Creature skin editing~

Xilven

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Joined
Feb 23, 2005
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Ok, I know how to apply a skin allready made by other players of B&W, but I feel like making my own skin. So, how do I go about doing so?

Could anyone link me directly to a skin editing program which works?  :)

If possible, is there an online guide somewhere also which explains to a noob how to change skin colours, markings etc?

Thankyou  :bowdown

I hope I'm not being a pain asking all those questions, but i had a cool idea for a skin to make and wanted to give it a go. ^^
 
As far as utilities go, there should be an L3D viewer (by Mental Vortex, I believe) and texture importer/exporter somewhere on this site.

As far as custom and fully-scratch reskins go, I plan to write a lengthy 'Black & White Skinning in Paint Shop Pro' tutorial as soon as I've completed my Undead Turtle skin, which is about 65% complete.

Recolouring is a relatively simple process, but one thing is a must -  the *.TGA (targa bitmap) must be the same size (for example, turtle skin files are 513 kilobytes in size) after editing as before.  Usually creating a duplicate file, editing it, and pasting it as a new (fully opaque) layer over the original TGA file (ex, c_tortoise_base.tga) and then saving willa void any future complications.

As I said, I'll be compiling all my knowledge on the subject into a tutorial - that is, everything from 'rules' of B&W skinning, to tips and tricks in PSP.

Either way, best of luck to you, especially if you're thinking of making skins from scratch; it ain't easy, but the results are often worth the effort.   :)


EDIT:  Okay, that wasn't all the helpful, so I'll provide some basic information for all you would-be skinners.

1. First of all, it's very important to back up your entire CreatureMesh folder before attempting anything.  Lots can go wrong, especially if the texture file (the TGA file extracted from the L3D) changes in volume (file size).

1a.  That's right, filesize is key to success.  While using Paint Shop Pro, you might run into trouble if you, for example, use 'Grayscale' to create a gray skin, and then just 'Save' or 'Save As' the file.  Say the 513kb turtle TGA expands to 875kb, and you try to import it to the L3D... you boot up the L3D Visualizer, and sure enough, your creature's skin is a jumbled mess of banded lines and streaks, rather than a proper texture.  It's bound to happen once or twice, so keep this in mind.

1b. Another point to consider is the name of the texture file.  If you were to rename it to 'red_bear_good.tga', then attempt to import that data to the L3D, nothing would happen at all.  The TGA filename (but not the extension) must be the same as the L3D you intend to edit.

1c. Finally, the Fat/Thin and Strong/Weak L3Ds have no effect on the creature's skin, so they shouldn't need to be edited (texture-wise, anyway  :;):  )

2.  Certain skins, such as the Ape skins (Ape, Chimp, Gorilla, Mandrill) are VERY vague in their layouts, and can be a tremendous pain to edit, unless you're limiting your changes to scars, tattoos, and facial/torso tweaks.  Consider these to be the most advanced of the skins, followed by the cats and the wolf, then the bears, then the herbivores, and finally the turtle.  Keep a sharp eye, however, and even the most perplexing cat skin will eventually begin to make sense.

2a. Keep in mind that some areas of the skin are either wrapped around sections of the mesh in a way that distort them, or even hide them.  

2b. The freehand and point-to-point selection tools are your best friends for striping and area-specific recolours.

3. Finally, Black & White's palette cannot show smooth, subtle gradients well; these end up looking rough or discoloured.  In the end, the sharpening effect may prove very useful.


Other tips and tricks, such as layering tricks and environmental lighting considerations (which are alignment based) will be covered in my tutorial, which should be finished within a week or so.  Hope this helps in the meantime.   :)</font>



 
Thanks for postung that Varg, that's quite a bit more comprehensive than what we have in the FAQs. Looking forward to the finished product. :)

The converter can be found here and the l3d visuliser is here. :)
 
Great! Thanks Vargoradaath and Kays.  :;):  Those tips and the guide when finished will really help out new skinners.

I'll go download the converter and l3d viewer now, and if i have any problems, I'll let you know.

If not, You'll be seeing some new skins being done.
 
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