Sprites

HOW TO MAKE SPRITES

STEP ONE: OUTLINING
Creating a solid outline is the key to a good sprite. Unfortunately, this is one of the more involved steps: you've got to be able to draw well (ha!) in order to create something recognizable. And if you can't tell what your sprite is at this stage, no amount of coloring or shading will solve that.

You've got options in the color sector. Most of the time, you'll go dark: browns, navy blues, purples, almost-blacks, dark versions of the color of the object itself. Don't worry about this too much, though; you'll be returning to the outline later.

STEP TWO: COLORING
This one is so simple, you'll want to cry. Decide on colors you like and fill in areas of your sprite. This is what your paint bucket is for. Don't get too comfortable because the next step is a doozy.

STEP THREE: PALETTE-ING
This is when you choose the colors with which you'll be shading. You'll need highlights and shadows. Base these off your base colors you chose in step two.

The simplest route, and the most tempting, is to simply mess with the value to make lights and darks. This works, and looks good, but flat. Messing with the hue adds a new layer of, erm, depth, for lack of a better word, and overall results in a more interesting sprite.

[chili pepper sprites]

Notice the hue shifts in the chili pepper on the right. Thanks to Lapiman for letting me use these.

The general hue rule: closer to yellow, lighter. Closer to purple, darker. Shift your hue accordingly when you're creating your palette. Obviously, don't shift it to a point where it's not the original color any more; the effect should be subtle, but still visible. +/-15 is a good limit- but it varies based on shininess. Shinier objects see more variation in their colors; dull objects have colors closer to the base. For some shiny things you might even want to go up to straight white.

Size dictates the number of colors you'll need. For 16x16s, you'll only need maybe two shadows and two highlights, one more extreme and one closer to the base color. Going larger? 32x32 works well with three. 64x64 might need four. Use some judgement.

STEP FOUR: COLOR SHADING
Decide on a direction in which you want your light to shine. Usually it's the top left or top right corner; ideally you'd like to be consistent with this throughout all your sprites, if you're making them as a set.

Find the regions of your sprite farthest away from the light source- these are the darkest parts. Use your darkest color and color in only the parts that should be darkest. You might need a little bit of experimentation. Remember that parts under other parts should also be shaded- e.g., underneath folds, bumps, or overhangs.

Then, go in around the pixels with a color that isn't as dark, for somewhat of a blending effect. Repeat with all of your shadow colors.

You'll need some judgement here: you might have shadows that aren't as dark as other shadows. Use common sense. Less dark? Use a shade that isn't as dark. Figure out which looks more accurate, figure out what looks better. It's art, dangit, not an algorithm.

The process is the same for highlights. Just find the areas that are lightest and color in accordingly. Blend, and you're done.

Occasionally, you might want to shade your outlines, too: using the same methods from step three, choose one or two ever-so-slightly lighter or darker variants and outline light and dark areas. Simple.

Enjoy!