Difference between revisions of "Creating a Creature"

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Duplicate of https://github.com/Tuxemon/Tuxemon/wiki/creating-creatures
Duplicate of https://github.com/Tuxemon/Tuxemon/wiki/creating-creatures
= Making a Creature =
This is a guide to creating your own creatures for the Tuxemon open source monster battling game. We are pretty tolerant of designs that vary from these specifications, and we’re always happy to help out with advice and feedback.
You don’t have to do all of these steps yourself! Just post whichever you feel like doing, and we might be able to find someone to help fill in the rest.
== Design ==
It is difficult to provide concrete advice for the design of a tuxemon. Look at other monster battling games, especially Pokemon, and think about:
* What the creatures are based on: puns (like Farfetch’d), obscure animals, animals with an elemental twist, etc.
* How they are represented: How detailed are they? How are complex concepts communicated in simple shapes? How cute are they? Is there a difference between how basic Pokemon, first stage Pokemon and second stage Pokemon are depicted?
* What is added to the Pokemon to make it distinctive, appealing and iconic
* What is missing from Pokemon that might be added to other cartoon creatures: What is the Pokemon style?
[http://blazeknight-94.deviantart.com/art/Fakemon-Tutorial-283276446 blazeknight-94’s tutorial] describes six origins:
* Logical associations
* Shape associations
* Cliches
* Behavioural associations
* Famous character tributes
* Puns
[http://frozenfeather.deviantart.com/art/eye-chart-251804495 FrozenFeather’s eye chart] could be useful.
=== Mechanical Conceit ===
It is also possible to start your design from the other direction: choose a mechanical role that you want the creature to play in battle, and then design it from the bottom up.
This is the approach of the [http://www.smogon.com/cap/ Create-a-Pokemon project].
=== Name ===
There are no hard-and-fast rules for names, but consider:
* Tuxemon on the same evolutionary chain often have similar names
* Names are often based on puns or references
* Names are often compounds of two different words
[http://blazeknight-94.deviantart.com/art/Fakemon-Tutorial-283276446 blazeknight-94’s tutorial] describes four naming conventions:
* Pure word associations
* Clever word associations
* Anagrams
* Saying misspellings
=== Type(s) ===
In Tuxemon, there are five types, and a tuxemon can belong to one or two of them:
* '''Fire:''' Includes creatures associated with energy, like electricity and heat, dragons and other legendary beings, and poison.<br />
* '''Water:''' Includes creatures associated with the sea, lakes and swamps, ice and snow, the weather, and fish and amphibians.
* '''Wood:''' Includes creatures associated with plants, lichen and fungi, forests, the natural environment, the wind and flying, and the wilderness.
* '''Earth:''' Includes creatures associated with the ground and underground, dirt and soil, mountains and rocks, caves, and ancient and buried things.
* '''Metal:''' Includes creatures associated with steel, darkness, mechanical and robotic things, psychic powers and other unnatural things, humankind, and the undead.
=== Evolutions ===
A creature can have any number of evolution options. However, it will typically not evolve more than twice. For example, Botbot can evolve into Beaverbot, Fishbot, Petbot or Monkeybot. However, once it’s evolved into one of those, it cannot evolve again.
An unevolved tuxemon is in its “basic stage”. A tuxemon that has evolved once is in its “first stage”; if it has evolved twice, it is in its “second stage”.
Evolution can result from the tuxemon reaching a certain level, from it consuming a particular item, or from some other criterion being satisfied.
== Illustration ==
There is a distinctive style, the “Sugimori style”, that Tuxemon is sometimes faithful to.
There are many tutorials for this style. My preferred one is:
* [http://nachtbeirmann.deviantart.com/art/Ken-Sugimori-Tutorial-Pt-1-420735324 NachtBeirmann’s]
Also useful are:
* [http://phatmon.deviantart.com/art/Phatmon66-s-Tutorial-on-Ken-Sugimori-style-art-436043210 Phatmon’s]
* [http://jellojolteon2000.deviantart.com/art/A-GIMP-Sugimori-Walkthrough-256907607 JelloJolteon2000’s]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O13LCI192I imp709’s video tutorial]
* [http://jesgrad07.deviantart.com/art/Fakemon-Tutorial-138143305 jesgrad07’s]
* [https://oripoke.wordpress.com/2014/12/05/fakemon-designs-masking-dramsama/ oripoke’s]
=== Software ===
I use Krita, but others work in GIMP, Photoshop or other drawing software.
== Sprites ==
Sprites should ideally be done using the Tuxemon Default Palette ([http://www.tuxemon.org/files/Tuxemon.gpl download it as a GPL file]).
[[File:https://camo.githubusercontent.com/ade59ce282fc46512b80e3a26980c095cd13d6e1/68747470733a2f2f692e696d6775722e636f6d2f36436b4e5243392e706e67|frame|none]]
Sprites should be saved as PNG files. Do not save them as JPG files: they will lose quality.
=== Software ===
I recommend [http://www.aseprite.org/ Aseprite].
=== Front and Back Sprites ===
Front and back sprites are 64 by 64 pixels.
'''Light Source:''' Upper left corner.
'''Angle:''' The tuxemon should be facing the viewer, but at an angle so the left side of its body is also partly visible.
'''Techniques:''' [http://www.yarrninja.com/pixeltutorial/chapter12.htm Sel-out], Minimal Dithering, No Anti-Aliasing
'''Colour Palette:''' 16 colours selected from the palette, including white, almost-black and transparency.
==== Sizes ====
Although the total canvas is 64 by 64 pixels, only the largest tuxemon should fill up the entire space.
The smallest creatures should occupy about 40 by 40 pixels, with small-to-medium creatures occupying 48 by 48 and medium-to-large ones 56 by 56.
[[File:http://tuxemon.referata.com/w/images/sizes.png|frame|none]]
The back sprite should fill about about the same amount of the canvas as the front sprite does. Generally, the back sprite is of the head and shoulders.
The only edge that should be cut off is the bottom. For example, this sprite is incorrect because the left-hand-side is cut off:
[[File:http://tuxemon.referata.com/w/images/Nemo01-back.png|frame|none]]

Revision as of 05:48, 30 April 2016

Duplicate of https://github.com/Tuxemon/Tuxemon/wiki/creating-creatures

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