Pixelling on your DS

[LoTekK]

smooveDS
It's still in development, and I haven't gotten around to trying the now-discontinued version offered for download, but this could be rather neat. ^_^

edit:
Ha, found another one:
DSGameTools

[Obsidian]

I've always wanted a handheld device to do pixel art on...good thing I have a DS. This could be really cool! I just wish a big company would do something like this.

[dragonrc]

If this will turn out really good I might get a DS.

[PypeBros]

Hey there. I'm the author of DSGameTools ...

Since apparently some of the people here are interested in pixeling on the DS, i'd like to ask whether you think 16x16 (or 32x32) editing would still be useful for you, or if "real" pixel artists would rather prefer unrestricted painting on a screenwide surface.

[Panda]

Well, the ideal thing would be being able to set the desired canvas size yourself.
16x16 sounds a bit restricting unless you are making tiles, small sprites or smileys with it (and thus limiting its uses).

[.TakaM]

You're probably familiar with Phidias on the DS, pretty neat painting app.
Basically just need a version of Phidias where you have layers, a pencil tool, and can select part of your image, drag it round etc

I did actually pixel a bit in Phidias, you can zoom in nice and close, but since there's no pencil tool, you have to select the brush tool to 1 pixel and hold it down until the colour is solid

[ptoing]

you have to select the brush tool to 1 pixel and hold it down until the colour is solid

That would be a reason not to use it for me. yay for no efficiency.

[Schu]

This is something else entirely but... There's an interesting DS game coming out called Drawn to Life where you pixel in your character and it slaps it onto a 3D cubethingy, turning it into a playable hero for an RPG.

I was just playing on the flash demo. Made Batman and some limbless creature too. I'm not sure how intricate and accurate the actual application will be... we shall see. For one, I hope there's a tool that lets you move around the screen when you're zoomed in all the way (or I'm just missing it). It's still neat that someone finally did this.

[Obsidian]

This is something else entirely but... There's an interesting DS game coming out called Drawn to Life where you pixel in your character and it slaps it onto a 3D cubethingy, turning it into a playable hero for an RPG.

I was just playing on the flash demo. Made Batman and some limbless creature too. I'm not sure how intricate and accurate the actual application will be... we shall see. For one, I hope there's a tool that lets you move around the screen when you're zoomed in all the way (or I'm just missing it). It's still neat that someone finally did this.

Ugh, I tried that thing online, it's completely ridiculous  I wouldn't consider that game a pixel art program at all of course, because you just have to draw your character; the rest of the game plays like an adventure game.

[LoTekK]

I agree with Panda, no restrictions (within reasonable performance limits, of course) on canvas size would be more useful.

TakaM, Phidias is pretty neat, as was Draw before it. I enjoy digipainting random stuff on the go with it sometimes, but it's hardly efficient for pixelling.

I'm actually rather looking forward to Drawn to Life. It's obviously not a serious pixel art app, but then, it never claimed to be so. I don't know how well the game will play, and to be perfectly honest, the gameplay footage showed rather rudimentary skele animation, but I could totally see myself getting lost pixelling some fun characters and weapons to run around. :p

[PypeBros]

Okay.

I will certainly upgrade my tool to 32x32 and 64x64 edition. I'm not sure the current tool could handle unrestricted canvas size in a practical way. That could certainly be done, but then i would drop my current user interface and orient towards something that would look&feel more like Deluxe Paint IIe (my fav' pixeling tool ever).

But that would be a completely different project. SEDS in DSGameTools is more designed for sprites animation and tile edition in games ... A bit like the "small dragon" study in that other thread. Animating e.g. a Street Fighter character isn't part of my use cases

[Panda]

Uhm, I guess it all comes to the uses it will have.
If I were to pixel on the DS, I wouldn't really use if for making sprites, but more like a doodle pad where I could finish what I like etc.
But now, having something like Deluxe Paint on the DS would be neat.

[PypeBros]

Uhm, I guess it all comes to the uses it will have.
If I were to pixel on the DS, I wouldn't really use if for making sprites, but more like a doodle pad where I could finish what I like etc.
But now, having something like Deluxe Paint on the DS would be neat.

hmm. i see. So you'd more feel the use for something like an electronic sketchbook that can sync easily with a full-blown PC picture editor of your choice (for new ideas & stuff, skipping the boring scanning phases)... And maybe coupled with a program more looking like SmooveDS where you could take what you were working on (on your PC) with you and show/edit it while you're in the train, or something alike, right?

[Panda]

Yeah that'd be more like it.

