Okay, so you want to make comix?

Introbulus · 02-19-2004, 04:49 PM

Well, listen up, 'cuz I'm only going to tell you how once. I'll take you through the process step-by-step, and explain every detail. If you have any more questions, post them HERE and I'll answer them for you. Yeah, this is basically a FAQ.

The How to Make a Comic Faq

Okay, let's begin.

Q: How do you make a comix?
A: Could you be any more vague?

Q: Okay then, how do I get sprites.
A: There are a bunch of places you can get sprites. Apart from ripping them yourself using an Emulator (technically illegal method), it's easier to use a sprite-hosting site and get sprites from there.

Q: Could you post a link?
A: No.

Q: Please?
A: Oh fine, you big baby. Here you go. just click on that link there and you'll basically have every sprite you'll ever need. Of course, finding the right ones is all a matter of looking for them. I'll let you do that.

Q: Could I use (Insert someone's name here) custom sprite sheet instead? I'm not very good at making sprites.
A: Then why are you making a sprite comix? Okay, that's technically another question, but bear with me. The point is, if you won't even bother to make your own sprites for your comix, chances are it won't be very good or consistent.

Q: Fine, what about background?
A: Yeah, pretty much everyone wants those.

Q: Can I have some?
A: If you can find a site with a number of useful sprite comix backgrounds that can be used often and frequently for a number of sprites, post it here. 'Cuz quite franky, nobody has ever found such a site. And if you did, then we wouldn't want it to go away. Really, it would be a great relief to all sprite artists to have something like that.

Magical note: Some guy actually DOES have backgrounds! You can get them here. They're mostly Mario backgrounds, but that's better than nothing, eh? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Q: How does one MAKE a sprite comic?
A: In MS Paint. First you make a box (fairly large), then you draw a line horizontally from both ends of the box right in the middle. Then, in the center of the box, from top to bottom, draw a verticle line. There, you've got your comix frames. (Note: The inside lines, the ones that you draw inside the big box to make the frames, should be thinner than the one that makes the big box. This makes it look cool)

Q: What's MS Paint?
A: A picture editing program. Every computer has it. (I think so, at least. Macs might not) Anyway, to find it, open your start menu and go to "programs". Then "accessories". Paint should be in there. If not, just use whatever photo-editing program you've got. But you should have MS Paint. (Otherwise just known as "Paint")

Later, I'll teach you how to put sprites in the comix, do text, put it on the internet, and finally, post it on the board!

[ February 20, 2004, 06:04 PM: Message edited by: Introbulus ]

Rainbow Dash · 02-19-2004, 04:53 PM

Beam Yosho the Drunkard · 02-19-2004, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Chunky Ate Teh Marshmallows:

Introbulus · 02-19-2004, 05:46 PM

Hehehe...thanks guys.

Okay, now to continue...

Q: Okay, but how do I get my sprites into the comix?
A: Well, once you've found them on the web, you use the right mouse button (the one you don't normally use) to click on it, then choose "Copy", and open a new paint window. Paste the sprites into this window, and presto! You've got a sheet full of sprites prime and ready!

Q: Fine, but how do I paste INDIVIDUAL sprites into my comix?
A: Easy. First, go into the page with your sprites, then, choose the tool at the top of the left-hand toolbox that looks like a dotted line box. (Not sure what it would look like in photoshop). Once you've got that selected, click on a space just outside the sprite you want. (It can help if you zoom in first using the magnifying glass tool.). Remember, it is IMPERATIVE to get every pixel (dot on a drawing) in the sprite into the box. Otherwise, you'll have a cutoff, and some sprites will be missing. Once you've got that, right-click on the selected sprite (or just use the "edit" menu in MS Paint), and hit "copy". Then go to your sprite comix window, and hit "paste". Presto! You've got a sprite in there already!

Q: My sprite looks stupid just standing there in a white space, though. How can I make a cheap background without ripping one?
A: This is probably the best way to make a background coming up here. I myself use it all the time. Okay, about 1/8 or 1/6 the way up your comix frame (depends on how big your frames are), draw a horizontal line across the big box again. Then do it with the next set of frames. (For these, you should probably use the smallest size line you can.) This will be the ground. So give it a good "ground" color (I recommend dark green for outside or gray for inside). Now as for the "other" space, you can pretty much use whatever color you want. Though colors that peirce the eye (bright blue, yellow, ect.), so I'd recommend normal blue for daytime, dark blue for nighttime, and light gray for inside. Although if you want, you can use different colors for different moods or storylines, or just forget the colors and use plain white! Just remember, don't use ultra-bright colors that will blind the reader. It has to be pleasing to the eyes, or it'll scare people away before they finish the comic.

Q: Wait, my sprite doesn't fit in with the background I somehow got! What do I do?
A: Most likely, you've got a wierd white box around your sprite. This wouldn't make much difference with a white background, but that's not always what you've got. So how do yo paste it? Easy. Once you've got the sprite traced out with that little dotted line rectangle thing (we'll call that the "cut" tool from now on), there should be a little box below all the tools in that toolbox. You want to use the one on the bottom for pasting things into complex backgrounds. That's the one that eliminates whatever color is in the background box.

