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Home > Tutorials > Spriting > Spriting from Scratch
Spriting from Scratch 
How to create sprites from templates, bases, and other sprites.
1 - My Tools, Your Tools
2 - Franken-Spriting
3 - Templates/Bases
4 - Making your Own?
1. My Tools, Your Tools
For Sprite Creation I use the software Adobe Photoshop. There are other more affordable options for creating sprite work that are similar. They are listed in this forum topic:Graphics Programs
I will be using mostly XP map sprites for my examples, with a few exceptions which I will make note of. But these methods are universal between all the makers.
2. Franken-Spriting.
This is a term for the process of cutting and pasting parts of other sprites to create a new one.
Here's my example. I want to make a Centauress so want to combine the following two sprites.
For Franken-Spriting it's really great to have a layered graphic program like Photoshop. It's going to look a bit silly because the girl is so small compared to the horse's neck in the side view. Traditionally a centaur has a human torso and head where the horse's neck and head would be. So I'll work with that basic principle.
It's still looking pretty ridiculous right?
The body is disproportionate to her size. So, I'll move some parts of the horse around to make it shorter and skinnier since that's easier to do than making the girl bigger.
Still looks weird right, but now the horse's body is the right size. I did this simply by selecting parts of the horse and nudging them over or cutting them off.
 
I can go back in and make it smoother by correcting the colors a bit.
She's mostly done now. I picked colors with the eye dropper tool in Photoshop and used the pencil tool to build up parts like the girl's skirt and the neck of the horse. I also changed the color of the horse's tail to match her hair.
The last thing I did was change the hue of the horse's coat to a more yellow tone by selecting the coat and using the Hue/Saturation tool in Photoshop (Ctrl + U).
Now this form of Franken-Spriting is probably not what comes to mind. This is definitely the most extreme form. It is more likely that you will want to just take a hair-do from one sprite or part of the costume and put it on your own and recolor. But this was more fun to do and show.
3. Templates/Bases
There are several free bases or sprite templates to work off of to create your own custom sprites.
Here's an example of the “MACK” base, named after its orginal creator. It's a pretty popular base for sprites. It is what I used to create the sprite for the girl above.
All you have to do is open up the base file in your favorite graphics program.
I want to make a darker skinned character so I make a new layer, set the new layer as a clipping mask (Ctrl + G or Layer>Group with Previous/Enable Clipping Mask). I set Layer two to "Multiply" and fill it completely with a warm brown. Now she's dark. In Layer two I use my Eraser tool to get brown off the eyes which I want to stay clear. I change the darkness by adjusting the opacity or playing with settings, but I like this so I flatten it.
I usually go with an “outlining” method when making clothes or hair. The outline is usually the darkest version of the main color. I don't like sprites with black outlines really. So I've outlined her hair style which I decided to be lazy with and just make it a buzzed shaved hair-do. Popular in Africa. I'm also just going to give her a simple Yellow dress. I changed the pixels in her eyes to green instead of blue simply by picking a green color and using my pencil tool.
I decide my mid color and just filled my outlines. I do my shading within these outlines.
I only did one level of shading for her so far. I just followed the outlines of the dress with a color slightly lighter than the darkest outline. There are several sites that provide color templates that make it easier to pick colors and proper shades. (I'm just using Photoshop default which is NOT the best at all). I felt like experimenting with the shading of the hair. It's a good way to learn new tricks!
Here are some links to color palettes
http://www.xandorra.net/tut_pal.php
http://www.thedollery.net/goodies_palettes.html
http://sparklingice.net/dolls/
 
This is what the final version looks like. I decided to change the color of the top half of her dress to red by simply selecting that part and changing the Hue/Saturation. (Ctrl + U or Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation) I checked the “colorize” option to make the color even. (It's a fun tool to play with.)
Just remember these are the only two tools you need to make a sprite. You can find them in most graphics programs. Layers just make it easier to to experiment or fix mistakes. You just have to be more careful using a program like MSPaint.
4.Making Your Own?
It may take some practice but it is quite possible to make your own templates, bases, and sprites.
 
The image on the left I made by tracing a template from the default battlers in 2k3 RTP. On the right is an updated version of the character inspired by one of my friend's sprites. Look at examples for inspiration, shading techniques or poses.
Have Fun Spriting!
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Details
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Tutorial:
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Spriting from Scratch |
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Date Listed:
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Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:21:01 -0700 |
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Author:
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Modesty
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Total Hits:
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7466 |
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