Creating graphics for/on the Apple II

[cbmeeks]

Are there any good art programs for the Apple II?  I'd prefer a modern tool that runs on Linux but would be OK with something that runs on real hardware if it's good. 

 

I look at all of terrific games for the II and note that many of them actually had great graphics for the day.  How do you think those were created?

 

I've considered creating my own editor but I'm still learning the wonky format of II graphics.

 

Thanks!

[Baldrick]

Dazzle Draw comes to mind.

https://archive.org/details/e2gs_1652_Dazzle_Draw_v1.2_Apple_IIe

 

Or Koala Paint coupled with the Koala Pad.

 

[MarkO]

20 hours ago, cbmeeks said:

Are there any good art programs for the Apple II?  I'd prefer a modern tool that runs on Linux but would be OK with something that runs on real hardware if it's good. 

 

I look at all of terrific games for the II and note that many of them actually had great graphics for the day.  How do you think those were created?

 

I've considered creating my own editor but I'm still learning the wonky format of II graphics.

 

Thanks!

Bill Buckels has a bunch of Apple ][ related web sites including this one:
http://www.appleoldies.ca/graphics/index.htm

You should be able to use GIMP and then Convert as needed.


You might look at his other sites as well:
http://www.aztecmuseum.ca/

http://www.appleoldies.ca/

http://www.clipshop.ca/Aztec/
 

http://www.c64classics.ca/

http://www.cpm8680.com/
 

 

MarkO

Edited March 9, 2023 by MarkO

[potatohead]

A lot of the early game art was done right on the computer.  Was the usual graph paper and typing her values into memory, BSAVE, etc...

 

If you want some early Apple 2 dev stories, John Romero produces new episodes of his "Time Warp" podcast from time to time.  NASIR, for example, made quick draw to help with graphics.

[potatohead]

As far as creating graphics go, I find it best to create on the machine, or do final edits on one.

 

People using RGB devices, or HDMI get the "pure" colors, and that has a look very different from the artifact colors composite video users will see.

 

To me, the composite is where it is at on the Apple.  Artifact colors have a lot of subtle dynamics.  It can look more detailed and having more colors than it actually does.  And this is true for many systems, with the Apple being a great case!  

 

What makes it distinctive is the high color shift bit.  Of course that means 7 pixels per byte, not 8!  Bummer.  But it also means having a 6 color high resolution graphics screen, and it turns out that mattered a lot more than I think many expected.

 

Most computers had 2, 4, maybe 8 and definitely 16 colors, with 2 and 4 being most common.  And that just is not quite enough to differentiate everything in a compelling way.

 

6 colors is enough.  

 

And I have also found it makes a lot of sense to think about high resolution graphics as 16 bit values.  All the color artifacts and subtle effects repeat every 2 bytes or 14 pixels.  That makes things way easier to think about.

 

And, unlike say the Spectrum, C64 and others having coarse color attributes, the Apple has them every byte!  So, while there is color clash due to overlapping attributes, on the Apple this was far less of a problem due to the higher attribute density.

 

 

[Iamgroot]

There are some really early graphics programs in Applesoft that were posted in some of the early magazines.  They are quite easy to write and understand.