MLS, you arledy did a tutorial to pixel-art. Remember?
Yeah, but it's not really in-depth. :/
Anyway, I typed up the tutorial and added stuff to it. I have to say it's very long but I think it is good.
Designing and Spriting Fakemon Tutorial
by mls
It all starts with an idea! First you need to know what your fakemon is going to be based on. It could be an animal, plant, rock, inanimate object, human-like creature, anything. For this tutorial I am using a combination of plants and animals, a lion cub that looks like a dandelion seed.
Type - You also need to plan what type or types your fakemon will be so you can implement characteristics of the type into the fakemon. The never look exactly like they do in real life. Just sticking a leaf on a koala's forehead will not make it a fakemon. However, if you made it have green mossy fur, a flower on its head, and a short leaf tail it could be considered a grass-type fakemon.
I will make my fakemon flying/grass type because a seed in a plant-like thing and it can fly because of its light weight in the wind.
Sketch - This is a very important step, you must not skip it. Using either a paint program or pen/pencil and paper, sketch out what you think your fakemon should look like. If you don't like it the first time, keep trying until you find a design you do like. When you are happy with the design, try sketching the fakemon in various poses until you find one that looks natural. In pokemon front sprites the pokemon usually looks towards the foe, but that doesn't mean it can't be turned around. However, DO NOT make the fakemon face directly towards you. It makes it look flat. If you used paper, you may scan it onto the computer. If you don't have one, try to recreate it in a paint program. Remember:
- The sketches do not have to be perfect
- The fakemon should not look exactly like it does in real life
- Don't forget to add elemental traits (don't really have to worry about this with normal types)
- The final fakemon should be looking towards the foe (bottom-left corner)
- Save it once it is on the computer, and until it is done fairly frequently. You don't want to lose anything
- Save it as a PNG it is made for the internet, BMPs are too big, and JPGs make it look bad
Spriting This is by no means the only way to sprite. Feel free to do something differently if it works better for you. This is just a way that worked well for me, but sometimes I do sprite other ways. I guess it isn't true scratching since it isn't pixel by pixel, but it's close. Anyway, back to the tutorial:
Remember throughout the spriting process:
- Save you work frequently. You don't want to lose anything
- Save it as a PNG it is made for the internet, BMPs are too big, and JPGs make it look bad
- Always have a clone of your fakemon if you think you might ruin it
- Feel free to change the design of your fakemon a little as you go
- DO NOT copy and paste and flip parts.
Resize - If you scanned your fakemon onto the computer, you may crop and resize it until it is 64x64 for RSE/FRLG style or 80x80 for DP style at most. If you drew in a paint program, make sure you fakemon are within the limits. If they are not, resize. For smaller fakemon, make them less than the size limit and do not make fakemon's prevos bigger than their evos.
Outline - Scanners should now go over the lines in the drawing with the pencil tool in a color that will easily show up (I used blue). It can be rough. Now, both should go over the outline again this time using the circle, curved line, and pencil tools to smooth out the final outlines. If the lines are still chunky and jagged (and they are supposed to be in your design) you might have to go over it AGAIN. It should be in a color that will easily show up against the stuff underneath (I used red). The outline should only be one pixel thick. You can also use the magnifier tool to zoom up close at your sprite. When you are done with the outline, get rid of anything behind the new outline. Hint: Use the non-blurry version of the one-pixel size for those who have multiple pencil versions.
Add Details - Just add little details like eyes, a nose, mouth, toe lines, and lines for fur or scales. But don't add too much detail, it can make it look crowded.
Shade - When you shade, you should consider the shape, contours, and textures of your fakemon. However, there are many different ways for shading different textures and shapes, so I won't go in depth on it in this tutorial. Also, in pokemon sprites the light always comes from the top-left corner, so keep that in mind when shading. The shadows should follow the curves of the fakemon's body, not just around the edge. Hint: For shinier looking fakemon, make the highlights contrast more with the base color.
First, fill in the parts of the fakemon will the base color, or shadows if you want. Then shade in the other shades. (There are highlights, base color, shadows/outline highlights, outline base, and outline shadows). For the outline, use the shadow color for the outline highlights.
Now you need to shade the outlines. They should not be ALL color or ALL black. The outline highlights should only be near the normal highlights, and be the color of the darkest shadow. Then add the base outline, which should be near black, and black for the shadows. However, don't just make the outline shades just suddenly change. Make it blend a little and have the darker colors go a little bit into the lighter shade areas.
Clean-up - Clean up and do touch-ups if your sprite needs them. And you're done with your sprite!
Stats and Info Now that you have your fakemon sprited out, this part will be easier to do.
Name - you just splice different words that have to do with your fakemon together or just do misspellings. I'm not the best at naming but here are some tips:
Do not use water, fire, or the like in the name, it usually isn't very good
Try using words from other languages, it makes then more original sounding
Try not to make names similar to existing pokemon unless the fakemon is related
Let's see... for my dandelion seed pokemon I could name it Cottelion, Kotton, Citton, Sporcub, Seedkin. Meh.
I guess I will go with Cottelion.
Evolution Line - Will your fakemon evolve or will it be a stand-alone? If it evolves you have to repeat all these steps for those fakemon. But, if its evolution or prevo is an existing pokemon than you won't have to of course.
Cottelion will evolve into an adolescent dandelion lion. It will not yet have yellow petals, but it will have a leafy tail, be green, and have some more leaves coming off it. Then it will evolve into an adult dandelion lion with really leafy tails and a yellow petal mane.