Q: "Background box"?
A: Oh, yeah. There's a certain trick with MS Pain that all expert sprite artists know. It's called "alternate background color", and it makes it so you never have to worry about the white color in your sprites again. Now, for those of you who've tried it several times, you may notice that sometimes, when you try to paste a sprite into your comix, some of the colors change. You may not know this, but it is actually because the white within the sprite is taking on the colors of the background already there.

Boy, those were some big questions! Sorry, but I gotta take another break, someone's whining for the computer in my house. Bah, I'll be back.

Next up is text, hosts, and finally, posting it ont the board!

LiquidMK · 02-19-2004, 07:29 PM

Very good FAQ. Good job on it.

--------------------

Alink - VCR Man. VCR. · 02-19-2004, 08:27 PM

I approve

yet, if I didn't this topic would still be up so bah

Brooser · 02-19-2004, 09:11 PM

Very good. Most of those things I do...

Dylan · 02-19-2004, 10:43 PM

All hail Introbulus! He is superior to you, fool!
**************************************************
Visit The Official Website of the Action Force 5!

Nintendo JJW · 02-20-2004, 10:26 AM

I have a website with over eight spritesheets and over 50 video game backgrounds.

Introbulus · 02-20-2004, 06:00 PM

^Thanks, dude! You are now an offical part of the faq!

Okay, so now we've got backgrounds, sprites, and we're almost done with the comic. But wait! We're forgetting something just as important! The script! Without a well-organized script, the comic is just a bunch of sprites walking around and doing stuff. BOORING!

Q: Okay, but first, how do I make sprites move? Or change direction?
A: What? You mean you dont' know these things already?

Q: Dude, this is a faq.
A: Okay, not a question again, but I can deal with that. Let's start with changing direction. Chances are, you're going to want to make a character face left instead of right at one point. Chances also are, that very few sprite sheets have characters facing both left and right. Why is this so? Well, if you'll just put a new dotted line box around a sprite, you'll see why. Go to the menu bar at the top of the window, go to "Images", and choose "flip/rotate". A window will pop up, and all you have to do is hit "OK" to make your character face the other way. This is a horizontal flip. You could also do a verticle flip, if you want a character to stand on your head, or choose an angle (by choosing "rotate by angle" first, and then the angle), and there you go! Simple, no?

Q: That's good, but how do I get it to look like my character is moving?
A: Well, some sprites have a pose in them that makes them look like they're walking naturally, but you might run into a sprite you like that doesn't have that. In which case, just draw some of those "superthin" lines behind the character, originating in their start position, and ending a little bit behind them. These are movement lines. Kinda like text lines.

Q: "Text lines"?
A: Yeah, that's the method I use to write text into my script. It's also what Jay does, so you might want to use it, too. Okay, here's the basic rundown. First off, when you're making your comic, you probably have an idea of what you want the characters to say, and in what order. So, once you've got all that down, you want to click on the toolbox tool with an "A" in it (the text tool), and make a box. If what they're saying is short, like "yes" or "no" or "Totally, dude", then you only need to make it big enough to fit that text. Oh, but before I forget, once you've got a textbox made, a new window will open up with all kinds of information inside. This is the text editing box. If you have Microsoft Word, which you should, you already know what to do. But even if you do, here's what I think you should do. In the pulldown menu on the far left, you should choose "Arial" (There's a lot of choices, so be careful not to get lost). In the next one to the right, choose "10". Everything else should be good, but just in case, the next box should be "western", and only the "B" button should be pressed down (It makes your text stand out better). Now that you've got all that down, all you need to do is type the text. Oh, and if for any reason the text toolbar disappears, just right-click on the textbox and choose "Text toolbar" at the bottom. Once you've typed out what you want, left-click outside the text, and you're done!

Warning!: After this is done, you CANNOT change the text again! Also, it may help if you start typing the text outside the main comix, cut it out with the cut tool, and then paste it into your comix.

Q: Uh...it kinda fades into the background...you can't really see the text...
A: Change the color of the text. In fact, it's probably a good idea to choose a color for one of your characters for the entire comix, and never change it, and never use a background color that makes the character text fade. It's more than likely to be annoying, but it is VERY important to make your text readable. If your reader can't read your text, you lose 10 points per frame. And that's not good.

Q: Okay, so now are we finised with the text?
A: HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAno. You still have to make it look straight. To do that, you've got to put all the text in the right order. First person to speak goes on the top left, second on the top right, a little below the first person's text. Then the next person is on the left, but below the last person, then the next one goes below that last one to the right, and so on for as many times people speak, or are interrupted,and speak more. To signify who's speaking, you just draw a thin line to the text, which, if the person speaks more than once during the scene, should probably branch out.

