Thoughts On Scanning Artwork For Games?

I feel that most people would probably agree that it is easier to draw with pencil/pen and paper than with a mouse, which led me to wonder if it would be possible (and effective) to draw line work on paper, then scan and import onto a computer for colouring.

Has anybody tried this or have any thoughts on how well this could work?

I have done that. Usually I draw what I want on the paper and then take a picture of if with my phone and use it as a guideline when making it digital. But you could just scan in whole drawings and use it if you want to have a unique style

Anonnymitet when you say you used it as a guideline do you mean to trace or to reference?

Thanks

I draw a lot better on paper than on my tablet so I draw on paper until I have what I want then I trace the shape with the tablet to get the look I want. If I try to just draw with the tablet from the beginning it never ends well

I start sketching with a blue pencil, and clean up the lines with a black pencil. I then scan the drawing at high resolution (300~1200dpi) with my Canon flatbed scanner (Irfanview and VueScan scanner driver). VueScan, while not free, allows me to use my Canon flatbed scanner with Windows 10, and the scan quality is excellent (way better than the original Canon drivers ever were).

Next, I open the result in either Krita or PhotoLine for cleanup. Then I start inking and/or colouring/painting in Krita and/or ClipStudio.

Check out David Revoy's step-by-step explanation for more info:

http://www.davidrevoy.com/article239/cl ... h-in-krita

He has the scanned artwork available for download, so you can test it for yourself.

Taking photos with your phone is not suitable with this approach. The lighting and camera quality/sharpness is too limited - even a high-end DSLR requires a stable setup with good even lighting to work. I suppose tracing might work to just get your basic sketch as a guideline, but if you are serious about converting your paper artwork you MUST get a flatbed scanner.

In case you are wondering about the colouring process in Krita:

http://www.davidrevoy.com/article247/kr ... g-tutorial

http://www.davidrevoy.com/categorie5/tutorials

In case you are not aware of Krita:

https://krita.org/en/

...and GameQuest: Krita for Game Artists.

http://gdquest.com/game-art-quest/volum ... e-artists/

Rayek Thank you, I wasn't aware of Krita, but it seems like it would work great with my Canon 220 scanner.

I usually work in pixel art but have recently been working in a style similar to that of the French artist Hergé, famous for the Tintin comic book series. Krista seems to be more than capable for the simple line and block colour artwork I produce, however I was slightly confused about saving as a .kra and whether that would be compatible with most game engines.

Many thanks

KnivetonStudios

I have been trying to work at creating pixel art. I usually start by drawing out a rough outline of whatever it is I am 'trying' to make on regular paper, then I will transfer it over to grid paper where I can see the squares easily and fill them in as needed and desired. Then I will usually scan the page using my scanner and load it into GIMP.

I am not an artist, and this seems to work okay for me. I have yet to create anything I like enough to put into any of the games I am making, but I hope to get better and good enough for the retro styled games I like making.

Rayek Thank you, I wasn't aware of Krista, but it seems like it would work great with my Canon 220 scanner.

I usually work in pixel art but have recently been working in a style similar to that of the French artist Hergé, famous for the Tintin comic book series. Krista seems to be more than capable for the simple line and block colour artwork I produce, however I was slightly confused about saving as a .kra and whether that would be compatible with most game engines.

Many thanks

KnivetonStudios

Krita (not Krista!) saves its native source files as *.kra.

A *.kra file retains all of Krita's functionality, and is of course not compatible with game engines. To open your files in a game engine, save your file as *png, *psd, *tga, *jpg, etcetera. It depends on the type of asset and the game engine, of course. Png is a safe bet.

I have been trying to work at creating pixel art. I usually start by drawing out a rough outline of whatever it is I am 'trying' to make on regular paper, then I will transfer it over to grid paper where I can see the squares easily and fill them in as needed and desired. Then I will usually scan the page using my scanner and load it into GIMP.

I am not an artist, and this seems to work okay for me. I have yet to create anything I like enough to put into any of the games I am making, but I hope to get better and good enough for the retro styled games I like making.

I used to use the same workflow when I first created sprites and graphic blocks on the Commodore 64 - back in 1983!!!

Nowadays you are really shooting yourself in the foot working that way. Yes, sketching on paper is still very valuable, but actually using grid paper to pencil in squares? Crazy!

Why not use a dedicated pixel art package? Saves you LOTS of time.

Popular options are:

Cosmigo Pro Motion

GraphicsGale https://graphicsgale.com/us/

AseSprite https://www.aseprite.org/

Moai

Or Krita (although not specialized for pixelart): https://krita.org/en/

http://ludumdare.com/compo/2015/08/22/h ... pixel-art/

Rayek thank you

I was actually creating resources for a game that way when I saw they were running a Game Jam that required only hand-drawn images.

I'm still waiting for the next big jam where I can apply the stuff I drew.