Digital drawing...where to start?

[ilman]

Hello, dear Tempers,
Recently I've been learning how to develop games in C++ and SFML(and starting OpenGL soon). I've made a couple of very simple games(Tetris, Minesweeper, etc.), but I've been wanting to make my own original game.
Problem is, I can't make myself any sprites. Well, with a mouse, anyway.
A friend of mine can draw sort of not bad(I'll add an image of the human sprite sheet), but he's again, drawing with a mouse and Paint. At least I know how to use GIMP and a tiny bit of Photoshop.
On paper I draw averagely, so getting to draw something on a touchscreen with a stylus would be a solution. Now, to the problem, what should I get?
Choice 1: Colors!3D. I have an original 3DS, not an XL. Many people say that Colors!3D is a very good for drawing, but I'm not very sure that drawing on such a tiny screen would be comfortable. But it's the cheapest solution.
Choice 2: A graphics tablet. I'm a bit on the short-funded side(since I spent most of my money on the Too many games promo ) and that's not a good thing when it comes to buying something as expensive as a tablet. Especially if I end up ignoring it completely and all the money goes to waste. But, because of the expense, the tablet has the best features- bigger screen, touch sensitivity and I can play Osu! with it.
When my scholarship comes, I'll surely have the ability to pick one up, but that's all the way in September. You know, when school starts and I have next to no free time. If you could tell me what type of tablet you'll recommend, that'd be great.
Choice 3: A regular tablet. This would be easier to get than the graphics tablet, since my family has been in need of a tablet in quite awhile. But these tablets don't have pressure sensitivity, which would be beneficial when it comes to coloring.
Choice 4: Another idea? You could post it down there.

Note: When I say sprites, I don't mean pixelated images. I need to draw high-quality sprites.


Thanks in advance,
Ilman

 

[henn64]

Hello, dear Tempers,
Recently I've been learning how to develop games in C++ and SFML(and starting OpenGL soon). I've made a couple of very simple games(Tetris, Minesweeper, etc.), but I've been wanting to make my own original game.
Problem is, I can't make myself any sprites. Well, with a mouse, anyway.
A friend of mine can draw sort of not bad(I'll add an image of the human sprite sheet), but he's again, drawing with a mouse and Paint. At least I know how to use GIMP and a tiny bit of Photoshop.
On paper I draw averagely, so getting to draw something on a touchscreen with a stylus would be a solution. Now, to the problem, what should I get?
Choice 1: Colors!3D. I have an original 3DS, not an XL. Many people say that Colors!3D is a very good for drawing, but I'm not very sure that drawing on such a tiny screen would be comfortable. But it's the cheapest solution.
Choice 2: A graphics tablet. I'm a bit on the short-funded side(since I spent most of my money on the Too many games promo ) and that's not a good thing when it comes to buying something as expensive as a tablet. Especially if I end up ignoring it completely and all the money goes to waste. But, because of the expense, the tablet has the best features- bigger screen, touch sensitivity and I can play Osu! with it.
When my scholarship comes, I'll surely have the ability to pick one up, but that's all the way in September. You know, when school starts and I have next to no free time. If you could tell me what type of tablet you'll recommend, that'd be great.
Choice 3: A regular tablet. This would be easier to get than the graphics tablet, since my family has been in need of a tablet in quite awhile. But these tablets don't have pressure sensitivity, which would be beneficial when it comes to coloring.
Choice 4: Another idea? You could post it down there.

Note: When I say sprites, I don't mean pixelated images. I need to draw high-quality sprites.


Thanks in advance,
Ilman

FINALLY! Some else who uses SFML. If you wan't DS developing, SDL is a better choice.
Photoshop or a custom program is used by most big VG companies. I suggest Graphics tablet+Photoshop.

 

[ilman]

FINALLY! Some else who uses SFML. If you wan't DS developing, SDL is a better choice.
Photoshop or a custom program is used by most big VG companies. I suggest Graphics tablet+Photoshop.

SFML is a pretty handy library - more complex than SDL while not being as hard as OpenGL. And I am not interested in programming on the DS, since my Acekard is worthless on my 3DS now that I have updated. While big companies do use Graphics tablets + Photoshop, they do have professional artist, while I am not. Thanks for the post, anyways.

 

[Ethevion]

Here's my suggestion which isn't the simplest but pretty affordable.

Buy one of these bad boys. I own one and I can tell you they are great for beginners. I know they don't have a screen but just bear with me.
Draw by hand using a pencil and paper and scan the image to your PC.
Open up a graphic software (I use Manga Studio 5 for drawing and coloring) that your comfortable with and draw over the pencil with what ever brush you like.

