 3:25 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Getting into Spriting
Okay, so I tried to redo it some. I attempted to shade, though I am having trouble trying to do it on such a small object. For this, I imagined the light coming from the front, like it was aiming towards a silencer.

Wow, I right after I posted this I saw your remake. Damn, that puts mine to shame. I see what you mean about me needing to use shading and other colors.

Attachments:
File comment: 2nd try
G18.bmp [1.29 KiB]
Not downloaded yet
Author:  alphagamer774 [ Thu Feb 25, 2010 5:45 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Getting into Spriting
CAUTION: MASSIVE TEXT WALL INCOMING!

there's some easy ways to make a gun in the game (although they're not completely original) and apply your sprite to them.

easy way:

open CC folder
open coalition.rte folder
open devices folder
open sprites folder
copy your sprite to here

open CC folder
open coalition.rte folder
open devices folder
open weapons folder
open pistols folder
open pistols file (with notepad)

ooh, code!

press CTRL+F (find)

type
Quote:
FilePath = Coalition.rte/Devices/Sprites/PistolA.bmp
in the box

it will send you to the first pistol.
change the name of the ".../PistolA.bmp" to the name of your file
ie: ".../Glock18.bmp"

run CC
tell us if it worked!

***BONUS STEP***

find the pistols file
ooh code!

go to your pistol's data (use CTRL+F and the name of your file)

find RateOfFire (some lines down) (use CTRL+F only if you have to)
change that number (Rounds per Minute) to something ridiculously big, ie:1200 (go wikipedia!)

find PresetName (name of your gun in the game) (very top of your gun's data)
change that

find Description (two lines down from PresetName)
change that

save
close
play

complain (optional)
:)
Author:  dragonxp [ Thu Feb 25, 2010 5:47 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Getting into Spriting
You forget, pistols have 2 frames, so FrameCount = 1 to prevent crash.
Author:  Azukki [ Thu Feb 25, 2010 7:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Getting into Spriting
They don't have to have two frames, and if there are two frames, then uh shouldn't framecount be 2?
Author:  Grif [ Thu Feb 25, 2010 7:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Getting into Spriting
Yes, but the OP's sprite only has one frame.
Author:  Contrary [ Thu Feb 25, 2010 7:41 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Getting into Spriting
spungypirate wrote:
Damn, that puts mine to shame. I see what you mean about me needing to use shading and other colors.

Naw. It didn't even really need the shading, even. The main thing was thickening it with a half-outline. This gives it more 3Dism and makes it just generally easier to see. Without outlines things tend to just fade into the background.

Really, I thought your initial design was amazing, much better than my first. All you needed was that one detail; an outline.
Author:  Azukki [ Thu Feb 25, 2010 7:43 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Getting into Spriting
@grif
I now understand, and will ensure everyone else does as well. For instance, someone else who also immediately jumps on a seemingly contradictory post without fully understanding the context.
dragonxp wrote:
You forget, usually, pistols have 2 frames, in contrast to this pistol, which only has one frame.
So in this case you should do FrameCount = 1 to prevent a crash.



Also yes outlines are great, and at this scale balancing your half-outline is about the most important part of the sprite, second to shape of course. Color too maybe. But it's more important than shading since it takes up most of the area of the sprite.

(not to be rude in making this distinction, but I'm saying outlines in general are great, not specifically your outlines)
Author:  spungypirate [ Fri Feb 26, 2010 3:38 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Getting into Spriting
Thanks!
"You forget, pistols have 2 frames, so FrameCount = 1 to prevent crash."
I was freaking out about how it didn't work, but I finally got that! :)
Well, I looked at it ingame and saw what was wrong with it and plan on fixing it up good.
Probably gonna make a custom magazine and stuff for it.

Now, can I simply Copy and Paste the coalition pistol code into the Coalition Pistols folder again and reenter new sprites and stuff to make the G18 available as well as the Coalition one? I messed up when I tried to do it myself...
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