User blog:D Man o3o/How To Sprite 101 - The Free Way

The Free Way is slightly harder than the Paid Way because it doesn't use keyframes and layers. This way uses the program GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program).

How to make the frames
This is one of the reasons I'm not fond of GIMP. You have to have all the files crammed in one place rather than one layer. Folders can be used, but they're such a nuisance to me. It can still be done though.

Step 1
Depending on what you do, this will be different. If you are using a sprite sheet, go to Step 1.1, if you're doing a GL unit split into multiple files, continue on here.

Step 1.1
With this step, you are trying to take the individual parts into its own image through the select tool. You're essentially making it like the global exclusive units in the end since you're pulling it one by one.


 * 1) Select the rectangle selection tool from the tool bar.
 * 2) Find the part of the sprite you are wanting to copy.
 * 3) Hit Ctrl + C (for Windows) to copy.
 * 4) Open up a new image at around 140 x 140 (unless you want it bigger)
 * 5) Go to Edit > Paste as > Paste as New Layer
 * 6) Move the parts if needed.
 * 7) Go to step 1 again if you need more parts.

Step 2
After all the parts you need are in the new image project, its time for some alignment. If you took from a sprite sheet, most bodies should come in chronological order from left to right.

For GIMP, since you cant really move back and fourth between frames, I usually do this. Once they're in order, the first frame being on the bottom and the last being on top, like so:

Now, make everything invisible by clicking the eye where its off (not showing). Now:
 * 1) Go in game or on the Wiki to see how the animation looks like
 * 2) See if your unit is grounded or hovering.

If grounded (on the ground):
 * 1) Make layers 1 and 2 (the bottom 2) visible.
 * 2) Position layer 1 where you would generally like the sprite to always be. If you need to, you can make layer 2 invisible during the proccess. For the Wiki, sprites must retain a height of 140 no matter what and must be positioned near the bottom.
 * Now, once layer 1 is in place, time to move layer 2. Make it visible if it wasn't already.
 * 1) Try to align the feet so that the feet are in the same position. To see if they are, turn off layer 2. If the feet move up or down, the layer is off, and needs to be moved in that direction. Go 1 to 2 px at a time for precision.
 * 2) Once the feet are aligned, turn off layer 1 and turn on layer 3.
 * 3) Repeat the same process as before by aligning the feet.
 * 4) Continue doing this for all layers

If hovering (flying):
 * 1) See how many times it goes in one direction before going back down.
 * 2) Note this down for future reference.

Once that's done, now to implement it.

The way I do these is my own personal way, but I'm sure someone can come up with something better:

Lets say the unit moved up 2 times and down 2 time. So the unit
 * Start the way you do with ground units by aligning them in the same position NOTE: The feet might not align since some move them. Usually, you can check alignment using the body instead of the feet.
 * After that, now is when the frame count you did earlier would come into play. See Tips for proper ways to count frames.
 * 1) Keep the first layer as is and go to the second layer.
 * 2) Move the second layer up one pixel or by simply hitting the up arrow once.
 * Now, move layer 3 up twice (2 pixels)
 * 1) Layer 4 will be moved up once
 * Now, your first frame will give you the last frame moving down. The loop restarts at this point.

Once aligned, its now time for any of the extra stuff to add in, such as shadows, effects, and what not.

Step 3
This is the more time consuming point of this, as GIMP requires you to merge files and images to make 1 frame

We will start with the one thing prevalent in most, if not all, sprites. The Shadow.

This part is easy. For the shadow, you will make the layer go under the unit so the unit is on the shadow rather than the shadow being on it. For effects that appear in front of the sprite, they will go above the layer. It will be like so



Click merge down and the shadow and unit layer will merge into 1 layer.

Congratulations, you just completed the first frame of the animation.

Now, add the shadow to the remaining layers and you've finished your frames.

Animation Time
Remember this photo?



That's actually how you animate. In order to make an animation, at the very end of the frame's name, insert:

(200ms)(replace)

Put it on all layers and boom, you're done. Your sprite is almost complete. To test out the animation, go to Filters > Animation > Playback and select Play.

See if there's anything wrong with the sprite and try to correct it. Once you've finished the final fixes, its time to export (and save if you haven't been already)

Exporting
This is the last step. Are you ready?

After you've saved your sprite in the GIMP file format for just in case:

Go to File > Export or CTRL + E (For Windows)

For the name, it can be whatever but name the extension .gif or else it will not animate.

After you name it, this message box will appear



Make sure only the boxes checked on there are checked and hit export and your done. Now your sprite is complete and ready for the internet to bask in its glory.

Tips
Here will be a collection of tips and tricks.

Frame Count
The easiest way to see how many frames a sprite has is to see when it loops and repeats the animation. If possible, a video player with frame by frame playback when paused helps. I use the HTC One M9 default video player to do this, but I'm pretty sure there's an app for that. As for screen capture, any program will work as long as you give it high fps to record. Remember the look of the frame you start on and slowly go frame by frame of the animation counting each frame passed until you get back to where you started. Now that you got the general idea of the animation and the amount of frames, you're good.

For finished sprites already on the Wiki, simply open it with GIMP and its already done.

I know, it's just one tip...at least for now.

Did this guide help? Yes No

Will you start spriting now? Yes Maybe Nope

=Leave any questions or problems you have down below.=