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Best drawing software for noobs

Discussion in 'Formats & External Tools' started by Boris1998, May 26, 2015.

  1. Boris1998

    Boris1998

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2013
    Posts:
    82
    It's very difficult to draw with a mouse, so I am searching (unsucessfully) for and good and very simple software that would allow me to draw and animate something as shown on screenshot below (main character).

    I am not very skilled, so...any suggestions? :D


    Here is the game which screenshot is taken from:
    http://sandbox.yoyogames.com/games/147242-gore
    SkrinBloodAndGore.png
     
  2. theANMATOR2b

    theANMATOR2b

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2014
    Posts:
    7,790
    Hey Boris - didn't you link to that cool smooth draw tool a couple days ago?
    http://lazynezumi.com/

    I'm kind of a a resource junkie, when I see a good link I'll save it, so I can't attest to the two tools below because I've never used them, but they might be helpful. Several on the forum here have said inkscape is pretty nice.
    https://inkscape.org/en/
    http://www.aseprite.org/

    You didn't mention what your budget is or which tools you have already tried, but I have a specific process for creating pixel art like you provided above using photoshop. Gimp may also work similar (I haven't used it in years so I can't confirm it does) - but it's free to use and there are some awesome artists who use it.

    I drew a lot of pixel art with a mouse before Santa brought me a wacom for Christmas several years ago.
    The process I used at the time was in photoshop. Open 2 instance windows of the same document, the first instance is at 100% zoom level - the second instance is zoomed to the level you are comfortable drawing at, usually 400-800%. The second instance is the document you draw in.
    Use the pencil tool, with a square pixel brush, size 1. Not the brush tool. Make sure you are zoomed in and draw at the pixel level. Click with the pencil tool, don't click and drag. Initially it's a pretty tedious process, but the results are far better than I could have done freehand with a mouse at the time.
    The speed you create drawings at first - is pretty slow, but within a weeks time 1-2 hours per day you will see noticeable increase in speed and quality. Don't get frustrated, it's easy to think your not making progress when you only get half a face done in 1-2 hours. But check it out the next day and you should be impressed with the quality of the work compared to your previous drawings with a mouse and the brush tool.

    As soon as you can - invest in a tablet. I have an old trusty intous 2 which is totally 'old' and out dated, but it works and I'm good with it so that's all that matters. I've heard other tablets are alright also. You want to make sure the tablet you get has at least 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity or it might feel a little laggy or touchy.

    Here are a couple recently gathered tutorial pages on creating pixel art.
    http://androidarts.com/pixtut/pixelart.htm
    http://www.pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11299
    http://www.reddit.com/r/PixelArt/comments/gxmgh/pixel_art_tutorials/
    http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/pixel-art-tutorials/


    You can also use the bezier/pen tools in photoshop or any other software package. They provide quality smooth results that can be manipulated pretty easy with a mouse.

    Hope this helps.
     
    TonyLi likes this.
  3. Boris1998

    Boris1998

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2013
    Posts:
    82
    Thank you, maybe that reply will be helpful to someone else too. I was looking for a magical trick to make something great other than practice... I can draw exactly what I want on paper, but to do it on PC...using mouse... it's so hard...and getting pixel perfect images at high resolutions is even harder in photoshop... or I just need more practice? :D

    I will reconsider vector graphic, thanx! :D
     
  4. TonyLi

    TonyLi

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2012
    Posts:
    12,670
    Yes; great advice. Tablets make a world of difference. You can probably find a cheap one on eBay, or check the bulletin boards at your local university's art department.
     
  5. Boris1998

    Boris1998

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2013
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    82
    I am poor and not to mention that I can't really afford any of listed softwares, so I am learning on pirated versions or free trials.
    Soo.... I am currently doing some tutorials for Adobe Illustrator that is even outside my needs. :D

    A tablet...hmm...
    As I said, I am good at drawing and I've tried to draw on my friend's android phone Samsung Galaxy Note 3 which is Amaaaaaziiiiiiinnnngggg even for game developing. There is a lot of potential in it's built in drawing apps.
    So, I think tablet would be a big benefit to my future learning and work on computer graphics...but...The mouse is not bad too :D
    Also, there are softwares for smoothing out mouse while drawing on PC, like LazyNezumi that theANMATOR2b mentioned that I posted about. :D
     
  6. theANMATOR2b

    theANMATOR2b

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2014
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    I was speaking to a dedicated artist tablet - not a "tablet" with drawing ability added on. Wacom is the best and the quality, durability, and focused attention to creating art is at it's core. Second generation and second hand wacom tablets can be purchased for 1/4 the retail price. Check into them.

    And suggest using trials and other free alternatives instead of any pirated software.
    If you create a game with pirated software, you are liable to fraud and theft. Best to use what's legally available and collect cans, or stack some wood, or mow some lawns or rake some leaves for some extra money to get the development tools you need.
    Using pirated software is just like someone else pirating your awesome game and not paying for it.
     
    TonyLi likes this.
  7. Boris1998

    Boris1998

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2013
    Posts:
    82
    I know what are you talking about... a drawing tablet ofc, but it's still too expensive for me right now
    For the pirating part.... hmm... it's considered strange to buy a game in some parts of my country xD
    But, speaking of tools... I've planned on using just free version of Unity 4 when Unity 5 came out which is really great.
    Photoshop and other stuff.... I know I shouldn't tell much about that, but I've been just learning on pirated version for now... and alredy considered making games with it knowing that image file can always be changed that noone can notice it's real origin, but still... I may use gimp or some free alternatives :D
    There is a lot of great free softwares essential for game developing like Audacity, Blender...and I am really grateful.

    I am going for pixel art style for now... well, because it's basically free to make. :D
     
  8. GoesTo11

    GoesTo11

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2014
    Posts:
    604
    Don't pirate. Inkscape and Gimp are free, open source and have lots of great tutorials on the web.
     
  9. hislittlecuzin

    hislittlecuzin

    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2015
    Posts:
    12
    Here's a nice GIMP tutorial. It's part of a series but this is the basics of drawing with a mouse.

    (Not my tutorial, but something I enjoyed watching.)
    https://youtu. be/K7F1MwEOf1E
     
    BrandyStarbrite likes this.
  10. Qiwen9910

    Qiwen9910

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2019
    Posts:
    1
    I've just started recently, and I didn't want to pay for anything while I was testing the waters, so I went with a combination of OpenToonz and Krita. OpenToonz helps me sync frames and audio and render videos, but I'm not the biggest fan of drawing with it. That's why I supplement it with Krita, which I feel more comfortable using to draw the frames. Both are free and don't take long to get used to.

    I enjoy drawing with line smoothing options on vastly more than free handed. I have a XP-Pen Artist 12 Drawing Tablet With Screen , but my hands are quite shaky, so I appreciate the extra boost.
     
  11. SnowInChina

    SnowInChina

    Joined:
    Oct 9, 2012
    Posts:
    204
    you can buy a used wacom bamboo for 20$, maybe even cheaper if you snipe them at ebay
    if you are serious about this, then this will be the best investment you can make

    if you only want to make stuff like you posted, you can propably use your mouse and windows paint
    for any art made with only a mouse you will propably get the best and fastest results if you stick to a vector like workflow, where you build up your shapes with splines. they can be easily edited with only a mouse, so it doesn't really matter