|
 |
50 Tips for KiSS Artists - A General Information Document by Unoriginal  
Some of the things in this document may seem incredibly obvious, but they're often easy to overlook, especially for beginners. Several of these have exceptions, but none of this should be followed step-by-step anyway. It's just some good, general advice from a fellow KiSS artist. I have to thank the fine folks at the OtakuWorld Forums for much of this information.
- Don't set the transparencies on anything until the very end when you would then manually add them to your CNF if you're using PlayFKiss 0.83 beta. It has a bug that destroys CNFs.
- Always have multiple copies of your CNF lying around in case you make a silly mistake and need to go back.
- Fix the base, hair, title cel, backgrounds, etc. into place so that they can't be dragged around the playfield.
- Make sure any snap-to is exactly right. Zoom in to make it perfect.
- Make sure that clothes snap to the base and not the other way around.
- Never have duplicate snap-to commands. Otherwise, things could get wonky. You should never have any duplicate FKiss commands, snap-to or otherwise, for that matter.
- When using click-cycling on hairstyles with multiple cels, take the extra time to make all cels trigger the effect. It's worth it.
- Be sure to erase any "stray" pixels.
- If you use a very bright, ugly color for your transparent color, either change it at the end using a palette editor (PlayFKiss has one built in) or give the doll a background.
- Music or sound effects shouldn't automatically start when a doll is opened. If the user wants music, they'll find the button to turn it on.
- All music should have an off button.
- Clothing backs should only consist of what would actually be visible, and not include any of the front cel. It wastes space and memory otherwise.
- If you're going to use the shell command, label it very clearly. Let it be completely obvious what the button does because many people find the command annoying.
- Layer short skirts over long skirts for maximum mix and matchability.
- Layer skirts over pants to increase the possible outfits even more.
- Be sure to have a common hairline for all hairstyles.
- Use random timers instead of static timers for things like blinking to ensure the most natural look unless you're going for a clockwork effect.
- If your doll has hats or accessories that need to go in a specific place on the doll to look right, make sure there's enough room on the playfield for that to happen.
- Try to keep outline colors consistent - if the base has black outlines, all of the clothes should have black outlines, too.
- To keep the wardrobe uniform from set to set, copy and paste the coordinates from the first set into all subsequent sets.
- If your doll doesn't have snap-to, make sure all of your cels have descriptive names. Sometimes it's hard to tell what an item is.
- Don't forget to replace the message PlayFKiss writes at the top of your CNF with your name, contact information, etc. before distributing your doll.
- Include a text file in your doll, even if it only contains your name and/or contact information. Always sign your art.
- Try to avoid multiple CNFs if possible. You can toggle snap-to within a single CNF using FKiss and having a duplicate base doll with a different object number that serves as the snap-to parent.
- If multiple CNFs can't be avoided, give them descriptive names so that the user knows the difference and can choose which one they want to see when the set first opens.
- If your base doll has drawn on underwear, make sure it doesn't show under any of the clothes.
- It's best to avoid too much cookie-cutter clothing, but if you must include it, try to customize each copy with details like a pattern or ruffle to differentiate it from the other copies.
- If your doll requires a large playfield, try to make it scroll only in one direction, preferably horizontally.
- All cels should be cropped as closely as possible. Lots of excess transparent space can make the doll difficult or impossible to properly play with depending on what KiSS viewer the user is running.
- It's a good idea to have one set where the doll is completely naked or only in underwear so that the user doesn't have to undress it before dressing it.
- When your doll has a concealed wardrobe, the trigger to reveal the clothing should be fairly obvious.
- If each set in your doll has a different theme with a different set of clothing, there should be at least one set with all of the clothing items together so that the user can mix and match.
- If you traced an image to make a base, make sure you have permission to do so. Don't use other people's artwork without permission whether it's for KiSS or otherwise, for that matter.
- Make sure that the clothing front and back cels are perfectly aligned.
- Try to avoid tracing the base doll's outline when making clothes unless the clothing really is skin-tight. It makes it look painted on and fake.
- The transparent color should be a color that is definitely not used anywhere else on the doll because you could end up with transparent patches in clothing. White and black are usually bad choices for this reason.
- It's a good idea to double-check spelling for any words appearing in the doll, and also in the text file. Spell-checkers aren't that hard to come by and misspellings in a doll look very sloppy.
- You should avoid using distracting, animated backgrounds, but if they are really necessary, an off button should be included.
- CKiss should only be used if your doll has smooth, airbrushed-style shading. Don't forget to make use of the variable transparency. Learning palettes isn't that hard, so it shouldn't be an excuse.
- Try to divide outfits into as many cels as possible. What fun is a dress-up doll if you can't mix and match clothing, accessories, hairstyles, and make-up?
- Don't directly copy items (clothing designs, etc.) from other KiSS sets. While it may not be considered direct art theft, it is considered rude.
- For blonde hair, avoid using highly saturated yellows so that it appears softer and more convincing.
- Make sure your final LZH archive has a unique name that contains 8 characters or fewer. One way to achieve this is to use your initials in the filename. You can search the OtakuWorld archives to see if the name is taken already.
- It's a good idea to have one or a few people beta test your doll before final release so that they can catch any problems that you may have missed, especially if you have lots of FKiss in your doll.
- When you use color-cycling, make sure that it's coded as an endless loop.
- Before packing all of your files up into the final LZH archive, delete all files that aren't used in the doll such as .BAK, .BMP, and .GIF because they are unnecessary and make the file larger.
- Be creative. If a certain concept has been done to death (Sailor Moon, stereotypical punk fashion), try to put a new spin on it or just move on to a fresh concept entirely.
- If you have a button that triggers music, code it so that when you click the button, it first stops all music, and then it plays the selected music. Otherwise, the user would get an error if they clicked the button again.
- It's better to layer your base and clothing than to have holes cut out of the clothing to accommodate overlapping body parts.
- Most importantly, do what pleases you. If you're worrying about making a doll that other people will want or one that could earn you free subscription time on the Big KiSS Page, it will show and the overall product will suffer.
This document was written by Unoriginal. You may freely distribute this unmodified document as long as credit and a link back to her site are provided.
|
|