Q: But wait, what about those cool text baloons some people use?
A: Yeah, those are cool. But I hardly ever use those, because I find my method easier to use. However, if you'd rather do that, or if you've got your own special way to do it, you can use that method. Just make sure it is PERFECTLY clear who's speaking, when they are speaking, in what order they are speaking, and that it's...well...readable.

Q: Yes! My comix is done! Now what do I do?
A: Save it. As a bmp file in the "save as" option of the flies menu. Be sure to give it a name that doesn't have any spaces in it (Underscores, like "_" are okay), or you wont' be able to download it to the internet! (Numbers and special symbols are bad, too). Once you've done that, save your file again in GIF format (You do this by clicking on the scrolldown menu in the "save as" window, and choosing "Gif" instead of "bitmap". It'll probably say "Graphics Interchange Format" or something like that). This is so you've got a base file, and a file to put on the internet.

Q: But wait, doesn't Gif totally scramble picture colors?
A: Yeah, that's why you saved it as a bitmap first. That way, you've got a file that has the original colors in case you don't like it and would rather try usign Jpeg (Recognizeable 'cuz it's the choice that has "JPEG" on it), which makes the sprites all blurry, but might work for you. Then again, it might not. Like I said, save it as a bitmap first.

Q: Isn't there some way to get rid of the evil blurriness curse?
A:
Magical Cool note: Scratch that, a friend of mine (Fury Hikari) told me how to un-blur stuff! Check it out!

Open Adobe Photoshop, load your file as a BMP.
At the top row, you should see a number of file commands.
Like "File", "Edit", "Image", "Layer", and such.
Go to "Image" There very first menu option should be "Mode". Go to that.
Now you get a bunch of other options. Bitmap, Grayscale, Duotone, Indexed Color,
RGB Color...just to name a few.
With that, a screen should pop up instantly, with the following words:
With that, a screen should pop up instantly, with the following words:
Palette: Exact
Color Depth: Other
Colors: (Doesn't matter, just as long as the number is under 256)

Warning: If you have more colors than this on your computer, you may need to save it as a PNG instead.

OPTIONS:
Dither: None
Color Matchin: Faster
TOUCH NO OPTIONS ON THAT. That's exactly what you want.
Click "OK".
Now, proceed to save as a GIF
nother screen should pop up with the options "Normal" and "Interlaced"
Select "Normal", if it's not already picked.
Click OK, and you're done!

Ta-da! Yeah, and you can forget my thingie. I guess it doesn't really work.

Note: If you dont' have Adobe Photoshop, then there's no way to clear bluriness. You'll just have to live with it. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Q: Okay, I've got my comic all geared up! It's sprited out, written, and saved! Now how do I get it onto the internet?
A: See next post.

Q: WHAT?!?
A: Hehehe...sorry, dude. Just trying to make a nice spacing in the topic.

[ February 26, 2004, 03:15 PM: Message edited by: Introbulus ]

Nintendo JJW · 02-21-2004, 08:34 AM

That doesn't work. Some colors still don't show up. When you're finished with the comic, just copy the whole picture, save as it to a GIF, and after the message, paste the picture back and save it and it'll have the same results as yours.

Nintendo JJW · 02-29-2004, 12:42 PM

I have a guide to making sprite comics here.
Also, I have some steps to making a GOOD sprite comic.

</font>

Make your characters have expressions. They look kinda stupid if they yell at someone and just have a strait face. (Unless they're psycho or stupid.)</font>
Preview your comic after it's done. Before you put it on the net. View it and fix the mistakes. Otherwise, you'll probably end it with "To Bo Continued..." [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img]</font>
Make the text easy to see. It's very hard to know what's going on if you can't read the text. If the background won't allow any color to show that well. Then put an outline around it.</font>

That's all I can think of for now.

dark stime · 03-09-2004, 01:43 PM

I might also add that, to make your comic look more "professional", use sprites and backgrounds from the same game, games with similar graphics or, at the very least, games from the same system. It's no use to put SMB Mario in a Super Smash Bros. Melee fight, it would look way awkward.

(Now, Jay uses real life photos, but he downgrades the graphic quality by saving it as a GIF. Besides, the stick people are what makes them comics funny, aren't they?)

super_smasher · 03-15-2004, 06:45 PM

c'mon, hurry up with the d*mn post faq already! I want to post my comic!!!!!!

Introbulus · 03-17-2004, 05:52 PM

K'. K'. Just hold on, eh?

Q: A'ight. I'm back, now how do I get this thing online?
A: Okay, first of all, you need a server to...

Q: GAH! SERVER! WTF DOES THAT MEAN?!?!?!!?
A: Whoa! Settle down, dude! All that means is a place to put it on the internet!

Q: Wha? But aren't all computers connected?
A: No, now STF up and let me explain. You see, some place FAAAARRRRR away from where you are (Which would probably be at your computer) there's a big fat computer somewhere that's being used to store flies for all the good boys and girls of the world. This is called a "server", and there are many in the world. Your own computer cannot be a server. Basically, what I'm saying is, you need one.

