Graphics (Art/Drawing) programs

[ruthven]

Can anybody recommend any good art programs which will allow me to save an image in a format that is BLOADable within BASIC?  Better still, is there an art program that can also read (or convert) from a PC graphics format (BMP, PCX, GIF, JPG... even LBM--this may technically be an Amiga format (Deluxe Paint 2) but I can work with it on my PC)?

I would like to work with graphics on my PC, downsample the resolution and color depth (quite a bit probably!), save it in a format that a certain C64/C128 program can read, and then finally convert it to a BLOADable format that I can use in a BASIC program.  Is this even possible?

[commodorejohn]

Unless you're going all the way into IFLI-type special modes (a far cry from "BLOAD-able from BASIC,") I would not try to use an automated converter; the results are rarely good, or even acceptable.

[saehn]

Can anybody recommend any good art programs which will allow me to save an image in a format that is BLOADable within BASIC?  Better still, is there an art program that can also read (or convert) from a PC graphics format (BMP, PCX, GIF, JPG... even LBM--this may technically be an Amiga format (Deluxe Paint 2) but I can work with it on my PC)?

I would like to work with graphics on my PC, downsample the resolution and color depth (quite a bit probably!), save it in a format that a certain C64/C128 program can read, and then finally convert it to a BLOADable format that I can use in a BASIC program.  Is this even possible?

I guess you're talking about hi-res and multicolor pics, the standards of C64/128 pixel art. If so, yes. Here's a viewer for Koala images in 64 BASIC, but it uses some ML...

http://www.lemon64.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29593&start=0

For loading 128 Koala images, you could try breaking the data up into bitmap, screen, and color data. Look into the Congo page below for more info.

For hi-res (Doodle format) 64/128, you can use this:

http://commodore64.wikispaces.com/Displaying+DOODLE+Images

To convert/edit images, I recommend Congo, Project One, and GangEd.

http://www.editorix.org/congo/
http://noname.c64.org/csdb/release/?id=39261
http://noname.c64.org/csdb/release/?id=19831

[ruthven]

Thanks for that info.  I've downloaded Koala Painter 1 & 2, Doodle and a bunch of other art programs that sounded interesting.  I've looked into ConGo and this seems like the kind of thing I'm after.  I couldn't find much of a description for Project One or GangEd but I'll probably download these and see if I can figure them out.  As long as one of these PC programs can save (or convert) an image to either Koala Painter or Doodle format, I'll be able to load it in BASIC!