#experimenting art styles right now

[mothinflamesdoodles]

Dust finds a dying human soldier.

Scene from chapter 1 of the fanfic “The Lone Defender” on ao3 by @sophtopus

[homestuckinthebutt]

"My love, return to me soon. I’ve begun to forget what you look like..."

Jaya is my favorite ship ever they're just so tragic<33

[mayhemspreadingguy]

[non-un-topo]

My Neekeys over the last two-odd years. I was curious to see the changes 🤔

[kinos-fortress-2]

does this even looks like a tf2 fanart anymore

[viioledea]

[imovyn]

sometimesSoMETIMES i catch a a glimpse of a life i could lead that is so beautiful and vibrant and lovely it’s THERE just beyond my grasp AAAAAAAHHHHHHH

[warlordfelwinter]

fun to be excited about mundane things such as having a tattoo artist

[melodybottles]

❀❀❀

[thelemonsnek]

hellll of a year this year!! got a new hyperfixation for the first time since 2020 :0 this really made me realize how many different styles i use >:))

[image id: one of those art summary templates, where it has a spot for art from every month. January's drawing is very sketchy and has thick, bold lineart. February's is very wild, with pixelated lines, harsh shading, and crazy patterns. March's is more grounded in realism, while still keeping some level of stylism. April's is cartoony but fairly detailed, and has thick lineart. May's is very simplistic and stylized. June is a return to the realistic but stylized art style, and is the first drawing to include an actual background. July's is very painterly and also has a background. August's has the realistic stylized art style again, and September's, October's and November's are all a mix between the realistic and painterly art style, though only September's has a background. Decembers is an extremely simplistic uncolored drawing. End id]

[gas-stxtion-a]

//drawing this killed my hand a little but it's okay. a little hand pain is worth it to draw fictional people being cute <3

@paleontaxi i already showed you this on discord but uhhh jarosa rights <3

[pyrosomatic-metamorphosis]

art style. snarl snarl snarl rheghrh snarl gr. etc

[odditythe3rd]

Honestly, I haven't done a drawing of myself since I was 15 but I think I have managed to capture myself in both a physical and psychological sense pretty well.

[solalunar-eclipse]

Conversation idea under the cut…

Sniper: Nice view, ain’t it?

Spy: I’ve seen better.

Sniper: Really? What’s your favorite place you’ve seen?

Spy: Le Jardin des Tuileries.

Sniper: Really, Spook? You’ve never seen anything better than France?

Spy: Non, not particularly.

Sniper: How come?

Spy: My work never left me much time for sightseeing.

Sniper: Ah, ain’t that the truth.

Spy: (sighs)

Spy: Though I suppose that would make this the second-best view I’ve ever seen by default.

Sniper: (laughs) You’re a proper riot.

Chillin’

Aka I listened to toby fox’s roast chicken song on loop because I’m normal and then I experienced a Thought :)

(Just in case click for better quality.. tumblr loves to butcher my posts)

[crest-of-gautier]

MORE PQ TIME!!! i'm determined to make good progress on it!! i played for around 4.5 hours today, and got around 52% of the 4th floor done. we have a total of 31 hours in the game and most of my main party is at like level 30/31, i think!

i'm feeling pretty content with my mechanics/persona fusions... there are ways i feel that this operates differently from mainline persona (the way petrification is a status that carries over between battles surprised me!), but i feel like i've really gotten into the groove with the boost system (and i have enjoyed using status ailments more than ever).

i'll probably be getting to see destined partner stuff soon... like as early as next session... i'm very interested in it :3

this time i don't actually have anything to say about the scenes i saw today. there were a few times i was 🔪 at atlus choosing to focus on certain traits for some characters (akihiko with protein and making teddie... very... teddie) but idc to talk about that bc everyone's beat a dead horse abt it. actually wait. i have one thing to say and it's about zen (under the cut)

so when we started spot 4 there's this... scripted battle after you open the door immediately after the staircase- where you get to face the golden hands.

i thought it was interesting to have a forced encounter with them (when it's possible that you might've run into them before) at this stage. game design wise i thought it was nice because it lets the players experiment on their own and come to their own conclusion on how to handle these evasive fucks who are the pain of my existence (i find golden hand movement to be entrancing, actually).

and if you didn't figure out that you could agility bind/panic (via tentarafroo or other means). after the battle, regardless of the outcome (i defeated them), zen just... spells it out for you, tells you directly what strategy you could use.

and i just found that... so very interesting? like yeah, to some people they may look at this and go, "yeah, forced tutorial moment." and i can see that (not that i felt that this instance was a bad thing!).

