The Mana World Forums

I know some of you use MS Paint or Gimp with some plugins

This is a tool developed by someone I've met on an another forum.
http://koti.mbnet.fi/paulkp/stile/

This is the standard open source solution I've recommended so far.
http://tilestudio.sourceforge.net/

I'd like to hear it from you since you're the ones using the programs: What do you use? Additionally I'd like you to try out each other's methods in case of potential workflow improvements.

If you go to versiontracker.com you can search "pixel" and find some good stuff not alot of tools to make pixel art i whould just suggest photoshop it does everything

Hmmmm...
I used to use iDraw when I worked with rm2k. I make tiles with gimp now though.

Before discovering the Gimp, I used GraphicsGale to create my developer's graphic. This is a very nice tool for pixel graphic. The free version lacks the ability to open/save in some animated formats such as gif.

http://www.humanbalance.net/gale/us/

I found this one program they say its photoshop for pixel artists!

Mac only i think you can look around on the site

http://www.opensword.org/Pixen/

I just use the Gimp... only problem is it doesn't seem to work well with my drawing tablet.

I'd like to help the developer of Stile a bit and therefore I'm suggesting that at least some of you should try Stile and report back to this thread. Experimenting with new stuff seldom hurts..

I love IDraw so much that ICP (a little for-fun devteam im part of) hosts one of the last-known working .exe files for installing it (since the mac came out with iDraw, i havent been able to find the old 'chara mucker' anywhere)
Gimp is ok, i dont know, i couldnt get 'in to it'
i found GG to be astoundingly clumbsey to use (if theres one thing i like about IDraw its how fluid it is)
Photoshop is overpowered and crap for pixelwork
Pixen...id need to try it more
MS Paint/ iDraw/ Claris Works........unless you are using system or retro palettes, dont use these programs. even if you are using old-school palettes, IDraw works much, MUCH better and its smoother
When i get home ill try the links you guys put up

Adarias wrote:Gimp is ok, i dont know, i couldnt get 'in to it'

Holy crap... Gimp is supreme ruler over iDraw. It's a lot easier to make graphics with it because you are working with more than 256 colors and it compresses it wonderfully.

But don't get me wrong, I do still have a soft spot for iDraw.

And you can easily create animated GIFs with GIMP to preview in-game animations.

*just for the sake of discussion*

IDraw can also preview animations easily and export them, and because its saved as a filmstrip already you can easily use GIF movie gear or sometihng like that to put together examples ofr people in moments. WOrking with more than 256 colors leads to color abuse and larges files, i seldome use over 12 colors in a single piece, and almost never over 40.
idraw rocks mad hard

i'm a die-hard for MSPaint. i've tried Photoshop, Dogwaffle, and a few other high-level paint programs. But with MSPaint i feel much closer to the art. Feels a lot more raw. Gives you complete control over the piece without overloading you with annoying tools. As i've said many times, what you can create in Photoshop or any of those other effects-laden high-level programs, you can make in MSPaint, it just takes longer. Which brings me to the main problem with using MSPaint: pictures take much longer to make. So if you use Paint, you have to learn to get pretty good at freehand pixelpushing. Not that that's a bad thing.

I think MS Paint is just terrible... tried Gimp?
Does Paint even have shortkeys?

Adarias wrote:WOrking with more than 256 colors leads to color abuse and larges files, i seldome use over 12 colors in a single piece, and almost never over 40.

But you can save it as a 12 color file though!

........So can the simpler, sleeker iDraw? lol. I like iDraw's interface too, for the record