what the best software for makiing 2d game art?

#1 Depends on what software package you are comfortable using. I like Photoshop because I've used it for years. Theres:

Gimp (Free)
Photoshop
Paintshop Pro
Painter
Corel Draw

Theres many paint applications out there. Just use what you like the best, verses the money.

#2 Kevin nailed it - use what you like. If you have artistic talent, you'll be able to create good art with any application, once you learn your way around it. If you don't have the talent, the software doesn't matter.

#3 by the way what is the difference between illustrator and photoshop

#4 Illustrator is for panthlets and other paper related media

#5

• Adobe PhotoShop CS4 $699+
• Art Rage $20-$80
• Corel Painter 11 $399
• Corel Painter Sketch Pad $119
• Corel Painter Essentials 4 $49
• Art Weaver Free-25 €
• Manga Studio 4 $49-$299
• Autodesk SketchBook Pro 2010 $90
• Pro Motion $80
• GIMP 2.6 Free

#6 @Kevin - Not really. Illustrator is for vector graphics. Photoshop is for raster graphics. I've seen both used for print work, and both can produce JPG or PNG images for use with TGB, although the tools used in each are entirely different.

#7 Painter & Art Rage are probably the 2 best tools for traditional artists, but Photoshop is probably the most general purpose app and is the app that most of the industry uses. All of the tools I listed have their own specializations and many of them work well together, so a lot of it depends on what works best for you and what you are trying to accomplish.

I use Painter and Photoshop mostly and recently started working with Art Rage, which is similar to Painter in many ways, but it also has its own set of tools and features that I find useful.

As others have said, download the demos and pick the ones that work best for you.

#8 If you need 2D anims, have a look at ToonBoom Studio.
www.toonboom.com

#9 can i export png images from animation in "TOON BOOM animation"

#10 My girlfriend owns Animate Pro (Animate Pro is their product, Toon Boom is the company.)

First, it's a beautiful program that does ANYTHING 2D related - Raster, Vector, anything. It is the program used by Disney and many other 2D juggernaut houses.

That being said, it has more than you need for 2D game animation. It is difficult to simply "Paint" in the program, and there's a steep learning curve.

Yes, you can output PNGs and any other file type you might need.

It has a great camera system and a robust set of modules for adding effects procedurally. It also has a refined Palette system that allows for syncing colors across multiple documents and creating palette swaps quickly and globally.

It runs about ~$1,000 USD for a professional license.


Photoshop, on the other hand, is incredibly adept at doing what is needed for games. It can arrange and slice sprite sheets, it can output nearly 50 file types (with certain addons,) as well as (in CS4 Extended) import and paint 3D models.

It's easier to learn and has a fairly linear learning curve: every once in a while I still learn new things, but I picked things up quickly in the beginning too.

I'm going to have to endorse Photoshop for any game related 2D work, and it's even a staple in ANY artists 3D work. The advantages that Animate Pro has over Photoshop are a non issue concerning games. With Adjustment Layers, Palette swaps are super easy in Photoshop.

Hope this helps!

#11 thanks for this great info

#12 Don't forget Photoshop Elements - quite a bit cheaper than the big brother.

On Mac, I like Acorn and Pixelmator. Art Text 2 for quick creation of buttons, logos, icons and backgrounds.