Okay by request here is a list for everyone.
The point of this list is you people must tell me about more programs. that way it will get bigger
Note: most of these were taken from the tutorials thread.
Legend: ($)= Costs money. (F)= Freeware (S)= Shareware (*/5)= My Personal Rating
($ 5/5) Paint Shop Pro (http://www.jasc.com/products/psp/): One of the more popular programs here. Very powerful and relatively easy to get use to if you give it a chance.
Note: PSP8 is now beta testing get a copy now
($ 5/5) Photoshop (http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/main.html): Same as above
($S 2/5) : Game Artist Studio (http://www.kidmandevil.com/fso/gas/index2.htm): Program for designing sprites.
Might be good with a little more experience but nothing too special
(F 4/5) PhotoPlus 5 (http://www.myfreephotoplus.com/): A very good Find its like PSP or PS but free!
(F 4/5) GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/~tml/gimp/win32/downloads.html): Seemingly powerful tools. But I havent used it.
(F 2/5) Image Forge (http://www.cursorarts.com/ca_imffw.html): Like it or hate it its still free.
(F 4/5) Reptile 2 (http://www.sausage.com/supertoolz/reptile2.html): Good for what its for. Used to make seemless tiles.
(F 4/5) Ulitmate Paint (http://www.ultimatepaint.com/): I used to use this one. Its as easy as paint but alot better.
(f? 4/5) Pixia (http://www.ab.wakwak.com/~knight/index.html): Lots of people use this one. When done right can make some really nice pictures!
(F 3/5) Project Dogwaffle (http://www.squirreldome.com/cyberop.htm): alot like pixia only good if you know what you are doing.
Links by Yakspit
Quote from: YakSpit on Thu 24/04/2003 05:42:48
CorelDraw (http://www.corel.com) - Vector-capable program similar to the basic options of PSP. A handy program that costs a tad less than PS.
Ulead PhotoImpact (http://www.ulead.com) - The one I use. Mainly aimed toward web-graphic development. Can use both image objects and path objects (Bitmap and vector, basically). Many options resemble paint shop pro. I'd probably use PhotoShop instead but I've been using this one for years. Price is comparable to Coreldraw, I believe.
One thing we ought to mention is that if you like PhotoShop or just would prefer it to Paint Shop Pro but you dislike the cost, there's also Adobe Elements (http://www.adobe.com) which is more-or-less a scaled down version of Photoshop that probably has all options you'll need at a far more reasonable price.
Links by Miez
Quote from: miez on Tue 06/05/2003 16:06:38
For all you sprite artists out there: take a look at this German program:
ProMotion ( http://cosmigo.com/promotion/ )
It is a lot like the old Amiga DPaint4, and has some very cool onionskin and anti-aliasing functions.
It costs money though: $47,- for the CD version, $19,95 for a lite version with less functionality. They have a trial version for download as well.
Links by Scummyb
Quote from: Scummyb-Live From Florida on Tue 06/05/2003 19:32:05
For all you Flash people out there... www.toonboom.com
Links from OTG
Quote from: OneThinkingGal and ._. on Tue 06/05/2003 22:53:32
Ultimate Paint (http://www.ultimatepaint.com) - Good for pixelly stuff too, altho pro-motion is spiffier. Features a trial.
NeoPaint (http://www.neosoftware.com/npw.html) - Similar, 30 day trial
Links from Eggie
Quote from: Eggie on Mon 26/05/2003 20:17:03
Deluxe Paint (http://www.geocities.com/oren12345/programs.htm)- It's on a few abandonware sites. Used to draw MI1/2 if you didn't know...
Grafx2- (http://msi.unilim.fr/~dorme/eng_grafX2.html)Kind of like Dpaint but...incomplete. I like it alot.
Flash- (http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/) I just love the sort of pictures this produces, it may not be too good for bitmap based sprites but if you want a cutscene picture or a hi-res background with a cartoony feel I reccommend it.
