Hey everyone!

I did the graphics for GET TO THA CHOPPA!!1, a Xbox Live Indie title. All gfx were done in Photoshop. Our next game should have that nice comic look, accomplished with vector lines, like e.g. in Castle Crashers or Super Meatboy.

For that, I gotta switch to a vector program. But I just don't get the difference between Flash and Illustrator!

There seem to be a lot of console games that are drawn in Flash recently, e.g. the two games named above. Both have this comic look with fat outlined characters and coloured but non-outlined backgrounds.
Why are these games drawn in Flash and not in Illustrator? Is there a huge difference that I'm missing?

Another question:

Have a look at this progress picture
http://www.newgrounds.com/art/view/bluebaby/smb-cover-process

I know that the outlines were done in Flash, but how was this image probably coloured?

Thanks for all your help!

I have personally never used Flash for vector illustration (I mostly use Inkscape), but if they both output .svgs, then the difference should mostly just be a matter of preference - just like some people use Photoshop and some people use the GIMP.

That picture you linked to was probably colored layer after layer on top of each other, starting with the darkest shadows and then adding lighter tones on top.

Thanks for the answer, Nevon.

But I'd really like to know in what way they both differ. Whats the advantage of Illustrator, and whats the advantage of Flash?

I really dont wanna specialize in one of them, just to realize that the other program would fit me more.

And to the colouring of the linked image: I knew that the light effects were created layer by layer. But what I'd like to know: Was the colouring done in a vector program (alternatively: is this even possible), or was just the outline created in Flash and then the creator coloured the image in e.g. Photoshop?

Illustrator is for extremely high precision graphic design work for physical prints. You use the pen tool, you place every point and adjust every curve manually until it's absolutely perfect. It's slow, clunky, archaic, has a very high learning curve, and very advanced features if you can manage to learn them.

Flash let's you grab a paintbrush, scribble in a picture, start dragging points and curves around really quickly, click buttons to straighten and smooth shapes, has a flood fill tool that makes sense, and allows you to easily combine shapes together. Flash also has the pen tool.

So basically Flash offers a much faster and more natural painting solution plus the old, high-precision pen approach while Illustrator kind of forces you to do everything in incredibly complex and precise ways.

As for the Super Meat Boy picture: looks like all Photoshop to me.

Another reason a lot of games are drawn in Flash because Flash is also a game development platform and a great animation tool, so a lot of game developers & artists are already familiar with it. Illustrator was made for professional print graphic design.

Thanks LockePick! I really appreciated your detailed and helpful answer!

One little question remains:
Can the precise colouring in the image of the submitted link also be done in Flash? I dont wanna know if that special image was done in Flash, just if its generally possible to do that kind of natural and very detailed colouring with all its light layers in a vector program.

BTW are you aware the program Inkscape exists? It's a free program which has most of the features of Illustrator.

Well I heard of it, but I've never tried it. Maybe because its free. Of course its wrong to think that free software isnt as as good as the expensive ones, but I guess thats what my mind keeps telling me.
Is Inkscape a program you can recommend?

Well, it's true that Inkscape isn't quite as good as Illustrator. Inkscape does not have gradient meshes, does not have much built-in support for creating animations, and crashes occasionally. But aside from animations I've had no problem doing everything I want to do in Inkscape. I created my last two sets of vector game art in Inkscape - one set was then exported as png images for use in a non-vector game, while the other set was used in Flash to make a paperdoll system. I've also previously used Inkscape with Gimp's animation functionality to make animated gif sprites. So, if you only have the budget for one of Flash or Illustrator, you could go with Flash and then use Inkscape for any more Illustrator-suited work you needed to do.

Personally I haven't used Flash much - my initial impression of it was that it was a lot more about programming than making art, but I only had a day or two to play with it, so I really couldn't say. Illustrator I had a whole college course using it, so I can say it's 90% similar to Inkscape.

Thanks! That doesnt sound too bad at all. Maybe I'll try everything I can get my hands on to see what fits me best.

"One set was then exported as png images for use in a non-vector game, while the other set was used in Flash to make a paperdoll system."

You have to explain the second part, I think I didn't get the point, sorry. Arent all games non-vector in the end? My team member, responsible for the coding, said that the code hardly can handle vectorized images. If gfx size doesnt change ingame, the player won't get the difference if you rasterize the vector graphics.

I really feel a little overwhelmed at the moment. There are so many possibilities to get what you need...

Actually Flash was specifically made to use vector (svg) as its native image format. Many Flash games use 100% vector art, not exported to any sort of raster format. But if your programmer is not programming in Flash and your game is not intended for a PC platform, perhaps it would be difficult to make vector art work.

Personally I don't see the point of you learning to make art with a whole new type of art program if your only goal for doing so is to get a cartoony style. Any style of art you can make in a vector program can be made in Photoshop. If you know in advance that you want your in-game images to be raster, it seems like you'd be father ahead making them raster to start with, using a program you are already familiar with.

Maybe the console games which you are seeing made in Flash were originally Flash webgames which were simply ported to a console? Or, is the X-Box similar enough to a PC that it can just run Flash? Flash is a WONDERFUL platform for making webgames and other 2D PC games, it is one of the fastest ways to go from concept to playable game, and it has definitely become more and more commonly used over the past several years. but that's Flash as a programming language/dev kit, not Flash as an art program.