What is the better way to decrease an animated sprite?

[16-bit Fighter]

All is in the question of the subject but I'm trying to be clearer. First, I don't mean the number of frames but the percentage of the height and the width. Then, when you have the sprites of an animation and you want to reduce each one, either PSD or ROTsprite can't make a perfect result. Each sprite becomes different from the others: by example, sprite 1's head is 7 pixels width, sprite 2's head is 6 pixels width, sprite 3's head is 7 pixels width but unlike sprite 1's one the eye has disappeard, etc. So is decreasing many sprites from the same character fatally a pain in the ass or do you still have a technique to do this more or less easilly?
Increasing the height of a pixelled picture seems way simpler with ROTsprites, especially about the chars.

Thanks for sharing you experience.

 

[DCurrent]

First, just to be clear, shrinking a sprite WILL lose quality. Permanently if you save it. The imaging software has to throw out some of the data. This is mathematical fact, and no amount of tech is ever going to change that.

The question is how much quality, what data is is thrown away, and how the different imaging software tries to hide it. This depends on the algorithm you choose, and the application. I would just try a bit of experimenting to see which one suits the visual appeal you are going for, since a lot of it is a matter of taste. Be careful you don't choose an algorithm that blends colors though, or your color tables will be ruined.

When it's all done you may still have to do a bit of hand editing. It's not fun, but it is kind of the reality of reducing sprite sizes. Make certain you keep the original copies. Once you save a reduced sprite, there's no going back.

DC

 

[16-bit Fighter]

Thanks DC. I'm a graphic designer by formation but not specialized in sprites. I will test Image Resizer to see if an algorithm can get the result I want. If someone know another program with another algos, it can be right. My PSD doesn't seem to have other possibility than the bicubic one.

 

[O Ilusionista]

To make it short: there is no magic button
Using automatic tools will give you less work, but less quality too. Doing by hand give you a lot of work, but with more quality.

From all the automatic tools, I would suggest you to use ROTsprite. Not the standalone version, but the version which is included inside Aseprite https://www.aseprite.org/
Aseprite is a WIP so it still lacks somethings, like giving the percentage you want to reduce exactly.

Its a paid software, but the free version can do the job.

 

[16-bit Fighter]

Thanks Ilu. I've just tested it and, unlike what you said, there is percentage (Sprite -> Sprite size). Indeed, nothing is magic in here (the left work to do is really significant) but I think I'll still test Image Resizer.
What is the process in your MUBF's sprites (a lot of them are reduced ones)?

 

[O Ilusionista]

Oh my bad, there IS a percentage.
About AUBF, some were reduced using the classic rotsprite (when I could reduce in the same percentage widht and height wise) and some where made in PS.
Rotsprite gave better results.

 

[16-bit Fighter]

Thx Ilu, I'll probably make some futher tests. Maybe I tried with some too little sprites.