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What artists would you recommend?

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Jacob
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Hello!

Jacob here.

As I approach the number crunching process for my game, "The Shadow Of The Nokizaru", I am on the hunt for some of the following.

Artists

Graphic Designers

CAD File Designers (For mini design files)

And a meeple designer?
(Would this be a graphic designer or a CAD designer or someone else?)

For those of you who have published a board game, who would you recommend for any of the above categories?

As for the theme: Feudal Japan.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!
-Jacob

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." Romans 1:16-17

questccg
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I would recommend going to a LOCAL Comic-Con

To find artists... They often have Comic-Book-esque artists that would fit your theme. ATM I cannot recommend anyone ... But you could use Fiverr for some of your art. I've used it for two (2) Creative Writers (the second one being MUCH better than the first) and one artist (who drew Manga-style art).

As a Graphics Designer, I can offer you "Jason Greeno" who is one of the partners in "PNP Arcade" (https://www.pnparcade.com). I'll send you his e-mail via a PM. Jason might be a bit pricey ... But he does good work and you don't need to hassle him to do REDOs... He usually understands what Game Designers want as he too has designed several Board Games too. Usually with Jason, it all get settled in one delivery.

CAD = 3D Modeler and often they use Blender to produce industry standard STL files. CAD may be the OLD way of doing it. A newer software like Blender is more popular ATM.

For Meeples, "Meeple Source" is a good resource (https://www.meeplesource.com). They have a bunch of various meeples... The website is having difficulties ATM ... I don't know why?! But usually it's super-fast to browse.

Here's a quick-link to their Ninja (one of two models):

https://meeplesource.com/proddetail.php?prod=Ninja20-

I'd recommend googling for more Meeples and other sources... They may not have what you need. There is also this site: https://meeplestudio.com

Buy I don't think you can do one-off production or if the color your meeples as sophisticated as the Ninja (from Meeple Source). Google a bit and see what you can find.

That's the best I can do... Maybe someone else has ADVICE. Cheers.

questccg
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I just wanted to check my Fiverr Account to see if...

The artist I had dealt with was still on the website. And indeed he is. But it's not $5.00 for an illustration. I paid ~$100 USD for a Box Cover. That's pretty reasonable for a Box Cover (and in the style that I wanted). I'm sure you can search Fiverr for other artists that do Manga Art (Japanese Art Style).

There are a TON of artists out there...!

Best of luck(?!) in your search...

Note #1: IF you would like to have his contact information, I can share that with you... Although I don't know HOW(?) to contact someone on that platform unless they RESPOND to a SOW (Statement Of Work).

PM me and I'll send you his contact information. Cheers!

larienna
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I have not used it myself,

I have not used it myself, but I think there are some websites like Fiverr where you can hire artist for cheap. Their portfolio is on their website.

For Graphic design, it depends what you need, but sometimes you can buy for example card templates already made. I think there was an ad here on BGDF that sold some of them.

questccg
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Dude... Why do you need more ART???

Your game looks amazing from the Art Side. That Video is "sensational" and you are in the process of playtesting. What are you missing???

Looks like you have a bunch of cards done too... Those extra play cards which can alter the balance of an exchange.

Seriously man... The game looks super COOL!

I don't know how you did that Video... But it's super NEAT!

All the best @Jacob ... I've shared with you my limited contacts and some of the ideas that I could share with you. My guess is after more playtesting you need to make a RULEBOOK... In any event ... Good luck with your game!

questccg
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Fiverr is not CHEAP!

larienna wrote:
I have not used it myself, but I think there are some websites like Fiverr where you can hire artist for cheap. Their portfolio is on their website.

Nobody on Fiverr is "ignorant". They all know how much it costs to make art. Although you CAN save some monies dealing with people in Asia, they still charge more than you would imagine. Like $8.00 USD is a black & white sketch. If you want it colored +$xx.00 USD dollars. If you want a Background +$yy.00 USD dollars. The Fiverr platform charges FEES for using their website plus they FORCE you to TIP the designer and charge an ADDITIONAL FEE on top of that.

So "hire artists for cheap" is 1980s. We're in 2024 and no art is cheap unless you use AI (Computer Generated Art).

larienna wrote:
For Graphic design, it depends what you need, but sometimes you can buy for example card templates already made. I think there was an ad here on BGDF that sold some of them.

