There really is no "easy" way of making sprites... but I guess that's already been stated. However graphics are what gives a game style, so it's worth taking the time to do them right. There are a few pointers I can give that will help make it less tedious though.
1. Figure out all of the shortcuts in your graphics program. Most graphics programs have keys you can press to grab colors and switch tools, etc, even Multimedia Fusion has this. Using the keyboard and mouse together will make spriting much faster, and consequently much less tedious.
2. Save the details for last, until you're completely happy with your sprite. If you like to use outlines, create the shapes and animate those BEFORE you add outlines. That way you don't have to redo the outlines (which takes a long time) every time you make an adjustment to the animation.
3. When you're shading avoid using too many colors. Capcom and Square who are both responsible for some excellent 2D graphics only use two or three shades for each color, unless the sprite is like huge.
4. If it's really taking you way too long, you may have to simplify your style. Detailed sprites are great, but finished games are even better.
Last time I had lobster, it reminded me of biology class. Except in biology class the professor didn't make you eat the frog when you were finished.
Well, yeah, creating ONE sprite is easy. How about animating it? You'd have to redraw the damn thing each frame... then make sure that it goes well with the one with the previous frame..
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
Advanced graphics editing program = Photoshop and the like. Making high-res Photoshop graphics is alot less tedious and repeditive than pixel art. Animation can be a problem though. If you want to make a game with lots of animations I would suggest 3D pre-renders, but get yourself a good renderer and spend some time on textures so it doesn't look like a Biebersoft game.
Well, I once tried to do outlines in MMF, then coloring/shading them in Photoshop, but at times I forget about the whole anti-aliasing thing and end up with ugly white specks around the sprites.
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
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