Pencil and Paper- (http://www.paperpeople.co.uk/)Shitty, obselete program that no-one uses anymore. :P
Links by Increator
Quote from: InCreator on Wed 18/06/2003 22:50:04
Anyone using "ArtGem!"? It's a simple, 2MB drawing program, extremely easy to use, yet almost as powerful as Photoshop! ;D It just doesn't have all of those filters. I do all my painting with that.
It is 30-day trial shareware (but nothing is disabled until trial ends (in versions 1.2 and lower)) and well --
As piracy is not the thing to talk about, only hint I can tell you that 30 days are set by Windows' calendar/clock, during installation and first run. ;)
Avaible everywhere in internet, I got it from www.tucows.com .
PLEASE READ: SEE A PROBLEM WITH THE LIST? or if you want to add something (new program or better description) please IM me and I will make corrections I dont want to see a whole lot of replays saying that I rated something wrong. :P
Did some pruning, m0ds.
Well.. there's no MS-Paint. ::)
I'll add my two cents:
CorelDraw (http://www.corel.com) - Vector-capable program similar to the basic options of PSP. A handy program that costs a tad less than PS.
Ulead PhotoImpact (http://www.ulead.com) - The one I use. Mainly aimed toward web-graphic development. Can use both image objects and path objects (Bitmap and vector, basically). Many options resemble paint shop pro. I'd probably use PhotoShop instead but I've been using this one for years. Price is comparable to Coreldraw, I believe.
One thing we ought to mention is that if you like PhotoShop or just would prefer it to Paint Shop Pro but you dislike the cost, there's also Adobe Elements (http://www.adobe.com) which is more-or-less a scaled down version of Photoshop that probably has all options you'll need at a far more reasonable price.
(Edit: Done, '·_·', with the exception of Photoimpact, I kinda figured it was obvious.)
For all you sprite artists out there: take a look at this German program:
ProMotion ( http://cosmigo.com/promotion/ )
It is a lot like the old Amiga DPaint4, and has some very cool onionskin and anti-aliasing functions.
It costs money though: $47,- for the CD version, $19,95 for a lite version with less functionality. They have a trial version for download as well.
If miez is using it, I'm sure its insanely good.
For all you Flash people out there... www.toonboom.com
:P Sorry for not posting a link. Here's a great one.
That was a completely content free post scummyB. Can we stick to posting program links?
Ultimate Paint (http://www.ultimatepaint.com) - Good for pixelly stuff too, altho pro-motion is spiffier. Features a trial.
NeoPaint (http://www.neosoftware.com/npw.html) - Similar, 30 day trial
And let's not forget Painter (now Corel, formerly Metacreations, formerly Fractal Design). Terrible if you want to manipulate your images in a pixel-perfect manner, or if you need non-antialiased pictures (for example if you want to remove te background-colour using the top-left pixel...or while importing masks). Perfect product however if you want to use natural-media for your backgrounds (and if you have a tablet...naturally). Great to use as an extension with an other product (or an other product as an extension for Painter).
Let?s see...more information? - It costs money. A thirty-day-trial can be downloaded. The latest version is 8...I use 5.5 (for which I had to pay about $15 (?15,-- / ? 30,--)...When it comes to natural media that version is still better than any of the competition. So look around. You might be able to find it somewhere). And on request the link:COREL (http://www.corel.com)
And an addition to CorelDraw (9)...useful only to Dutch people (sorry for all you other guys). If you?re Dutch, and you still go to school or work for an educational organization...be sure to check http://www.schoolbox.nl/html/corel_schoolbox.html (http://www.schoolbox.nl/html/corel_schoolbox.html). You can get a bundle of Corel programs for only ?20...and it pays of.
Deluxe Paint (http://www.geocities.com/oren12345/programs.htm)- It's on a few abandonware sites. Used to draw MI1/2 if you didn't know...
Grafx2- (http://msi.unilim.fr/~dorme/eng_grafX2.html)Kind of like Dpaint but...incomplete. I like it alot.
Flash- (http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/) I just love the sort of pictures this produces, it may not be too good for bitmap based sprites but if you want a cutscene picture or a hi-res background with a cartoony feel I reccommend it.
