Difference between revisions of "Create Art"

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Graphic artists working on artwork intended for mainline Wesnoth usually meet on the [http://forums.wesnoth.org/viewforum.php?f=9 Art Contributions forum] or on the [http://forums.wesnoth.org/viewforum.php?f=18 restricted Art Development forum] ("restricted" meaning that only those users with special permissions - such as art contributors and developers - can post there). The former is a great place to post and discuss new and current mainline Wesnoth art and graphics, and the latter to see what the art development team is working on. Artists working on graphics for [[WesnothAcronyms|UMC]] add-ons meet in the [http://forums.wesnoth.org/viewforum.php?f=23 Art Workshop forum].
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Graphic artists working on artwork intended for mainline Wesnoth usually meet on the [http://forums.wesnoth.org/viewforum.php?f=9 Art Contributions forum] or on the [http://forums.wesnoth.org/viewforum.php?f=18 restricted Art Development forum] ("restricted" meaning that only those users with special permissions - such as art contributors and developers - can post there). The former is a great place to post and discuss new and current mainline Wesnoth art and graphics, and the latter to see what the art development team is working on. Artists working on graphics for [[Glossary|UMC]] add-ons meet in the [http://forums.wesnoth.org/viewforum.php?f=23 Art Workshop forum].
  
 
Unit and terrain art is stored in the lossless ''Portable Network Graphics'' (PNG) format. Each frame of a unit animation, and each variation of a terrain is stored as a separate .png file in ''data/core/images'' under the [[EditingWesnoth#Where_is_my_game_data_directory.3F|main data directory]] of the game, and generally these files will be 72 x 72 pixels (the size of Wesnoth's basic hexagonal tile) with an alpha channel (a part of the file that indicates how transparent each pixel is). When creating your own images, you can test them without overwriting any game data by putting them in your [[EditingWesnoth#Where_is_my_user_data_directory.3F|user data directory]]. The game also supports JPEG images, although these are better suited for story art.
 
Unit and terrain art is stored in the lossless ''Portable Network Graphics'' (PNG) format. Each frame of a unit animation, and each variation of a terrain is stored as a separate .png file in ''data/core/images'' under the [[EditingWesnoth#Where_is_my_game_data_directory.3F|main data directory]] of the game, and generally these files will be 72 x 72 pixels (the size of Wesnoth's basic hexagonal tile) with an alpha channel (a part of the file that indicates how transparent each pixel is). When creating your own images, you can test them without overwriting any game data by putting them in your [[EditingWesnoth#Where_is_my_user_data_directory.3F|user data directory]]. The game also supports JPEG images, although these are better suited for story art.
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To edit these graphics, you'll need some program capable of creating PNG's - some of the programs in the following list are free, open-source software, and will do the job nicely: [[Art Programs]]
 
To edit these graphics, you'll need some program capable of creating PNG's - some of the programs in the following list are free, open-source software, and will do the job nicely: [[Art Programs]]
  
If you need some inspiration, we have a (no longer maintained) [[GraphicLibrary|Graphics Library]] which collects art posted on the forum. You can use this for ideas, and as a scrap heap for different parts of unit images (a technique described [[Give Your Hero A Personality|here]]).
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[[Give Your Hero A Personality|Give Your Hero A Personality]]
  
 
== Art Tutorials ==
 
== Art Tutorials ==
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=== General Art and Computer Graphics ===
 
=== General Art and Computer Graphics ===
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Note: articles that mention making art in physical formats in this section are outdated; artists are encouraged to make their art in digital-native formats these days.
 
* [[Using the Levels Adjustment]] - How to make scanned pencil drawings ''not'' look washed out.
 
* [[Using the Levels Adjustment]] - How to make scanned pencil drawings ''not'' look washed out.
 
* [[Extending dynamic range]] - The Grooviest (so far) tutorial about extending the dynamic range of images and how this technique can be used to make better scans of pencil drawings.
 
* [[Extending dynamic range]] - The Grooviest (so far) tutorial about extending the dynamic range of images and how this technique can be used to make better scans of pencil drawings.
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* [[Scaling Digital Images]] - How to properly resize an image on a computer.
 
* [[Scaling Digital Images]] - How to properly resize an image on a computer.
 
* [[How to Shade]] - An attempt at tackling a very complicated topic.
 