Yes Nun Kwon from Manifestation CCS (https://www.manifestationccs.com) does predefined ICONs and Card Templates... Plus he does CUSTOM as needed. Check him out too (if you are looking for icons or card templates).

Forgot about Manifestation... And they advertise on BGDF.com too! Hehehe.

questccg
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Here's what I mean

Quote:
No, not to have a tipping gig but to have it as an extra on your regular gigs.

Like: "I will draw black/white line art for $xx."

Extra 1: Add color: $10

Extra 2: Add background: $10

Extra 3: A tip for coffee: $5...

This shows how people are talking about "Tipping" and on Fiverr I believe the minimum is $5.00 USD PLUS a Transaction fee for Fiverr... This is better as one member describes it as less FORCEFUL and more NATURAL: you tip by offering a coffee or something similar.

larienna
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So Fiver does not implies

So Fiver does not implies it's 5$ per art?

The Moral of the story: do your own art, make pixel art, or just don`t use any art.

By the way, I am trying to see if I can make 2 hits with one stone. By doing pixel art, but applying a filter for scaling it up for board games. So far, the results are below average, and the filters to use changes for every piece of art.

I managed to do the opposite, use some inkscape basic shapes and filters, then scale it down as pixel art. The results were acceptable as pixel art.

questccg
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Right-on... You understood!

larienna wrote:
So Fiver does not implies it's 5$ per art?

Not quite. Most artists on Fiverr are very aware that the going rate for art is about $100 (it's debatable if it's CAD or USD) but around that rate...

But you may be able to get 2 illustrations for the price of one ... Meaning that you will still shill out $100 ... Just like $50 each illustration (if you have like two).

Total price CA$96.88

And I got two (2) pieces of art for a Box Cover (For Archon)! Here's what they LOOK LIKE:

What I really like about it is that it is VERY "Manga" in-style. That's what I was looking for. I may contact this artist for more illustration as that now I have a source for art and if he is reasonable to generate twelve (12) pieces... We'll see how much he wants.

I have more to do with this design anyhow... I'm reflecting more about this design... As you can see it ain't perfect ... But that doesn't really matter TBH. Nothing is 100% perfect and some small issue like the hair on the bottom left Wizard is OKAY by me.

This design has me finally coming to terms with WHAT(?) I want from this design... I had a lot to re-think about how to integrate the RPS-5 (Color Pie) with an RPS-3 (Melee => Ranged => Flying => Melee) ... But I have some VERY creative ideas for this game.

Delivery date Mar 27, 2021, 5:10 p.m.

So it is 3 years old as far as the Box Cover looks like. But the concept is still in the works as I come together with the Dual RPS system. We'll see how far I get with the Archon design. It's still very much a CONCEPT not a GAME. But that's what I have been working on during this last weekend and onwards in the week.

So you understood: NOT $5 for ART! Closer to $100 but you can get a deal if you are making more pieces. For all parties, more respectful pricing is now in the Fiverr's new pricing model.

Cheers!

Note #1: I am working on this design "casually" as for right now I don't know where it will go. I'm doing things like pricing on "The Game Crafter" (TGC) to see how much the game "could" cost and then I'll see what in terms of ART is needed.

That's the thing nowadays: I'm putting forwards the "Lowest Hanging Fruit" as the designs that are most likely to get PUBLISHED (even "self-published is good ...) as long as the financial side of matters is WITHIN reason.

It's going to DEPEND on some of the other matters that I need to playtest. Like I said "Lowest Hanging Fruit" FIRST. I have no choice... Most likely to complete and be sold is my criteria.

Not which game I think is BEST!

Right now it's probably going to be my Re-Boot of "Quest AC". It's almost ALL done... The only thing missing is one (1) FIX (nerf a penalty card) and then the game is ready.

So NEXT is my K2 Games website. That's like 75% done... But I am learning Bootstrap 5.0 ... To help RE-DESIGN that incomplete website into something more Desktop AND Mobile-friendly website.

Therefore the biggest BLOCK ATM is "Learning Bootstrap 5.0".

Once I complete that... I should be able to bang out the website in 30 days. And use what I've learnt from the online lessons to put out a much IMPROVED website which is Mobile-friendly.

I'm doing it ... a bit at a time. Spent 3 hours last week... Trying to find some time THIS week too. It takes time too ... You need to watch and listen, PAUSE and then follow-along and then review again afterwards... It's like 3x the amount of time required by the course content itself.