Paint Shop Pro- (http://www.jasc.com/products/paintshoppro/?) Well, I've never used Photoshop but I'm told that this is a less sophisticated version of it.
Pencil and Paper- (http://www.paperpeople.co.uk/)Shitty, obselete program that no-one uses anymore. :P
:o Oops...I saw something went wrong with the Eurosign...So here's a minor correction:
(E=Euros, Fl=Guilders)
"(for which I had to pay about $15 (?15,-- / ? 30,--)" should be: (E 15,--/Fl 30,--)
"You can get a bundle of Corel programs for only ?20...and it pays of." should be: E 20,--
Sorry :-[
CJL
Anyone using "ArtGem!"? It's a simple, 2MB drawing program, extremely easy to use, yet almost as powerful as Photoshop! ;D It just doesn't have all of those filters. I do all my painting with that.
It is 30-day trial shareware (but nothing is disabled until trial ends (in versions 1.2 and lower)) and well --
As piracy is not the thing to talk about, only hint I can tell you that 30 days are set by Windows' calendar/clock, during installation and first run. ;)
Avaible everywhere in internet, I got it from www.tucows.com .
don't forget Mario paint°
i started on this one
now i use corel photopaint
Can we stick to links with posts and not just comments on the programs? The thread will get too long.
If you're posting a program, post a link to a download, or its just wasting people's time and they're going to ask 'OH WHERE CAN I GET THAT!?!'
http://www.colorschemer.com/online.html
for choosing colours that work well together
Graphics Gale - Everything that you need for pixel art. I found it two days ago, some guy on the pixelization boards recommended it, and I fell in love with it. Ultra cool, ultra easy. Complete with animation tools. Check it out, and make your life easier.
http://www.tempest-j.com/gale/e/ (http://www.tempest-j.com/gale/e/)
Quote from: Eggie on Mon 26/05/2003 20:17:03
Deluxe Paint (http://www.geocities.com/oren12345/programs.htm)- It's on a few abandonware sites. Used to draw MI1/2 if you didn't know...
Isn't that where "guy.brush" came from? ;)
I use GIMP at the moment. I recommend it but it does take a while to get to grips with.
Corel Painter (http://www.corel.com)!!!! The one i use is Corel Painter Classic which is pretty much the same...
...with less features. Painter Classic comes with all Wacom tablets.
For all you photographers out there who want to make their own game graphics,
get Virtual Painter! http://www.jasc.com/products/vpainter/
If you have to - have to - do your own painting on the computer (oils are expensive), please use the right program like,
Zbrush! http://www.zbrush.com/ Seeing is believing
Genetica, a node-based seamless texture editor: http://www.spiralgraphics.biz/genetica.htm (http://www.spiralgraphics.biz/genetica.htm)
the link to photoplus 5 is dead
The official home of PhotoPlus is www.freeserifsoftware.com. They've got more free programs on their page. The registration procress is a real pain, but the programs are quite good.
Quote from: Svetac on Fri 25/07/2003 01:27:28
Graphics Gale - Everything that you need for pixel art...
http://www.tempest-j.com/gale/e/ (http://www.tempest-j.com/gale/e/)
Hear, hear! Graphics Gale is really good.
If anyone needs help 'resetting' their trialware shareware product, just search for the following in your registry and delete it (be careful). First uninstall the program, then:
- Search for the install folder name ie. High-Logic and delete the key.
- Search for the product name ie. Paint Shop Pro and delete the key(s).
- Search for the file extensions and delete the keys
- Search for other names (like company name)
This way you can continue to test the software before you are forced into making a software purchase (which is the whole point of shareware).
For Example: Please support Jasc Software by purchasing Paint Shop Pro. You won't be dissappointed and this will help continue development.
NeoPaint is an excellent paint program. I wish it had more features, but it gets the job done quite nicely.
