CAN'T DRAW! Any anime character design program?

Message

bluemist · #1 Post by **bluemist** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 10:53 am

I want to make a ren'ai game but I absolutely can't draw! Anyone know an automatic anime character design program? Well, like this?

http://www.hongfire.com/forum/attachmen ... ntid=21616

You pick face, hairstyle, clothes, etc... then export to *.gif or something... wouldn't that be quite easy enough?

rioka · #2 Post by **rioka** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 12:29 pm

Ah, Ren'ai Maker. Haven't had a chance to try that out yet.
As to your question - not that I am aware of.
I have considered making something like that one day though but not at this time...

Anywhoo, you could use Dolls:
http://elouai.com/doll-makers/candybar-doll-maker.php
http://www.mycartoondolls.com/dollmaker ... ortal.html
http://www.over-the-moon.org/dollz/dollmaker/make.html
http://www.angelfire.com/stars3/sparkli ... maker.html (lotsa images)
http://www.thedollpalace.com/

papillon · #3 Post by **papillon** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 3:48 pm

Buy dollfies. Pose them. Take pictures.

Tage · #4 Post by **Tage** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 4:27 pm

You might have to settle for half of what you want... I don't know of any programs.

A basic program probably would be easy. Originality of characters may drop rapidly the more people use the program though. So you'd have to go and add maybe a color bar for each clothes article, hair style, eye style... Something which doesn't sound that easy but can't be too hard. That would probably make originality less of a problem, but still the drawing styles and clothes... You'd have to make a bunch of them to mostly squash originality problems... u.u; I'd make one in JavaScript, but I'd need Internet Explorer filters for the color bar... And then I couldn't use PNG alpha transparency abilities... because Internet Explorer does not support it. I ramble a lot don't I?

*shrugs* I wish I could program C++ or something... u.u; *holds his fist at the sky* WHY DO I ONLY KNOW JAVASCRIPT?!

*sighs*

bluemist · #5 Post by **bluemist** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 6:05 pm

Well I guess doll makers are the closest thing to what I want eh?

Thanks for the replies.

mikey · #6 Post by **mikey** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 6:56 pm

And more solutions!

Solution 1:
Once you have everything but the characters (your game runs with placeholders), just ask someone and they'll draw it for you. (but you must have everything else done)

Solution 2:
Ask for permission to use characters from someone's fan-art collection.

Solution 3:
Now, this is a little complicated, it includes breaking into buildings, an old ritual and a time machine... (okay, I don't think this is what you're looking for...)

RedSlash · #7 Post by **RedSlash** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 7:48 pm

Solution 4:
Why not just give it a try yourself? I mean, there are lots of tutorials on the net. You should give them a try and see how it works out. Afterall, it'll make your game more original. Give it lots of practice and maybe you'll find that you're actually really good at it!

#8 Post by **PyTom** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 8:14 pm

I second the idea of learning to draw. I managed to do it, I think. I'm not very good, and it took a while, but I think I can now draw at a level that will make for an acceptible game.

Tage: Have you considered learning Python? It's high-level like javascript, but also has a bunch of libraries like pygame and pygtk.

Tage · #9 Post by **Tage** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 12:40 am

bluemist: You know what, learning to draw would have been the most obvious thing to suggest...but it slipped my mind! n.n! As long as you can see your character in your mind, it is possible to draw them. All you need is time, practice, and dedication. I just read a post at the forum of gfxartist.com about someone wondering if someone with no drawing experience could learn.
http://www.gfxartist.com/community/forum/73981
It has interesting replies.

PyTom: Actually...I haven't, lol. Do you know any good websites to start off at? I'm willing to give any language a try... x.x

#10 Post by **PyTom** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 12:58 am

My opinion is that anyone can learn to draw. Well is another issue, but IMO the quality of the drawing isn't the most important thing about a B-game... some of the best b-games have the strangest looking characters.

