What program do I need to make character sprites?
 

I've jotted down a few ideas and wanted to scan the pic into the pc to make a sprite etc but have no experience with this could someone help?

Hey PureSkeng,

Have you considered programs like DazStudios, Google Sketchup, Blender or Gimp. As far as I know they are free programs. Next time you pass by my site check out the Site Links area, you might find something in there to help you out. :)

Thanks, which is best I have absolutly no idea how to make them.

It depends on what you want to do. Most of the apps StarLite mentioned (all except Gimp) are for 3D. That can be an effective way to make backgrounds (e.g. this or this), but isn't usually used for character sprites--at least not in Underground titles (though there are exceptions, e.g. this, and some games use Poser for modeling their characters, e.g. this or this).

Assuming you want to do standard 2D drawing, it depends on whether you'll be working in pixel art (e.g. this or this), vector art (e.g. this or this), or "paintbrush" art (e.g. this or this). If you don't know, you probably want to do "paintbrush" art. Edit: Just looked at your other thread... yeah, Rise of the Hidden Sun uses "paintbrush"-style backgrounds and (in most versions) characters, so that's probably the direction you should be going for.

By the way, I'm picking examples from the AGS library just because it has a lot of games in different styles and is easy for me to browse.

For pixel art, Pro Motion and Graphics Gale are good. A lot of people also use Photoshop or one of the Photoshop clones (Paint Shop Pro, Gimp, ...), although they're not really designed for that kind of work. Some people even work in Windows Paint: it has the benefit of being very easy to learn (and it comes with your computer), but it lacks many important features. (Paint.NET is probably a better choice if you want to keep it simple but still have access to these features.)

For vector art, the most common choice is probably Flash. Corel Draw is the leading professional choice, and there are many clones of it. Inkscape is a free, open source option.

For "paintbrush" art (which mimics real-life drawing most closely, and can range greatly in look), you're going to need something like Photoshop. The real thing is the best, but there are good Photoshop clones out there, too. Gimp is the most well-known free one, but many people think it has a difficult user interface.

You can find a long list of these and other options here.

That's actually a really really big help thanks for that mate I'll have a look at the links now.

Great list, I'll have to post it on my site.

If you have Paint Shop Pro I find that the Picture Tubes cuts down on a lot of tedious work, especially if you are working alone. With the amount of objects and items that go into a game I couldn't imagine making every single one of them from scratch. I guess like an engine you have to find whatever you are comfortable with. You can also find numerous tutorials to help you. Good luck in your search, I hope you find what you are looking for. :)