Moho - at www.lostmarble.com/moho/
You draw you character using vector graphics, assign bones to it, add keyframes and easily create walkcycles. You can also add different effects like shading, glow and stuff like that. Then you just render the animation.
It's not free, costs 19$, but you can download trial version from the site,*hint* and you can upgrade it to FULL version by entering the registration code. *hint*
Ive been in the design industry for a while now...
I only ever use adobe photoshop... with afew other plugins.
I would never use anything elce..... if you can get it the "easy way" then I see no reason to go with anything elce.
although some programs like painter can be a great contributer to working with photoshop.
I know, everyone have their own preference to what they prefer.
I just wouldnt touch anything elce with a 10ft pole.
Well, finally the win32 version of Grafx2:
http://www.eclipse-game.com/?menu=tools&sub=graphic&dat=7 (http://www.eclipse-game.com/?menu=tools&sub=graphic&dat=7)
It's a DP like 256 colour painter, ideal for pixel graphics.
As I use only DOS version, I don't know how this win32 version performs anyway.
http://www.mediachance.com (http://www.mediachance.com)
You forgot the excellent Real DRAW!
I mean look what can be done by a 15 year old (me)
(http://home.ripway.com/2003-11/33483/ReturnFire2.jpg)
Ok its not as powerful as Photoshop but its pretty good.
What about the Gimp? Really good and totally freeware. Can do anything Adobe Photoshop can do.
I recommend Moho for a cartoonie style background/charactors
For backgrounds I recommend REAL-Draw
and for charactors Pixia
Quote from: Gilbot V7000a on Wed 04/02/2004 01:03:38
Well, finally the win32 version of Grafx2:
http://www.eclipse-game.com/?menu=tools&sub=graphic&dat=7 (http://www.eclipse-game.com/?menu=tools&sub=graphic&dat=7)
It's a DP like 256 colour painter, ideal for pixel graphics.
As I use only DOS version, I don't know how this win32 version performs anyway.
I've tried this and it is great - very much like the Amiga DPaint - I felt right at home in no time.
Macromedia Fireworks can do anything photoshop can do.. quicker :P
Download a free trial at http://www.macromedia.com << Highly reccomend it, Its great for making animations and vectors too!
Wally (http://www.fileplanet.com/dl.aspx?planethalflife/wadfather/tools/wally_155b.exe)(sorry the link is to fileplanet, it is reliable though. You will have to sign up a free account to download it)
I recently spent a lot of time making maps for Counter Strike and in the process came across this amazing little freeware program. Has a lot of simple effects tools that may be very useful to some. It is designed to create textures for Quake/Half-Life maps, but really is just a simple art program.
later,
-junc
I'd like to add to more paint programes
1: paint (comes with windows)
2: paint it (paint but upgraded)
There are not many free vector graphc editors.
One of the most matures is Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/)
I've just found Creature House Expression (http://www.microsoft.com/products/expression/). The samples at the page are amazing.It's a beta version, but it seems there are no limitations. (I hope it is not time-limited.)
It has lots of features letting use anything (other images, vector-based traces with transparencies...) to do your drawing lines and make a vector-based drawing look as if it was a scanned picture:
(http://www.microsoft.com/products/expression/img/safari/jeep.jpg)
Quote from: juncmodule on Mon 03/05/2004 17:32:37
Wally (http://www.fileplanet.com/dl.aspx?planethalflife/wadfather/tools/wally_155b.exe)(sorry the link is to fileplanet, it is reliable though. You will have to sign up a free account to download it)
I recently spent a lot of time making maps for Counter Strike and in the process came across this amazing little freeware program. Has a lot of simple effects tools that may be very useful to some. It is designed to create textures for Quake/Half-Life maps, but really is just a simple art program.
later,
-junc
Wow, I didn't know that was on there. By that way, I had a file planet account for a long time.
Quote from: flamestrike
I'd like to add to more paint programes
1: paint (comes with windows)
2: paint it (paint but upgraded)
Where could I find this 'paint it' program?
Erm, yeah, I did a google search and it came up with loads of crap
Hm.
OpenCanvas.