I hope this helps.

 

[ilman]

Here's my suggestion which isn't the simplest but pretty affordable.

Buy one of these bad boys. I own one and I can tell you they are great for beginners. I know they don't have a screen but just bear with me.
Draw by hand using a pencil and paper and scan the image to your PC.
Open up a graphic software (I use Manga Studio 5 for drawing and coloring) that your comfortable with and draw over the pencil with what ever brush you like.

I hope this helps.

Hmm, interesting suggestion you have there. The problem with scanning things... I don't have a scanner.
And, I don't know, no screen isn't going to be helpful very much...
But the price point is certainly nice - 40 pounds from Amazon UK.
Thanks for the suggestion, I'm still open for others.

 

[Ethevion]

Having no screen seems bad at first, but that's why I draw by hand. I'm more comfortable drawing with a pencil rather than digitally, so it makes it easier.
Here's some of my drawings I did using this method.
http://gbatemp.net/threads/akuma-completed.343486/
http://gbatemp.net/threads/great-sword-hunter.349969/
http://gbatemp.net/threads/sagat.346744/
http://gbatemp.net/threads/ryu-colored.344712/#post-4586025

 

[henn64]

SFML is a pretty handy library - more complex than SDL while not being as hard as OpenGL. And I am not interested in programming on the DS, since my Acekard is worthless on my 3DS now that I have updated. While big companies do use Graphics tablets + Photoshop, they do have professional artist, while I am not. Thanks for the post, anyways.

I don't think my post was very helpful actually.

Just about any system (besides old 8/16 bit, ps2/3 or xbox 360) or pc works with SDL. SDL is also used for emulators.
I say do what Sagat said, more leaning towards drawing and scanning if you think you're good enough on paper.

 

[ilman]

I don't think my post was very helpful actually.

Just about any system (besides old 8/16 bit, ps2/3 or xbox 360) or pc works with SDL. SDL is also used for emulators.
I say do what Sagat said, more leaning towards drawing and scanning if you think you're good enough on paper.

SDL up until version 2.0 hasn't got hardware rendering, which greatly limits how many sprites you ca draw at a given time without lag. SFML, on the other hand, has hardware rendering and it allows me to make games run at 60+ FPS. But I do plan on moving to SDL 2.0 when Lazy Foo' completes his tutorial on it.

Having no screen seems bad at first, but that's why I draw by hand. I'm more comfortable drawing with a pencil rather than digitally, so it makes it easier.
Here's some of my drawings I did using this method.
http://gbatemp.net/threads/akuma-completed.343486/
http://gbatemp.net/threads/great-sword-hunter.349969/
http://gbatemp.net/threads/sagat.346744/
http://gbatemp.net/threads/ryu-colored.344712/#post-4586025

Wow, you're pretty good at drawing. But, as I said, I have no way of scanning my real art. And, actually, I tried drawing on a friend's iPad with a stylus and it actually feel good drawing on it. So, drawing directly on a tablet isn't a problem for me.

 

[henn64]

SFML benchmarks show it is faster, and is as good as an SDL replacement, but it is only Linux/OSX/Windows.
Tablets are used a lot these days, but I still recommend scanning. But since you have no problem with them, stick with them.

 

[ilman]

SFML benchmarks show it is faster, and is as good as an SDL replacement, but it is only Linux/OSX/Windows.
Tablets are used a lot these days, but I still recommend scanning. But since you have no problem with them, stick with them.

It's normal for SFML to be faster. It's even in it's name (Simple and Fast Multimedia Layer).
Also, anybody got any recommendations for a tablet to start off with? I have absolutely no idea what's good, what's bad(although I've heard good things about the Wacom line of tablets) and, most importantly, what's noob-friendly.

 

[henn64]

It's normal for SFML to be faster. It's even in it's name (Simple and Fast Multimedia Layer).
Also, anybody got any recommendations for a tablet to start off with? I have absolutely no idea what's good, what's bad(although I've heard good things about the Wacom line of tablets) and, most importantly, what's noob-friendly.

Wacom definitely. Got a budget? I suggest one. They can get a little...pricey (Case in point)

 

[ilman]

Wacom definitely. Got a budget? I suggest one. They can get a little...pricey (Case in point)

Woah, they are pricey. And, as I said, I'm going to be either tight on budget or on time. Actually, I've been wanting to get a Nexus 7 for quite some time now. How is it in terms of drawing?