Q: Okay, so how do I find one?
A: Lot's of sites on the web provide space for webpages or to store images. Most of the webpage storers allow you to save pics onto the internet, too. With all the servers on the internet, it won't be long before you run into one.

Q: Alright, but I want one NOW! GIVE IT TO ME! I WANT THE BEST!!!
A: Er...the best? Well, I dun' really know what the BEST server out there is. It really depends on what you want. A friend of mine, that Fury Hikari fellow, suggests www.ripway.com, and his opinion is pretty good. So I'd go with that.

Q: YES! Wait...I ain't got no money!

A: Dun' worry, dude. It doesn't cost a dime. Just as long as you don't try to make some sort of "Upgrade" or ask for big services that SAY they cost something. Just remember, if you're given a big chunk of text to read through, chances are you should READ IT!

Q: Okay, how do I sign up?
A: Simple! Just click "Sign Up" at the top of the page! Put in your username, the password you want to use (usually has to be 8 char. minimum. Now enter the E-mail address you use regularly. Sometimes to make an account, the peoples require that you respond to an E-mail they send you.

Q: Okay, I got the stupid server, now how do I POST PICS!?!
A: Okay, now that you've got your account, sign in, go to your profile, and go to your files. Now then, time to upload that pic! I hope you remembered to convert it to GIF!

Q: "Upload"? What that? Anything like "Download"?
A: Very good. You get a cookie. (Toss)

Q: Ha ha ha...very funny. Now then, what is an upload?
A: Okay, okay. When you upload something to the internet, you're basically taking it from your computer and putting it onto the world wide web for all to see. To upload a pic, just click on the "upload" button on the page you should be on now, then hit "Browse". Find where your pic is being stored (probably in a folder called "My Pictures") and choose that. Now I know it says you can upload more than one pic at a time, but it's better to do it one at a time, for sake of quickness. Now just click the "upload" button, and voala, you're done!

Q: Thanks, dude! (Starts leaving)
A: Wait! I have to tell you how to POST it first!

Q: Oh, right. Uh...how do you do that?
A: Okay, first you need the URL of your pic...

Q: Oh! I know that! It's the thing that shows up when you right-click on something, right?
A: Er...yeah?

Q: Okay, then can't I just go to my saved pic and...?
A: HAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAH...no. That is NOT the URL of your pic. If you could do that, we wouldn't bother with uploading. The URL of your pic is something else entirely.

Q: Okay, how do I find this URL?
A: A'ight, go to your files (Which is "MY FILES" in Ripway, stupid. [img]tongue.gif[/img] ) and find your pic's name. There's a bit of text that goes URL

Some stuff) right below a blue underlined name of your pic. That's what you want. Copy that down, and come back here.

Q: Okay, it's copied. Now what?
A: Hit the button that says "URL" at the bottom of your post. It'll ask you to put in a URL. Put your URL in there. Then type in a name you want for your pic when the box for that pops up. Alternatively, you could just hit "Image" and put the URL in to make a pic appear right in your post. Like so. Introbulus Or so.

There! YOu're done!

Q: Thanks, I...GAAAHHH!!! It STOPPED WORKING FOR MY FRIENDS! WHHHYYY!!!!!?
A: Oh...uh...that can happen sometimes. But if you want, there's a supa-special secret of the trade that can be used to slip behind it. Just rename your file, and instead of .GIF, put .txt! It'll be read as a text file, and won't make your server eat up all it's memory!

Q: And?
A: And...that's it. What? You want me to make a post for you, too? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[ March 17, 2004, 05:53 PM: Message edited by: Introbulus ]

Introbulus · 03-17-2004, 05:54 PM

Okay? Okay. Now, QUIT BUGGING THE MODS! [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img]

LiquidMK · 03-17-2004, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Introbulus:
Okay? Okay. Now, QUIT BUGGING THE MODS! [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img]

Yeah, quit bugging us. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

The Yoshimaster · 03-23-2004, 11:02 PM

No offense, but that faq isn't very useful. A lot of stuff in there is just for humor, and most of the time it takes you a while to get to the point.

Introbulus · 03-24-2004, 05:04 PM

Well, this was made mostly for people who want to learn the requirements of a comix, and some humor is required to keep a reader's attention.

I guess I might've gotten carried away a bit, but that's a matter of opinion.

super_smasher · 03-24-2004, 09:45 PM

but I like to bug the mods [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img]

02-29-2004, 12:42 PM	#12
Nintendo JJW Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Nintendo JJW HQ! Posts: 358 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I have a guide to making sprite comics here. Also, I have some steps to making a GOOD sprite comic. </font> Make your characters have expressions. They look kinda stupid if they yell at someone and just have a strait face. (Unless they're psycho or stupid.)</font> Preview your comic after it's done. Before you put it on the net. View it and fix the mistakes. Otherwise, you'll probably end it with "To Bo Continued..." [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img]</font> Make the text easy to see. It's very hard to know what's going on if you can't read the text. If the background won't allow any color to show that well. Then put an outline around it.</font> That's all I can think of for now.

