Essentials Sprite Sizes and Resolution

XCKingBrent · Mar 19, 2019

What's the correct way to make sprites? Should I make them at 80x80 and resize them to 160x160, or should I just make them 160x160 by default? Will essentials scale them up?I just don't know what resolution to start from.

komaoto · Mar 19, 2019

As far as I know, essentials uses double scaled sprites, but it doesn't double scale them by itself.

So in order for your sprite to fit the default style of essentials you have to make your sprite at half size and after, and only after, you are done with your sprite, you can double your sprite and use it in your project.
Most sprites you find on the internet are already at half size.

This is all assuming that you are not doing everything at double size already.

aveontrainer · Mar 19, 2019

What program are you using to draw your Sprites? I for example use Photoshop. I set my base template to double size automatically. I find it easier for me to see the details when I use the number 2 size pencil in Photoshop to draw my Overworld Sprites. if I'm drawing something from scratch then I use the half size and use the number 1 pencil. There are much less pixels to clean up this way. Then I double everything to import it into RPG Maker. If I'm tracing a character battle Sprite then I use the number 2 pencil so that I can see the details better on the layer below. Then I place my pixels pixel by pixel tracing the character. I then make the graphic half size and do my coloring and shading. All that said your end product should be two pixel.

WolfPP · Mar 19, 2019

I draw my battlers sprite usin 96x96 (gen 5 size) but the pokemon's height must to be 80x80. Whatever, I always use a pokemon for reference.

Example: to draw Scorbunny, i got Meowth, Treecko and Wooper, i merged and edited.

XCKingBrent · Mar 19, 2019

I use photoshop as well. I think I'm going to just make my sprites from scratch at 160x160, (from what I'm reading here, that works) it gives me more detail and makes it slightly stylistically different, which is kinda what I want.

Emell · Mar 19, 2019

XCKingBrent said:
I use photoshop as well. I think I'm going to just make my sprites from scratch at 160x160, (from what I'm reading here, that works) it gives me more detail and makes it slightly stylistically different, which is kinda what I want.

No, you need the finished sprite to have double its normal size. It doesn't matter what it starts at, but you want it to fit with the rest of them. Fact that you're saying that it gives you more detail seems to suggest you're not understanding it correctly.

Essentials scales these down for certain screen sizes. Meaning if each pixel isn't doubled in size, it will look really weird compared to everything else, and it will be deformed when scaled down.

juliorain · Mar 19, 2019

aveontrainer said:
What program are you using to draw your Sprites? I for example use Photoshop. I set my base template to double size automatically. I find it easier for me to see the details when I use the number 2 size pencil in Photoshop to draw my Overworld Sprites. if I'm drawing something from scratch then I use the half size and use the number 1 pencil. There are much less pixels to clean up this way. Then I double everything to import it into RPG Maker. If I'm tracing a character battle Sprite then I use the number 2 pencil so that I can see the details better on the layer below. Then I place my pixels pixel by pixel tracing the character. I then make the graphic half size and do my coloring and shading. All that said your end product should be two pixel.

Unless you are paintbucket filling in your sprites with a grid at the doubled sprite size your sprite will have twice as many pixels as intended. Shrink it to half, with nearest neighbor setting and then work from there with a brush 1 px wide. It's fine to have high resolution sprites but you'll have to remake all of the sprites and ui to match your new ones! Otherwise it'll stick out like a sore thumb and not in a good way.

aveontrainer · Mar 19, 2019

juliorain said:
Unless you are paintbucket filling in your sprites with a grid at the doubled sprite size your sprite will have twice as many pixels as intended. Shrink it to half, with nearest neighbor setting and then work from there with a brush 1 px wide. It's fine to have high resolution sprites but you'll have to remake all of the sprites and ui to match your new ones! Otherwise it'll stick out like a sore thumb and not in a good way.

With photoshop all I have to do is set my pencil to 2 and make sure I dont click and drag.

for example im working on zinzolin overworld the number 2 pencil makes the exact size pixels I need. maybe its just all in my head but i just feel more comfortbale working with overworlds this way.

my battle background I scratch drew everything in 1 pixel then doubled the picture to what it will be in the game. and did any correcting from there with the 2 pixel pencil.
Even with anti aliasing on my photohop doesnt make the best transitions on the lines and curves even with the 1 pixel pencil so unless im scratch spriting or shading I draw in the size it will be in game by placing one pixel at a time.

Emell · Mar 20, 2019

aveontrainer said:
With photoshop all I have to do is set my pencil to 2 and make sure I dont click and drag.

for example im working on zinzolin overworld the number 2 pencil makes the exact size pixels I need. maybe its just all in my head but i just feel more comfortbale working with overworlds this way.

my battle background I scratch drew everything in 1 pixel then doubled the picture to what it will be in the game. and did any correcting from there with the 2 pixel pencil.
Even with anti aliasing on my photohop doesnt make the best transitions on the lines and curves even with the 1 pixel pencil so unless im scratch spriting or shading I draw in the size it will be in game by placing one pixel at a time.

In photoshop, use the nearest neighbor setting to scale pixel are without adding blur

Varies where you can set it in different photoshop versions, but for example mine is literally an option in the image resize options

aveontrainer · Mar 20, 2019

Emell said:
In photoshop, use the nearest neighbor setting to scale pixel are without adding blur

Varies where you can set it in different photoshop versions, but for example mine is literally an option in the image resize options

Yup mine has that option too. I have no issues sizing up after drawing in a smaller pixel size. My issue is all in my head. I find it better for me to draw smaller sprites and overworld in the finish product pixel size. Bigger backgrounds or tilesets I draw at half size and then double it for the finish product.

Emell · Mar 20, 2019

aveontrainer said:
Yup mine has that option too. I have no issues sizing up after drawing in a smaller pixel size. My issue is all in my head. I find it better for me to draw smaller sprites and overworld in the finish product pixel size. Bigger backgrounds or tilesets I draw at half size and then double it for the finish product.

Seems like it'd take a lot longer

There is also a danger to that, if youre not going out of the way to make sure the pixels are lined up with the pixel grid that's exist at smaller scales

aveontrainer · Mar 20, 2019

Emell said:
Seems like it'd take a lot longer

There is also a danger to that, if youre not going out of the way to make sure the pixels are lined up with the pixel grid that's exist at smaller scales

Yes there is a danger. But when making overworld I do a lot of cutting a pasting more than placing pixels. The pixels is to recolor and add dimensions when needed. Like said I do both. Drawing in 1 pixel is better for bigger Sprites backgrounds and tilesets. All the smaller stuff I do in 2 pixel. I make sure the placement is proper. And it doesn't seem to slow me down. I can get 3 to 4 character sets done a day.

Essentials Sprite Sizes and Resolution

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XCKingBrent

komaoto

aveontrainer

WolfPP

Spriter/ Pixel Artist

XCKingBrent

Emell

juliorain

aveontrainer

Emell

aveontrainer

Emell

aveontrainer