the point that i'm trying to get at is that i'm particularly interested in how zen knows this. like... to know an innate weakness and countermeasure to them... and when the vr attendants very early on discussed that you shouldn't be able to find living humans in the culture festival, and if you do, they're probably tied to persona/shadow-like entities. i'm like. zen are you pulling this out of your ass because you were a shadow once. i'm shaking him back and forth like a tree in animal crossing!! rah!! tell me your secrets!!!

or of course. the game could just have chosen zen to be a vehicle to give this information to the player and i'm looking way too much into things. i don't think persona should give me another amnesiac character again. i will go crazy over trying to dissect them and see if they challenge the norm of amnesiac persona characters or not. i probably sound like im beating a dead horse but GUYS IM ONTO SOMETHING I THINK.

in any case, i feel the game has had really nice ways of emphasizing the importance of status ailments. way back earlier near the start of the 2nd labryinth, the quest legendary medicine required you to agility bind some lust snakes, and i feel like this kinda alluded to the importance of certain status effects over others? idk. i just think its neat to see how certain quests and monsters can teach you things, y'know? video games...! 🥺💛

i'm reallly looking forward to playing more! while i'd like to finish the group date cafe who knows how sidetracked i'll get... but the floor feels pretty straightforward lol so. we shall see!

[arimiadev]

"I want to make a visual novel but don't know how"

visual novels are one of the most diverse and varied mediums out there and can be so much fun to make. if you've ever wanted to make one, it's pretty easy to get started!!

Overall Guide

this is a lengthy guide I made going over different parts of visual novels and how people make them! now let's go over some parts~

What Are Visual Novels?

Visual novels are a medium of video games focused on storytelling through the use of static or low-gameplay mechanics. Most can be considered a subsection of interactive fiction. A lot of visual novels have no gameplay or minigames, but some do feature light gameplay. The important aspect is that the gameplay in visual novels is never the focus, and instead the game focuses on a story delivered through dialogue & narration in textboxes on the screen.

Some visual novels are romance, some are fantasy, some are mystery, some are NSFW, some are cutesy, some are kiddie. Visual novels come in all shapes and sizes.

Visual Novel Misconceptions

Visual novels have been around for several decades now, but parts of them are still misunderstood by wider audiences. Here’s some frequent misconceptions about visual novels.

"Every visual novel has sexual content."

Visual novels come in all shapes and sizes, which includes content. Not every visual novel has sexual content, nor is it required to sell well. Visual novels are a medium for storytelling rather than a genre, so they can be anything you want them to be.

"Every visual novel is a dating sim."

Similar to the last one, some people think every visual novel is a romance game or a dating sim. Not every visual novel has romance in it, nor is it required to sell well.

"Every visual novel has choices and multiple endings."

Some of the most popular visual novels out there like Umineko When they Cry don’t have choices. Choices and multiple endings aren’t required to make a visual novel—completely linear experiences are fine.

"Visual novels need to be long."

Some of the top visual novels on itch.io right now are under 25k words, which puts them under 2 hours of playtime. Visual novels don’t have to be a certain length—they can be as long or as short as the story needs them to be. There’s even an annual visual novel jam, O2A2, that focuses on making a visual novel under 1k words with limited assets.

"Visual novels don’t sell well."

This is very much your mileage may vary. Some visual novels sell very, very well, such as how the recent Our Life: Now and Forever Kickstarter gained almost $300k. Marketing is an entire field just like art and writing and isn’t something you can skimp on or push to the end.

"Visual novel players hate reading."

A vast, vast majority of visual novel readers want a visual novel—they want a game that is light on gameplay and heavy on reading. You don’t have to add gameplay to a visual novel to keep people interested. Rather, minigames added at random can deter players. Visual novel players want an engaging story—if you’re worried of losing their attention, then focus on a tighter script or cinematography.

"Visual novels need to be anime style."

Visual novels originated in Japan and most do have an anime style, but visual novels do not need an anime style to sell well. The art style for a game will change the audience for the game—players who want something anime style probably won’t be interested in a semi-realistic style, but other people will be. It’s all about finding the right style for your story and finding the audience who responds well to it.

Visual Novel Terms

Here’s a list of terms you might encounter in visual novel and game dev communities.

EVN / OELVN – stands for English Visual Novel and Original English Language Visual Novel. Two terms used for describing Western VNs that are made in English, although EVN is used more frequently nowadays. An EVN/OELVN is specifically a visual novel made in English first, not a visual novel that has an English translation (and was made in a different language first). There are several variations of this, such as JVN meaning Japanese Visual Novel and RVN meaning Russian Visual Novel.

Kinetic novel – a visual novel that’s linear with few or no choices. Has only one ending. Also called a linear visual novel, linear game, etc.

