I'm launching Alpha RetroKiln
RetroKiln is a tool for creating retro textures, from 32×32 up to 1024×1024. The idea behind RetroKiln is to create textures for games with a retro art direction in two different ways.
The first is to start from an existing image and transform it: correct the perspective and lighting, make it seamless, downscale it, apply a palette, dithering, etc.
The second, and a big part of RetroKiln, is to create textures procedurally, without needing a source image.
https://deeporange.itch.io/retrokiln
The Forge
With The Forge, you can create a texture procedurally by combining different operations and reusable components. The idea is to start with almost nothing and progressively build the texture you want.
You can use simple operations, but also pre made components to build certain materials faster: wood, metal, rust, moss, stone, etc. The goal isn't to make a software with hundreds of buttons and parameters, but to be able to build something complex from smaller building blocks.
The Studio
The other part of RetroKiln is The Studio, which lets you start from a photo. You can take a photo of a wall, metal sheet or floor, select an area, correct the perspective and lighting, make it seamless, and progressively turn it into a retro texture.
The Studio also lets you work with multiple textures in the same folder, create families, and share palettes and presets to help keep a consistent art direction across your textures.
This is still a part of the software that I want to develop a lot further.
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Why an alpha ?
I really enjoy working on Retrokiln. I like building tools that help me with my own game projetcs, and this one has been the most fun to make. At some point I wanted to share it and see if it could be useful to other people too.
That's what this alpha is for. what i need now is feedback, what you tried, what worked, what got in the way, what you wished it could do. That's what will help me take it in the right direction
Feel free to join the Discord if you have any feedback, requests, or need help. I'd be happy to chat!
https://discord.gg/mgrH7c8avv
A few texture examples :
