Title: Newbie Spriter
Post by: Clik on May 27, 2009, 12:04:03 am
Post by: Clik on May 27, 2009, 12:04:03 am
So, I ran across this site, randomly searching for FFT images. Hacking FFT? 
DO WANT!
So, I enjoy spriting. Trying to fit detail and care into such a small picture is an enjoyable challenge. Of course, this has limitations, right? I have, what, 16 colors to play with? Less? Are Portraits more? Is there a Pallete image I can use to dropper colors from?
Sigh.
That having been said, what can I do to help? Is there a project I can volunteer to work on? Avis that need made? What programs are must haves to start hacking from an .ISO, or should I not even bother because it's too complicated? GAH! There's so much to learn. T_T
...Anyway... I'm rambling. Any help, tips, tidbits, Commands From On High, etc., would be appreciated.
Here's a quick sample of the work I've done the past day or so.
Myself, for a Forum Avatar, and to try my hand at editing a sprite:
(http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss256/1ststrike/selfsprite.gif)
A worksheet, where I tried to make a friend of mine with his trademarked backpack and a Red Mage hat:
(http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss256/1ststrike/worksheet.gif)
And Terra, from FF6. I only managed to finish her Portrait, though I was working on a sprite:
(http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss256/1ststrike/terra.gif)
Critiques?
DO WANT!So, I enjoy spriting. Trying to fit detail and care into such a small picture is an enjoyable challenge. Of course, this has limitations, right? I have, what, 16 colors to play with? Less? Are Portraits more? Is there a Pallete image I can use to dropper colors from?
Sigh.
That having been said, what can I do to help? Is there a project I can volunteer to work on? Avis that need made? What programs are must haves to start hacking from an .ISO, or should I not even bother because it's too complicated? GAH! There's so much to learn. T_T
...Anyway... I'm rambling. Any help, tips, tidbits, Commands From On High, etc., would be appreciated.
Here's a quick sample of the work I've done the past day or so.
Myself, for a Forum Avatar, and to try my hand at editing a sprite:
(http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss256/1ststrike/selfsprite.gif)
A worksheet, where I tried to make a friend of mine with his trademarked backpack and a Red Mage hat:
(http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss256/1ststrike/worksheet.gif)
And Terra, from FF6. I only managed to finish her Portrait, though I was working on a sprite:
(http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss256/1ststrike/terra.gif)
Critiques?
Title:
Post by: Zozma on May 27, 2009, 12:13:18 am
Post by: Zozma on May 27, 2009, 12:13:18 am
nice but terra looks young
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Post by: Cheetah on May 27, 2009, 12:14:26 am
Post by: Cheetah on May 27, 2009, 12:14:26 am
This is impressive stuff, welcome! Lets see as far as your questions go. For spriting you are limited to 16 colors, for sprites one of those 16 must be the background black which becomes transparent. I would start doing spriting stuff and then branch out as you go. On the main page go to downloads and get FFTPatcher which should contain ShiShiSprite editor. Experiment with these with a clean ISO and all should become clear quickly. As far as where to help, spriters are always needed. Look around in the project threads and see what catches your interest.
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Post by: Clik on May 27, 2009, 12:17:50 am
Post by: Clik on May 27, 2009, 12:17:50 am
Too young? I guess I kinda always viewed her as rather young in my own head. Most of the plot about ehr is coming-of-age... Hm. Well, I try to work her face a bit to age her.
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Post by: jimmyjw88 on May 27, 2009, 12:25:06 am
Post by: jimmyjw88 on May 27, 2009, 12:25:06 am
Welcome to FFH ^^
This is impressive.
Looking forward for more ^^
Well done.
This is impressive.
Looking forward for more ^^
Well done.
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Post by: Clik on May 27, 2009, 12:35:08 am
Post by: Clik on May 27, 2009, 12:35:08 am
Many thanks, Cheetah. Playing with Shishi now. 
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Post by: Cheetah on May 27, 2009, 12:44:17 am
Post by: Cheetah on May 27, 2009, 12:44:17 am
I think the main reason Terra looks young is because her body is too small or her shoulders are just too narrow and small. There is basically too much of her body in the portrait. Widening the shoulders will do her a lot of good.
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Post by: Clik on May 27, 2009, 12:58:08 am
Post by: Clik on May 27, 2009, 12:58:08 am
Good idea! Thanks, I'll try that.
