Modding Help Sprite Creation Help

I have a good foundation of programming, and I'm interested in making mods. I'm not very good at art though, so it can be a struggle to mod games. Can I please have some tips on how one would make good-looking sprites?

 

Modify existing images if possible to help maintain good shape/proportion. Like if you're making a portrait, use one of maybe multiple portraits to get a good head shape, eye placement, etc. There's no shame in using existing elements if your product looks better for it. Keep in mind any pattern, consistency in existing items. Does light/shadow always seem to be from one direction? Like portraits seem to have light from above. How is the shading accomplished? Well existing portraits use 3 or so colors, with the shadow mostly being one color, just softened edges. Just look for details and replicate. It'll make it easier on you and make your work fit the game better. If you need a program you could use something like paint net which you actually would get at getpaint.net .

 

If I was modding a retexture for a pet, would I have to redraw it for every scene?

 

Patience and lots of it. If you're editing an existing sprite - which is fine, even elements of the existing user interface do that - be willing to throw stuff out, to test things a lot, and keep backups as you go.
I recommend using paint.net, keeping multiple layers with design elements kept separate across them, and saving the project file as a .pdn even if you're happy with it at the moment.
That way you can edit on the fly if you develop new ideas or need a new sprite.
Portraits require more fine work, but can be done more slowly and gradually. Keep an eye for proportion, try to make sure it looks real compared to the style.

Edit: Not sure what you're asking in your second post, but JeffersonCalaway gives great advice, and what I think you're asking... If you edit all the frames of animation a default pet has, you shouldn't have to do anything past those reskins.
If you're adding new frames of animation, that's more complex.

 

1. Download a program like photoshop or GIMP or Paint.net to create/edit images
2. To familiarize with how sprites work, download some sprite sheets from a place like this : www.spriters-resource.com/snes/ff6/
3. Open the .PNG file with the program you downloaded and zoom in, use the pencil brush to get an idea of how to edit the files.


Once you have the hang of it, use this guide to learn how to extract ingame images so you can edit them