Game jams – an event where developers have a set amount of time to make a game, ranging from a weekend to several months. Some jams have themes that the games must follow as well as other restrictions while others are more freeform. Nowadays, most jams are hosted on itchio. You can find a list of visual novel game jams here.

Game engine – a piece of software used for developing video games. The most popular ones for making indie VNs in English-speaking areas are Ren’Py and Unity, though Tyranobuilder is very popular in Japan for indies.

Text/code editor – when programming, you’ll need another piece of software to edit and write code that works with the game engine. Some popular text editors are Visual Studio Code, Sublime, Atom, Notepad, and more.

Character sprite – the individual character art that changes expressions and can move around the screen. Can include multiple outfits, pose changes, and more.

CGs – although it typically stands for Computer Generated, CGs in visual novels typically means the cut scene art where no sprites are shown (unless there's a side sprite on the textbox). CGs are usually reserved for special scenes and are the type of artwork you’d see in a CG Gallery or as promotional artwork.

UI / GUI – the User Interface / Graphical User Interface. This is what the player interacts with such as the textbox, main menu, save / load screen, settings, and more.

ADV mode – the standard reading mode for visual novels, short for Adventure mode. The textbox is located at the bottom of the screen. Popular examples of this are Steins;Gate, AI: The Somnium Files, and Amnesia.

NVL mode – a different reading mode for visual novels, short for Novel mode. The textbox covers most of the screen. Popular examples of this are Fate/stay night, Tsukihime, and Umineko When they Cry.

Dating simulator – dating sims are some of the oldest forms of visual novels and are essentially stat raisers where you spend time with various characters with the goal being to romance them by getting your stats high enough. In Western spheres dating sim has become synonymous with a romance game, where stat raising is not involved, but it’s important to note that dating sims refer to stat raisers a lot of the time. Unlike otome, a dating sim doesn’t refer to a specific sexual orientation.

Otome / Otoge – roughly translates to “maiden’s love” and is used to describe games with a female demographic, usually dating sims & romance games which feature male love interests and a female protagonist. Some otome games feature female and other gendered LIs, but male LIs are still the primary focus.

Eroge – an erotic game. If a game has sexual content in it, it’s an eroge. The original Fate/stay night (not the remastered version on Steam) is a popular example of an eroge.

Resources

And now, let's look at some tools and links for actually making visual novels.

Engines & Programming

Ren’Py – free visual novel engine

Twine – free text-based game engine (usually used for interactive fiction)

Naninovel – Unity-based tool for making Unity VNs

tiny tools – collection of various game dev tools

Ren’Edit Add-On – Ren’Py script editing & feedback tool

Ren’Py Accessibility Add-On

Feniks Ren’Py resources – various add-ons and tutorials by Feniks

Game Jam & Short Dev Advice

Game Jam Survival Guide - Essential Tips and Tricks

Releasing 8+ games (ft. game jams) and when to take a break

making game development backup plans

Advice for Leading VN Game Jam Teams

How to Make a Visual Novel Solo

How to Finish Your Visual Novel

Design

How to Make Visual Novels

Visual Novel Conference Talks

Visual Novel Cinematography & Design

Art Direction & Execution in Visual Novels

Making Impactful, Impressive Character Sprites

Post-production Techniques for VNs

Vimi’s Visual Novel Design

Writing

Writing Interactive – guides for narrative games writers

Visual Novel Conference Talks

Writing Mystery Visual Novels

How to Design Interesting Choices in VNs

The Intrigue of Ambiguity

Artwork

Clip Studio Paint

Krita

FireAlpaca

Medibang

GIMP

FastStone Photo Resizer – batch photo resizer and editor

FotoSketcher – various settings to apply artistic filters to photos

Marketing

How to Market Visual Novels

Marketing Visual Novels FAQ

Marketing Fundamentals for Indie Game Developers

Marketing your first indie game – What we learned from releasing the same game twice

The stairstep approach to indie game marketing

Marketing your Visual Novel for Kickstarter

Visual Novel Press-Kits

Audio

Eric Matyas music & SFX

Vita-chi SFX & graphics

Free Music Archive

Free Sound

dova-syndrome

Misc.

Lemmasoft Creative Commons Forum

itch.io visual novel resources

Google Fonts – free fonts

Uncle Mugen backgrounds

Canva – browser & desktop graphic design tool

Unsplash – free photos

Wrapping Up

all in all, visual novels are a fun medium to explore and play around with. if you want to make something short as a test run, try joining a game jam! if you want to see how varied visual novels can be, try playing some indies from itchio! at the end of the day there's no bad way to start making your own visual novel. hit the ground running and go for it!!

I've been developing visual novels for over 10 years now, blogging about them on my own blog and releasing visual novels through my studio Crystal Game Works. I hope this guide helped shed light on how to get into the medium!

— Arimia