As to learning python:

I'd start off by first learning how to program in python, learning the basic data structures and things. For someone who's not already an experienced programmer, I'd start with:

http://www.ibiblio.org/obp/thinkCSpy/

Once you get the basics down, you can then learn things like pygtk or pygame, which let you do graphics. But get the basics down first, it really helps.

Tage · #11 Post by **Tage** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 1:25 am

PyTom wrote:My opinion is that anyone can learn to draw. Well is another issue, but IMO the quality of the drawing isn't the most important thing about a B-game...

Yah, I agree. The quality is not the most important; however, I do think (no matter how good or bad the drawing is) it is a lot better if you do the expressions of each character well enough. =)

PyTom: Awesome, thanks for the link. I'll check it out over the weekend. As for now...I've got to study Calculus...-.-;

Nio · #12 Post by **Nio** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 4:13 am

If I may make a suggestion about learning to draw... I usually tell people just starting out to actually get some tracing paper and trace characters from their favorite artist. Then try to draw the image again on new paper just by looking at the image. Then without the image. Then try to do draw the character in different poses etc. After a while you should get a feel for drawing a characters.

HOWEVER... Let me say this will never ever replace learning to draw properly. I couldn't say enough how important it is to learn about proper anatomy, positive and negative space and perspective etc.

I have taken art classes myself. However, when I was younger the above method did help me learn how to draw halfway decent.

Anyway hope that helps some. It is work and it won't happen overnight, but keep at it and you'll get better.

Sai · #13 Post by **Sai** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 9:22 am

Yeah, Nio's method is what I did actually.
As Nio said, It's advised against in replace of proper study of anatomy etc. though, but it's an easier starting point at least. I still need to practise body anatomy ._. I'm alright at heads (since I practised those more) but I get a lost when it comes to the body ¬.¬;; (And I'm sorry to say I never really enjoyed the strict Fine Art classes at college that teaches you that kind of thing, so I'm going to have to teach myself I guess)
I basically looked at existing characters and did fanart for a long time and then when I felt confident enough, I moved onto completely original drawings. I think looking at existing images helps build up a mental library for reference later, like when you're trying to figure out how a pose should look. But also digging up reference pics is good for poses you can't quite get right and looking into how others managed it successfully. Even professionals use reference images, and it's good to do.
Also you can use rough guides such as circles and other shapes etc. just to try and get the positioning of things right. I didn't use to think they'd help and never used them but sometimes I do now for harder poses etc. and it does help (check a tutorial online).
As long as you have a will to draw, it's possible to learn.

When I first started out seriously drawing back when I was like....4 or 5 (I've just always liked to draw, although it's more a fun hobby since I don't know if I could handle it as a career... )... my drawings were just stick people etc. We all have to start somewhere.
Back then I only drew animals (never people)... and I've always been more interested in animation style than fine art/realistic. I didn't draw them very well. But watching shows like Tiny Toons (I loved that show) helped me because I noticed how they did things like mouths and noses and improved. About 6 years ago I bumped into the Japanese animation style and repeated the process.

rioka · #14 Post by **rioka** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 12:48 pm

Wow, looks like we all pretty much started the same way. I believe anyone can draw. If you think you don't have the talent to be an artist, I suggest you read throughBetty Edwards "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain". It'll change your perspective about not being able to draw.

#15 Post by **PyTom** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 2:36 pm

The following is not so much intended as general advice as a personal opinion. Make of it what you will.

I found that using vector graphics programs helps someone like me who's not very comfortable drawing. I'm unable to draw a clean curve to save my life, so I like having software that can compute that curve for me. It's also nice to have lines that are alive, that I can move around after they've been laid down on the screen.

The downside is you have to think of the drawing in a more abstract way. So this might not be suitable for all people.

I tend to do backgrounds in either a raster or mixed format, since I think one of the keys to coloring is that it should be fairly irregular.

Lemma Soft Forums

CAN'T DRAW! Any anime character design program?

CAN'T DRAW! Any anime character design program?

Who is online