Sometimes you just gotta try while you vibe

Taiwan (Hetalia) - 1-hour drawing 🌸

A casual outfit version of Taiwan.

Hello anon, thank you for waiting so long for my reply! Sorry for the late reply! I was quite busy lately but I hope this will be useful_(:3/ < )_ I am not good at making tutorials so I’ll just explain my general process for parallax maps here however there’s plenty of other ways to do it too

First I get a grid that matches the tile size of the engine you are using (I am using Rpg maker VX Ace so it is 32 x 32 pixels), and sprites of the main character for reference.  Then I sketch the layout of the map.

From the sketch it looks way too big compared to the sprite. So it is good to have a reference when you draw to keep the proportions in line. I make sure the furniture and stuff is in the grid. And I draw the furniture on different layers to make it easier to move things around.

Keep in mind which parts will go over the character and where they will walk. Also, you can use the sprites like a paper doll to imagine how things will look in the game :D

Once the sketch is done, finish it however style you like

In the editor, set it as the parallax background of your map.  I use this script: Yanfly Parallax Lock for locking the parallax to the tiles (this is important so that you characters dont end up floating above the maps)

Make a tileset with two transparent tiles, one that is passable and another one unpassable. and (optional) some placeholder tiles too to keep track of them.

Use placeholders to fill in the general passable and impassable parts so you don’t get confused.

Then fill in with the passable and impassable transparent tiles respectively

For parts of the map that are over the character, can use ‘Show image’ and Modern algebra’s fixed picture script.

Thank you so much! I am not the artist for the tilesets in Allegrezza Harmony for the most part, but I can give tips on how I personally make maps!

1. Start out your map or room with its set purpose in mind. For example, Samia’s home serves as both the evening hub after school and a place where a lot of story cutscenes take place. The house is small enough that travelling through it isn’t a pain, but large enough that a large amount of characters for a major cutscene can fit in it.

2. Feel for the exact right size with your map.

While it’s definitely tempting to make a large and sprawling map, it is very hard to fill large spaces. However, if it is too small, it can become cramped.

My personal preference is to make a small map and expand if I feel like it needs more room. It’s also good to have your character walk around it for a bit and just feel it out for yourself.

3. Have other people look at your maps!

Find other people to look at your maps and test them. Sometimes it sucks to hear other peoples’ opinions, but it’s necessary to improve. No other way to put it.

4. Get references for inspiration.

I have a location reference tag on my main I use to inspire myself for level and map ideas. It can be easy to get into a rut when coming up with ideas, but looking back at a reference page really does help.

Six variations of the same tree. Right side features shadow, left side is shadow-free for those who’d like to add their own.

TERMS OF USE

Pink trees! Bottom two rows feature shadows, top two are shadow-free for those who’d like to add their own.

TERMS OF USE

haha, I'm still posting

/Part one. There will be a second one/

Everything will come in handy on the farm, the fish will not be wasted.

although it looks more like borscht

Happy Halloween!

I have nothing to share except for these custom tileset. Free to use in commercial and non-commercial project. You may edit/modify the contents to suit your game, but please refrain from posting your edits anywhere.

They're arranged to fit RPG Maker best, but you're free to use them in any engine of your choice since they're original contents not edit of default assets.

Credit goes to caccophony (must include even if your game's commercial)

More under the cut ⬇

Prompt 5 Sad.

Info: A one-shot written by me, part of my fic-series 'Siblings and Quibblings', which is essentially where I upload my unrelated one-shot fics focused on the Nordic family.

Name: Children of Land - The Call to Wander.

MC: Norway, and kind of Sweden. Pretty much 89% Norway though.

Summary: The tug in Norway's heart calls him to wander, and with some luck he might also find something, or someone, on the other end.

Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13953168/6/Siblings-and-Quibblings .

Parallax Mapping! (You can do this with tiles or no tiles!)

Important Question: What rpg maker program are you using? This is important because each program (XP, VX Ace, MV, etc.!) uses different dimensions. 

Example: VX Ace uses 32x32. MV uses 48x48.

Dimensions are important for placement and eventing/programming!