 

[Ethevion]

From what I've read, Wacom is one of the best. The ones with the screens are really expensive though. The Cintiq 13HD $999, and it only goes up for the bigger ones.

 

[henn64]

Woah, they are pricey. And, as I said, I'm going to be either tight on budget or on time. Actually, I've been wanting to get a Nexus 7 for quite some time now. How is it in terms of drawing?

That tablet is actually good. Also, I am used to having tall figures on rectangular tablets or paper. It's just how I draw

 

[FAST6191]

We had a slightly similar thread a few months back
http://gbatemp.net/threads/how-woul...g-to-draw-pixel-art-sprites-for-games.343110/

Others have said graphics tablet and I would be inclined to agree. As with all things though I am about not necessarily team easy but definitely team cheat like hell.
In this instance I would suggest becoming a tracer of things both now when you are lumbered with just a mouse and later when you have a tablet. Bonus points (in general and in terms of making your life easier) if you trace into vector format.
http://inkscape.org/ and installed by the wonder that is https://ninite.com/ if you prefer. It is to adobe illustrator what GIMP is to photoshop in that you might get laughed out of the room for copping to using it in a professional capacity but in those cases they might be partially wrong and you can get an awful lot done with it.

 

[ilman]

From what I've read, Wacom is one of the best. The ones with the screens are really expensive though. The Cintiq 13HD $999, and it only goes up for the bigger ones.

Wow, now that's expensive. I'd rather not risk 1000$ on something that I might not like. I can also get a deal for an iPad 2 from a friend for 500 BGN(300 USD, which is pretty cheap here), so that's a thing. I just think it might be safer to get a normal tablet, so that even if I don't use it for drawing, I'll find another use for it. I just can't see myself giving more than 300$ for drawing.

 

[YayMii]

I'd say to avoid the Cintiq or the Intuos models if you're only beginning digital art. Wacom's Bamboo line is relatively cheap (I think it's $65-ish for the Bamboo Splash), and although they don't have screens, they're not that difficult to draw with once you adapt. And they're built well too, I have a friend with a 4-year old Bamboo tablet that still works fine.

...They also happen to be the most popular type of tablet for osu!, so you could always just use it to play that if you decide not to draw with it.

 

[ilman]

We had a slightly similar thread a few months back
http://gbatemp.net/threads/how-woul...g-to-draw-pixel-art-sprites-for-games.343110/

Others have said graphics tablet and I would be inclined to agree. As with all things though I am about not necessarily team easy but definitely team cheat like hell.
In this instance I would suggest becoming a tracer of things both now when you are lumbered with just a mouse and later when you have a tablet. Bonus points (in general and in terms of making your life easier) if you trace into vector format.
http://inkscape.org/ and installed by the wonder that is https://ninite.com/ if you prefer. It is to adobe illustrator what GIMP is to photoshop in that you might get laughed out of the room for copping to using it in a professional capacity but in those cases they might be partially wrong and you can get an awful lot done with it.

Sorry, but I didn't get your answer very much.
What do you mean by them easy and team cheat like hell? I don't have a team. There's just one guy who gives some ideas and gets some functions done in my programs. He likes drawing in Paint and, even though his sprites are bad, I'm using them as placeholders for now.
Vector graphics? Why would I need those? I'm not aiming for infinitely high resolutions.
And, about which programs I use... well, I don't care. As long as it gets the job done and is noob-friendly.

 

[jurassicplayer]

Draw image
Ink image
Take photo
Vector from photo
Color vector
Shade vector
Add shiny spots
Add possibly even gradients to shading/shiny spots

- Added note
In the event of a visual novel-like requirement, keep layers separate for the different body parts that are going to be moved (mouth, eyes, arms, body) so you don't have to bitch with it later.

 

[ilman]

I'd say to avoid the Cintiq or the Intuos models if you're only beginning digital art. Wacom's Bamboo line is relatively cheap (I think it's $65-ish for the Bamboo Splash), and although they don't have screens, they're not that difficult to draw with once you adapt. And they're built well too, I have a friend with a 4-year old Bamboo tablet that still works fine.

...They also happen to be the most popular type of tablet for osu!, so you could always just use it to play that if you decide not to draw with it.

I'm just not sure if drawing without a screen would be easy. But it seems you guys here have quite a trust for it and, since they are below 150 BGN, which I can easily afford, I'd say the Wacom Bamboos look like the best current solution. I'm still open for other ideas.