I'm having a problem with Shishi, though... I can't upload anything into it. It tells me the "Format of the executable (.exe) or library (.dll) is invalid." Any thoughts?
I'm having a problem with Shishi, though... I can't upload anything into it. It tells me the "Format of the executable (.exe) or library (.dll) is invalid." Any thoughts?
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Post by: Cheetah on May 27, 2009, 01:09:59 am
Post by: Cheetah on May 27, 2009, 01:09:59 am
Try having ShiShi in the programs folder, not just some random folder. That always helped me... Also as a test you could just export and bmp and then try importing it somewhere else. Then you will see if it is the program or something you are doing to the sprites.
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Post by: LastingDawn on May 27, 2009, 01:25:29 am
Post by: LastingDawn on May 27, 2009, 01:25:29 am
Hmm, that is some talent... I am a horrific spriter and Mercenaries could use all the help it can get! If you're looking to volunteer your efforts, you might want to take a look over at those forums, see if any of the new classes catch your eye, or if you have an idea for their sprites.
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Post by: jimmyjw88 on May 27, 2009, 01:48:29 am
Post by: jimmyjw88 on May 27, 2009, 01:48:29 am
Clik, the images that you wanted to upload must be in BMP Format and it must be color of 256 bits.
If not, you will not able to upload anything.
If not, you will not able to upload anything.
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Post by: Smash on May 27, 2009, 02:04:44 am
Post by: Smash on May 27, 2009, 02:04:44 am
Spriters.
Urge to critique rising.. After I saw the Terra mug.
That portrait's body looks awful. I blame it's tinyness, pillowshaded shoulderpads, granulated arms, and the weird neck shading.
We then have the tipical edits around the face, female calculator at first glance, with the hair fucked up with some ugly dark greens, lacking the proper contrast. The bangs and other hair details are poorly done as well, as if the mug underwent rushing to achieve completion.. The ear is too small, also.
If you are a fellow Ms Paint user, I'd recommend you to grab as many fft mugs as possible, and have them laying around your work area; inspecting and examining their details will allow for a better grasp at this style, that you will find easy, once you get used to it.
That's if you're planning on continuing, though.
Urge to critique rising.. After I saw the Terra mug.
That portrait's body looks awful. I blame it's tinyness, pillowshaded shoulderpads, granulated arms, and the weird neck shading.
We then have the tipical edits around the face, female calculator at first glance, with the hair fucked up with some ugly dark greens, lacking the proper contrast. The bangs and other hair details are poorly done as well, as if the mug underwent rushing to achieve completion.. The ear is too small, also.
If you are a fellow Ms Paint user, I'd recommend you to grab as many fft mugs as possible, and have them laying around your work area; inspecting and examining their details will allow for a better grasp at this style, that you will find easy, once you get used to it.
That's if you're planning on continuing, though.
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Post by: Cheetah on May 27, 2009, 03:03:32 am
Post by: Cheetah on May 27, 2009, 03:03:32 am
Good advice, take it. Nothing helps one learn and grow like criticism, it is any creative person's greatest reward.
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Post by: Clik on May 27, 2009, 03:11:19 am
Post by: Clik on May 27, 2009, 03:11:19 am
Apperciate the critique, Smash. Honestly, I sampled the greens for the hair from another portrait... Black Mage, probably. I was trying to stay within the shades the other images used; the colors all seem stylistically washed out. Believe it or not, I thought the hair was the only part I didn't f*ck up Short Bus style. Maybe I should try a character I'm more familiar with.
Jimmy, that seems to have solved my problem... Though, somehow, I have to go and reduce the color by hand even on the .BMPs the program itself exports. I have no idea... But it works, so I complain not at all.
Jimmy, that seems to have solved my problem... Though, somehow, I have to go and reduce the color by hand even on the .BMPs the program itself exports. I have no idea... But it works, so I complain not at all.
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Post by: Poco Loco on May 27, 2009, 04:24:32 am
Post by: Poco Loco on May 27, 2009, 04:24:32 am
nice job
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Post by: jimmyjw88 on May 27, 2009, 08:32:55 am
Post by: jimmyjw88 on May 27, 2009, 08:32:55 am
What do yo meant by reduce the color??
You mean to 16 palettes?
You mean to 16 palettes?
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Post by: Clik on May 27, 2009, 11:57:56 am
Post by: Clik on May 27, 2009, 11:57:56 am
No, I mean to 256 bits. Am I doing something wrong?
