I have recently been getting into cataclysm and rouge likes in general for a couple of months now, and after seeing how many mods and tile sets there are for these games, i have decided that i want to create one of my own. However i don’t know where to start. i don’t know what type of programs, and other doohickeys i need to create tile-sets, and/or mods for cataclysm in particular. So if anyone has any comments and tips, feel free to say something.
There are instructions on the wiki.
The only thing you need is any sort of graphics editor.
Linky to the wiki entry: Here
what kind of graphics editor do people use to make these tiles?
is there a list of all the things that need tiles? Im not sure how many total tiles you need.
it actually might be fun to pull some tiles some packs and mix them together. then you can build just the tiles you want to be new.
I use GraphicsGale, which is a pixel art editor.
Other options are Paint.net, Photoshop, GIMP, etc. I use Paint.net also for transparency.
Also, I’m not sure of the exact number of things need tiles, but it’s a lot.
If you go to Cataclysm’s gfx folder, there’s a tile_config_template.json
It has everything that needs tiles, not including multitiles.
And as long as the image is saved as a PNG image it’ll load properly 
Thanks for the help everyone. One more thing i got to ask though. What size does the image have to be to work in the game properly ( I mean if there is a size requirement.)? Right now i am using 11 X 11, is that good?
I think any size would work. 11x11 is a good size.
Thank You.
are there any open source tilesets out there that people can draw on? i could see people wanting to make some new ones and take others. some of us are not real artistic…
Yes, you could use PaintDotNet, Gimp is also cool - but not as versatile and lightweight.
A hint - when you’re done with pixelarting, search for IrfanView’s thumbnail viewer (it’s packed with the app) and look for the feature called Create Contact Sheet within the File menu; it could serve you well for creating various tilesets because it lets you define the size of both the image (all the standard formats, PNG being one amongst many) and tiles, number of rows, columns and a few more.
For example, you can pick a few (or a dozen) tiles you’re dubious about and share it via some image host on this board - you only have to pick them from your folder and create a contact sheet. You can even enlarge them if that’s your preference.
In fact, IrfanView’s really neat when it comes to manipulating anything pixeled. I’m sure there are plugins that take part in even more easement, if you have a great heap of really small images. It’s free.
I hope you guys support animations. No games like this currently support any. Well besides opened and closed doors.
Not yet, but maybe sometime in the future! 
Can anyone explain what “multitile” and “rotates” do? I have a few assumptions but it would be nice to know for sure.
I am surprised this thread is still going. Well i created a couple of pictures for a 16 X 16 tileset i am attempting to create. For me creating the images where the easy part, now i need to know how to get the pictures in the actual game. I don’t know how to do it, someone help please.
every tile needs an ID defined in the accompanying .json file. The page on the wiki explains the basic concept to some degree…
But I would reccomend looking at a functional tileset and looking at both the code and image, as I don’t believe there is any good wholesome list of id’s out there.