#tips and tricks.

[minnie-edits-dr]

hello! i saw your video where you made a detective!angie sprite and i was wondering if you used the same process to make a sprite in paint tool sai. so uh yeah,, do you?

why yes, i do! the process works for photoshop, sai, and clip studio paint as far as i know - though im certain it works for other art programs as well!! my process isnt the end-all of ways to make sprites though, do what works best for you!

[minnie-edits-dr]

Do you use the same brush for coloring and lineart?

i mean, you can if you want, but for colouring+shading i like to use the basic pen brush that comes with sai!

the shading stuff is a lot more sharper, so yea!

[minnie-edits-dr]

Do you have any paint tool sai lineart brush settings?

oh, i do!! here you go!

the lineart of the sprites have a little bit of a natural grain - it’s kinda hard to see, but it can make a difference!

[minnie-edits-dr]

Hey, I just recently discovered your art, and gotta say, it's pretty great. I made a few.. acceptable looking sprites, but I still feel like I'm missing a few important things. Anyways, I wanted to ask, do you use a tablet, or a mouse? If you use a tablet, do you think it's still possible to make nice-looking stuff with a mouse as well?

i use a tablet, yes! a wacom one, though its a pretty old model. i believe anyone can draw, with or without a tablet - so yes! i think you can do fantastic stuff with a mouse! in fact, if i remember correctly, @kinningharmonies uses a mouse, and her stuff is pretty amazing.

just keep practicing, and im sure youll reach a point where you feel confident in your craft!!

[minnie-edits-dr]

hello! i love the sprite edits you make, its inspired me to try it myself! i want to ask, what are your tips on drawing and colouring hair pieces, and removing existing accessories on characters (e.g removing Tenko's headband)?

dude, editing accessories out can be hard as heck, since you need to replicate everything that’d be “under” the accessory perfectly. with skin it’s alright, since it’s not too hard, but hair is a nightmare. i’ll try to give some tips tho!

the first tip is to never be afraid of using the colour picking tool. this might seem obvious, but i wanna mention it just in case. blend where needs blending, and (optionally) use the sharpen tool in photoshop on the line between the shadow and the light. the lines in danganronpa are very crisp, and in photoshop, it’s very hard to get that same effect unless you use the sharpen tool. while it won’t make or break your edit, it will make it look more accurate!

second tip, mess with the colours until it looks good. like, colour pick one of the lighter pixels in the hair and draw over the accessory in a new layer, then use a texture you either made or found that’s similar to or straight up the dangan texture.

and third, experiment! you won’t know what looks good unless you try as many variations as possible!! there is no actual “right” or “wrong” way ro do something, as long as you’re doing your best to replicate the style in whatever way you’d like, it’s fine! or, heck, you don’t even have to make it similar to the style if you don’t want to! go wild <3

[minnie-edits-dr]

Not a request, but... do you have any tips for people who are new to editing sprites? I’m trying to make a MM!Byakuya and a MM!Makoto sprite edit and I’d like some tips? I thought I’d come to you because I think your edits are really good. Thanks in advance!

a tip is to leave the face pretty much untouched when drawing over a sprite, as the face is the most difficult thing to get right. 

also, never be afraid to try doing some Frankensteining™! drawing new poses that look true to the style is hard as hell (unless you’ve drawn in the style for ages, but even then there’s always something wrong when u look at it. uncanny valley n all that) use pieces of different sprites to create a whole new sprite!! i’d recommend only using sprites of the same character, but if you’re feeling gutsy and like you could take on the challenge, you can use other character sprites as well! don’t forget to adjust the limbs to be about the same length as the base character, and also the skin tone!! trust me, ppl will notice

[minnie-edits-dr]

Anon asking for tips here! That was really helpful, and I’m sorry to ask for more, but I just have a small question; how do you keep the lineart present/visible if you’re using dark colors? Also, should you color it using a bucket tool or using a brush tool? Sorry for not being more specific about this in my first ask, and thanks again!

don’t worry, i’m always happy to help! i don’t mind answering multiple asks <3

now then, hm. well, i usually make the colour a little lighter so its easy to see. the dangan style doesn’t change the colour of the lineart like. ever. i also have a really bright screen so it’s easier for me to see darker colours anyways? in short, i think the best thing to do is change the dark colour to be lighter so you can see it.

for the colouring method, i can’t really tell you for sure! i personally prefer using a brush tool for my colouring, as it’s more fun that way. but if i’m tired, i’ll just use the wand tool and then colour it in with a brush. if you’re gonna use a bucket tool, remember to make each colour its own seperate layer -- or at least, have the colours and lineart seperate. it’s so much easier to do everything that way.