Everything is moving forwards inch-by-inch... Right now Archon is back on the Table (Hot Design; for me) and I've got to do some more PRICING to see what it will cost to make the game.

It will probably die down too... When all the pricing is said and done. But ATM it's HOT and I'm working on making a prototype to see what this game can LOOK like. I'm still very much in a "conceptual" stage TBH!

questccg
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You make a good point...

larienna wrote:
..The Moral of the story: do your own art, make pixel art, or just don`t use any art...

The Archon design requires MAP art... And I figure that I'm going to do that ART myself and save from $100 to $500 CAD in costs when it comes to doing what I want to be illustrated.

Basically I've decided that I'm going to draw it myself in PENCIL First and then use a permanent ultra-fine point Black Pen and trace over the art. There is NO worry about messing up... I will buy a canvas book and do the ART in there... I can get it scanned at my cousin's home when it is READY... And just RELAX and ENJOY the process of making the MAP art myself.

I'm not the greatest artist... But I have a couple SAMPLES to work with and I understand how I can perfect the art. TBH it should be rather DO-ABLE!

I'm not interested in dropping that much money for ART that I can do MYSELF and even if it takes TIME... Who cares... It's a PROCESS... Not a destination. I'm finding ways to ENJOY art and drawing not TRAVELLING to some kind of BEACH in the South! Hehehe.

You make a VERY good point! I agree with you on this one...

Best!

Note #1: I love those Technico Staedtler Mars Engineering Pencils... I find they do an amazing job when it comes to drawing. I've got two (2) of them... I will not doubt use ONE (1) of them and maybe buy a better eraser at the Artisan's Shop (Omer Des Serres)...

Maybe I'll go this week... Just to see what I can find.

Note #2: I feel like this is SOMETHING that I CAN accomplish and save myself the frustration of having to explain and then share my concept and then feel like the "artist" will "feel-me-out" to charge me more for what I need in terms of ART.

You're right... If I can TRY to do it... I should be able to do it with a PENCIL and then make it COOL looking.

Like you say: MAKE IT LARGE and SHRINK IT DOWN!

Should work for MAP art! Great idea!

larienna
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You seem to have a lot of

You seem to have a lot of experience with art purchase.

Personally, I value completeness and consistency over quality. If I need 20 pieces of arts, I want the same style and I want all 20 of them. I don't mind sacrificing quality to get this.

Do you have some experience in purchasing pixel art, or tile sets from artist on fivers or other websites. They should be easier to make, so I expect cheaper. I know, it has more purpose in video games than board games, but you could have purchased board game icons or tile set to create maps, etc.

For a cover art, I would be willing to pay 100$, but not for a single card.

questccg
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It kinda depends on YOUR needs...

Like for a Box Cover ... Easily $200 to $300 CAD. That's why I went the "I'll do the composition later myself ..." to save some money and just get a couple CHARACTER illustrations. Logos are about $250 to $300 CAD depending how complex the logo is and how many revisions are made.

Character Art is the cheapest as many illustrator DON'T make "Backgrounds". Backgrounds is what ups the price a lot. Having a simple Background (like I am currently doing with "Archon") can be like a two-tone background... Grey at the knees and White upwards to the Head and beyond. That could be FREE... But B&W sketches are like $5 to $10 CAD... That's how people get around "Fiverr".

But then when you add color, it's probably $10 to $15 CAD more... And you need to pay Fiverr a FEE or using the platform and you pay a processing fee too (using PayPal or Credit Card...)

All in all, you can probably get Character art for $35 to $50 CAD...

Pixel art IDK. I hate digital looking art. I like 3D looking or Manga or Comic-Book-esque (like AD&D illustrations). I don't like Pixel art TBH. It was good in it's day when the TVs were smaller and you had devices like the Nintendo DS Lite and DSi ... And because things are SMALL you notice the pixels LESS.

On actual projects that use LARGE Pixel art... That I HATE! Sorry not a fan of that kind of art.

But there are a lot of Manga Artist and I'm sure you could get Manga style art which may look MORE professional. Picture "AFK Journey" that's what I call Manga style art. There are a lot of Asian artists on Fiverr... They are happy to do traditional looking art for games.

Some other people are designing games with Pixel art too (I've seen on the TGC chat)... I'm not impressed with it either.

Tile Sets... Hmm... That is also very specialized. I would start by searching Deviant Art rather than Fiverr... That kind of specialized art is less common and you would need to see SAMPLE Work before buying.

