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8 BPP art -- how do you do it?

category: general [glöplog]
 
What tools do you use to produce graphics such as the Pouet.net logos?

Are you doing everything from scratch in GrafX 2 or Deluxe Paint run in DOS compability mode in Windows XP, or are you sitting with some funky Amiga-exclusive software on your A1s?

If you do in fact draw them entirely by hand, how do you select the colors for the palette? Do you pick some ranges that you think that you'll need and optimize as you progress? Do you base the new palette on some earlier one?

Ooor... do you first render something in a 3D modelling program or use Photoshop (or similar) to create a rough "sketch" that you can manipulate in all eternity in your 8 BPP painters? Or do you use the powerful, modern tool(s) exclusively and then just export as 8 BPP and let them do the converting (dithering)?

I realize that some of the logos here are hi-color, but most seem to be GIFs, and thus obviously 256-color. They usually seem perfected to the last pixel, leading me to believe that they were created by some really talanted people who spent lots of time on them...

So... how's it done?
added on the 2006-09-25 00:01:43 by KimmoA KimmoA
Yeah. That and converting a truecolor image to a dithered-256-colors-palette-gif. You just learn to know the limits of dithering, aliasing and available colors.
added on the 2006-09-25 00:11:01 by spite spite
SPiTe: Which did you mean by "that"? Both/all ways?
added on the 2006-09-25 00:23:48 by KimmoA KimmoA
hello kimmo. there is no right answer for this question. every artist does it own way, but most use photoshop nowadays...
added on the 2006-09-25 08:25:05 by uns3en_ uns3en_
a good 24bit->dithered 8bit routine can make wonders. if you stay in a selection of shades of colors its a piece of cake for a good algorythm
added on the 2006-09-25 09:39:51 by Oswald Oswald
dithering algorithms are for wimps. real men dither by hand.
added on the 2006-09-25 10:34:18 by noouch noouch
pure 8bpp art - brilliance at amiga, and hand dithering only, oi!
added on the 2006-09-25 11:25:36 by darklight darklight
besides doing it _all_ (incl. hand-dithering) in PPaint I have a convenient method for lazynes :D

Do it in a regular environment (f.e. Photo$høp or ArtEfect).
Keep an eye on using common colours (i.e. the orange that you use in one part...try to use the same in another).
Save the pic as a .pcx|.bmp|.ilbm(iff 16+ bit).
Start PPaint 7 (works perfectly on WinUAE and on Amiga + gfx board). Load the pic and let the palette-reducing do the PPaint. Palette re-rendering config should be set to "Quality", rendering form "normal". You also have the choice to set the rendering form to simple-dither or Floyd Steinberg dither...but the results can be awful if you have a very detailed pic.
From PPaint you can save that thingie as a 256 colour .gif

done
added on the 2006-09-25 11:29:21 by d0DgE d0DgE
Note:

Do always reduce the palette from the original pic.
Do not first reduce to 8bpl and then to f.e. 5bpl (32 col).
That result is totaly whack.
Try from original (24, 16 bit) to 5bpl instead.
added on the 2006-09-25 11:33:00 by d0DgE d0DgE
Note:

wipe your ass after dumping.
added on the 2006-09-25 15:52:04 by Oswald Oswald
Quote:
Are you doing everything from scratch in GrafX 2 or Deluxe Paint run in DOS compability mode in Windows XP, or are you sitting with some funky Amiga-exclusive software on your A1s?


Neither... This is the professional's choice:

ProMotion
added on the 2006-09-25 18:23:00 by havoc havoc
Note:

and don't forget to wash ya hands.
added on the 2006-09-25 19:44:37 by d0DgE d0DgE
In a few months, every lamer with a copy of ppt 2007 will just slap 3d effects on big text and save as gif. :p
added on the 2006-09-25 20:39:39 by GbND GbND
Actually, the Photoshop auto converter does a really great job. Of course, this is cheating...

ProMotion might be nice, but it's payware.

Only very old versions of DPaint exist for DOS, right? All the later ones are Amiga-only, correct?

I use GrafX 2 (DOS version -- ironicly, the Windows port is crappier than the original even on Windows...), and while it's a beautiful tool, it annoys me to no end that they never implemented the gradient rectangle effect and text mode. :(
added on the 2006-09-26 02:32:09 by KimmoA KimmoA

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