Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

Mogwai Prime wrote:Change 132

You can post your alts in here again! Thanks to GreenLantern of Cybertron's insight I can now grab images from here without any issues.

Thanks MP

Requirements:

1. Please remove any faction symbols from the graphic.
2. Post submitted graphics in this thread.
3. Submit as many as you like! If they don't make in this release, they might make it in future expansions.

As most of you know, Moggy has decided he wants something a bit more colorful than the 1982 ZX-Spectrum graphics we have currently, so we've decided to up the ante on the altmodes making them larger and more detailed (this 2009 after all!) Whats more, we've also decided to add robot modes, weapons and armorinto the mix as well.

So, to put it simply: If there is an alt, robot mode, weapon or eve a piece of armor you want in the game, please make an icon for it using the instructions below (now with Youtube tutorial video's!!!) and add it here along with its name and where you got the picture from. The staff will then add it into the game in depending on its suitability and how early Burn had to get up that morning.

Using the below instructions, I was able to make these 2 alts as an example:


Soundwave - http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/ ... ve/21/1/0/

Bugatti Veyron - http://blogs.sun.com/bigadmin/resource/ ... veyron.jpg
The first thing you'll notice is that they both look very 'grey'. This is because they are formatted so they can be custom coloured like the ones we have now just in much greater detail, so this is how they should look when done correctly.

With a bit of practice its quite simple. I made these on PaintShopPro 10 in about 10-15 mins. per alt, and its pretty much the same on Photoshop, and so if you have any problems we'll be on hand to answer them.

Feel free to have a go - and try some robot modes too!
Ill try and get an example of a robot mode up tonight for you...

Enjoy!

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Altmode/Robotmode/Weapon/Armor/Special Equipment Video Walkthrough

Step 1:

Open Image in Art Program

Step 2:

Select all background imagery that isn't going to be a part of the altmode. I do this using the "Magic Wand" selection tool that let's me select by color, hue, traditional or other choices. I make sure to go over the image to make sure I am selecting any background imagery that shows through holes or spaces that should be see through.

Step 3:

Invert selection so that the image I want to keep is what is now selected.

Step 4:

Copy selection and paste as a new image. This gives me the image I want to save as the alt on a clean transparent background and makes the image on as small of a canvas as possible.

Step 5:

Select all the background area again and create a new raster layer. Highlight the new layer and fill in the selected area with the HMW page background color Hex Code: FDFDFD. Then clear the selection.

Video Walkthrough Steps 1 through 5

Step 6:

Using selection tool of your choice select either the what you will choose to be the main color or the details. Once selected goto EDIT and CUT. Then Paste as a new selection. Move the selection till it is positioned where it was before you cut it out. Once placed, promote the selection to a layer.

Video Walkthrough Step 6

Step 7:

Clear the selection. The change to the main color layer and change it to black and white. (Check the different color filters so that you can fine the lightest conversion). Then go to the properties of the main color layer and change the transparency to 40%. The rest of the video is me making a new layer to test for color. I recommend doing this to make sure it is going to look right.

Video Walkthrough Step 7

Step 8:

Resize the image to 90 pixels at it's widest dimension. Then change the canvas size to 100x100 pixels being sure to keep the image centered. Then fill in the background of the newly created canvas with the background color.

Then change to the background layer and select the transparent area. Create a drop shadow on a new layer with a blur of 5.00. Change to the drop shadow layer and perform the same drop shadow four more times making sure that new layer is unchecked for the last four. Then move the layer so that it is on top of the background layer. And, clear the selection.

Video Walkthrough Step 8

Step 9:

I used the color layer I made for testing to check various colors. I do this to make sure it's going to look ok with the different colors.

Then delete the color test layer.

Export the image with the PNG tool and name it with "100" at the end.

Resize the image to 50x50 and Export again with the PNG tool and do the same name with "50" at the end instead of "100".

Video Walkthrough Step 9

The small print:
Not all icons etc. submitted will make it into the first, or subsequent, releases for various reasons which will be explained by the staff where possible. If using a copyrighted image, please list the source material and location of the original image to allow the staff to check if it can be used. The HMW staff totally wholly the right to select images submitted on a 'relevance to the game' basis and any icons etc. used will be credited to the submitter wherever possible.


So, there you go... Questions?

pretty

anybody know where to get a free program to do this ?

The Gimp may be able to do it, it is a good free Photo/Pic editing programme.

anybody know where to get a free program to do this ?

gimp, paint.net are the only 2 i know of you dont belive me watch videos of peopel making pictures with gimp & paint.net on youtube half of memory that photoshop uses & its free.

this would be great for someon who has lot of time on there hands anyone entering like to see what there looks like

Hoho! This is right up my alley!


