Programs used for character images and backgrounds

Portyman

I'm curious of What programs Other people are using to create characters and backgrounds.

JackBQuick

I'm using a combination of Pixelmator and GIMP. For vector graphics, I use DrawIt. I wish I had Photoshop and Illustrator but what I'm using is affordable to me and, so far, does everything I want.

Photics

Daz Studio (http://daz3d.com), Carrara, Flash, Fireworks, Photoshop... and I could use Illustrator too.

design219

Illustrator and Photoshop. Intend to utilize Flash for tweening animation stills in my next.

QuinnZoneStudios

To create many of my line drawings, characters in particular and some props, I'm using Anime Studio Pro (used to be Moho) as it is all vector lines, which makes it easy to move the lines around and change their thickness. Also I can render them as large as I want and still have it look good. If I had Adobe Illustrator I would probably use that instead but this works.

Then I usually take them into Photoshop and resize and color them. For characters I separate the parts into layers. My stunt fly character was 27 layers. Then I import those layers into After Effects and animate each movement and loop. I export each frame at the chosen frame rate as a .png with transparency and bring each frame back into Photoshop. Each frame needs to be positioned correctly and the canvas size needs to be the same no matter what the animation is doing or it doesn't line up seamlessly when running in the game.

All my backgrounds are created in Photoshop using photographs, clip art and textures. I generally run them through filters and even paint over them to make them specific. Many of the backgrounds need to be seamless so they can lop/scroll endlessly.

It's at this point every single image and animation frame gets exported through "Save for Web" as a .png with or without transparency depending upon its need.

That's my story and I'm stuck with it!

There are so many options and combinations out there and there is no right or wrong, just whatever you can get to do the job within your budget and comfort zone. I always like to mention Photoshop Elements as it's much cheaper then the "pro" Photoshop and does all the basics extremely well and it's very user friendly.

Good luck!

Mike