Scratch

i use the scratch paint box then editing a sprite i found i use paint on my computer!

I use Photoshop AND Gimp! And gimp can be better!

You can also create a series of sprites/costumes by exporting an image sequence from the free 3D program Blender:

http://www.blender.org/

Here's an example of a project I did with Blender as a test:
http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/TegansPoppy/85524

i use a program called Fireworks. its not free though. whats Gimp?

definitely the best way to make PNG sprites is with Fireworks and then edit them in Photoshop... i make most of my backgrounds in photoshop and text in Illustrator.  They're very expensive programs though... like several hundred dollars expensive unless you torrent them (illegal).  unfortunately my adobe suite is totally screwing the pooch on my macbook pro so im stuck either downloading sprites online or using....... MSPaint on the family computer 

Toasty wrote:

TegansPoppy how do you use GIMP I can't work out where to draw

Hey Sophie, I'm not really good with GIMP work myself. I use Photoshop and Fireworks for my professional work, but I am learning about the GIMP because its free. (A good reason to learn about many popular applications. Heh heh.) The basics, once you have GIMP up and running, are:

1) Create a new file (under the File menu, select "new"). I recommend setting your canvas size to the same size as the Scratch canvas: 480 wide by 360 tall.
2) Select a color that you would like to use with your paintbrush
3) Make sure the paintbrush is selected, and that the color you are painting with is not the same as the background! (You can't see it when you paint white over white, or black over black, for example.)

Just a heads-up, GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program) comes from a Unix background, and behaves like it! If you are clicking on a window and nothing is happening, try clicking it one more time. In X11, the default (at least under my system) is to have your first click tell GIMP where you want to use your mouse, and the second click to actually use it. For example, if I select my paintbrush and set its color, I have to click once on the canvas window before the brush begins painting that color over there. (This default can be changed - search on "focus follows mouse").

Using the GIMP with Blender is a powerful combination. I can probably put together a tutorial on that with some screenshots if there is some interest in using these with Scratch. Anyone?

David:.

Toasty, Paddle2See:

There's a new image editing service online called Aviary. Read Andres' original post here:
http://scratch.mit.edu/forums/viewtopic.php?pid=21086#p21086

And my observations and first test of Aviary-and-Scratch at the bottom. I will be posting a tutorial on using Aviary on my site soon, as well as some info on Blender and GIMP with Scratch projects. ;]

David:.

If you are wondering about Aviary's new image editor, Phoenix, check out this tutorial/walk-thru and see it in action with Scratch!

http://guessmedia.com/scratch/tutorials/aviary/

;]

I have a MAC, so I have limited resources. I personally choose to go with Pixen or Gimp.
Sometimes I even do the sprites in Scratch.

Pixen is based around pixels, so I've found that using it on sprites it REALLY good.

Gimp is my favorite art program, but it may not be as good for sprites.

Personally I now draw my sprites on the scratch program, just because it is easier for me to draw 16-bit style graphics on it than in paint or whatever.