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[raikage]

Um I need to know how to make hybrid sprites. I wanna try making them but I dunno what program to use or how to make them. So if someone can tell me how to do it, I'd appreciate it.

[Umby]

My suggestion would be to get a paint program that has a multitude of features. If you have the money for it I'd get Photoshop, but if you don't, there are two popular ones you can get. The first is Paint.NET, the second is GIMP. Both have good features. I use Paint.NET myself.

Before you do any spriting, I'd familiarize yourself with the program! You'd be amazed what you can learn by just messing around. Once you have a feel for what you can do, experiment! swap Pikachu's tail with Houndoom's! Recolor vulpix green! Do anything and everything that strikes your fancy, just to get a feel for how it's done.

When you think you're ready for a specific project, find a base sprite that suits you. The base sprite is the one that you're changing, and will most likely be what the end result looks most like. Apart from that, a good knowledge of how each pokemon looks is very useful. If you know that Vaporeon has what look like fins for ears, you can take those and apply them to any base sprite to make it look like a fish. At this point you should know all kinds of unique things you can do, so use them!

And remember, practice makes perfect, and I have proof.

An example result:

My creation, Kayeon. This is the first sprite I did of it, ages ago.


The same pokemon, but with a redone sprite. I did it from scratch, using the same idea for how I wanted Kayeon to look, but ultimately with better results.

Badges (For another RP I'm in):



Non-pokemon sprite I've done:

The Black Knight from Fire Emblem PoR. Base sprite is here, reference picture is here.

Example techniques to try:
--Cut and paste different body parts from other pokemon onto your base.
--Use the color sampler to take a color off another pokemon sprite to use to recolor your base. This has an added benefit, the fact that if the colors are on another pokemon, you know that they should match on the new one!
--Certain things can be easily drawn by hand. Both badges are hand-drawn from scratch, as well as Kayeon's vines and the Black Knight's sword. I've also hand-drawn in scars on the houndoom sprite for one of the characters I plan on making here. Other things that can easily be drawn in are: ribbons, dripping blood, jewelery.

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So, did that help?