Porche 911, obtained from this website: http://auto-moto-wallpapers.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html

Any "common" alt-modes that you need? I'd be happy to help with what time I have. (And considering I'm between jobs, that's quite a bit of time indeed... <.<; )

If I did these right, let me know. All source images courtesy of Seibertron.com





I can't get the shadow right... or get my images to show.

These are great guys, keep 'em coming. For those of you who dont want to pay for your editors Im told GIMP is good, but I'm not sure if it has the same features.

Serpent O - R wrote:I can't get the shadow right... or get my images to show.

Hmmm, thats weird, but those are good looking botmodes. Think Ill leave that one for Moggy to have a look at when he gets back. Have a close look at the setting MP uses in his tutorial, I just switched all my settings to the same as his.

As for posting them, do you have them saved in a hosting service like photbucket or Imageshack? Its far easier to link them in from there.

SSJMihoshi wrote:Any "common" alt-modes that you need? I'd be happy to help with what time I have. (And considering I'm between jobs, that's quite a bit of time indeed... <.<; )

Thats fantastic. Anything from the original 84-85 (pre-movie) G1 run is a priority, both alt and robot, to begin with. We can always expand from there and we'll have to add a few extras in to balance the teams anyway.

Is an image like this okay or are we looking for more realistic stuff? I have pics of all my guys but they are more animated style. Anyone's free to use them, and I'd ultimately save them in a smaller size and in Black and White, but is this something we can use? Heres a link:

viewtopic.php?f=145&t=57568

Ok, well i sucked making the current type of Alts, but i've given these new ones a try, and hope i have done this right(If i have, then i have quite a few more i could do, plus it was fun.)

Nissan Skyline GT-R R35 Turbo

Raphael Prime wrote:Ok, well i sucked making the current type of Alts, but i've given these new ones a try, and hope i have done this right(If i have, then i have quite a few more i could do, plus it was fun.)

Nissan Skyline GT-R R35 Turbo

Great start Raph, but the larger image needs to be 100x100px. I think you need to uncheck the 'lock aspect ratio' (or similar) button when you expand the canvas size (remembering to keep it centred), and then the 50x50 pic wont look so squashed, but other than that it seems to be spot on.
Nice job mate!

mitchsantona wrote:Is an image like this okay or are we looking for more realistic stuff?
viewtopic.php?f=145&t=57568

Thats up to you. To begin with we will at least attempt to keep them all the same style, which will probably be the IDW/DW comic style regardless of how stupid the poses are... , due to their bigger range of robot types, but if you want to make your own guys up then by all means feel free - we can't add them later if they haven't been made, can we?

Psychout wrote:

Raphael Prime wrote:Ok, well i sucked making the current type of Alts, but i've given these new ones a try, and hope i have done this right(If i have, then i have quite a few more i could do, plus it was fun.)

Nissan Skyline GT-R R35 Turbo

Great start Raph, but the larger image needs to be 100x100px. I think you need to uncheck the 'lock aspect ratio' (or similar) button when you expand the canvas size (remembering to keep it centred), and then the 50x50 pic wont look so squashed, but other than that it seems to be spot on.
Nice job mate!

Thanks. I did it the best way i could from what i could tell by the tutorial. Used Microsoft Picture It! 7.0 and Gimp.

The 100x100 is that, but i think the height is a little smaller cause i didn't have the lock aspect unchecked. But with that image, the 50x50 unchecked lock aspect was what made it kinda squished, because it's wider than it is taller. But i'll give it another shot to not look so squished(but that'll be tomorrow after some sleep)

Psychout wrote:These are great guys, keep 'em coming. For those of you who dont want to pay for your editors Im told GIMP is good, but I'm not sure if it has the same features.

I tried doing this using GIMP and all went well until step 8. Either I don't know how, or GIMP won't let you do the drop shadow effect in a new layer. Think you could give me any advice?

By the way, great walkthrough, I learned a lot from it.

Cant take the credit for the walkthrough as its Moggy's and I'm a PSP user and haven't used GIMP so not sure how to help you there, but I'll see if I can track someone down who may know for you.


Meanwhile, anyone else able to help with how to do drop shadows on GIMP?

Change 132

You can post your alts in here again! Thanks to GreenLantern of Cybertron's insight I can now grab images from here without any issues.

Nekoman wrote:

Psychout wrote:These are great guys, keep 'em coming. For those of you who dont want to pay for your editors Im told GIMP is good, but I'm not sure if it has the same features.