And as far as a Single card is concerned. The art also requires nice Graphic Design Skills for the Template. As you know Nun Kwon who has an Ad on BGDF.com can definitely HELP in that department... It's just a matter of figuring out what you NEED.

And YEAH, I've paid $100 CAD per illustration per card. The funny thing is that the artist in question thinks it's not enough and now wants to charge me $350 to $500 CAD for the exact same art after we did it for about $100 CAD per piece. She is making crazy money on Patreon (like $75,000 CAD a year)... So she really can charge whatever she wants... She doesn't need the commissions.

Going down the "Do your art yourself"... I went to Omer Des Serres and spend $20 CAD on an Artbook (80 pages) and an Acrylic Pen (Black) for my maps. I'm still in the process of learning HOW(?) to draw the maps but I have a Hi-Res SAMPLE I can use to help guide me. I will do some more practice art ... And see what happens when I erase Pencil that is covered with Acrylic... Not sure... TBD.

This is going to be COOL. Because maps are very subjective: they can be HIGHLY detailed or they can be more like Medieval Maps... Which is like on white paper but you apply Parchment layer under the art... TBD. This is like another ADVENTURE (doing the Maps myself).

And TBH, don't try to negotiate too much... Because if an Artist is NOT happy with the price... Don't expect their best work. Sometimes it's worth it to pay an additional $20 CAD and get something more professional looking.

Like I said, I'd go Manga Style Art like "AFK Journey" and have some Asian Artist do the illustrations. I (personally) wouldn't want Pixel art. To me that kind of art was due to hardware limitations and the paper medium is now colored digitally (instead of acrylics or watercolors like before) and so there is virtually no way to make mistakes in your art.

Check-out Deviant Art and Fiverr and see what you can find!

Cheers @larienna!

Note #1: I searched for "texture tiles" on Deviant Art and found some good looking tiles... Like I said for Tiles ... That could be a source... And if you pay them ... More likely to do the art than not!

Here's a link: https://www.deviantart.com/search?q=texture+tiles

For card illustrations, Fiverr is the better choice IMHO.

questccg
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Right now I'm using some AI Generated Art...

For "Archon" ... I'll give you a sneak peek and you can tell me what you think:

This is the "Efreeti":

These are supposed to be micro cards and hold unit information. That's AI generated and it was what I asked for. Sure I had to do multiple attempts to get the illustration that I wanted. But I ended up with this illustration and fine-tuned it quite a bit to get the image you see in the sample.

Anyhow it's worth it for me. We'll see IF I decide to get Manga drawing done. TBD. IDK. It depends and I will by doing Map Art MYSELF... Just a matter of doing some more tests to see how the Acrylic reacts to erasing...

We'll have to wait and see. Cheers!

Note #1: I am aware that this MICRO CARD looks SIMPLE. But like I said, I'm trying to do as much as possible MYSELF. So I'm going with AI and hand drawn art. If I can pull this off and the maps look nice... I know they won't look as beautiful as the ones done by the ARTIST (given my Hi-Res sample) ... But I can DRAW... I used to paint too... And I know some Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign to get around making Board Game Assets.

For a SMALL card (like you see... That's the size of it) ... That's enough DETAIL and information to specify. It's not the MOST AMAZING composition that I've made... But it's FUNCTIONAL. The point is that I'm not sure how much BETTER an artist can do. It's a very nice art and not too over the top either.

I can't afford $500 CAD for illustrations, no matter how amazing they may be.

Like I said, I'm prioritizing "Low Hanging Fruit" FIRST and with this... It's what is fastest to bring to market and obviously the lower the price the better too...

questccg
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Here's what I mean

This is yet another AI Generated ART with the simple layout for Micro Cards:

Again it's very simple ... But it goes well with the other cards in the collection. I've stuck with color-only backgrounds to ensure that there is about the same type of ART on each card.

The shades vary from one illustration to the other. But I think they work well.

We'll have to wait and see how this game Develops further. It could be "Low Hanging Fruit", IF I manage to perfect the MAP Art and see the results in final preview. I will complete this SET and then see what I can do.

I also need to work on my website (or in the current moment learning Bootstrap) because I need to advertise the various projects that I am and have worked on to show what I've been up to these 12 Years...

Maybe some people will be like: "It's best if people don't know." But at the same time, it's hard to explain yourself to someone if they can't go and see what it is you have done, are doing and could do in the future...

