New modder here, just have a question

[CdrDecker]

I'm new to modding Weird Worlds, after playing several mods (Even Weirder Worlds, Drives R'us, BSG, Starblazers and Mizendar) I decided to give something back to WW. I'm using GIMP for my graphics, and I even have the Modmaker's Guide bookmarked. I just want to know if anyone ever hand-draws then scans their graphics for their mods and if its a good way to do it? I'm not the best graphics artist I can come up with the ship idea, just that I can't seem to get the shading right. So any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

[charliecooper]

I have been using images from games, movies, and magazines.
At times, I need to make manual adjustments to the images, be it a shape correction or color addition.

[sgqwonkian]

My Sgqwonkian retreat ship and the two pictures of the Sgqwonk themselves were drawn in photoshop. It was enough of a pain I've pretty much stopped doing things that way. I do most of my modding on a laptop and the tiny built-in mousepad just isn't good for that.

That's part of why I've been mostly lacking new ships in my mods. That, and because lining up the frames and lights annoys me.

Most of the images in Drives'R'Us and Teeming With Life were taken from websites or a clipart disk, and then modified with color overlays, various filters, and the photoshop clone brush and magnetic lasso.

My artistic skills are far more refined with a pencil or paintbrush than with a mouse, so I may just start drawing on paper, scanning, and then doing some touch-up digitally.
Until quite recently my scanner was packed in storage in another State.

[clomaka]

I generally draw out my ideas, scan them in to get proportions and everything right, and work on top of that. I don't use the sketch for shading or anything, but i don't see why you couldn't

[CdrDecker]

Many thanks guys. I might have to give it a try. sgqwonkian, I look forward to your weirdyssey mod too.

[Phlagm]

I have tried to do that, but actually found that following the Klakar ship example (which is a photoshop file) loosely it the best solution. My Sphyrna race was drawn from scratch by first drawing a white outline and applying shading and color in layers over the top. Most of my ships for existing races were edited from fragments of other ships of that race, and my own contributions to filling in the gaps. For the additional tan ru and pirates, I scrubbed the color off the ships via a black hue layer and then applied colors or patterns over the top. And I have used photos for some things. But for making a whole race from scratch, i recommend following that file.

http://z7.invisionfree.com/SAIS_Foru...p?showtopic=98

There's the link.

[CdrDecker]

Thanks Phlagm. By the way I liked your mod. I like the sphyrna ships too.

I've attached a .zip of the first ship Achilles. Achilles is freehand with MS Paint. I've done some editing in GIMP. The second one is to be the lights layer.

[CdrDecker]

Update: Removed Achilles, just working out things with GIMP. I've figured out how to do the sprites but the big problem is trying to do the silhouette.

[Phlagm]

There's a great post about it on that same site

[CdrDecker]

Thanks Phlagm.