* [[How to Shade]] - An attempt at tackling a very complicated topic.
* [[Cartography for Wesnoth|How to make Wesnoth-style Maps ]] - Kestenvarn's tricks of the trade.
 
 
* [[Designing weapons and armour]] - Advice from zookeeper on designing realistic weapons for your characters.
 
* [[Designing weapons and armour]] - Advice from zookeeper on designing realistic weapons for your characters.
 
* [[Portrait Tutorial]] - A guide on how to draw unit/character portraits by Kitty.
 
* [[Portrait Tutorial]] - A guide on how to draw unit/character portraits by Kitty.
* [[Armour_Tutorial]] A tutorial on how to shade metallic armour by LordBob.
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* [[Armour Tutorial]] A tutorial on how to shade metallic armour by LordBob.
 
====Vector Art====
 
====Vector Art====
 
Sgt. Groovy's vector workshop - Tips and tricks for drawing with Inkscape.
 
Sgt. Groovy's vector workshop - Tips and tricks for drawing with Inkscape.
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:* [[Vector Inking]] - Vector techniques, including mouse-only, for inking your sketches.
 
:* [[Vector Inking]] - Vector techniques, including mouse-only, for inking your sketches.
 
:* [[Making portrait art in vector]] - A complete tutorial for making Wesnoth unit portraits in vector graphics.
 
:* [[Making portrait art in vector]] - A complete tutorial for making Wesnoth unit portraits in vector graphics.
 
  
 
=== [[Terrain|Terrain Graphics]] ===
 
=== [[Terrain|Terrain Graphics]] ===
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* [[Mesilliac's Essay on Terrain Perspective]] - The geometry behind the perspective used for terrain tiles in Wesnoth.
 
* [[Mesilliac's Essay on Terrain Perspective]] - The geometry behind the perspective used for terrain tiles in Wesnoth.
 
* [[Tiles Tutorial]] - Frame's tutorial describing the process of making terrain tiles in Wesnoth, and how they interact with adjacent tiles.
 
* [[Tiles Tutorial]] - Frame's tutorial describing the process of making terrain tiles in Wesnoth, and how they interact with adjacent tiles.
* [[How To Make Seamless Tiles]] - The tutorial is aimed at Photoshop users, but the technique is similar with GIMP.
 
* [[Seamless Tiles Using Inkscape]] - This tutorial teaches a method for making seamless hex tiles in vector craphics (to be rendered in raster).
 
 
* [[Turning Square Tiles into Hex]] - Nifty tricks for transforming square (or any rectangle) shaped seamless tiles into hexagon seamless tiles.
 
* [[Turning Square Tiles into Hex]] - Nifty tricks for transforming square (or any rectangle) shaped seamless tiles into hexagon seamless tiles.
 
* [[CastleTutorial|Castle Tutorial]] - A description of how Wesnoth's castle tiles work (needs updating, but useful nonetheless).
 
* [[CastleTutorial|Castle Tutorial]] - A description of how Wesnoth's castle tiles work (needs updating, but useful nonetheless).
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* [[TerrainGraphicsWML]] - If you really need to get technical, start here.
 
* [[TerrainGraphicsWML]] - If you really need to get technical, start here.
 
* [http://www.anathas.org/ayin/wesnoth/doc/terrain_graphics_wml Ayin's Terrain Graphics document] - If you really, ''really'' need to get technical, this describes the terrain graphics WML system in depth.
 
* [http://www.anathas.org/ayin/wesnoth/doc/terrain_graphics_wml Ayin's Terrain Graphics document] - If you really, ''really'' need to get technical, this describes the terrain graphics WML system in depth.
 
  
 
=== Sprite Art ===
 
=== Sprite Art ===
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* [[TeamColoring]] - How to automatically team-color sprites to see what they look like in various colors.
 
* [[TeamColoring]] - How to automatically team-color sprites to see what they look like in various colors.
 
* [[Creating Shadows Under Units]] - How we create the shadows for the units in-game.
 
