next »

[BusyRobot]

I'm getting back into doing game art. Recently I've mostly done pixel art for a game project I'm working on (can be seen here

) but I need to brush up on my vector skills as well. I used Flash for many years, and I've done some vector work in Photoshop, but I can't get used to Illustrator. So I was just wondering what tool does everyone use for vector game art? Flash is the easiest for me for vector but it's also a big basic, photoshop seems a bit awkward, but far easer still than illustrator.

[kriyo_funions]

Here are some alternatives to flash:
cacani
toon boom
anime studio

[digsource]

Inkscape is amazing. They have this new function called vector to pixel and you can create Bitmap duplicates as well and resize them to achieve that "pixelized" look.

Well I've only ever used Inkscape because I can't afford Flash or any paid Photoshop.
Line density sure is a problem but it still allows you to create some amazing stuff.
Don't take my word for it though.

Check out this guy's sprite work:


As you can see, it's no problem for him. I don't know about you but that sprite looks amazing to a noob like me.

[nnyei]

I personally use Illustrator for vector art and then Spine to animate it (or AE if it's supposed to be cinematic as oppsosed to sprite animation). It kind of boggles my mind that you think Illustrator is difficult to work with, but I guess it depends on what you're used to.

Inkscape is free so it's probably the best option in your case. The last time I tried out Inkscape (caveat: that was years ago so the program might be very different now), it had no options for gradients and the workflow was pretty different from Illustrator's so I personally didn't like it, but that's probably just me. Inkscape is the go-to for indie vector artists as far as I know.

[digsource]

I personally use Illustrator for vector art and then Spine to animate it (or AE if it's supposed to be cinematic as oppsosed to sprite animation). It kind of boggles my mind that you think Illustrator is difficult to work with, but I guess it depends on what you're used to.

Inkscape is free so it's probably the best option in your case. The last time I tried out Inkscape (caveat: that was years ago so the program might be very different now), it had no options for gradients and the workflow was pretty different from Illustrator's so I personally didn't like it, but that's probably just me. Inkscape is the go-to for indie vector artists as far as I know.

Yup it's gotten better with gradients and the new pixel art options.

[BusyRobot]

I personally use Illustrator for vector art and then Spine to animate it (or AE if it's supposed to be cinematic as oppsosed to sprite animation). It kind of boggles my mind that you think Illustrator is difficult to work with, but I guess it depends on what you're used to.

Inkscape is free so it's probably the best option in your case. The last time I tried out Inkscape (caveat: that was years ago so the program might be very different now), it had no options for gradients and the workflow was pretty different from Illustrator's so I personally didn't like it, but that's probably just me. Inkscape is the go-to for indie vector artists as far as I know.

The biggest issue I have with illustrator (maybe it's different now) is how you draw shapes/lines. In Flash I can draw a line, I can then just grab any part of it and pull it around, piece of cake. With illustrator when I had a go at it, you draw a shape, but to change it's shape you need to move those little toggles around which is just unintuitive to me. I know it's probably just a matter of getting used to it (and it's pretty much what I have to do in Photoshop when I do vector anyway) but the Flash way of doing things has always felt better to me.

[rek]

Check out Affinity Designer if you're on a Mac: it has a lot of pixel-related support though it's a vector art program.

[nnyei]

In Flash I can draw a line, I can then just grab any part of it and pull it around, piece of cake. With illustrator when I had a go at it, you draw a shape, but to change it's shape you need to move those little toggles around which is just unintuitive to me.

Have you tried out the Pencil Tool (N)? Because when you draw a line with it, you can draw over it again if you're unhappy with it and Illustrator will reinterpret the path. That's the best way to roughly sketch out your shapes and lines, and then later on you can refine everything with the Pen Tool or via moving around the individual vector points. The Pencil Tool gives you a more painterly and freehand approach to everything, and coupled with the fact that you can basically switch between this approach and one that is more about precision is what I personally love about Illustrator.

Though, this approach might not be for everyone because it's still very different from drawing in either Flash or Photoshop so I fully understand if some people don't like it.