I tried doing this using GIMP and all went well until step 8. Either I don't know how, or GIMP won't let you do the drop shadow effect in a new layer. Think you could give me any advice?

By the way, great walkthrough, I learned a lot from it.

Mine were done with GIMP.

Drop Shadow with GIMP:

-Change to the background layer and select the transparent area.
-Go to 'Filters' and scroll down to 'Light And Shadow', then select Drop Shadow.
-Offset X and Y should be 0. Blur radius should be 5. Opacity 100.
-Do 4 more drop shadows the way you just did them(Note, for me they came up as seperate layers each time, but this is fixable in the next part).
-On the layers list, select any one of the 'Drop Shadow' layers and right click it. Then select 'Merge Down', and do this until there is only one 'Drop Shadow' layer.

is ther a list of already received altmodes or a list of needed ones?

GreenLantern of Cybertron wrote:is ther a list of already received altmodes or a list of needed ones?

I would just submit any that you make, I will weed out any duplicates. Make all sorts of them as many as you want. What doesn't make it into the initial release might make it future expansions

Raphael Prime wrote:

Nekoman wrote:

Psychout wrote:These are great guys, keep 'em coming. For those of you who dont want to pay for your editors Im told GIMP is good, but I'm not sure if it has the same features.

I tried doing this using GIMP and all went well until step 8. Either I don't know how, or GIMP won't let you do the drop shadow effect in a new layer. Think you could give me any advice?

By the way, great walkthrough, I learned a lot from it.

Mine were done with GIMP.

Drop Shadow with GIMP:

-Change to the background layer and select the transparent area.
-Go to 'Filters' and scroll down to 'Light And Shadow', then select Drop Shadow.
-Offset X and Y should be 0. Blur radius should be 5. Opacity 100.
-Do 4 more drop shadows the way you just did them(Note, for me they came up as seperate layers each time, but this is fixable in the next part).
-On the layers list, select any one of the 'Drop Shadow' layers and right click it. Then select 'Merge Down', and do this until there is only one 'Drop Shadow' layer.

Thanks, that helped a bunch!

So here's what I came up with, I would e-mail them straight to you Mogwai, but I wanted to see what everyone thinks:



Did I do it right?

Nekoman wrote:Thanks, that helped a bunch!

So here's what I came up with, I would e-mail them straight to you Mogwai, but I wanted to see what everyone thinks:



Did I do it right?

I think that might work can you email them to me so that I can see what it looks like under color? Copying a PNG image causes it to lose transparency.

Edit: Try making one that isn't transparent through the whole image. It seems to me that it loses too much detail that way.

Nisan Fairlady280zx

Also I tried a new technique for this version, instead of using a 40% opacity I grabbed the highlights and shadows only, place them ona color to see the difference.


I can post the technique if you prefer it, its a few more steps, but it keeps more detail and shows colour better.
I can only explain in in photoshop (cause I dont care to learn anything else for simple image editing)
and if anyone wants photoshop I could point you to a place where you can get it.


Oh and Mogwai Prime you can copy PNGs, and photobucket is not the problem.
instead of [right click > copy image] use [right click > save image as] its when you copy straight to your clipboard that kills transparency.

oh and i have a question, I assume you will be using a blank colour background behind these pngs to change the colour (ingenious btw)
Is it possible to have jpegs behind them to make custom paintjobs?

GreenLantern of Cybertron wrote:
Nisan Fairlady280zx

Also I tried a new technique for this version, instead of using a 40% opacity I grabbed the highlights and shadows only, place them ona color to see the difference.


I can post the technique if you prefer it, its a few more steps, but it keeps more detail and shows colour better.
I can only explain in in photoshop (cause I dont care to learn anything else for simple image editing)
and if anyone wants photoshop I could point you to a place where you can get it.

I think we will stick with the current procedure. I like the level of detail that you have on the second one, but we are trying to go with more detail from the old alts but leaving some for the imagination.

GreenLantern of Cybertron wrote:Oh and Mogwai Prime you can copy PNGs, and photobucket is not the problem.
instead of [right click > copy image] use [right click > save image as] its when you copy straight to your clipboard that kills transparency.

oh and i have a question, I assume you will be using a blank colour background behind these pngs to change the colour (ingenious btw)
Is it possible to have jpegs behind them to make custom paintjobs?

Thanks for the info on the Save As vs Copy. It does work

Custom paint jobs are a definite possibility for the future but as for now we'll stick with the solid colors. (I like the custom idea alot).

Change 132

You can post your alts in here again! Thanks to GreenLantern of Cybertron's insight I can now grab images from here without any issues.

Here's a humorous look at a robot mode.

Here is another I just threw together real quick.