Anybody know of any cheap or free sprite tools?

#1 Try Pro Motion
The demo version only exports SPR but that format is well documented and you should be able to write a converter easily. That will allow you to test it - and of course you should get a licence if the tool is what you want.

Others also like Graphics Gale.

#2 I haven't had time to check out Allegro Sprite Editor yet but the quick info sort of hints that it might be useful.

#3 Here's the list of recommanded tools from the pixelate site:
web1.t43.greatnet.de/viewtopic.php?t=6697
Should contain pretty much every tool ever used by a pixler ;)

#4 I often actually use Game Maker (www.gamemaker.nl) It's another game authoring software that could be used to make 2D games. (not really competition to T2D IMHO) It's free is one thing. But mostly it has a built in sprite editor. It'll separate out frames, does animations, saves as new sets of frames, etc. So I use that part of it a lot to do the basic chopping up of graphics and tweaking them where I think that Photoshop is just too complex to use for that. I like to keep it simple with that part, and then afterwards use Photoshop for finalization of the images.

-Warspawn

#5 Ben,

I thought game maker was limited to something like 24 bit sprites. Or has that changed?

Edit: Another thing that might be worth mentioning is that the above website has links to a lot of free resources. One of which is a .pdf version of a nolonger sold book on 2D game art.

#6 Travis, I'm not a coder, I may be wrong, but the company I work for has done a very cool sprite soft that could fit your needs.

It seems you can clean up, separate the sprites, well do a lot of things with it :)

Check this page for more info: www.phelios.net/supersprites.html


Btw, I don't earn anything on it ;)

#7 Ben, All that I see with that program is how to edit sprites and quicktime movies.

Am I missing something?

#8 I don't know I don't use it myself. But it seems many people find it a lot easier to improve and integrate sprites in game.

There is a demo I think...

#9 I use ProMotion, GiMP, Alias Sketchbook Pro, Painter IX, and Adobe Photoshop.

EDIT: Fixed links

#10 David, since I am not an artist maybe I could ask you a question..

Why would anyone need so many different painting programs?
I understand that they probably have differences but I've always been curious

#11 Pro Motion has some excellent paging features for editing sprite animation.
I use GiMP on linux.
I use Alias Sketchbook Pro and Painter IX on my Tablet PC because I can use pen sensitivity and "draw" on the screen.
I'm a long-time Photoshop user and have learned a lot of excellent tips and tricks with it over the years.

In reality, one could get by with a very simple, free paint program as long as the output options work. I love being able to use my Wacom tablet or Tablet PC to draw artwork, though, and Sketchpad and Painter make that a dream.

It comes down to the right tool for the job. It's like how I use Cartography Shop on my desktop PC, but use QuArK on my Tablet PC because most Blitz3D apps don't run correctly under the strange video drivers. I own the map exporters for GameSpace and Lightwave, but I'm not a big fan of rethinking my modeling workflow to fit a square peg in a round hole.

#12 Yes, I second/third/fourth the recommendation for ProMotion. When it comes to old-school, low color/res looking game sprites, you can't beat it. But then again, I am biased because ProMotion is almost an exact duplicate of Deluxe Paint Animator from the Amiga.

My only gripe with ProMotion is that it ONLY handles 8-bit images and it's exporting options are a bit limited. (It does handle PNGs just fine though.)

Graphics Gale is also good.