There's a section on the site called "Spriting guide". Read that, then ask me if there's something you don't understand in it and I'll try to help. And please don't just say "I don't understand your guide"; tell me what exactly you don't understand in it. Otherwise I'll ask you to tell me anyway.

Adobe ImageReady, sometimes version 3.0 and sometimes CS. I use it mainly because it has layers and transparency, the ability to save good-quality web images, and it can animate if that's what I want to do, all in one program. See similar questions...

A: ScreenMatch is a funny thing. You activate it in sprite edit mode by pressing the M key. In the lower part of the screen, it will indicate whether ScreenMatch is on or off. If you leave it on, you're likely to end up with a lot of "duplicated" sprites overlapping the adjacent screen. The is especially bad if you move a sprite, stamp it down, decide to move it more, and stamp it down again. On the adjacent screen, you will have several matching sprites, not just the 1 you had intended. See similar questions...

Absolutely not. The only things ImageReady has over Paint when it comes to sprites are simply conveniences, like a long undo history, the ability to change all pixels of one particular color to another with a single click, and layers that allow you a little more messing-up without ruining your work and easier deletion of the original art when you're making a pixel-over. It all CAN be done on Paint. It's a little easier in better programs, but that doesn't mean it can't be done in Paint. See similar questions...

Eh, I'm sorry, but no. I'm not good at making scratch sprites, contrary to some weird popular belief. I'm what I call a "lucky artist". I can NOT draw. Sometimes I miraculously get the shape just right, but that's a very rare occurrence and it's pure luck. I doodle practically all the time, but 99% of everything I draw turns out looking absolutely awful with anatomy problems that would put a three-year-old to shame. See similar questions...

A: If the answer to this was documented, I never found it. I was having a very hard time because I put a lot of sprites on my screen. Small things ended up being behind large things (like trees). I could still see them just fine, but when clicking on them with the mouse, I would end up picking up the tree instead of the small rock behind it. I realized, don't use the mouse when you're placing sprites. It's not very precise and it's easy to move things a few pixels off. See similar questions...

A: This isn't hard to do, but it's difficult to explain. First, draw your graphics using the program of your choice. I use Paint Shop Pro 4.0, but a rendering program like 3DMax would be much better. Anyway, draw them on a white background (white will be invisible when used as a sprite). When done you must save them using the Dink Palette as a .BMP file. See similar questions...

Some sprites, and most backgrounds, I acquire myself directly from the games. You can find those in the Downloads section. Otherwise, check out these sprite sites: Sprites Inc. or the People's Sprites. For Backgrounds, your best bet would be to visit the Backgrounds section at the Bob and George forums. See similar questions...

The only sprites that I rate are Spriter's Challenge entries. Otherwise I'd be so flooded with emails that I'd never do any site updates! See similar questions...

Inc's Archives are split up into folders, and each folder with all its content is then viewed at once when you open it on one single page. Now just placing every Megaman rip ever created into one folder WOULD be very hard to use, (And kill any 56'kers still around. No, physically rip their spinal cords out.) so these folders are organised into different games, catergories and characters. See similar questions...

A: Yes. In sprite edit mode (or even tile edit mode), hold the I key down. Several red and black boxes will appear. They won't always be centered over their respective sprites, but it gives you a general idea. This shows whether each sprite is hard or not, and what script (if any) is attached. This is good for locating places where you "accidentally" put scripts on sprites that weren't supposed to have them. I accidentally put a treasure chest script on some trees in Dink's Doppelganger.. See similar questions...

What do you think of these sprites I made? You can take credit for them and put them on your site if you like, I don't mind. See similar questions...

All of the animation sequences in Spriteworks v1.0 are arranged in the order that they should be animated in. Extra frames for each animation sequence have also been added, allowing you to focus on speed or smoothness when animating an image. Furthermore, none of the animation sequences are pre-animated which means that you have the freedom to "code them in" when writing your game or application (a question we sometimes get asked). See similar questions...

Expanding on the above question, the sprites in Spriteworks v1.0 are our original, copyrighted work but when you purchase a license from us, we grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use them in your finished, compiled games (or other software product) on a royalty-free basis which means that you are not required pay us a stipon (or royalty) for each copy of the game you sell. No. See similar questions...

Each blackboard in spriteworks v1.0. contains a theme (ie;different types of missiles, explosions, etc will be on one blackboard, while another blackboard will contain a dozen different types of fruit for use in a pac-man game,etc). You simply select the image(s) you want, remove them from the blackboard and incorporate them into your game or application. See similar questions...

Another common question. The answer depends on the size of the sprite. If your sprite is not wider than 32 pixels (which is likely), then you can now use the sprites.h header file. This header file defines fast functions which work with sprites (including masked sprites). The only limitation is that the sprite must not be wider than 32 pixels (the height is not limited). See similar questions...