Author Topic: The Lazy Modder's Photoshop  (Read 5835 times)

Offline Bons

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The Lazy Modder's Photoshop
« on: August 30, 2004, 09:11:51 PM »
The Lazy Modder's Photoshop: Texture Without Any Drawing (This tutorial applies to Photoshop versions 7.0 and CS.)

Now that Exodus has covered the forced perspective side of things, what if you'd like to recreate the texture of bark without actually painting the first splotch? If you're like the IE modders I know, you don't want to have to put forth the effort of drawing and being artsy to make something when you could use that valuable time waging Scrabble grudge matches. Luckily for the lazy modder, Photoshop comes with the capability to define your own reusable patterns. The following sequence took me less than 10 minutes and required no brushwork.

1) Get a picture of some bark. I went to http://www.altavista.com and did an image search on photos of "tree bark." Pick out an image you like. It will be the basis of your new pattern. Save the image to your hard drive. Open that picture in Photoshop. Tweak what you like, for instance Image->Adjustments->Brightness/Contrast, etc., etc., etc.

2) Choose the Rectangular Marquee Tool. Set the Feather setting to 0 px. Select the spiffiest area of your tree bark picture to make into a pattern. Marquee Tool: Selecting Your Pattern

3)With your future pattern selected, go to the menu, Edit->Define Pattern. Menu Pic: Define Pattern

4)Name your pattern, and click OK. You have made your own tree bark pattern to keep forever and ever until your next hard drive failure! Define Pattern: The Commitment

5) Now start a new image, whatever size you like, background color setting or transparency doesn't matter, for we're going to change that. Set your foreground color by clicking on Set Foreground Color box. (Hint: It's usually box-shaped and a color.) Pick the color that will serve as the background/main hue to your barky texture, and click OK.
Tool Pic: Set Foreground Color

6) Now that you've selected your foreground color, type "g." Yes, just the letter "g," apostrophes not necessary. This is a shortcut that will automatically make the Paint Bucket Tool active. Click once on your new image, and you will fill it with your selected color.

6) Now you get to use your new pattern for the very first time of forever and ever until your next hard drive failure! On the menu, click Layer->Layer Style->Pattern Overlay Menu Pic: Using Pattern Overlay

7)A new window should open entitled "Layer Style." Click the drop down arrow to see the currently available patterns. Your new bark pattern should be the last in the list. Double click its icon. Rejoice as your bark pattern appears in the current pattern box.

8 ) We're almost done. See the two slider bars in the Layer Style window marked "Scale" and "Opacity"? Fiddle with them. Yes, play around, adjusting them to see how these can change the impact of your pattern on the image. When you've settled on the Scale and Opacity you want for your Bark texture, click OK. Layer Style Pic: Don't Be Afraid To Fiddle

9) Save your image. My End Result

10) Repeat as needed until your next hard drive failure.
Newt had always suspected that people who regularly used the word "community" were using it in a very specific sense that excluded him and everyone he knew.

             --Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, "Good Omens"

 

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