FKiSS tutorial by Zorro.

Updated to include a worksheet to print out, a practice set to download and a new chapter on palettes and palette problems, this is a text-only explanation of the whole process of the whole process of making cels and a cnf, adding simple FKiSS, and going public with the finished set.

OS: Windows 9x
Tools: PlayFKiSS, KiSS Cel Workshop
FKiSS: yes
Illos: no


KiSS TUTORIAL - KiSSing made easyby Kim Gavlas
FKiSS PROGRAMMING TUTORIAL - FKiSSing made easy by Christine Gavlas



Together, these two form the most comprehensive tutorial I have seen. Each comes with its index, breaking up the process into its component parts and outlining beforehand what you need and where to find it.

OS: Windows 3.x
Tools: Any viewer, WSVC
FKiSS: yes (second tutorial)
Illos: yes


Dawn's How to Kis tutorial:

An all-inclusive doll-making tutorial which can also be downloaded, complete with sample illustrations, for offline practice. There's a list of tools needed and links to the pages where they can be found, a clear explanation of how to use the popular but hard-to-figure-out WSVC and a screencap of making a .lzh file in DOS, for the DOS-illiterates.

OS: Windows 9x/DOS
Tools: Paint Shop Pro 5, WSVC, PlayFKiSS
FKiSS: yes (demonstrated, syntax not explained)
Illos: yes


KiSS the Emby Way

Having been asked by so many people how to make a KiSS doll, Emby Quinn wrote a short step-by-step explanation of the way she makes dolls herself, including tips on art and wardrobe.

OS: Windows 3.x
Tools: WCel, WSVC
FKiSS: no
Illos: no


Moni-chan's Tutorials

Simple tutorials for each aspect of KiSS, intended for the novice. Still under construction; the making of cel files and simple FKiSS is covered, but the howtos of art and making a base doll are as yet only titles.

OS: Windows 3.x
Tools: MS Paintbrush, WSVC
FKiSS: yes (sample code for blinking and changing hairstyle)
Illos: no (but that may change when the "How to draw a basic doll" section is finished)


Satori's KiSS Walk-Through For Windows 3.1 In Plain English

Another tutorial for the novice. Also called (by the author) "Kisekae for Dummies", this walkthrough is one I could have used when I first tried out WSVC! It is almost anti-technical, but covers the basics down to the use of TinyLHA.

OS: Windows 3.x
Tools: any art program that does .bmp files, WSVC
FKiSS: no
Illos: no


The KISSage Tutorial

Of similar simplicity, the HTMLized version of the KISSage Tutorial text file. See also the accompanying Palette Tutorial.

OS: Windows 9x
Tools: PlayFKiss, WSVC
FKiSS: no
Illos: no


tutorial

An anti-technical five-step walkthrough for the total newbie explaining how to cel with WSVC, write the basic .cnf, position with PlayFKiSS and archive with LHA.EXE.

OS: Windows 9x
Tools: WSVC, PlayFKiSS
FKiSS: no
Illos: yes


Two tutorials by Mars (who prefers that I link to the main page, but the tutorial page is a bit hard to find, hence the direct link)

This is an artist who still does much by hand (and whose site is friendly to older browsers). Much attention is paid to creating the art, before tackling cel and cnf production. Most other tutorials include the compressing of the final set into a "lzh" archive, but this one goes very deeply into how it's done. (Mars' KiSS tools, which I downloaded ages ago, also come with a little tutorial included on how to use them.)

OS: Windows 9x
Tools: DpixEd, Photoshop, Mars' KiSS tools
FKiSS: no
Illos: yes (mostly photographs)


Creating KiSS sets with PlayFKiSS (topmost link on the page)

The maker of PlayFKiSS explains how to use his viewer/editor as a cel/cnf editor. One important bug this tutorial doesn't mention (so I'll just mention it here :) ) is that you can't save a cnf with transparent cels in the older versions. There are two beta versions of PlayFKiSS 2, the new viewer with Import Wizard and other features, which probably doesn't have this bug. There is also a page explaining the nitty-gritty of palettes and the kcf file (see Documents-palettes).