Anyhow... All things moving forwards gradually. I'm a bit slow. But this design got REAL HOT and since I had ideas that I did not have before... I decided to prioritize this CONCEPT with some time and see if I can get all of it done by Fall 2024 (start not the end)... So sometime in September.

I know that's far away. But I've got a lot on my plate ATM (as they say)...

larienna
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You can negotiate quality,

You can negotiate quality, try to reduce time taken by the artist by skipping certain steps.

For map art, I like Wizard King maps and it's friends. It's basically a stamping technique that can be used in Inkscape.

Sticking to abstract, or very thin themed, is another solution.

I like working with AI art tool, although I don't like the fact it uses natural language. Some art is hard to generate, for example, I wanted fireballs that fall from the sky and it generated me a sun. Fairies tend to put wings on the chest and it can hardly draw the legs of a cat correctly. But for brainstorming, it works well. Still, for a final product, I think people will be offended if AI art is used. This is why I am reluctant to use such a tool. Also if you want to generate something out of the ordinary (like intelligent rats), forget it, you only get junk.

I would have preferred AI tool where I can supply a sketch and it use it to generate the content. But there are very few tools that does this well, especially not from sketches or pixel art as source.

questccg
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Environmentally responsible and less costly...

larienna wrote:
You can negotiate quality, try to reduce time taken by the artist by skipping certain steps.

Right, like I said:

- Backgrounds can be only combination of colors

- Coloring can be made simpler with reduced shading

- etc.

larienna wrote:
For map art, I like Wizard King maps and it's friends. It's basically a stamping technique that can be used in Inkscape.

I looked, I could only find pre-defined maps. Not Map Kits (well I did find something which was a piece of cr@p...) It was GIFs and very minimal in content. I looked for Hi-Res Maps and they only showed a bunch of pre-defined maps for different types of games.

Maybe you can share a Link/URL???

larienna wrote:
I like working with AI art tool, although I don't like the fact it uses natural language. Some art is hard to generate...

Yes AI is helpful in generating CONCEPTS too. Natural language is probably the best since we would want to be verbose in our descriptions. And understanding of the AIs is also important (which I feel is like you explain a weakness...)

larienna wrote:
I would have preferred AI tool where I can supply a sketch and it use it to generate the content. But there are very few tools that does this well, especially not from sketches or pixel art as source.

Yes it would be helpful if you could PROVIDE a sample image and say: "Make it into Pixel art but use this picture as the source of the future illustrations."

But we're not at that stage yet... Although I have seen that MidJourney can use other images ... It's just not all that effective as using other images.

As for me, well the AI generated stuff is OKAY. I could if I wanted to use it as INSPIRATION for making artwork. That is one possibility, the other is to simply use the AI generated art (it's pretty decent on its own...) We'll have to wait and see. The "Lowest Handing Fruit" is probably the things which are 100% completed (with art) and require no additional work to finish the product EXCEPT maybe a digital "rulebook" (I'm going digital because it is possible and it is less costly to produce and distribute).

This is a sort of PIVOT for me (digital content) because I don't want to PAY for a rulebook to be printed and I don't want rulebooks that require a LOT of ink to print (so environmentally-responsible). So none of this scrolls and banners, etc. Keeping it as simple as possible...

questccg
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Furthermore...

I don't want any INTRICATE "Backgrounds" in my Digital Rulebooks. They are going to be created using MS Word and that's enough for some pictures here or there... But not an InDesign rulebook which has either parchment paper or some other fancy Background to make the rulebook more appealing.

I'm skipping all of that for a White Background (Paper) and (if possible) bilingual rules for both English and French... We'll see how the spirit moves me and see if that will come to pass.

In any case, my TGC order is set to SHIP on June 17th ... Which means that I won't get the game before July. That's all fine and dandy for the moment. I am in NO RUSH! By then other "Lower Hanging Fruit" should be also advancing and seeing how well I am doing... With some of the other projects on-their-way...

Sincerely.

questccg
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Also ...

I just played around with some of the ONLINE FREE Pixelating tools and took some of the ART from "Archon" (ARCH) to see what it would look like in Pixel format.

Well as expected it looked like pure garbage.

So that's why I am strictly AGAINST Pixel art. It just doesn't look good on cards unless it is MAYBE "Professionally" done. From what I have seen ... It's got a lot of lack luster results when trying to pixelate an IMAGE into pixels.

It just looks TERRIBLE.