Art program.
Free.
Awesome.
Click for (Updated! Thanks Gilbert!) awesomeness. (http://www.terran-x.com/al/OC11B72.EXE)
It's originally in Japanese, but if you click help -> English, it will magically transform into English.
Also, it allows you to draw with other people via networking, which makes it even awesomer.
But alas, only anti-aliased lines.
Oh well.
(A tablet is recommended).
(Also, there are newer versions, but they're not freeÃ, :( )
Yeah OC1 was great, too bad OC2 and OC3 are sharewares.
Note that they still welcome us to use OC1 for free, but take down the download for OC1 on the official site to encourage people to pay for the newer versions, that's why you need to find it else where (i don't have problems as I had it since 1.0 and had downloaded the latest version before it's taken down.
The file you linked to was V1.1 beta 68, but the newest (last) version was beta 72, I'll put a link I had found here (http://www.foxden.net/~terriekitten/OC11B72.EXE) (So you won't get an error if you somehow wants to play a wonky wpe file downloaded from the net which was saved with a newer version.
http://www.cosmigo.com/promotion/index.php
If you are looking for a tool that helps you with creating detailed graphics (logos, buttons, icons) and animations on pixel level then your search has probably ended now.
pro motion is a pixel oriented drawing and animation software for Windows.
It's ideal for artists working on detailed graphics for small displays like used with PDAs, handheld computers and mobile phones or to create light weight graphics for the web or Macromedia Flash applications.
Besides dozens of tools and functions there is even a special support for tile based graphics and the tile palette management (Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance etc.).
A feature limited lite version is available for only $19.95
($) CreaToon:
http://www.creatoon.com/index.php
expensive program. looks nice and useful for character animation. Demo available.
I can't believe no one mentioned Autodesk Animator Pro. I mean, I'm 99.999% certain -this- is the prog LucasArts was using back in the Monkey Island days. It's fantastic!
You can download it here (and learn more about the art of pixel crafting!):
http://tsugumo.swoo.net/tutorial/faq.htm
If you can find a copy of Autodesk Animator Pro '95, you're doing even finer.
Quote from: Jack-Dark on Sat 04/09/2004 08:11:15
If you can find a copy of Autodesk Animator Pro '95, you're doing even finer.
Woops! I meant to say Autodesk Animator "Studio". :P
Yesss! A good paint program after all. Until now, I've been using GraFX 2, which is also an awesome program, but a beta, and lacking some functions. I hope Autodesk will help me after all.
Hm, I think Photofiltre is a nice program, I use it sometimes und it's free.
www.photofiltre.com
Thought I'd mention that ArtGem has been officially discontinued. There are some third-party sites which still host it, though all I've found from those are older versions (1.3 was the last).
Don't know if anyone's seen this yet.
Allegro Sprite Editor (http://ase.sourceforge.net)
It's an open source program intended for pixel art. It runs in a console in fullscreen only, so the interface is a bit inconvenient. Otherwise it appears a fairly powerful little program, with layers, masks, and animation support, as well as more advanced palette editing. It even supports AGS's palette format natively (with a filename change, but that's better than most of the other programs I've tried).
I haven't tried it too much yet, but here it is for anyone else who's interested.
HoN
a new free one is PhotoFiltre. pretty good.
PhotoFiltre was mentioned three posts before. You should read the thread more carefully before replying.
whoops. my bad
OpenCanvas - http://www.portalgraphics.net/en/index.asp
If you like manga try this one, it is very easy to use. It is a small photoshop like program. you can make use of event files to see how the artist did the illustration
It is a good way to learn colouring CG http://www.portalgraphics.net/oc/index.asp?lang=en
o/
SketchUp http://www.sketchup.com
Easy to use 3D tool. Great for exteriors. If you have problems with perspective or shadowing, this is great tool for you.
Good: fully functional 8 working hours trial
Bad: it cost 500$
Anim8or (http://www.anim8or.com/main/index.html)
A very easy-to-use program for making 3d animations and pictures. Especially good for making cartoony 3d graphics.