03-17-2004, 05:52 PM	#15
Introbulus Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Time, Space Posts: 4,169 Thanks: 2 Thanked 25 Times in 12 Posts	K'. K'. Just hold on, eh? Q: A'ight. I'm back, now how do I get this thing online? A: Okay, first of all, you need a server to... Q: GAH! SERVER! WTF DOES THAT MEAN?!?!?!!? A: Whoa! Settle down, dude! All that means is a place to put it on the internet! Q: Wha? But aren't all computers connected? A: No, now STF up and let me explain. You see, some place FAAAARRRRR away from where you are (Which would probably be at your computer) there's a big fat computer somewhere that's being used to store flies for all the good boys and girls of the world. This is called a "server", and there are many in the world. Your own computer cannot be a server. Basically, what I'm saying is, you need one. Q: Okay, so how do I find one? A: Lot's of sites on the web provide space for webpages or to store images. Most of the webpage storers allow you to save pics onto the internet, too. With all the servers on the internet, it won't be long before you run into one. Q: Alright, but I want one NOW! GIVE IT TO ME! I WANT THE BEST!!! A: Er...the best? Well, I dun' really know what the BEST server out there is. It really depends on what you want. A friend of mine, that Fury Hikari fellow, suggests www.ripway.com, and his opinion is pretty good. So I'd go with that. Q: YES! Wait...I ain't got no money! A: Dun' worry, dude. It doesn't cost a dime. Just as long as you don't try to make some sort of "Upgrade" or ask for big services that SAY they cost something. Just remember, if you're given a big chunk of text to read through, chances are you should READ IT! Q: Okay, how do I sign up? A: Simple! Just click "Sign Up" at the top of the page! Put in your username, the password you want to use (usually has to be 8 char. minimum. Now enter the E-mail address you use regularly. Sometimes to make an account, the peoples require that you respond to an E-mail they send you. Q: Okay, I got the stupid server, now how do I POST PICS!?! A: Okay, now that you've got your account, sign in, go to your profile, and go to your files. Now then, time to upload that pic! I hope you remembered to convert it to GIF! Q: "Upload"? What that? Anything like "Download"? A: Very good. You get a cookie. (Toss) Q: Ha ha ha...very funny. Now then, what is an upload? A: Okay, okay. When you upload something to the internet, you're basically taking it from your computer and putting it onto the world wide web for all to see. To upload a pic, just click on the "upload" button on the page you should be on now, then hit "Browse". Find where your pic is being stored (probably in a folder called "My Pictures") and choose that. Now I know it says you can upload more than one pic at a time, but it's better to do it one at a time, for sake of quickness. Now just click the "upload" button, and voala, you're done! Q: Thanks, dude! (Starts leaving) A: Wait! I have to tell you how to POST it first! Q: Oh, right. Uh...how do you do that? A: Okay, first you need the URL of your pic... Q: Oh! I know that! It's the thing that shows up when you right-click on something, right? A: Er...yeah? Q: Okay, then can't I just go to my saved pic and...? A: HAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAH...no. That is NOT the URL of your pic. If you could do that, we wouldn't bother with uploading. The URL of your pic is something else entirely. Q: Okay, how do I find this URL? A: A'ight, go to your files (Which is "MY FILES" in Ripway, stupid. [img]tongue.gif[/img] ) and find your pic's name. There's a bit of text that goes URLSome stuff) right below a blue underlined name of your pic. That's what you want. Copy that down, and come back here. Q: Okay, it's copied. Now what? A: Hit the button that says "URL" at the bottom of your post. It'll ask you to put in a URL. Put your URL in there. Then type in a name you want for your pic when the box for that pops up. Alternatively, you could just hit "Image" and put the URL in to make a pic appear right in your post. Like so. Introbulus Or so. There! YOu're done! Q: Thanks, I...GAAAHHH!!! It STOPPED WORKING FOR MY FRIENDS! WHHHYYY!!!!!? A: Oh...uh...that can happen sometimes. But if you want, there's a supa-special secret of the trade that can be used to slip behind it. Just rename your file, and instead of .GIF, put .txt! It'll be read as a text file, and won't make your server eat up all it's memory! Q: And? A: And...that's it. What? You want me to make a post for you, too? [img]tongue.gif[/img] [ March 17, 2004, 05:53 PM: Message edited by: Introbulus ]

