any good (and free) sprite artists around?

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mirkvid
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any good (and free) sprite artists around?

Post by mirkvid »

hey guys, i finally have my engine up and running, its a beast too! i'm working on a shmup but cant draw to save my life. anyone out there (an art student maybe?) willing to draw some sprites for me? if i cant find anyone i'll probably just rip a bunch from mame, but that sucks.

i'm trying to make this game as professional as possible to use on my resume when i graduate from school next spring. the only hold up is the art!

EDIT: is it a sin to use these?
http://www.slateman.net/beestorm/don_pachi/
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cigsthecat
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Post by cigsthecat »

The main problem with using professional sprites is that if you don't have professional everything else your original elements will look even worse in comparison.
"The art director is always listed as the art director in their games. The programmer is always listed as the programmer."
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Pixel_Outlaw
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Post by Pixel_Outlaw »

cigsthecat wrote:The main problem with using professional sprites is that if you don't have professional everything else your original elements will look even worse in comparison.
No, the main problem with using professional sprites is that the artist is having his or her art used in a homemade game with no credit and no compensation.
Some of the best shmups don't actually end in a vowel.
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the2bears
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Re: any good (and free) sprite artists around?

Post by the2bears »

mirkvid wrote:i'm trying to make this game as professional as possible to use on my resume when i graduate from school next spring. the only hold up is the art!
Besides the copyright violations it seems rather daft to use these in something you'll include on a resume. People will want to see it, at which point what do you do? If they see you've ripped off other's work you'll have some explaining to do.

Bill
the2bears - the indie shmup blog
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worstplayer
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Post by worstplayer »

Just use them as placeholders until you find someone who can draw, but definitively change them before you release the thing.
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mirkvid
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Post by mirkvid »

yeah, i was thinking about using sprites from several different games if i cant find an artist. im just using this as a demo app to show off my programming skills, and wont be making any money off it at all.
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the2bears
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Post by the2bears »

mirkvid wrote:im just using this as a demo app to show off my programming skills, and wont be making any money off it at all.
And I was cautioning against using it to impress people in the games industry, if that is your intent. Show something like this off at an interview and I doubt very much they'll be impressed.

Bill
the2bears - the indie shmup blog
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mirkvid
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Post by mirkvid »

the2bears wrote:
mirkvid wrote:im just using this as a demo app to show off my programming skills, and wont be making any money off it at all.
And I was cautioning against using it to impress people in the games industry, if that is your intent. Show something like this off at an interview and I doubt very much they'll be impressed.

Bill
thanks for your input, i definitely do NOT want people to think i'm lazy, especially after i've spent so much time programming this thing. maybe i'll ask around the art department on campus, or just slowly make my own sprites.

in the end i think it'll be better if i just create my own art so that the project is really 100% my work!

anyways, i plan on having a test level ready in the next month or so, i hope you guys enjoy playing it as much as i have had creating it!

mirk.
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angrycoder
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Post by angrycoder »

you can grab some nice sprites off the lost garden site if you are just looking for placeholders.

http://lostgarden.com/2005/03/download- ... 8-bit.html

These are the sprites for a sinistar clone, but they should serve you well.
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the2bears
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Post by the2bears »

angrycoder wrote:you can grab some nice sprites off the lost garden site if you are just looking for placeholders.

http://lostgarden.com/2005/03/download- ... 8-bit.html

These are the sprites for a sinistar clone, but they should serve you well.
I was just going to post that :)

Also from Danc, he's offered the Tyrian sprites for free.

And, to mirkvid, sorry to be beating this again, but it's not that you'd be perceived as "lazy", it's using art without permission. You can certainly use Danc's stuff as either placeholders or even permanent fixtures in your game. You should still mention to prospective employers where you got them, but since you have permission it's all fine. I was only warning you regards the permission thing.

Finally, yes, I'm looking forward to playing your game.

Bill
the2bears - the indie shmup blog
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