Mini Tutorial: This example is with VX Ace’s dimensions (32x32).

1: Have a gridline. 

This will help you with mapping and placement! (More info on that later!)

About the Grid: 

Each box is 32x32 pixels. 

The example above is 544x416, the regular window screen size of VX Ace. 

2: Insert your Sprite into the grid! 

Having your sprite on your map will help with sizing and scaling! You can make items and furniture to be proportional with your sprite! 

(Of course, if you want things to be tinier or bigger than the sprite, that’s great too!)

3: Mapping - Planning versus Freehand 

Before we move onto mapping, lower the opacity of the grid. (It will make things easier!)

Now you’re ready, and ready to go!

You can start with a sketch and plan out your map as to where you want things to go and how it’d look like: (Planning)

Or you can Freehand it. (Just start drawing and putting things down wherever you like! Just keep in mind the dimensions!)

One method isn’t better than the other, just do what you feel most comfortable with! 

4: Mapping - “Freehand” Mapping versus Tilesets

With Parallax Mapping, you can use tilesets or you can just draw onto the map itself! 

https://i.gyazo.com/9bab2ece457721f0a1c1700233d63c13.mp4 

This is me drawing onto the map directly. 

You can draw anything you want! And wherever! Just keep in mind the placement and the layers. (Layers are particularly important if characters can walk under something!) 

Here are some trees I made beforehand!

With Tilesets, you just need to take the tiles and just place them wherever you want (with placement in mind)!

Here’s the map with the trees! (I edited the tree tilesets via cutting off their stumps, and for the background trees, I did an overlay of darker colors.)

Either method is fine. Just REMEMBER PLACEMENT (and layers!). 

5: Background Color

If you don’t choose a background color for your map, and it is transparent, RPG Maker will make it black on default! (When you press “Play!”)

(In the example above, the bg color was chosen.) 

And Black is totally okay! 

6: Lighting

Lightning is SO important. It can CHANGE a map! It conveys time (daytime? nighttime?), warmth (warm colors versus cool), and feelings and emotions (unease, anxiety, safety, sadness, etc.!).

Lighting can transform a map!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

(In some, backgrounds were changed, along with adding flowers!) 

Look how different they look from the first example! And you can play with textures too! (They’re fun and great!)

And you can do so much more! (I’m a complete novice! So looking for other examples + tutorials would be really beneficial!)

For Lighting, using the Overlay Layer helps! (You can play with various settings too like Luminosity!)

7: Be free!

And there you have it! Map away!

Honestly?  Do it.  There’s more than one way to make a world or effect.  One thing that helps me is reference pictures.  For example:

“I want to make a desert world” - ok, what kind of desert?

One with only sand?  One with tall plateaus and rocky terrain?  One with sand and mountains?  What color is the sand?  Are there any man made structures like roads or buildings?  How about plants?  Cacti, scrubs, bushes, flowers, trees?  Tall cacti, small cacti, blooming cacti, realistic cacti, cartoony cacti, abstract cacti?  What time of day is it? What npcs are there?  Does it have sandstorms or events?

“I want to make a forest world”

Is it realistic or cartoony?  Is there grass, shrubs, leaves, or dirt on the ground, or just a big old parallax?  What color are the trees?  What kind of trees are there?  Tall?  Small?  Coniferous?  Deciduous? Is it a rainforest or is it realatively dry?  Are there any NPCs living in it?  Animals, abstract, people…?  Does it have any man made structures in it, like bridges or roads?  Maybe it has treehouses in it.  Does it have any water in?  Maybe a lake, a fountain, a waterfall, a river, some puddles… There’s hundreds of ways to make a forest or any other world unique.

For effects, I wouldn’t worry about it too much.  As long as it fits in your game, do it.  There are so many overlapping effects since there are so many fangames that honestly it doesn’t matter and no one cares.  Both Yume Nisshi and Ultra Violet have a rabbit effect, but they look quite different, while .flow & Ultra Violet have a similar effect to the witch effect from Yume Nikk but no one really cares.  Even then, you might find some cool idea later on you want to change your effect to!  :0  Take your time and have fun making your game and watching it evolve.