It will open the sprites I export as BMP, but not if I export them with a specific palette, and it won't open things I've edited unless I open them and change the colors to 256 bits by hand. But I can work around it, it seems. No one else has this problem?
It will open the sprites I export as BMP, but not if I export them with a specific palette, and it won't open things I've edited unless I open them and change the colors to 256 bits by hand. But I can work around it, it seems. No one else has this problem?
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Post by: Cheetah on May 27, 2009, 12:22:17 pm
Post by: Cheetah on May 27, 2009, 12:22:17 pm
What program are you using Clik? Having the BMP be 256 colors is normal, the different palette colors are determined by how you arrange your colors in the images palette.
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Post by: Clik on May 27, 2009, 01:14:26 pm
Post by: Clik on May 27, 2009, 01:14:26 pm
I have Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop and Paint. The more things I try to get the image to go to Shishi's, the more garbled the colors get.
Rather, the error I'm getting now is always that "The imported file had some pixels that weren't in the first 16 palette entries."
Rather, the error I'm getting now is always that "The imported file had some pixels that weren't in the first 16 palette entries."
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Post by: Cheetah on May 27, 2009, 01:41:54 pm
Post by: Cheetah on May 27, 2009, 01:41:54 pm
Try GIMP or Graphics Gale. Opening up a exported ShiShi BMP and looking at the palette in Graphics Gale will make the whole process much clearer to you I think.
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Post by: jimmyjw88 on May 28, 2009, 12:49:40 am
Post by: jimmyjw88 on May 28, 2009, 12:49:40 am
Yea. What Cheetah said.
Well, that error occurred is because the colors that you changed in the spritesheet and the colors of the original palettes are not same.
If you changed the colors of the spritesheet, you'll need to change the colors of the original palettes, which can be done with GraphicGale or GIMP.
Well, that error occurred is because the colors that you changed in the spritesheet and the colors of the original palettes are not same.
If you changed the colors of the spritesheet, you'll need to change the colors of the original palettes, which can be done with GraphicGale or GIMP.
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Post by: Clik on May 29, 2009, 03:46:40 am
Post by: Clik on May 29, 2009, 03:46:40 am
Rather than start a new thread, I thought I'd just ask in this one... Anyone mind offering opinions or suggestions on this Blue Mage sample?
(http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss256/1ststrike/blmage.gif)
(http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss256/1ststrike/blmage.gif)
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Post by: jimmyjw88 on May 29, 2009, 05:25:40 am
Post by: jimmyjw88 on May 29, 2009, 05:25:40 am
Looks good to start ^^
Is the rear-side's left arm (sprite's left) abit big and is the shoulder abit too slant or is it just my eyes?
Is the rear-side's left arm (sprite's left) abit big and is the shoulder abit too slant or is it just my eyes?
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Post by: DarthPaul on May 29, 2009, 07:32:02 am
Post by: DarthPaul on May 29, 2009, 07:32:02 am
Quote from: "jimmyjw88"Looks good to start ^^
Is the rear-side's left arm (sprite's left) abit big and is the shoulder abit too slant or is it just my eyes?
I think the arms should slant a bit more too, rear ones more so.
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Post by: Clik on May 29, 2009, 11:11:29 am
Post by: Clik on May 29, 2009, 11:11:29 am
Any better, comparatively?
(http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss256/1ststrike/blmage-1.gif) | (http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss256/1ststrike/blmage.gif)
New Edit | Old Edit
(http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss256/1ststrike/blmage-1.gif) | (http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss256/1ststrike/blmage.gif)
New Edit | Old Edit
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Post by: Cheetah on May 29, 2009, 11:27:33 am
Post by: Cheetah on May 29, 2009, 11:27:33 am
That fix improved things. But the design is just way too blue right now. Like why does he have a blue hat and a blue face?
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Post by: Clik on May 29, 2009, 11:36:34 am
Post by: Clik on May 29, 2009, 11:36:34 am
*mumbles* Domino mask...
Drop it, right?
Drop it, right?
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Post by: DarthPaul on May 29, 2009, 12:02:55 pm
Post by: DarthPaul on May 29, 2009, 12:02:55 pm
Domino mask?
The arms look much better. It might look cool to give him a cavalier hat with the feather stuck in. Either way I'm liking this design.
The arms look much better. It might look cool to give him a cavalier hat with the feather stuck in. Either way I'm liking this design.
