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Carrion
Registered: Feb 2009
Posts: 317 |
Who needs Timanthes anywy.
First of all... Timanthes rules it's a great tool.
... but lately I started to use a method/process using Photoshop to achieve 8bit pixel art. The technique gives you control over everything from dithering to color rams plus all PS tools/filters.
IMHO the results are amazing. I think It could be a ultimate converting tool or more precisely a great tool for prototyping/sketching.
The only problem for demoscene could be that results are IMO so good it's hard to tell if it's wired or not.
Take a look:
http://crrnpixels.tumblr.com/post/89843863323/using-photoshop-f..
To convert picture made by Made it took me 10 minutes.
more examples here
http://crrnpixels.tumblr.com/
Please keep in mind that in the examples on the blog no single pixel was put by me. All magic was done by Photoshop.
In next few days I'll post more on my blog describing the method itself. |
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Stainless Steel
Registered: Mar 2003
Posts: 966 |
So that's how you do it :D |
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Carrion
Registered: Feb 2009
Posts: 317 |
@stainless:
yup :) all that years I was using this magic trick
@oswald
the main idea is to use adjustments layers (this is how they are called in PS)
- 1 layer in the stack makes everythink B/W so we are sure we have 8 shades of grey
- 2nd layer makes so called posterisation (in our terms it cuts colors to the number you specify)
- 3rd layer adds your color ramp of choice
- but IMO the real magin is the dither layer which is no more no less but chessboard pattern all over the picture. the method of applying the layer which is "overlay" in PS controlos how many of the chessboard you want to add to the below layers... now imagine you can do other patterns too circles? lines? all you want.
thats almost it - there no more trick, but with some experimentig you discover you can mask some parts of dither or you can add more color ramps here and there... plus
add the "gradient" painting on the bottom and this is all I ever needed.
I mean Timanthes gives layers and some nice tricks too but my workflow was always faster with PS and now I can use all trick I know for PS.
I hope some graphicians will join the discussion because I want to hear from them the opinions
please remember this is the method invented by a guy named Dan Fessler.
on my blog you can find link to his original article. he call this method HD indexed painting.
ps
oh oswald and btw: these are the first ones I converted.
just yesterday talking to algorithm on IRC I took his picture he provided from gogle images and converted it in 2 minutes,
wanna challange me? |
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algorithm
Registered: May 2002
Posts: 702 |
Very nice method and indeed the pictures look less wired. I loved that Hulk picture in the example you had posted.
With some experimentation in other dither patterns, can probably get some more unique results. What is indeed great here is that all the photoshop tools can be used which convert on the fly to the c64 colors with dither.
Ofcourse the attribute issues would have to manually be corrected after final conversion. Great technique |
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Oswald
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 5017 |
Carrion, I have an algorithm, which I believe always finds the optimal dither colors, so it's not restricted to manual gradients - instead reinvents by itself (!) gradients used by c64 gfxians. ;)
so drop a picture original and let's compare :) (dst is c64) but probably you'll have to wait till tommorow. work is over now, and I'm not sure I have this code at home. |
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jailbird
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 1576 |
Doesn't seems to me that it takes restrictions into account, right?
Also, at first glance, I've seen much better converting algorithms when it comes to dithering (ordered checkerboard? meh.) and color-schemes, so it doesn't excites me too much.
From a perspective of a graphician who still prefers the "old way" of pixelling where most of the pixels are set by hand: yet another marginally interesting toy for manipulating images. May be useful for quick concept-art and brainstorming, though. |
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Mr. SID
Registered: Jan 2003
Posts: 421 |
I'm still amazed. This is me pixel n00b playing around for 15 minutes:
This might be huge for making logos... I'll be having fun with this for sure!
It's cool because it's not a conversion tool, but you can actual paint with this and see the c64 result in real-time. |
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jailbird
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 1576 |
And this is Project One/Koala (done in about 30 seconds...)
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Mr. SID
Registered: Jan 2003
Posts: 421 |
So which one does look more hand-pixeled?
Oh, btw:
:) |
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Oswald
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 5017 |
well, you have to give it to Carrion, that the realtime aspect is ammazing of the setup.
Guess PS supports scripting, so a scripted layer could do other conversions than gradients too. Question is the speed. |
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Sounx
Registered: Dec 2006
Posts: 30 |
Taking all of the fun... Out of the job! :)
I prefer oldskool pixeling above anything else. I enjoy the process of pixeling and creating and definitly not 'just' the end result. Probably also the reason why I finished only very little of the things I started on the c64...
Which is not to say that I condemn c64 pixel tools like Timanthes. Quite the contrary, I love the many options and freedom these tools offer when compared to doing GFX in Amicapaint on the 64 with a joystick...
But I stil think the main point of being creative with graphics on a computer should be that most pixels are placed there by the graphician him/herself, rather then a computer that does this for him/her.
So for me, better conversion is interesting in that it can save time. But the actual pixeling is what I enjoy doing and better conversion just means I have less pixeling to do. It also means the picture hardly feels like my own expression and creation, which might not be obvious to the outside world, but it would still negativly affect my personal opinion and feel everytime I see it.
So in all, I think Timanthes, P1 etc. are MORE than a 64-pixelor will ever need!
But I should also mention that doing graphics on the c64 has always been something like my second or third hobby, so I might be less demanding then the people who see art as their main hobby and expression of creativity (which is often the case with the 'better' graphicians, IMHO, as they mostly have better understanding of the process and more eye for details). |
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