Right, then. If you’re here and reading this, you’re interested in working on the art for The Dark Unknown. Here’s the constraints for the art:

• Tiles are 32x32 pixels. A handful of sprites are more than one tile in size.

• Items and creatures (both monsters and townsfolk) have an outline around them. (Not quite black- (14,14,14), so it’s just a little distinct from black in the sprites.) This means items and creatures’ graphics need to be 30x30 at largest, so there’s room for the outline. I don’t need you to put the outline in the art- I’m handing that in Photoshop. (Putting the outlines in a separate layer, so I can change them later on if need be.)

• The initial intent was that we were going to be constrained to a 64 color palette (66 including white and black). Here’s the palette in question:

• I have a .ACT file, if that’s helpful to anyone. In any case: the original artist did not actually keep exclusively to this palette. So use it primarily, but if you feel the need feel free to add a color or two from outside it. Using it primarily, and keeping to a small number of colors overall to keep the same old-school feel and to better match the existing art, are what is important.

• The complete existing tileset can be found in my github repository. They are:

  • Main spritesheet: https://github.com/TapestryOfAges/dark-unknown/blob/newart/graphics/static.png

  • Humans spritesheet: https://github.com/TapestryOfAges/dark-unknown/blob/newart/graphics/humans.png

    (Unfortunately, while I have a handful of “here’s what I’m working on so far” animations for the humans, not many are done, and I never incorporated them into the human spritesheet. I can show whoever works on them what I’ve got, to be used or ditched as suits.)

  • Magic attacks are in two separate files in part because it’s just easier for me to just have projectiles be animating gifs: https://github.com/TapestryOfAges/dark-unknown/blob/newart/graphics/blasts.gif , and https://github.com/TapestryOfAges/dark-unknown/blob/newart/graphics/ice.gif

  • “Fields”: Wall of Fire/Poison/Sleep/Energy. These are individual animating gifs because I thought it’d be interesting to have each one animate in a different direction. They all flow, I’m not 100% on that decision but at this point it’s good enough. https://github.com/TapestryOfAges/dark-unknown/blob/newart/graphics/firefield.gif , https://github.com/TapestryOfAges/dark-unknown/blob/newart/graphics/electricfield.gif , https://github.com/TapestryOfAges/dark-unknown/blob/newart/graphics/poisonfield.gif , https://github.com/TapestryOfAges/dark-unknown/blob/newart/graphics/sleepfield.gif

  • Pentagram is also on its own file so it can animate in-sync easily. https://github.com/TapestryOfAges/dark-unknown/blob/newart/graphics/pentagram.gif

  • Sparkles for magic effects: https://github.com/TapestryOfAges/dark-unknown/blob/newart/graphics/sparkleframes.gif

• Most current monsters, and some of the prototype human animations, have 5 frames of animation, but don’t feel beholden to that number. Do what looks and feels best.