And the best thing is that it's totally free!
For those of you on a Mac (both of you):
http://www.opensword.org/Pixen/
(Get the latest beta version, though: vast improvement in terms of speed and functionality over version 2.)
You can get ArtGem 1.3 here (http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/RLV_AG13.zip)
LD[/color]
Hate to interrupt all of the suggestions and such but uh, does Toon Boom allow you to make .SWFs and animate your characters? It's probably a dumb question, but it looks more like a cinema deal, kind of for making cutscenes. Thanks.
From their page (http://www.toonboom.com/products/toonBoomStudioExpress/features.php):
Export
Macromedia Flash SWF
QuickTime with alpha channel and sound
AVI
DV Stream (NTSC/PAL/WideScreen/HDTV)
Image Sequences
Thanks. Also, I seem to be having trouble with Graphics Gale, how do I get it so that it has a Grid, in which I paint in the individual blocks, as shown on their page. Thanks.
Artweaver (http://www.artweaver.de/index.php?en_version)
A light freeware alternative to Corel Painter.
i just down loaded neo paint its really good lots of tools and mediums to choose from even 3-d tools,
TIP- before downloading change your computer calander to like 2012 then install and run first time x it out change the clock back and you have a good 2000 days to use it
Also, SSH's Walkcycle Generator can be used as a Paint program and has extra support for walkcycles, obviously!
See: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=26501.0
I found a couple of progs, that could be usefull. Both are vector animation programs. They are FREE.
Synfig (Win,Unix,MacOS)
http://www.synfig.com/
KToon (Unix,MacOS)
http://ktoon.toonka.com/
I don't know if they are good, but I try Synfig right now, and may be somebody want to try the second program.
GIMP 2!!!!!!!!!!!! :-*
Does anyone know where I could get Deluxe Paint?
Googling offered no results :(
Well, since it's abandoned ware, I won't post any direct link, but hint:
google for "deluxe paint 2" and the first result is a match already.
Notice there're at least 3 adaptions of DP for M$DOS: DP2, DP2 Enhanced and the less well-known DP animation.
The search match mentioned above is for the most popular (best) DP2 Enhanced.
Doh! Quotes! :-[
Thanks, mate :)
Quote from: bradless on Thu 06/07/2006 05:03:07
GIMP 2!!!!!!!!!!!! :-*
With Gimp GAPÃ, Ã, Ã, Gimp Animation Package
For all those willing to give this fine program a go you must do the following in order
Install GTKÃ, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, http://www.gtk.org/download/ Simply choose the one prior to the latest edition
Install GimpÃ, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, ftp://ftp.gimp.org/pub/gimp/v2.2/
Install GAPÃ, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/gimp-win/gimp-gap-2.2.0-setup.zipÃ, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, Ã, select a mirror
tis long winded but well worth it
Found a free one that looks promising, if a little .net bloated...
Paint.NET --available here: http://www.getpaint.net
I can't beleave I didn't see World Creator anywhere here! You guys must try it out! It renders isometric scenes but they are awsome!...
Here's where to get it:
http://www.inet2inet.com/InetSoftware/World-Creator/WorldCreator-info.asp
Oh... And btw, it is free!...
Theres Wizard brush here
http://www.eusoftware.com/wb5x.htm
and Nature Painter which dosint let you save it unless you buy it, but you can just print screen.
http://www.naturepainter.net/
Hi there!
Just wanted to drop you all a quick note, that I found out, that...
Quote from: Lafferty on Fri 13/08/2004 00:48:36
($) CreaToon:
http://www.creatoon.com/index.php
expensive program. looks nice and useful for character animation. Demo available.
is no more expensive, they released it as freeware, because the company's not working on it anymore.
Looks promising.
deep
Most amazing program ever. Just as easy to use as MSpaint.
Paint.net
Paint.NET is free image editing and photo manipulation software for computers that run Windows. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools. An active and growing online community provides friendly help, tutorials, and plugins.
http://www.getpaint.net/index2.html