* [[Creating Shadows Under Units]] - How we create the shadows for the units in-game.
* [[How to Anti-Alias Sprite Art]] - A means of removing the jagged edges on pixel lines.
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* [[How to Anti-Alias Sprite Art]] - A means of removing the jagged edges on pixel lines, for those that wish to do so.
* [[Rotate Pixel Art Without Blurring]]
 
 
* [http://forums.wesnoth.org/download/file.php?id=56284 Zerovirus's Spriting Workflow] - Wesnoth artist Zerovirus explains step-by-step his methodology for creating Wesnoth sprites from scratch (.png file).
 
* [http://forums.wesnoth.org/download/file.php?id=56284 Zerovirus's Spriting Workflow] - Wesnoth artist Zerovirus explains step-by-step his methodology for creating Wesnoth sprites from scratch (.png file).
 
* [[Creating a scratch built sprite]] - An attempt to show some ways creating a sprite from scratch.
 
* [[Creating a scratch built sprite]] - An attempt to show some ways creating a sprite from scratch.
* [[FrankenPacks]] - A quick and dirty way to create sprites for [[WesnothAcronyms|UMC]].
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* [[FrankenPacks]] - A quick and dirty way to create sprites for [[Glossary|UMC]].
* [[Creating a scratch built sprite]] - An attempt to show some ways creating a sprite from scratch.
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* [[Choosing your palette]] - Make shadows look interesting.
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====Animation====
 
====Animation====
 
:* [[Basic Animation Tutorial]] - Or "How to Animate Sprites for Dummies," covering the basic theory, and all of the mistakes to avoid.
 
:* [[Basic Animation Tutorial]] - Or "How to Animate Sprites for Dummies," covering the basic theory, and all of the mistakes to avoid.
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* [[External Tutorials]]
 
* [[External Tutorials]]
 
  
 
== See Also ==
 
== See Also ==
 
* [[Create]]
 
* [[Create]]
 
* [[EditingWesnoth]]
 
* [[EditingWesnoth]]
* [[GraphicLibrary]] - Lots of usercontributed graphics (most should be GPL'ed)
 
 
* [[Project]]
 
* [[Project]]
* [http://wesnoth.dbzer0.com/blog/wpg2 External Graphic Library] - A project to better organize the art of Wesnoth.
 
  
 
[[Category:Art Tutorials]]
 
[[Category:Art Tutorials]]

Latest revision as of 23:09, 2 September 2021

Graphic artists working on artwork intended for mainline Wesnoth usually meet on the Art Contributions forum or on the restricted Art Development forum ("restricted" meaning that only those users with special permissions - such as art contributors and developers - can post there). The former is a great place to post and discuss new and current mainline Wesnoth art and graphics, and the latter to see what the art development team is working on. Artists working on graphics for UMC add-ons meet in the Art Workshop forum.

Unit and terrain art is stored in the lossless Portable Network Graphics (PNG) format. Each frame of a unit animation, and each variation of a terrain is stored as a separate .png file in data/core/images under the main data directory of the game, and generally these files will be 72 x 72 pixels (the size of Wesnoth's basic hexagonal tile) with an alpha channel (a part of the file that indicates how transparent each pixel is). When creating your own images, you can test them without overwriting any game data by putting them in your user data directory. The game also supports JPEG images, although these are better suited for story art.

To edit these graphics, you'll need some program capable of creating PNG's - some of the programs in the following list are free, open-source software, and will do the job nicely: Art Programs

Give Your Hero A Personality

Art Tutorials

These are a work-in-progress, and describe both how to make art fit into Wesnoth's style, as well as giving some considerable tips on drawing in general. Especially useful is the External Tutorials page which lists a large number of art tutorials available on the web.


General Art and Computer Graphics

Note: articles that mention making art in physical formats in this section are outdated; artists are encouraged to make their art in digital-native formats these days.

Vector Art

Sgt. Groovy's vector workshop - Tips and tricks for drawing with Inkscape.

Terrain Graphics

The following is information specific to drawing terrain for Wesnoth. Read Frame's "Tiles Tutorial" for a good overview of how terrain graphics work.

These describe the system used to specify how terrains behave in game:

Sprite Art

The following are different tutorials about sprite work compiled by various Wesnoth sprite artists. These will give you the most specific-to-Wesnoth information about making sprites, and are well worth a read.

Animation

External Tutorials

The following page contains dozens of links to tutorials covering all manner of artwork, including sprite art. These were not made by Wesnoth artists, but should prove very useful for general instruction.

See Also

This page was last edited on 2 September 2021, at 23:09.