I'd rather have my Hi-Res pictures than scaled down Pixel art of the same image. They just look 100% better as Hi-Res renderings than lower res Pixel art.

If you stick to Pixel art, good luck, I wish you all the best ... But it's probably not something I will buy or play (TBH). Sorry I'm not for crappy looking art. And yes ART is SUBJECTIVE ... But there is a lot of paintings and other creative art I would support ... But not lousy Pixel art.

Again wishing you all the best with whatever Pixel art you plan on doing!

Note #1: As an FYI, here is the Link/URL I used for pixalation online which is FREE:

https://pinetools.com/pixelate-effect-image

Took an image and pixelated with a Block size of 12 pixels... Looks so BAD! It was a picture of a "Wizard" and it came out looking horrible.

Note #2: Unless you find an artist that can do pixel art like in "Chrono Trigger" ... Using actual images and pixelating them ... Will be a totally disastrous result (IMHO). I tried it and I did NOT like the results.

You may opt for another more accepting POV. I'm just being honest: I don't like Pixel art unless it's like drawn like "Chrono Trigger" or some other Japanese RPG...

Maybe if you SHARE some of YOUR Pixel art... Then maybe I can offer a neutral perspective. Based on MY OWN experimentation ... I did not like the results that I was seeing/getting.

But if you share with us something you've done ... Maybe that could be different... Who knows, you may be very talented at making Pixel art!

Note #3: I AGREE that SOME Pixel art is GOOD. But taking a Hi Res image and converting it to "pixels" is just not the way to do Pixel art. Like take the "Wizard" I was converting. He has a White Robe with a lot of pleats. This means in a pixel version, he would probably have long pixel strokes for the various pleats (for his robe only). But the Pixelation process does not understand that. It creates medium pixels which are colored to an approximation. And ergo the problem, YES you can have some AMAZING Pixel art. Just not by converting larger Hi Res images into "pixelated" versions...

larienna
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I imagine by not having any

I imagine by not having any background, you mean something like this:

http://bgd.lariennalibrary.com/uploads/Mainsite/GameIdea/GameIdea-TitanD...
http://bgd.lariennalibrary.com/uploads/Mainsite/GameIdea/GameIdea-TitanD...
http://bgd.lariennalibrary.com/uploads/Mainsite/GameIdea/GameIdea-TitanD...

Those cards where made by Fhizban many years ago using Thalzon's art.

This is an example of map using stamps from Wizard Kings:

https://boardgamegeek.com/image/199526/wizard-kings

For rule books, considering 40% of people don't know how to read, I thought for video games of maby teaching the game via a slide show with audio explanations.

I recommend white or very light background for the rules, it makes it easier to print and read. When I made Fallen Kingdom, my 1st version had colored and textured background. The last version simply used white BG. Of course, it was a print and play game, so printing on white BG is much easier especially when using a black and white printer.

Pixilating an high quality image is easy, most software has a filter to do so, the result might not be as good as expected. It's going the other way around that is complicated, starting from pixel art and making something better quality. I think I'll make some examples and post it in another thread and Ask some insight on BGG.

questccg
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Fhizban was one cool dude... Guess Game Design was not for him!

larienna wrote:
I imagine by not having any background, you mean something like ... Those cards where made by Fhizban many years ago using Thalzon's art.

Not quite. I mean hardly any background... These samples all contain NICE template Backgrounds. @Tobias knew what a template was supposed to look like!

Take a look at this card/illustration on this thread:

https://www.bgdf.com/forum/game-creation/publication/what-artists-would-...

You will see the Red Dragon looks nice and there is almost NO background to speak of... That's what I mean by "hardly any background..."

larienna wrote:
This is an example of map using stamps from Wizard Kings:

https://boardgamegeek.com/image/199526/wizard-kings

I will study this more. It's not what I want... But it does have the issue of CONNECTIVITY solved. So I will take a better look at that. Furthermore, I have concluded that I will DRAW the ELEMENTS first (1st) like ONE (1) Mountain and then digitally scan it, shrink it down and use it DIGITALLY to create my mountains. I may do a couple variations for the sake of NON-UNITY... And add a Snowy Peak or a Volcano, etc.

Thank you for sharing... That SAMPLE is much better than ANYTHING I could find with regards to that Template System. Kudos!

larienna wrote:
For rule books, considering 40% of people don't know how to read, I thought for video games of maybe teaching the game via a slide show with audio explanations.

