[2D Game Art for Programmers] - tutorials for free graphic tools inkscape and gimp

[DayDream]

Hi guys...

I just can't not do it... it must be in the genes... even after taking time off from game art I felt the urge to do something... and I would love to hear your feedback on this idea: a series of tutorials for inkscape, gimp and the likes for 'non-artists' - working with basic shapes to 'construct' art elements rather than freehand drawing them.

Introduction:

Creating your own art work is a necessity for most independent developers. Due to the budget restraints or in a lot of cases the complete lack of a budget a lot of young indie game developer can't afford to hire an artist or buy art assets.
With the help of free software like gimp, inkscape or milkshape (just to mention a few) combined with a basic understanding of art creation pretty much anyone can create impressive and professional looking results.

I will try to start with some basic ideas and exercises to improve this kind of understanding. All of the examples will be based on free software. The workflow will be similar if you work with different software like Adobe Illustrator, Adobe PhotoShop, CorelDraw or others. I will try to mention the different approaches for those software packages. With the vast variety of software available at the moment and the sheer endless amount of our art creation tools and techniques it is impossible to cover everything but I will try to keep my examples basic enough to work with the software of your choice.

Let me start by clarifying some common believes when it comes to creating game at.

"I need expensive software tools to create truly professional game art."
No, you don't! There is a huge amount of free tools available that offer a true alternative. Gimp is one of the most well-known examples in the 2D realm as well as Blender in 3D field.
For the full time game artist upgrading your tools to ' industry standards' makes sense. Especially when collaborating with others using standard file format makes sharing and exchanging art a lot easier.

"Buying an expensive tool will automatically create better art."
No, it won't. It's always the artist creating the art that makes it great. Given the simplest tools like pen and paper a good artist can still create stunning pieces, while the most sophisticated tools still need a good artist to create something special.

"I can't do art. I can't even draw a stick figure."
Yes, you can. This is where modern computers to come in and allow you to create good game art without having a graphic arts degree.

"My game is good as it is. I don't need art."
Yes, you do. The independent game market is getting larger and larger and is attracting a lot more attention than it used to a few years back. In order to stand out your game should be the whole deal - have a great game play as well as rewarding and consistent visuals and matching sound and music.


Common hurdles

High Expectations:
One of the main problems facing independent developers are the expectations they have themselves. For single developers or small studios it is close to impossible to create AAA games match the quality of big studios. You should try and aim for the stars. Making games is all about that. Do the best you can and constantly push your limits and improve your skills...
but thinking realistically and adjusting your expectations to your abilities and your budget is a big step towards creating the best game you can create.

Defining a theme:
A lot of the time game creation happens with a spark. We have an idea of how the game playing might work and start creating. Creating very concrete in game art in the early stages of development can often lead to problems as the game evolves during development.
It usually helps to create a working game engine/ core gameplay before starting on the actual art work. Once you know how the game plays it's a lot easier to find a visual theme that encompasses the whole game.

Consistency:
Creating a consistent look and feel is a key element in creating a good gaming experience. It starts with the icon, the splash screen and goes all the way through to the game over screen. The most common mistakes are:
- the overuse of fonts - stick to 2 or 3 for the whole game UI [unless the font is used in images as lettering for shops/ packaging/ etc.]
- drastic changes in light and contrast - keep screens on a similar level - you can progress through the colour realm - usually starting out less colourful and getting more colourful for boss/ epic scenes
- photoshop effects - they are fun but a lot of 'artist' think the more you use the better the image will be... My suggestion is limit your use of fx to a few and keep reusing and variating them
- lighting - look at your screens and imagine the light sources needed to create the highlights, shadows of your ingame/ ui elements... It's scary how often you find lights being randomly used for objects that appear on the same screen

Losing focus:
It is only easy to get carried away with your art work as well as game play or coding. We all tend to focus on those elements we like to do while neglecting those we don't. A good example is generally the menu system/ UI. These usually are implemented at a late stage in the development with motivation at a low point. Yet they are one of the first things the player gets to see and they can greatly define the look and feel of the game.

[DayDream]

[DayDream]

Note:
The gradient tool also allows for a change in alpha / transparency of the fill. The target in a new fill gets set to 0% alpha. Change it to full visibility in the RGB tap.

PS.:
Just to try the simplicity of the tutorials I rebuild the inkscape samples with a free ipad application and got to nearly identical results. So for those guys out there who prefer to keep it mobile - it should still work [with slightly different commands and minor twists in the workflow]. The same principles will work with Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw. The tools might be called differently but the result should be very similar.

[lennard]

Inspiring. Glad to see you back again Chris.

[vbovio]

awesome tutorials, thanks a lot Chris!

[rioka]

Good stuff! And it's good to see you back again. C:

[GolfHacker]

That's very useful stuff! Thanks a bunch!