[rabidbaboy]

This is something else entirely but... There's an interesting DS game coming out called Drawn to Life where you pixel in your character and it slaps it onto a 3D cubethingy, turning it into a playable hero for an RPG.

I was just playing on the flash demo. Made Batman and some limbless creature too. I'm not sure how intricate and accurate the actual application will be... we shall see. For one, I hope there's a tool that lets you move around the screen when you're zoomed in all the way (or I'm just missing it). It's still neat that someone finally did this.

Ugh, I tried that thing online, it's completely ridiculous  I wouldn't consider that game a pixel art program at all of course, because you just have to draw your character; the rest of the game plays like an adventure game.

It would be more fun if they placed a grid, I kep on missing my target.:<

Of course, it might be different with an actual DS.

This could be entertaining, and if smooveDS is good, it might actually be a reason for me to buy a DS.

[AdamTierney]

Speaking broadly on just pixelling as a function in-game, I got my wife Picross DS and it alllows you to pixel your own puzzles - 10x10, 15x15 or 20x20 - and then pixel a larger (I'd guess around 64x64) color portrait as a reveal shot. So you pixel the puzzle, the game automates the numbers, someone plays your puzzle and then when they solve it the higher-res pixel art is displayed. Fun little addition.

[LoTekK]

Damn, I hadn't gotten around to playing with the custom puzzle creation feature of picross ds, but I think I'll have to give it a shot. The tools seem pretty decent on the whole. Picross is my new drug right now, sucking up way too much of my time, though I've got the 15x15's down to about 10-15 mins a piece on average.

[AdamTierney]

Yeah, Picross seriously is gaming crack.

[LoTekK]

100% Awesome
I had forgotten about this. Saw it a while back, but it kinda got lost due to there being no info on eventual availability. As far as I can see, the interface and toolset are fucking brilliant. You've got your standard soft brushes with variable size (optionally based on stroke velocity), opacity, for digital paints and quick sketches, and you've got your hard brushes (ie, photoshop's pencil tool) for pixelling work. Add in an easily-accessible palette, sensible use of both screens, and this thing looks like my dream portable art app.

You can download a manual for the as-yet-unavailable app to check out some of the functionality and interface features.

I've emailed the developer to enquire about the app as far as eventual availibility, etc.

[Ragnarok]

This is something else entirely but... There's an interesting DS game coming out called Drawn to Life where you pixel in your character and it slaps it onto a 3D cubethingy, turning it into a playable hero for an RPG.

I was just playing on the flash demo. Made Batman and some limbless creature too. I'm not sure how intricate and accurate the actual application will be... we shall see. For one, I hope there's a tool that lets you move around the screen when you're zoomed in all the way (or I'm just missing it). It's still neat that someone finally did this.

Ugh, I tried that thing online, it's completely ridiculous  I wouldn't consider that game a pixel art program at all of course, because you just have to draw your character; the rest of the game plays like an adventure game.

It would be more fun if they placed a grid, I kep on missing my target.:<

Of course, it might be different with an actual DS.

This could be entertaining, and if smooveDS is good, it might actually be a reason for me to buy a DS.

Actually... I'm toying with the idea of being able to solve puzzles with drawings and drawing your own weapons and armour... Which would make it totally AWESOME! Please, Nintendo, please think of that...

[Zero]

100% Awesome
I had forgotten about this. Saw it a while back, but it kinda got lost due to there being no info on eventual availability. As far as I can see, the interface and toolset are fucking brilliant. You've got your standard soft brushes with variable size (optionally based on stroke velocity), opacity, for digital paints and quick sketches, and you've got your hard brushes (ie, photoshop's pencil tool) for pixelling work. Add in an easily-accessible palette, sensible use of both screens, and this thing looks like my dream portable art app.

You can download a manual for the as-yet-unavailable app to check out some of the functionality and interface features.

I've emailed the developer to enquire about the app as far as eventual availibility, etc.

Holy crap, that looks amazing! Please tell us what the developer said when he replies. 

[.TakaM]

100% Awesome
I had forgotten about this. Saw it a while back, but it kinda got lost due to there being no info on eventual availability. As far as I can see, the interface and toolset are fucking brilliant. You've got your standard soft brushes with variable size (optionally based on stroke velocity), opacity, for digital paints and quick sketches, and you've got your hard brushes (ie, photoshop's pencil tool) for pixelling work. Add in an easily-accessible palette, sensible use of both screens, and this thing looks like my dream portable art app.

You can download a manual for the as-yet-unavailable app to check out some of the functionality and interface features.

I've emailed the developer to enquire about the app as far as eventual availibility, etc.

oh wow, thanks for reminding me, that app looks really amazing, I can't wait for it.