02-19-2004, 04:49 PM	#1
Introbulus Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Time, Space Posts: 4,169 Thanks: 2 Thanked 25 Times in 12 Posts	Well, listen up, 'cuz I'm only going to tell you how once. I'll take you through the process step-by-step, and explain every detail. If you have any more questions, post them HERE and I'll answer them for you. Yeah, this is basically a FAQ. The How to Make a Comic Faq Okay, let's begin. Q: How do you make a comix? A: Could you be any more vague? Q: Okay then, how do I get sprites. A: There are a bunch of places you can get sprites. Apart from ripping them yourself using an Emulator (technically illegal method), it's easier to use a sprite-hosting site and get sprites from there. Q: Could you post a link? A: No. Q: Please? A: Oh fine, you big baby. Here you go. just click on that link there and you'll basically have every sprite you'll ever need. Of course, finding the right ones is all a matter of looking for them. I'll let you do that. Q: Could I use (Insert someone's name here) custom sprite sheet instead? I'm not very good at making sprites. A: Then why are you making a sprite comix? Okay, that's technically another question, but bear with me. The point is, if you won't even bother to make your own sprites for your comix, chances are it won't be very good or consistent. Q: Fine, what about background? A: Yeah, pretty much everyone wants those. Q: Can I have some? A: If you can find a site with a number of useful sprite comix backgrounds that can be used often and frequently for a number of sprites, post it here. 'Cuz quite franky, nobody has ever found such a site. And if you did, then we wouldn't want it to go away. Really, it would be a great relief to all sprite artists to have something like that. Magical note: Some guy actually DOES have backgrounds! You can get them here. They're mostly Mario backgrounds, but that's better than nothing, eh? [img]tongue.gif[/img] Q: How does one MAKE a sprite comic? A: In MS Paint. First you make a box (fairly large), then you draw a line horizontally from both ends of the box right in the middle. Then, in the center of the box, from top to bottom, draw a verticle line. There, you've got your comix frames. (Note: The inside lines, the ones that you draw inside the big box to make the frames, should be thinner than the one that makes the big box. This makes it look cool) Q: What's MS Paint? A: A picture editing program. Every computer has it. (I think so, at least. Macs might not) Anyway, to find it, open your start menu and go to "programs". Then "accessories". Paint should be in there. If not, just use whatever photo-editing program you've got. But you should have MS Paint. (Otherwise just known as "Paint") Later, I'll teach you how to put sprites in the comix, do text, put it on the internet, and finally, post it on the board! [ February 20, 2004, 06:04 PM: Message edited by: Introbulus ]

02-19-2004, 04:53 PM	#2
Rainbow Dash been dreamin', i've been waitin' Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: a bomb-ass cloud house bachelorette pad Gender: Posts: 24,398 Thanks: 173 Thanked 1,179 Times in 716 Posts

02-19-2004, 05:46 PM	#4
Introbulus Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Time, Space Posts: 4,169 Thanks: 2 Thanked 25 Times in 12 Posts	Hehehe...thanks guys. Okay, now to continue... Q: Okay, but how do I get my sprites into the comix? A: Well, once you've found them on the web, you use the right mouse button (the one you don't normally use) to click on it, then choose "Copy", and open a new paint window. Paste the sprites into this window, and presto! You've got a sheet full of sprites prime and ready! Q: Fine, but how do I paste INDIVIDUAL sprites into my comix? A: Easy. First, go into the page with your sprites, then, choose the tool at the top of the left-hand toolbox that looks like a dotted line box. (Not sure what it would look like in photoshop). Once you've got that selected, click on a space just outside the sprite you want. (It can help if you zoom in first using the magnifying glass tool.). Remember, it is IMPERATIVE to get every pixel (dot on a drawing) in the sprite into the box. Otherwise, you'll have a cutoff, and some sprites will be missing. Once you've got that, right-click on the selected sprite (or just use the "edit" menu in MS Paint), and hit "copy". Then go to your sprite comix window, and hit "paste". Presto! You've got a sprite in there already! Q: My sprite looks stupid just standing there in a white space, though. How can I make a cheap background without ripping one? A: This is probably the best way to make a background coming up here. I myself use it all the time. Okay, about 1/8 or 1/6 the way up your comix frame (depends on how big your frames are), draw a horizontal line across the big box again. Then do it with the next set of frames. (For these, you should probably use the smallest size line you can.) This will be the ground. So give it a good "ground" color (I recommend dark green for outside or gray for inside). Now as for the "other" space, you can pretty much use whatever color you want. Though colors that peirce the eye (bright blue, yellow, ect.), so I'd recommend normal blue for daytime, dark blue for nighttime, and light gray for inside. Although if you want, you can use different colors for different moods or storylines, or just forget the colors and use plain white! Just remember, don't use ultra-bright colors that will blind the reader. It has to be pleasing to the eyes, or it'll scare people away before they finish the comic. Q: Wait, my sprite doesn't fit in with the background I somehow got! What do I do? A: Most likely, you've got a wierd white box around your sprite. This wouldn't make much difference with a white background, but that's not always what you've got. So how do yo paste it? Easy. Once you've got the sprite traced out with that little dotted line rectangle thing (we'll call that the "cut" tool from now on), there should be a little box below all the tools in that toolbox. You want to use the one on the bottom for pasting things into complex backgrounds. That's the one that eliminates whatever color is in the background box. Q: "Background box"? A: Oh, yeah. There's a certain trick with MS Pain that all expert sprite artists know. It's called "alternate background color", and it makes it so you never have to worry about the white color in your sprites again. Now, for those of you who've tried it several times, you may notice that sometimes, when you try to paste a sprite into your comix, some of the colors change. You may not know this, but it is actually because the white within the sprite is taking on the colors of the background already there. Boy, those were some big questions! Sorry, but I gotta take another break, someone's whining for the computer in my house. Bah, I'll be back. Next up is text, hosts, and finally, posting it ont the board!

