2D gameartguru

Life is too short for bad art

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Inkscape & Aseprite Mini Tutorial - Creating a pixel art axe In this mini tutorial, I will show you how to take a vector sketch and turn it into a pixel art piece. When creating game assets, you usually need a lot. Using vector shapes for the sketches, variations, and easy-to-adjust and reuse design elements can be a huge time saver. I start with a design in Inkscape and turn it into a finished pixel art asset with variations in Aseprite in no time. Weapon designs in Inkscape: https://2dgameartguru.com/slicing-and-dicing-designing-a-sword-in-inkscape/ https://2dgameartguru.com/hacking-and-slaying-crafting-an-ax/ https://2dgameartguru.com/shooting-and-blasting-making-a-revolver/ https://2dgameartguru.com/bow-and-arrow-crafting-more-game-art-assets/

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Affinity Designer Mini Tutorial - Creating a Hexagon Logo - Work Smarter! In this mini video tutorial, I create a hexagon logo using symbols by breaking it down to its core object. Symbols are a great help when working with repeating shapes or patterns. They make it a lot easier and faster to create complex-looking designs.

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Affinity Designer Tutorial - Adding Transparency to Bitmap Images This mini video tutorial explains various options to add transparency to non-transparent bitmap images. I check the layer blend mode, pixel selection, vector trace, and raster masks to get the best result.

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Affinity Designer Tutorial - Boolean Basics (Geometry Tools) In this video, I explain the Basics of Boolean operations. They are a key element of vector graphics - the "glue and scissors" for vector shapes. This video shows the basic functionality of Add, Subtract, Intersect, Xor, and Divide. I explain some of the objects you can and can't use, and create some sample designs using compound groups. I uploaded the source files [ as v1 and v3 files ] to my Gumroad page: https://2dgameartguru.gumroad.com/l/xiral [Grab them for FREE by entering a zero in the price field.]  Enjoy!

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Affinity Designer Tutorial - Using Global Colours and Symbols in v3 This video is based on the Affinity Designer - hands-on Facebook group beginner's challenge 'Autumn Colours'. The challenge requires a limit of 5 colours. This is easy to achieve with global colours [as they allow alteration at any time and will use that change on all objects using that global colour]. To keep it even more flexible, I use symbols for the leaves to allow quick edits or complete changes. As an added challenge, this is the first video I recorded in the new affinity by Canva [or Affinity v3]. It didn't all go according to plan, even if it ended well. I am glad this monster is done, dusted, and I learned a valuable lesson in the process. I hope you will enjoy the video!

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Inkscape Mini Tutorial - Creating Polar Grids This mini tutorial is a special request. I had to play around with this one to work out what a polar grid is and how to create it in Inkscape. The idea is to let Inkscape do the heavy lifting of dividing the circle into a grid. To me, an approach with tiled clones for the lines and interpolation for the circles seems to get the best result. Pie shapes as clip groups and used as clones for the grid make it easy to create a repeating pattern.  It was a nice challenge and even though it's highly specialized, I hope this video has the odd helpful hint and trick for your own projects.

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Affinity Designer Mini Tutorial - Creating and Applying Watermarks In this mini tutorial, I show you how to create and apply watermarks in different ways: - as embedded files [you could also use linked files] - as assets - as bitmap fills using the gradient tool  Adjust the watermarks to suit the image/ design below by altering the opacity, changing the layer blend mode, adding layer fx like the colour overlay or gradient overlay, or adding adjustment layers. See more Affinity Designer and Inkscape tutorials on the website at http://2dgameartguru.com.

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Inkscape Mini Tutorial - Turning Filled Shapes into Editable Lineart In this mini tutorial, I show three different approaches on how to turn filled vector shapes into editable lineart. Once an illustration is converted from strokes to path [or purchased as filled shapes rather than lines with strokes] there is no one-click solution to go back to easily editable lines. I recorded three ways: manual trace with the pen and node tool, bitmap trace using the centreline option, and cutting the existing vector shapes and using half of the shapes to create the lines. Learn how to approach the different workflows to avoid headaches and get quick, clean, and editable results. See more Affinity Designer and Inkscape tutorials on the website at http://2dgameartguru.com.

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Affinity Designer Tutorial - Minimal Landscapes using Gradients This video is based on the Affinity Designer - hands-on Facebook group beginner's challenge. I will show you how to quickly create minimal landscapes using gradient fills, silhouettes, strokes, and Gaussian blurs. It doesn't take a lot of detail to create a landscape. Quite often, less is more. A gradient fill as the background can define the mood. Silhouettes on top create depth and make the design visually interesting. In this video, I cover three different designs with different approaches and use some helpful tips and tricks. Enjoy!

