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| How to remove annoying layer clutter | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 16 2013, 02:13 AM (96 Views) | |
| MechPilot524 | Aug 16 2013, 02:13 AM Post #1 |
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NFSP Founder
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This howto deals with how to edit your layers so that the image looks 3D. I'm sure you have noticed how the game actually puts guns over the superstructure; this is for accessibility and I guess also for easier coding. Well that's good enough for a 2000-era game, but not for sprites and renders. We better get rid of these. Here's an example. I want to assemble a harbor render of the USN BB2, Colorado, for vk222u's NF Museum. The image must be of the harbor sprite, and will contain a main battery and secondary battery. I'm starting on the secondary battery, 5" duals for A. I'll drag them over their proper slots. ![]() Uh oh, I think I see something that doesn't belong. Let's zoom in to get a closer look. ![]() It looks like the gun is on top of the superstructure, like somebody slapped a sticker on a picture. But the gun needs to be on the other side of the superstructure. Also the steel around the mount should be between us and the mount. Let's fix it! We'll fix mount 1 on the starboard side first. (The leftmost turret) So first, I select my layer. In this render I'm adding all the guns and addons as new layers, having already removed the blackgrounds and saved them as bitmaps seperately after extraction. In other words we can cut to the chase without bothering with blackground issues. So make sure the layer is selected (it is differently colored, so it is selected.) The arrow means that the yellow-black line around Starboard-1 mount correlates to the selected layer. ![]() So now, we need to put the mount UNDER the superstructure. The superstructure's on the same layer as the ship, which is the background because I opened the ship directly and first, so we need to actually place the gun under the background. Click and drag the layer to be below the Background on the list in the Layers dock. ![]() ![]() POOF! I have now made the turret magically disappear! Anyway, now the layer is directly aligned with the superstructure and we can also see the superstructure. Now we will take advantage of one of the best features in a photoshop - you can edit layers that you can't see. We need to fix one of the best tools for fine tuning out there - the Free Select Tool. If you haven't used it already, it's up in the top row in the Toolbox, as shown in the screenshot. ![]() So using a series of clicks, or if you have a steady hand, you need to fence off the superstructure from the visible part of the turret. You have to understand where you SHOULD be able to see the turret compared to where you SHOULDN'T. Note the line around the edge of the superstructure; that is the Free Select tool at work. You can't see my cursor because of the screenshot software. ![]() So when you have the necessary precise area cordoned off just go off of the layer and go around to the angle you need to approach from. To complete the selection and actually select an area, you click on the point where you first clicked... ![]() ... and that animated line will appear, telling you that your area has been selected. Now, making sure you have the layer you need to modify selected, hit the Delete button. ![]() Now drag the layer back up above the background and check your work. If it seems legit, make sure it's properly layered to look good, so that non-background layers aren't interfering with it. ![]() Now, this might seem like a lot of work, but you can get used to it quickly. This work can do wonders in cleaning up your image, no matter how small. As an example, for several frames in my Planes on Deck Ticonderoga mod I had to edit one of the TBF Avengers in this way so that its wing wouldn't be on top of a crane or pole of some sort Pretending the other 7 mounts aren't there, doesn't mount Starboard-1 look so much better now? Let's zoom to 100% and see for ourselves. (see next reply) Edited by MechPilot524, Aug 16 2013, 02:25 AM.
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| MechPilot524 | Aug 16 2013, 02:14 AM Post #2 |
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NFSP Founder
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![]() *after trying to upload and add images and having all work reset each time* Dammit Zetaboards, can't you allow uploading and implementing of 11 files in one reply!? Anyway - questions, comments, concerns? Put em right here. Edited by MechPilot524, Aug 16 2013, 02:22 AM.
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