Hi, everyone. I'm Trapinch. Some of you may know me as a spriter. Some of you may hold me in high regards because of this. While nobody's throwing themselves at my feet (and I really don't know why not), I figured I've garnered both enough skill and attention to warrant a guide to spriting.
"But why?" you may be asking. "I'm already the pinnacle of spriting! I need absolutely no improvements to my style, nor do I ever wish to entertain the thought of improving!" Well, stupid, listen up. I'm here to make sure you get better, because it's really all about the people. About you people. Out there.
So listen up, jerks! Here's my guide to spriting!
"But why?" you may be asking. "I'm already the pinnacle of spriting! I need absolutely no improvements to my style, nor do I ever wish to entertain the thought of improving!" Well, stupid, listen up. I'm here to make sure you get better, because it's really all about the people. About you people. Out there.
So listen up, jerks! Here's my guide to spriting!
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Designing a Pokemon (right here)
2. Constructing a Pokemon
STEP ONE: DESIGNING A POKEMON!
This is arguably the most important part of spriting, since before you even think of opening up Paint (or Photoshop or whatever else you use), you've gotta know what the heck you're making! After all, it's not like I completely wing it every time! R-really.
Now, this is a good time to introduce a little thing I like to call KISS.
What's it stand for? Keep It Simple, Stupid.
Here's the deal. Pokemon designs shouldn't be totally intricate, really. I mean, they should be eyecatching, no doubt--let's take one of my sprites, for instance.
Here's Croakid, my pride and joy. Granted, this isn't a great sprite, but it's a handy one to use for an occasion like this. (Why isn't it? We'll go over that later.) Now, what's the first thing you notice about Croakid? In my opinion, it's gotta be the colors. Now, is it complex? No, it's a simple band of purple separating red and... some sandy color. Now, let's take a look at another one of my sprites, this one... a bit older.
This is Reptorch. He's big and nasty looking. Now, what stands out about this one? Yet again, the design. But is it totally intricate? No, not at all. It's basically a pattern of stripes and jaggedy-bits. See what I mean?
Basically, good designs can be simple designs. No questions asked.
See how it works? With something as busy as this...
... you lose the feeling that it's a Pokemon. Speaking of, now's a good time to talk about another handy acronym. KIOSK. To lengthen it a bit, Keep It Organic, Stupid Kid. This means nothing too clothing-like or stuff like that. What you want to aim for is the design to be incorporated into the Pokemon's body structure.
Like here, with Delitot. You can plainly see the intent: an elf's uniform. It's not explicitly wearing one, but you can tell it's supposed to look like one.
Now, this is only one of a multiple-part series; it's not that I'm lazy, it's just that these things take a while to write up. Look forward to the next section on line art! Feedback is, of course, encouraged, and remember that most of this is opinion, and I'm mostly full of crap. You can use this as advice, not strict rules.
See ya, jerks!
