Graphic Asset Preparation

This guide shows you how to prepare the graphic assets before loading them as backdrops or sprites.

In general, you have two options. One is to draw the arts on your own, another one is to use the artwork created by other creators.

Option 1: Create my own images

Some recommended drawing software:

1. Piskel (highly recommended)
   • A browser-based pixel art editor for making animated sprites
   • Includes animation preview capablity
   • Can easily export to PyScratch as animations
2. sketch.io
   • A browser-based drawing software
   • Includes some ready-to-use images (the laugh face icon on the left)
   • You can upload images from your computer (the laugh face icon on the left)
   • You can arrange the stock images and your drawings to create a background
3. MS Paint
   • Might be a good option if you already have experience with it
4. wickeditor
   • A browser-based animation editor that is not limited to pixel art
   • Only provides basic drawing functions
   • Quite a bit harder to use compared to those above
   • Might be good for stick man animation?

A colour picker:

1. imagecolorpicker.com
   • A colour picker that helps you find the RGB values for your desired colour
   • This particular colour picker shows you some recommended colour combinations and the name of the colour (that helps you conceptualise the colour)
   • Useful for sprites creation

If you are ready to spend a significant amount of time on learning and creating the art, you are advised to search for drawing tutorials on YouTube.

Option 2: Find good images online

There are many asset libraries that include artwork created by other creators. But note that:

• Some of them is free but for some of them you need to pay. You will find more than enough of free assets and thus paying for assets is not recommended.

Some of the asset libraries:

1. kenney.nl
   • No login required for the downloads
   • All the assets on this library are free
   • Note that 3D assets aren’t supported by PyScratch
2. GameDev Market
   • You will need an account to download the assets
   • You can filter by paid/free
   • Note that 3D assets aren’t supported by PyScratch
3. itch.io
   • No login required for the downloads
   • The free assets will prompt you to give donation and make the download link grey and very small
   • You can filter by paid/free
4. The Spriters Resource
   • An excellent library if you want assets from well-known or classic games
   • No login required for the downloads and everything is free
   • For copyright reasons, you probably shouldn’t use these assets for a game you wish to publish