Question

recommend a book for 2D game graphics design

Asked by: piximetry

I'm looking for one or more books to get us started on designing game graphics in photoshop. This is for 2D games made in Flash.

Can anyone recommend a good book for the intermediate level designer?

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Asked On
2007-06-19 at 05:13:21ID22642895
Tags

photoshop

,

2d

Topics

Photos & Graphics Software

,

Adobe Flash

,

Miscellaneous Games

Participating Experts
5
Points
500
Comments
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Answers

 

by: IammontoyaPosted on 2007-06-19 at 05:59:05ID: 19315363

Well, for starters, I would design my assets in Illustrator, not photoshop. You want vector graphics, usually, when working with flash. I'm not sure what to recommend specifically for games, though.

 

by: rascalpantsPosted on 2007-06-19 at 06:34:06ID: 19315645

Actually since most games are very processor intensive, you don't want to use vector graphics...

you should utilize highly optimized and simple raster graphics...  this way the processor only has to calculate pixel position and not the match associated with positioning a vector object.

But with that said, this only applies to things that need to move around...  so your background graphics should be vector if possible.

A good book to start you out with is call Flash Games Demystified...   http://www.amazon.com/Macromedia-Flash-2004-Design-Demystified/dp/0735713987

I does a good job of explaining how to make games in Flash, but you will most likely not find too much information about designing in PS... that seems highly specialized... you would have a much better chance of finding more information about that with a Google search.

rp

 

by: krishnaprathabPosted on 2007-06-19 at 07:10:45ID: 19315939

 

by: piximetryPosted on 2007-06-19 at 07:22:08ID: 19316049

I already bought the foundation book -- it's very useful and it's about *programming* in actionscript 3.0. We got that part covered, now we're looking at refining our graphics skills.

What we would like to find is a book that tells us how to use photoshop (or illustrator) to create/design/etc the actual graphics. That is: tricks to make certain graphics effects, useful filters, etc, etc. This should be specifically aimed at making graphics that are useful for games.

Please don't post recommendations for programming; we are looking for graphics design exclusively.

 

by: rascalpantsPosted on 2007-06-19 at 07:33:39ID: 19316154

you actually might think about moving the question into a Photoshop group...  

I would assume most people in that area have seen books on this topic, or could point you towards web sites that have this info.

This is not really a Flash question.

Good luck with your games...

rp

 

by: IammontoyaPosted on 2007-06-19 at 12:33:18ID: 19319039

well, that's a good point about the vector vs raster graphics.

 

by: magnetic_kisserPosted on 2007-07-02 at 23:56:12ID: 19409190

 

by: magnetic_kisserPosted on 2007-07-03 at 00:04:11ID: 19409235

 

by: magnetic_kisserPosted on 2007-07-03 at 00:16:28ID: 19409289

 

by: rascalpantsPosted on 2007-07-08 at 18:44:03ID: 19442415

bump^--^

finish this one up...

thanks

rp

 

by: rascalpantsPosted on 2007-07-11 at 15:02:07ID: 19467136

bump ^--^

a response is welcome...  or award the points and clean up

rp

 

by: ElectronicNinjaGreenBuddhaPosted on 2009-02-11 at 18:16:31ID: 23618621

http://www.ambrosine.com/resource.html
Many Resources for Game Creation and Graphics

Hollywood 2D Digital Animation: The New Flash Production Revolution
http://www.amazon.com/Hollywood-Digital-Animation-Production-Revolution/dp/159200170X/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234404942&sr=1-8

http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Arcade-Computer-Game-Graphics/dp/1556227558

Intermidiate 2D Game Creation
http://www.amazon.com/Artwork-Modeling-Artists-Development-Software/dp/1931841330/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234404530&sr=1-4

Advanced 2D Game Development
http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Game-Development-Jonathan-Harbour/dp/1598633422/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234404530&sr=1-1

java 2D
http://www.amazon.com/Java-2D-Graphics-Jonathan-Knudsen/dp/B00009B1V9/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234404630&sr=1-5

Focus on 2D in Direct 3D
http://www.amazon.com/Focus-Direct3D-Premier-Press-Development/dp/1931841101/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234404683&sr=1-8

2D artwork for Game Artists
http://www.amazon.com/Artwork-Modeling-Artists-Development-Software/dp/1931841330/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234404683&sr=1-10

Game Art: The Graphic Art of Computer Games
http://www.amazon.com/Game-Art-Graphic-Computer-Games/dp/0823020800/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234404839&sr=1-14

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