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Post by: jimmyjw88 on May 29, 2009, 12:12:10 pm
Post by: jimmyjw88 on May 29, 2009, 12:12:10 pm
The arm need abit shape.
Not too slope.
Also, perhaps some designs. I think its abit too plain, don't you think?
Not too slope.
Also, perhaps some designs. I think its abit too plain, don't you think?
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Post by: Cheetah on May 29, 2009, 12:32:17 pm
Post by: Cheetah on May 29, 2009, 12:32:17 pm
Yeah drop the mask.
Plus maybe a belt or sash of some kind.
Plus maybe a belt or sash of some kind.
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Post by: Clik on May 29, 2009, 08:12:39 pm
Post by: Clik on May 29, 2009, 08:12:39 pm
Should I manage to come up with a satisfactory design, when I'm finished the feather should bounce and the sash tail (on his back) should shift. I tried to put the loose end of the sash in front, but couldn't make it work with the open coat. Palette junk comes later.
(http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss256/1ststrike/bluemage.png)
Other suggestions? And what do you mean by "Designs"?
(http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss256/1ststrike/bluemage.png)
Other suggestions? And what do you mean by "Designs"?
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Post by: jimmyjw88 on May 29, 2009, 09:54:29 pm
Post by: jimmyjw88 on May 29, 2009, 09:54:29 pm
Looks alot better now.
Well, perhaps some patterns but its optional.
Before you add the belt/sash, it looks too plain. That's why I suggest some designs / patterns but now with the belt/sash, I guess it doesn't look too plain like before.
Anyway, well done ^^
Well, perhaps some patterns but its optional.
Before you add the belt/sash, it looks too plain. That's why I suggest some designs / patterns but now with the belt/sash, I guess it doesn't look too plain like before.
Anyway, well done ^^
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Post by: gojoe on May 29, 2009, 10:38:34 pm
Post by: gojoe on May 29, 2009, 10:38:34 pm
from the rear it kinda looks like the hat has an ass
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Post by: jimmyjw88 on May 29, 2009, 10:58:27 pm
Post by: jimmyjw88 on May 29, 2009, 10:58:27 pm
Lol..Ass of a hat.
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Post by: Smash on May 29, 2009, 11:47:56 pm
Post by: Smash on May 29, 2009, 11:47:56 pm
I see pillowshading all over it, the most being in the hat.
You urgently need some of this.
http://www.natomic.com/hosted/marks/mpat/shading.html (http://www.natomic.com/hosted/marks/mpat/shading.html)
On FFT, lightsource comes from the top. Have other sprites around to serve as refs also.
You urgently need some of this.
http://www.natomic.com/hosted/marks/mpat/shading.html (http://www.natomic.com/hosted/marks/mpat/shading.html)
On FFT, lightsource comes from the top. Have other sprites around to serve as refs also.
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Post by: Clik on May 29, 2009, 11:56:28 pm
Post by: Clik on May 29, 2009, 11:56:28 pm
Good link. Now I see what you mean by pillowshading. I'm sure it'll be a great help. Thanks.
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Post by: Cheetah on May 30, 2009, 12:32:53 am
Post by: Cheetah on May 30, 2009, 12:32:53 am
You have his pants as blue on the front view, so they need to match what they side views use.
The sash is good but the tie down the back is bad. Put it on the side, like under his armpit and I think it will look better and more functional there. You could even think about making it a pixel thicker.
Smash is of course right about the pillowshading. We are particularly bad at FFH for pillowshading, I myself am very bad at shading at this point.
The sash is good but the tie down the back is bad. Put it on the side, like under his armpit and I think it will look better and more functional there. You could even think about making it a pixel thicker.
Smash is of course right about the pillowshading. We are particularly bad at FFH for pillowshading, I myself am very bad at shading at this point.
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Post by: jimmyjw88 on May 30, 2009, 08:16:02 am
Post by: jimmyjw88 on May 30, 2009, 08:16:02 am
Wow...That is really a good link to help more on shading.
I could really use this link to help me get better in shading.
Thanks alot, Smash.
Smash is no doubt the best spriter in FFH. Whatever Smash suggest, we take. It will definitely help us get better. All Hail To Smash ^^
I could really use this link to help me get better in shading.
Thanks alot, Smash.
Smash is no doubt the best spriter in FFH. Whatever Smash suggest, we take. It will definitely help us get better. All Hail To Smash ^^