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Affinity Designer Tutorial - Colouring in Bitmap and SVG images In this mini tutorial, I show you how to colour bitmap images and vector images in various ways. When purchasing stock images, they often come in various formats. Working out which one to use for what task and which one is the right choice for further editing can be tricky. The Pixel Persona's Flood Fill and the Vector Persona's Vector Flood Fill [V2 only] make it a quick and easy task, but come with limitations and problems. Learn how to choose the right approach and avoid headaches and poor quality results.

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Inkscape Tutorial - Manually Tracing with the Pencil Tool This video shows you how to easily trace a sketch using the Pencil Tool to create clean and crisp lineart and add colour to the illustration. Seeing Inkscape has no 'brushes' as such, working with basic shapes is an interesting workaround. The Pencil Tool's option to take a shape from the clipboard and use it as a pattern along path allows for quick and diverse stroke options. Using the bitmap tracing tool doesn't always give you clean results, especially when working with photos or complex sketches. Tracing manually using the Pencil Tool is a quick and easy approach when working with a graphic tablet.

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Affinity Designer Tutorial - Manually Tracing with the Pencil Tool This video shows you how to easily trace a photo using the Pencil Tool to create a simple lineart illustration. Seeing Affinity Designer has no automatic tracing tool, and most tools can't properly simplify the subject, doing it manually is a quick and easy approach if you own a tablet or work with an iPad. Make sure the photo has good quality and the elements you want to trace are clearly readable. Lower the photo's opacity, lock the layer, and work on a layer above. Set up the stroke to a good size, adjust the pressure curves, and start with the main lines. Don't lose yourself in detail. Less is more.

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Affinity Designer Tutorial - Manually Tracing with the Pen Tool This video shows you how to easily trace a photo with the Pen Tool to create a simple lineart illustration. Seeing Affinity Designer has no automatic tracing tool, and most tools can't properly simplify the subject, doing it manually is the most editable and clean approach. Make sure the photo has good quality and the elements you want to trace are clearly readable. Lower the photo's opacity, lock the layer, and work on a layer above. Set up the stroke to a good size and visible colour, and start with the main lines. Don't lose yourself in detail. Less is more.

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Affinity Designer Tutorial - Designing a Maze This tutorial video uses a simple approach using lines, grids, and layer blend modes to create a simple labyrinth. In search of a maze pattern for an illustration that matched my needs, I ended up creating my own in a quick and easy fashion. Set up a grid, use the pen tool to create lines snapped to the grid, and erase lines using the blend mode erase. Take the design to the next level and make it circular or add perspective using warp groups. Enjoy!

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Affinity Designer Tutorial - Creating a Seamless Rope Brush This tutorial video will show you how to quickly and easily create simple, seamless rope brushes.  I will show you how to use basic shapes, the corner tool, and symbols to create the PNG images needed for textured intensity brushes in Affinity Designer. I create variations from the base design and combine brushes for multicoloured strokes using the appearance panel and Affinity Designer's option to add multiple strokes to a single curve.. Enjoy! Grab the Rope Pattern Brushes from my Gumroad page: https://2dgameartguru.gumroad.com/l/jzchsi [Put a zero in the price field to get them for FREE!]

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Inkscape Tutorial - Creating a Linocut Look In this video, I create a linocut look using the layer blend modes, basic shapes, and the pencil tool. After creating the video for a linocut look in Affinity Designer, I started wondering about the different approaches needed to achieve the effect in Inkscape. I will show you how to create a digital design that looks (somewhat) like a linocut print without the cuts, the tools, the paint, and the mess. Lines drawn with the pencil tool and custom shapes are placed inside a parent layer set to 'Multiply'. Sitting on top of the blue or black silhouette the white will not be displayed when using 'Multiply' and turns the silhouette transparent in that area.

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Affinity Designer Tutorial - Creating a Linocut Look using Erase In this video, I create a linocut look using the layer blend modes, compounds, and layers to contain the effect. I will show you how to create a digital design that looks (somewhat) like a linocut print without the cuts, the tools, the paint, and the mess. Lines drawn with the pencil tool are placed in a layer set to 'erase' and will be cut out of the silhouette [a compound shape] to display the paper texture below.