I just don't want to get TOO ARTISTIC. When you write 1 or 2 rulebooks, you start to lose inspiration about how to make more. So I'm thinking about using a standard Template in MS Word and just do the SAME kind of looking rulebook for each game...

larienna wrote:
I recommend white or very light background for the rules, it makes it easier to print and read...

I agree.

larienna wrote:
Pixilating an high quality image is easy, most software has a filter to do so, the result might not be as good as expected. It's going the other way around that is complicated...

Show me some of your samples and I'll definitely take a look! Like I said you may be a better Pixel Artist than you know. It's like my Map art... If I can make the Basic Elements, I should be able to design the entire series of tiles.

Like I said in my tests, Pixel art looked terrible (Even going Hi Res to Pixel art...) But that's just my experience, you may be better at it (converting to and from Pixel art).

Last note I agree FROM Pixel art to something HI RES is hard but will probably just show the PIXELS (which are squares...) and the result is either AMAZING or TERRIBLE... Depending on your level of skill with that kind of ART.

Post some up (Pixel art images you created) and I'll let you know... That's really the best I can do. We've talked about, I tried and failed miserably and now if you want to demonstrate a sample of your own... Sure I'll have a look and give you an HONEST feedback.

Cheers!

questccg
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Some random video that popped-up in my queue!

Here's a Link/URL to an interesting video about Card Template Graphic Design. Woah... That a lot to say in one sentence! Anyhow take a look, I have not watched the entire video yet (I'm about half-way):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDd4u2xnRtE

Indeed it is very comprehensible and makes a lot of LOGICAL sense too...

Enjoy!

Update: Here's another video presenting the platform for designing and updating cards (and their template) in a TOOL such as Dextrous:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waKgJnhaubs

The Dextrous website is:

https://www.dextrous.com.au

Seems pretty cool ... And at reasonable rates as of today!

larienna
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If you want awesome maps,

If you want awesome maps, there is always the cartographers guild. Else one of my friend makes map professionally.

https://www.cartographersguild.com/content.php

Dextrous looks like the Magic The Gathering card editor for non magic cards. I imagine it's a kind of "software as service"? You pay to have access to the software.

questccg
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Over 2,000+ games in queue over at The Game Crafter!

larienna wrote:
If you want awesome maps, there is always the cartographers guild. Else one of my friend makes map professionally.

I will TRY to do it myself. The goal is to make a few LARGE illustrations and then shrink them down digitally and the use Copy & Paste to populate the maps that will require the landscape features.

larienna wrote:
Dextrous looks like the Magic The Gathering card editor for non magic cards. I imagine it's a kind of "software as service"? You pay to have access to the software.

Yeah that's the problem. If you stop paying you lose all your content. Plus if the prices go up, you have no choice but to accept because otherwise you lose all of the content you've generated. That's the problem with subscription-based services.

While I applaud the IDEA. It would probably be best as a Windows 10 (or 11) software application with a license key that you can BUY (outright). And then store all the content LOCALLY to your own PC.

MSE is good and allows for generic templates too... I'm not very proficient at it... But I did think that it was a good product.

Like I said above "Archon" is now back into a TESTING period and I will figure out if the new mechanics work well or not. We'll have to wait and see... I will probably get the game in July... Hahaha...! Well TGC is so busy that there are over 2,000+ games in queue.

We'll have to wait and see!

questccg
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I have a beef with Dropbox!!!

questccg wrote:
I will TRY to do it myself...

I definitely have some ideas of blending traditional ART with digital ART and make for some cool MAP illustrations. I'm not 100% sure about everything in this "mini-project" but I will attempt to do it myself. Thanks for the suggestions, they are much appreciated ... But I feel like the best direction for THIS art is to do it myself.

I used to draw a lot and do oil painting too! I used to go to Art Classes every Saturday Morning from like 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. There were levels and the instructor would help her students too. Some students were more advanced and some had taken the 5 year lessons and continued to produce art.

Bottom line, given that I am going to BLEND traditional art with digital ... I think I should be able to realize my MAP goals! But nevertheless thank you for the links and advice. I'm kinda yearning to do this project. We'll see how it turns out!

questccg wrote:
Yeah that's the problem. If you stop paying you lose all your content. Plus if the prices go up, you have no choice but to accept because otherwise you lose all of the content you've generated...