Next is the evolution method. How will it evolve if it does? There are several ways, here are a few:
Level up :
-at a certain level
- with specific item attached
- with happiness
- with a high contest stat (cool, cute, tough, smart, beauty)
- at a certain place
- with a certain moved learned
- with a certain pokemon in the party
Trading
- just trading
- with a specific item attached
Evolution stones
If you aren't sure how it should evolve or at what level, try looking at a similar existing pokemon. My fakemon is a little like the hoppip line, but it is going to be little tougher so I will look at a fairly strong 3-stage grass pokemon, like bulbasaur. It evolves at level 16, and then at level 32. However, I think I will make my fakemon a baby since I don't think seeds should breed. Xl So, it will evolve by happiness while holding a new item I made up called Rich Soil. Then it will evolve at level 32 to its final evolution.
Ability - Think about your fakemon's real-life counter part and what special ability it has. Bugs often have compound eyes, so Compound Eyes could work for one. Birds could have Keen Eye, and fish could have Swift Swim. Also think of what your fakemon looks like and what its personality is like. Scary pokemon could have Intimidate and cute pokemon could have Cute Charm. Also, you could make up your own ability. But, fakemon could have more than one ability that would work well with it. However, it can only have up to two, so choose wisely.
Cottelion could have Chlorophyll, but I don't think it really fits. I also feel like being creative and making something up now, so I will. If you want to make an ability, all you need is the name of the ability and its effect(s). Some abilities also have an overworld effect like making pokemon more of less common.
The name of the ability will be Light Weight. It makes pokemon who are not flying type become immune to ground attacks twice every three turns. It also raises the pokemon's evasion one level upon entry to battle since the wind moves it around. It has no overworld effect. This in what the in-games description would look like:
Light Weight
Raises evasion.
I don't know why, but sometimes they leave things out. :/ Usually, the description is a short sentence fragment like it is above.
Moves - The levels at which Pokémon learn moves often have a pattern. Some go 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 (meaning it could be level 6, 8, 11, 15, etc.) Some learn an attack every seven levels. Other patterns include 11, 22, 33, etc.,10, 20, 30, 40, etc., and 11, 21, 31, 41, 51, etc.
Baby pokemon often learn only a few attacks. They also tend to learn Charm and Sweet Kiss. Fully evolved Pokémon usually start with certain moves, then learn the same moves later. They also and learn everything up to level 36 at the same level as their prevos then it start learning new moves every nine levels after. Not sure why, but it's just a rule. :/
All low level pokemon should start with weak moves like scratch, tackle, and pound and a stat raising changing move like howl or leer. The they should learn a weak attack of its element like ember, watergun, or razor leaf. Then the progressively better moves as it levels up. Keep in mind what sort of moves it could or could not use to avoid adding a move that doesn't make sense. Hint: Look at counterpart pokemon to get an idea of what moves you fakemon could learn and at what level.
I know that baby pokemon are supposed to be weak, but this fakemon has a lot of potential. So I gave it some better attacks. I also added a more normal baby move set for it.
Here is the move set for Cottelion:
| - | Tackle
| - | Cotton Spore
| 7| Cotton Spore
|8 | Tail WHip
|10| Scratch
|12| Stun Spore
|14| Sleep Powder
|16| Poison Powder
|18| Bullet Seed
|20| Leech Seed
|24| Synthesis
|26| Mega Drain
|36| Giga Drain
| - | Tackle
| - | Cotton Spore
| - | Charm
| 4| Cotton Spore
| 7| Stun Spore
|10| Sweet Kiss
|13| Leech Seed
|16| Giga Drain
Gender - Usually pokemon are 50% male, but if a pokemon is given to you and you only get one, the gender percentage should be 87.5% male. If your fakemon looks more male than female, make it 75% male and if it looks more female than male, make it 25% male. If it looks like it should always be male or always female, make it 100% male or female. If the fakemon does not looks like a living thing that can reproduce than make it genderless. Almost always legendaries are genderless.
I will make Cottelion 50% male.
Breeding Groups -
Give your fakemon a breeding group or two that your fakemon fits in best. Cottelion will be in the No Eggs group because it is a baby.
Bug - bug and bug-like pokemon
Dragon - dragons, and dragon-like pokemon
Fairy - fairy or cute creatures like clefairy and togepi
Flying - birds, bats and pterodactyls
Gender Unknown - genderless Pokémon
Ground - mammals
Humanshape - humanoids
Indeterminate - ghosts, gases and blobs
Mineral - rock-like pokemon
Monster - Reptiles and monster mammals
No Eggs - legendaries and babies
Plant - Plant pokemon
Water 1 - marine mammals and water types that don't fit in Water 2 and Water 3.
Water 2 - fish
Water 3 - marine invertebrates
Ditto - Ditto only unless you made ditto an evolution or a pokemon that can breed with all breedable pokemon
Stats -
Almost done! Now try looking at a counterpart for reference to make the stats, and change the stats of the counterpart to fit your fakemon.
I will use Hoppip as Cottelion's counterpart. (It's stats are in the same range as a baby's are) Hoppip's stats are 35, 35, 40, 35, 55, and 50. I imagine Cottelion having its attack being worst, then its defenses, HP, and then speed as its best.
| HP| At | De | SA | SD | Sp |
| 55 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 40 | 55 |
TMs, HMs, Egg Moves, and Move Tutor Attacks -
The last and most boring step.... Go through all the TMs, HMs, breeding, or move tutor moves and pick out the ones that your pokemon could learn. Hint: These TMs can be learned by any pokemon that can learn TMs at all; Toxic, Hidden Power, Protect, Return, Frustration, Double Team, Facade, Secret Power, Rest and Attract.
Congrats, you've finished! If you want, you can also make shiny versions, or gender differences for your fakemon, too.
^-^