If you're taking requests, I would love to see a tutorial about how you would take a pencil drawing/sketch, scan it in, and convert it to clean vector line art. I do this constantly, and I'm sure there's got to be a quicker and easier way than how I currently do it.

[rioka]

The fastest way: Inkling. Draw on paper and export as vector or bmp images to Illustrator, Sketchbook Pro or Photoshop. Layers also included! This is just going to roll out by Wacom this month. $199USD. Other than that, I would answer but I'm curious to see if there's another way myself. :waits for DayDreams answer:

[lennard]

Just went on the Christmas list. Sadly, I don't think my scribbling will improve any... but I want one just the same.

[tolik]

[2D Game Art for Programmers] tutorials for free graphic tools inkscape and gimp: find someone who will do art for you and focus on programming

[Jack Norton]

Welcome back tolik, we missed your sarcasm posts!
p.s. where have you been all this time ?

[tolik]

Just released a couple top grossing titles on android and ipad and finishing a new AAA title.

[RichHW]

Then you woke up

[DayDream]

[2D Game Art for Programmers] tutorials for free graphic tools inkscape and gimp: find someone who will do art for you and focus on programming

That's the kind of arrogant answer that really DOESN'T help those indie developers out there who want to do their own art and can't afford an artist... All I asked for is some feedback on the setup of these tutorial and if they would be considered helpful - not some smartass replies...

@golfhacker - I will reply in a bit... sidelined at the moment...

[j0d1]

Added to my bookmarks.
That tells everything.
The layout of the tutorial is effective; the comments are helpful.
Really good job!
I'm not a fan of the art style though but that doesn't change the quality of your tutorials.
If you could show other styles, that would be great.

[tolik]

That's the kind of arrogant answer that really DOESN'T help those indie developers out there who want to do their own art and can't afford an artist... All I asked for is some feedback on the setup of these tutorial and if they would be considered helpful - not some smartass replies...

Haha, caught ya. Check out my sig.

The tutorial is really great, I haven't seen anything that simple and detailed covering both cute vector characters, tile sets, objects, environment and even the general artwork. I'd use the art you've created to create a playable demo. I'll recommend this tutorial to everyone who does crappy art. I suggest to post it to Gamasutra, I'm sure you'll get expert blogger + featured for that (if you don't have it already).

[Addictive 247]

Have to agree with everyone - these tutorials are fantastic!
As I have no artistic talent at all in terms of designing graphics I would welcome more tutorials with the same kind of simple to follow steps.

Great work - thank you

[Jamie W]

Agreed, great stuff Chris. Must have a good natter sometime. Cheers, Jamie.

[DayDream]

Thanks, guys... I am glad you like them... I am having a lot of fun doing them and I decided to keep the tutorials in one easy to maintain spot.

http://2dgameartforprogrammers.blogspot.com/

More fun with gradients...
Let's take the gradient fill to the next level and work with colour and alpha to create a simple underwater background.





Hint:
Use the 'Page Up' and 'Page Down' key to adjust the order of objects [e.g. place the sea anemones in the mid ground behind the light rays.]

I would like to add more life to the underwater scene and create some fish. The basic principle when adding 'real' elements to a vector scene is to look at the shapes and 'deconstruct' them into basic elements like the circle, square, rectangle or ellipse.

I usually do a quick google image search for a reference image to get a better idea what I am going to create. In this case the 'yellow reef fish' search came up with a nice yellow longnose butterfly fish.
It works great as the main body is kind of squarish and the front has a triangular shape.




The same approach works the same with far more complex elements. It's a matter of seeing the 'building blocks'.

[Elder]

Impressive tutorials DayDream! Hey, I hope your health is fine, I saw on SpriteAttack you took a long break. Take care, I miss working with you.

[lennard]

Chris, the images in your last post aren't showing up for me. The block buddies are cool - would like to see some top down critters done in the same style (army, medieval heros, medieval critters).

[Applewood]

And there is still an open full time permie job offer on the table should you need it...

[ryansumo]

Hmm, none of the pictures on this thread are showing up for me.

re: the inkling, it sounds super cool in principle but I'm highly suspicious of how useful it'll really be. Getting the positioning right and trying to remember how many layers I'm using in my head sounds like a nightmare to me.

[DayDream]

I am sorry guys... The spriteattack.com domain has been moved and I have not completely uploaded all the files to the new server... It should be working again...

[ryansumo]

Wow those are some really great tutorials. I've been a freelance artist for a while, so I'm a little hopeful that not everyone picks up on this though. :P

I don't know if you've discussed or want to discuss this at all, but I'm interested to know why you're closed for business?

[SLotman]

Amazing stuff! Just wish I had half of your talent for doing graphics

[DayDream]

Thanks guys... and the main reason for 'shutting down office' are ongoing health issues that make it hard to take on bigger project...

I just did a new tutorial that might be interesting - 'Working with bitmap output in mind':