Art program similar to DKC 1 and 2

I am not sure if this goes here, mods please feel free to move it to the proper section if this doesnt belong here.

Anyone know of any art programs, preferably free, that are similar in art style to Donkey Kong Country 1 and 2?

Thanks in advance!

 

Donkey Kong Country used Alias PowerAnimator and SGI workstations to render out their art, then a custom tool to reduce the color count.

You can make exactly the same art using Blender & Gimp, both free. There's no special trick or button you can press to making the art look like Donkey Kong Country. That's all just in they were modeled, textured, and lit. i.e.: it's mostly art & technique and less about technology.

It's kind of like asking what brand of chisel you should use to make a marble statue that looks like Michelangelo's David. The tool isn't really the important part.

 

Can I just use gimp for the technique part? Or do I need Blender for that after I draw an image in gimp?

What do I need to do to reduce the color count and get it modeled and textured like it?

 

Blender is a 3D modeling tool. Gimp is a 2D drawing and manipulation tool.
(Though Blender also has some 2D tools mainly focused on animation, and Gimp has some super basic 3D tools.)

If you want to match DKC’s style, they’re 3D modeled objects that have been rendered into sprites. That specifically was the big thing that made those Rare games look so much different than the hand drawn (or occasionally photo based, like Mortal Kombat, NARC, or the original Doom) art of literally every other game out there.

Gimp is only really needed for the last step minor hand touch ups and optionally color reduction which you only need if you want to 100% match the DKC style. Modern GPUs don’t really get any benefit from using color reduced art.

But, again, the programs themselves don’t really matter. Every single 3D modeling tool that exists today can make art that looks like Donkey Kong Country. It’s more about the user’s skill in modeling and their ability to match that style themselves. There’s no quick “make good art” button.

 

Alright thanks.

Im sure there are plenty of tutorials out there with how to do it