OS: Windows 9x
Tools: PlayFKiSS
FKiSS: some; code that PlayFKiSS inserts into the cnf
Illos: yes


a beginner's tutorial for mac by tea (or click here for a direct link)

A second Mac tutorial has seen the light, this one specifically written to instruct the artist in the use of what tools Mac owners have at their disposal. This means: step-by-step instructions on how to draw, save and make a palette in Adobe Photoshop (taking advantage of the layering feature), save the images to cels (this is the only thing that's easier on a Mac than on a PC!), use the Mac viewer to write the cnf, and compress everything with MacLHA in such a way that non-Macs can read the archive.

OS: MacOS
Tools: Graphic Converter, Photoshop, John Stiles' Mac viewer
FKiSS: no
Illos: no
Frames


Gilbert Roulot's How to KiSS and Comment creer des Kiss (French):

Oddly, this writer of a Linux FKiSS viewer has written a tutorial for Windows and the PC! Very detailed and with a high cuteness factor, one flaw being that it doesn't show how to combine cels into an object, but assigns a different object number to each cel.

OS: Windows 3.x/9x (screencaps from W95)
Tools: WSVC, WKiSS
FKiSS: no
Illos: yes


Fauzia's French tutorial

One of the oldest KiSS tutorials on the 'net. A text-only explanation of simple KiSS, warning that PlayFKiSS may crash on European computers (would that mean non-US versions of Windows 95?). The author seems confused on terminology, calling CKiSS a more advanced version of FKiSS, although that may be a typo.

OS: Windows 9x
Tools: PlayFKiSS
FKiSS: no
Illos: no
Frames


HAGAMOS NUESTRO PROPIO KISS - a Spanish KiSS tutorial

A strictly KiSS tutorial that includes instructions to make lzh archives. This page uses frames in a slightly unusual way. A short, terse tutorial, with screencaps of celling in WSVC and sample cnf code and cel images from an existing set.

OS: Windows 3.x
Tools: WSVC
FKiSS: no
Illos: yes
Frames


Vaughamm Homepage - KiSS (Kisekae Set System) (Spanish)

Finally - a tutorial on how to use PlayFKiSS 2's Import Bitmap Wizard, which allows the user to cel, name and layer the images all at once. The editing features of the older PlayFKiSS are also demonstrated. This is in KiSS tutorial 1, "How to make a KiSS set the simple way" (rough translation). KiSS tutorial 2, "Making a set step by step", does it the old-fashioned way, celling with KiSS Cel Workshop, positioning with PlayFKiSS and archiving with LHA.exe. Very clear illustartions, especially the one showing the structure of the .cnf file.

OS: Windows 9x
Tools: PlayFKiSS, EditFKiSS (PlayFKiSS 2), KiSS Cel Workshop
FKiSS: yes
Illos: yes


A tutorial in Japanese

I'd be able to say more about this page if I could read Japanese. It starts with a table of KiSS-making tools, not all of which are familiar to me. (I owe this link to Bloodstone's links list - wouldn't have found it otherwise.)

OS: Windows 3.x
Tools: WSVC (although others are listed)
FKiSS: doesn't look like it
Illos: a few


A tutorial in Japanese (MARUMU COLOR KiSS)

(This link points to the actual URL in the KiSS section of the Links page.)
Another tutorial that's 100% Japanese, although I can follow it by looking at the illustrations. Beautiful screen caps of the doll and its clothes separated into layers. On the main page, there are three links under each other; these are chapters 1, 2 and 3 of the tutorial. (Of course, speakers of Japanese don't need these directions.)

OS: Windows 9.xx
Tools: Photoshop, TCLK (cel plugin for Photoshop)
FKiSS: yes
Illos: yes


Kurs Pen Candy (originally by Cal Callisto)

The old tutorial seems gone for good, but here I found a translation in what I presume to be Polish, linking back to the author's now nonexistent site. This tutorial is mainly about producing and celling images using Photoshop; the illustrations include making a scan of pencil artwork and replacing the sketched lines with pixel lines. The animated gif that was used to show how FKiSS can be used for animation is now accompanied by example drawings and an explanation of the FKiSS code used.

OS: Windows 9x
Tools: Photoshop, PSD2CEL.EXE
FKiSS: yes
Illos: yes

Disclaimer: I try to be as accurate as I can, but it's not always clear from the tutorial what operating system or version it's aimed at, URLs change, and several tutorials are unfinished or have a sequel planned. To report inaccuracies and/or broken links, please mail to calezane@xs4all.nl, and remember to put either "gatch" or "kiss" in the subject line to get past the spam filter.