02-19-2004, 07:29 PM	#5
LiquidMK Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Somewhere in the Dimensional Curve Gender: Posts: 1,797 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Very good FAQ. Good job on it. --------------------

02-19-2004, 08:27 PM	#6
Alink - VCR Man. VCR. Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Behind The Wall Of Sleep. Gender: Posts: 768 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	I approve yet, if I didn't this topic would still be up so bah

02-19-2004, 09:11 PM	#7
Brooser Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Over yonder points Gender: Posts: 3,214 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Very good. Most of those things I do...

02-19-2004, 10:43 PM	#8
Dylan Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Teenage Wasteland Gender: Posts: 7,790 Thanks: 1,632 Thanked 1,816 Times in 773 Posts	All hail Introbulus! He is superior to you, fool! ************************************************** Visit The Official Website of the Action Force 5!

02-20-2004, 10:26 AM	#9
Nintendo JJW Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Nintendo JJW HQ! Posts: 358 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I have a website with over eight spritesheets and over 50 video game backgrounds.

02-20-2004, 06:00 PM	#10
Introbulus Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Time, Space Posts: 4,169 Thanks: 2 Thanked 25 Times in 12 Posts	^Thanks, dude! You are now an offical part of the faq! Okay, so now we've got backgrounds, sprites, and we're almost done with the comic. But wait! We're forgetting something just as important! The script! Without a well-organized script, the comic is just a bunch of sprites walking around and doing stuff. BOORING! Q: Okay, but first, how do I make sprites move? Or change direction? A: What? You mean you dont' know these things already? Q: Dude, this is a faq. A: Okay, not a question again, but I can deal with that. Let's start with changing direction. Chances are, you're going to want to make a character face left instead of right at one point. Chances also are, that very few sprite sheets have characters facing both left and right. Why is this so? Well, if you'll just put a new dotted line box around a sprite, you'll see why. Go to the menu bar at the top of the window, go to "Images", and choose "flip/rotate". A window will pop up, and all you have to do is hit "OK" to make your character face the other way. This is a horizontal flip. You could also do a verticle flip, if you want a character to stand on your head, or choose an angle (by choosing "rotate by angle" first, and then the angle), and there you go! Simple, no? Q: That's good, but how do I get it to look like my character is moving? A: Well, some sprites have a pose in them that makes them look like they're walking naturally, but you might run into a sprite you like that doesn't have that. In which case, just draw some of those "superthin" lines behind the character, originating in their start position, and ending a little bit behind them. These are movement lines. Kinda like text lines. Q: "Text lines"? A: Yeah, that's the method I use to write text into my script. It's also what Jay does, so you might want to use it, too. Okay, here's the basic rundown. First off, when you're making your comic, you probably have an idea of what you want the characters to say, and in what order. So, once you've got all that down, you want to click on the toolbox tool with an "A" in it (the text tool), and make a box. If what they're saying is short, like "yes" or "no" or "Totally, dude", then you only need to make it big enough to fit that text. Oh, but before I forget, once you've got a textbox made, a new window will open up with all kinds of information inside. This is the text editing box. If you have Microsoft Word, which you should, you already know what to do. But even if you do, here's what I think you should do. In the pulldown menu on the far left, you should choose "Arial" (There's a lot of choices, so be careful not to get lost). In the next one to the right, choose "10". Everything else should be good, but just in case, the next box should be "western", and only the "B" button should be pressed down (It makes your text stand out better). Now that you've got all that down, all you need to do is type the text. Oh, and if for any reason the text toolbar disappears, just right-click on the textbox and choose "Text toolbar" at the bottom. Once you've typed out what you want, left-click outside the text, and you're done! Warning!: After this is done, you CANNOT change the text again! Also, it may help if you start typing the text outside the main comix, cut it out with the cut tool, and then paste it into your comix. Q: Uh...it kinda fades into the background...you can't really see the text... A: Change the color of the text. In fact, it's probably a good idea to choose a color for one of your characters for the entire comix, and never change it, and never use a background color that makes the character text fade. It's more than likely to be annoying, but it is VERY important to make your text readable. If your reader can't read your text, you lose 10 points per frame. And that's not good. Q: Okay, so now are we finised with the text? A: HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAno. You still have to make it look straight. To do that, you've got to put all the text in the right order. First person to speak goes on the top left, second on the top right, a little below the first person's text. Then the next person is on the left, but below the last person, then the next one goes below that last one to the right, and so on for as many times people speak, or are interrupted,and speak more. To signify who's speaking, you just draw a thin line to the text, which, if the person speaks more than once during the scene, should probably branch out. Q: But wait, what about those cool text baloons some people use? A: Yeah, those are cool. But I hardly ever use those, because I find my method easier to use. However, if you'd rather do that, or if you've got your own special way to do it, you can use that method. Just make sure it is PERFECTLY clear who's speaking, when they are speaking, in what order they are speaking, and that it's...well...readable. Q: Yes! My comix is done! Now what do I do? A: Save it. As a bmp file in the "save as" option of the flies menu. Be sure to give it a name that doesn't have any spaces in it (Underscores, like "_" are okay), or you wont' be able to download it to the internet! (Numbers and special symbols are bad, too). Once you've done that, save your file again in GIF format (You do this by clicking on the scrolldown menu in the "save as" window, and choosing "Gif" instead of "bitmap". It'll probably say "Graphics Interchange Format" or something like that). This is so you've got a base file, and a file to put on the internet. Q: But wait, doesn't Gif totally scramble picture colors? A: Yeah, that's why you saved it as a bitmap first. That way, you've got a file that has the original colors in case you don't like it and would rather try usign Jpeg (Recognizeable 'cuz it's the choice that has "JPEG" on it), which makes the sprites all blurry, but might work for you. Then again, it might not. Like I said, save it as a bitmap first. Q: Isn't there some way to get rid of the evil blurriness curse? A: Magical Cool note: Scratch that, a friend of mine (Fury Hikari) told me how to un-blur stuff! Check it out! Open Adobe Photoshop, load your file as a BMP. At the top row, you should see a number of file commands. Like "File", "Edit", "Image", "Layer", and such. Go to "Image" There very first menu option should be "Mode". Go to that. Now you get a bunch of other options. Bitmap, Grayscale, Duotone, Indexed Color, RGB Color...just to name a few. With that, a screen should pop up instantly, with the following words: With that, a screen should pop up instantly, with the following words: Palette: Exact Color Depth: Other Colors: (Doesn't matter, just as long as the number is under 256) Warning: If you have more colors than this on your computer, you may need to save it as a PNG instead. OPTIONS: Dither: None Color Matchin: Faster TOUCH NO OPTIONS ON THAT. That's exactly what you want. Click "OK". Now, proceed to save as a GIF nother screen should pop up with the options "Normal" and "Interlaced" Select "Normal", if it's not already picked. Click OK, and you're done! Ta-da! Yeah, and you can forget my thingie. I guess it doesn't really work. Note: If you dont' have Adobe Photoshop, then there's no way to clear bluriness. You'll just have to live with it. [img]tongue.gif[/img] Q: Okay, I've got my comic all geared up! It's sprited out, written, and saved! Now how do I get it onto the internet? A: See next post. Q: WHAT?!? A: Hehehe...sorry, dude. Just trying to make a nice spacing in the topic. [ February 26, 2004, 03:15 PM: Message edited by: Introbulus ]