I don't want to use a service which forces me to keep paying to keep my content SAVED. And I certainly don't want a platform to disappear due to poor performance or the owners are not making enough money to justify the existence of said platform. All negatives. IDK if whatever they are doing could be a Windows Applications (Win 10+) with a license key... I guess it's harder to police and it's simpler to FORCE people to PAY the subscription fee ... Otherwise they lose access to their content.

And the last thing I want to mention is "Dropbox"!

questccg wrote:
What kind of file sharing service requires you to SHARE common DISK SPACE with your peers??? What kind of pure bullsh!t is that???

If you don't know what I am talking about ... You might in the future. To explain... Is that you can SHARE a link from YOUR Dropbox to another collaborator. So say I have like 20 GB space (whatever it is now) and my friend shares me a link with 15 GB worth of FILES and DATA. What happens NEXT is TERRIBLE: I lose 15 GB of space and am left with 5 GB space just because SOMEONE SHARED their content with me!!!

OMG that is such a terrible business practice. I have since quit Dropbox and am now using Google Drive. Now it's like $25 per Month (Dropbox) with a trial for a certain amount of days. Fnck that sh!t... I'm never using Dropbox again for anything...

Terrible pricing ($25/mth) to host files and no longer any FREE options with LIMITED space. That's all been replaced with PAID Subscriptions!

Anyhow... Enough of my RANT ... One day you'll run into my issue and be like: "Oh... So that's what he meant!" Hehehe.

Best.

Note #1: And just as a point of reference... All you need is to have ONE (1) Game Design project with all the cards templates, the resulting cards (from 100+) and all kinds of digital assets and you SHARE this with one or two collaborators and YOU WILL SEE... Dropbox (arseholes) DEDUCT SHARED space from all links. So if you had like us (500+ Cards, Game Mats, Game Pads, rulebook designs, etc.) you'll see how much SPACE you use.

Then WHEN YOU SHARE IT with a COLLABORATOR... You'll see that THE COLLABORATOR will lose space matching the SHARED content. It's not bad enough that ONE (1) person pays for the space... EVERYONE you share it with ALSO pays in space.

Terrible, terrible practice to FORCE people to UPGRADE their account to a PAID account... But since Dropbox is no longer offering a FREE service ... WTF cares... Abusive practices just to force people to pay more for an account!

questccg
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Notice that we're still ON-TOPIC even though we are...

Expressing our opinions on either using a Service to do Map Art or as explained above, Doing it myself or Bad Services like Dropbox, etc.

And TBH I really am looking forwards to DRAWING the Map Art myself.

Today I bought a bunch of "technical" items likes a compass to mark sizes, a plastic 180 Degree Measuring tool, some non-latex erasers and a plastic ruler.

These are all items that I had when I was in high-school and figured I could put to good use when drawing the various map elements. I've probably spent around $45 CAD so far ($20 for the Notebook and Acrylic Marker, $25 today for the above mentioned supplies) but I think it's going to be WORTH IT... Because it will be an "experience" to being the ACTUAL Artist (from the Game's perspective and even with the art within).

With me going the EXTRA distance to make SOME of the art and some of it AI Generated... Will truly mean that I made the ART Myself! I'm really pleased with the general direction this project is headed in...

Sincerely.

questccg
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So my analog art (non-digital)...

Is going to serve as INSPIRATION for the "Digital Assets" for the Map Making Art.

My plan is to figure out some Angles and make some illustrations in a Artbook. Next I plan to create Digital Reproductions that can be used in multiple settings to make the art look more refined.

It's something like:

Quote:
I don't want to digitize the art in the Artbook ... Because I plan to create Adobe Illustrator (AI) files with the art in Digital Form to subsequently be able to import into Adobe Photoshop (PS) and make the Map Art fully DIGITAL.

The reason I am doing this is for a few of "technical" reasons.

#1: I can create the assets in AI and then copy & paste them into PS.

#2: This will simplify the use of WHITE Background versus an INVISIBLE Background in PS. If I would need to SCAN from the Artbook... The background would be WHITE and I would need to tweak each import to REMOVE the White Background... Not something that I want to do.

#3: Doing it all digitally can allow for some composition to happen more easily IN THE DIGITAL FILES. This makes it harder to achieve in PS with scans and simpler with AI (you can hide layers and copy & paste only the layers you WANT...)

That pretty much sums up my plans. I am also thinking about using ROUNDED edges to make the lines CLEANER and less DIGITAL looking. I'll post up some examples when I get to that point.

Cheers!

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