02-21-2004, 08:34 AM	#11
Nintendo JJW Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Nintendo JJW HQ! Posts: 358 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	That doesn't work. Some colors still don't show up. When you're finished with the comic, just copy the whole picture, save as it to a GIF, and after the message, paste the picture back and save it and it'll have the same results as yours.

03-09-2004, 01:43 PM	#13
dark stime Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: location Posts: 382 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I might also add that, to make your comic look more "professional", use sprites and backgrounds from the same game, games with similar graphics or, at the very least, games from the same system. It's no use to put SMB Mario in a Super Smash Bros. Melee fight, it would look way awkward. (Now, Jay uses real life photos, but he downgrades the graphic quality by saving it as a GIF. Besides, the stick people are what makes them comics funny, aren't they?)

03-15-2004, 06:45 PM	#14
super_smasher Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: oregon Posts: 507 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post	c'mon, hurry up with the d*mn post faq already! I want to post my comic!!!!!!

03-17-2004, 05:54 PM	#16
Introbulus Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Time, Space Posts: 4,169 Thanks: 2 Thanked 25 Times in 12 Posts	Okay? Okay. Now, QUIT BUGGING THE MODS! [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img]

03-23-2004, 11:02 PM	#18
The Yoshimaster Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Forest of Illusion Gender: Posts: 1,165 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	No offense, but that faq isn't very useful. A lot of stuff in there is just for humor, and most of the time it takes you a while to get to the point.

03-24-2004, 05:04 PM	#19
Introbulus Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Time, Space Posts: 4,169 Thanks: 2 Thanked 25 Times in 12 Posts	Well, this was made mostly for people who want to learn the requirements of a comix, and some humor is required to keep a reader's attention. I guess I might've gotten carried away a bit, but that's a matter of opinion.

03-24-2004, 09:45 PM	#20
super_smasher Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: oregon Posts: 507 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post	but I like to bug the mods [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img]