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The secrets on how to make artwork of the Sam/Jack ship family thread

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    The secrets on how to make artwork of the Sam/Jack ship family thread


    Okay since a lot of us have been doing artwork, I thought it might have been a good idea to share it with the world ;-)
    So this thread is to share everything what has to do with artwork...

    examples of what you can share:

    * Tutorials on how to make things, like sigs, icons, wallpapers, manips,...
    * Hints on how to use a certain programs or something to translate something from one program to another
    * Textures, brushes, gradients,... (please credit if you didn't make it yourself)
    * Idea's for music vids, sigs, wallpapers, icons,...
    * Sites that might help with making stuff, or with textures, brushes, gradients,...
    * artwork you made and you want to share and that is snurchable. If you do take one of those artwork, please credit!
    * challenges for artwork on other sites can be shared here too

    So technically you can share everyhting you want, as long as it has to do with artwork and things like that.

    Also please no hotlinking unless you are allowed to hotlink. also follow the GW rules!! meaning some manips aren't allowed to be posted here!

    Also you can always ask for things too.

    examples of what you can ask:

    * you have seen a sig on the thread and you wondered how to make it yourself, ask it here and who knows the maker might fill you in on it. Or other members might know how to do it.
    * you looking for some kind of textures or brushes or anyting to achieve something
    * you don't have the ability or not the program to make anything, you can ask people here to make it for you, as long as you explain what you want and maybe even provide with pics.

    I'll try to keep a list too of all the things that has been explained so you can also use this as an archive.
    Last edited by Bagpuss; 17 February 2011, 02:53 AM. Reason: Tags changed.

    #3
    How to make music vids:


    Step 1:

    First of all you need to download 2 programs…they are free downloading…
    First you need dvd-shrink that you can download here: http://www.mrbass.org/dvdshrink/
    You will also need another program called DVDx that you can download here: http://www.free-codecs.com/DVDx_download.htm
    When you have both programs, we can start begin with our music vid…

    Step 2:

    Put your dvd in from which you want a clip to use for the music vid…open dvdshrink.
    Click on: “open disk” and he’ll ask you what disk you want to open choose your dvd and click on “ok”. Then click on “ re-author”. There on your right you see all the menus… each menu represent an ep and then you also see the extra’s…choose your ep from which you want to make a clip…double click on it…Now it should be in the window (or below) “dvd structure”
    Then you see above it in the blue 2 arrows (see screencap: http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/3777/jesse1zm7.png ) click on it…
    Then you get another window where you just have to adjust what you want of the ep by clickin on the arrows for where to start and where to end (see screencap: http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/7665/jesse2rf6.png )
    If you have done that just click on ok. Then click on “backup!”…you will get a new window that asks you where you want to save it… I make a new folder for it that is called dvd shrink…of course you can do however you want it…just make sure you know where you saved it so you can find it when you need it (see screencap: http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/4036/jesse3oh2.png )
    You will see that they are encoding the clip that you asked for. Then you click on ok when it is finished and you can close the program now…
    Now you already have your clip on your computer, of course it is an ifo file and you can’t do anything with that on moviemaker so…now we need to convert the ifo file into another file that plays on your moviemaker…that is where DVDx comes in

    Step 3:
    Open DVDx…go to file and then click on “open IFO”. Then you get another window and there you fill go to the folder where you saved your clip from dvdshrink. Use the one that says “VTS” in the beginning (see screencap: http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/636/jesse4vp2.png ) then it will ask you a few things…like input and so on and some warnings just click ok…
    Then you see the beginning of your clip…then beneath you see a folder with an arrow…click on it…click on browser and give your file a name and a destination to save it. If you have done that click on “ok” and then press the red button on the right. It will start encoding and it will become a square…let it encode it all…when it is done you see that the clip is disappeared. Now you can close your program.
    You can also now delete your files from dvdshrink cause you will not need them anymore.
    Now you have your clip that you can use…Now you can really start with your music vid…
    If you need more clips you will have to do that a few times for every clip…and yes that is actually the biggest thing to do…

    Step 4:
    import the clips in moviemaker and see what you can do with it in...Experiment with it

    Comment


      #4
      For Chocolatequeen, since she asked over on the ship family thread...



      In Gimp:
      • For the background picture, I cropped (crop tool in the gimp toolbar, kind of looks like a knife) and resized (image > scale image in the toolbar on the picture) to get the part of the picture I wanted. I find it's easier to do the crop selection first, and get that the right size with the pixels displayed on the bottom of the gimp toolbar, then it's trial and error with the resizing to get the right bit of the picture in the cropped area before doing the actual crop.
      • For the foreground picture, I opened this up separately and used the intelligent select tool (looks like a pair of scissors, top right in the gimp toolbar) to draw round the bit I wanted - you do this by clicking on various points round the edge and it guesses where you want the line to go, then you can pull it round the edges, kind of hard to explain without doing it! Once you've ringed the whole area round, hit 'return' and then you can copy your selected area. Again I resized this (image > scale image) to get the right size, trial and error again.
      • Copy and paste the selected part for the foreground on top of the background picture.
      • Use the move tool (a cross with arrows in the gimp toolbar) to position the foreground picture in the right place.
      • Then I selected the whole image (both foreground and background) and turned them blue-ish using the 'colourise' function (under 'colours' in the image toolbar) - just fiddle with the different bars until you get the effect you want.
      • Finally I added the text (use the text tool from the gimp toolbar, where you can pick fonts & sizes) and then positioned the text in the right place. Tip: get your text looking right in terms of font & size before you switch to the move tool to position it right - I can't work out how to re-select it to edit it again afterwards, though someone with more gimp know-how than me can probably tell us!
      • Et voila!


      I feel a bit of a fraud doing this as I'm very new to gimp and there's lots I haven't worked out yet. Hoping this thread will tell me! In particular, if anyone can tell me how to fuzz/blur the edges of different images that would be great! Haven't figured that out yet...
      sigpic
      Artwork for All | Sig & avi by JadedWraith

      Comment


        #5
        ((((((Huggles Eve)))))))

        This thread is a brilliant idea! And you've started it off with something I've always wanted to do, but not had a clue how to start

        *waves at Josiane and Jumble*

        Edit: And Jann and Eve
        Last edited by Oma-1; 20 April 2008, 01:40 PM.
        sigpic

        Comment


          #6
          Yahoo a thread for this...okay ...then let me start with asking a question!

          Does someone has a good site to find Textures in...I love those but can't find new sites easily!!! and I want them*pouts*
          sigpic

          Comment


            #7
            Originally posted by starlover1990 View Post
            Yahoo a thread for this...okay ...then let me start with asking a question!

            Does someone has a good site to find Textures in...I love those but can't find new sites easily!!! and I want them*pouts*


            I actually have the same issues, I never find textures I like at all I use deviantart to look for textures, but there are so many.

            what kind of textures do you look for I might know some



            I am actually looking for great brushes with text on, I lack them!

            Comment


              #8
              LOL, you may be new to this gimping stuff, but there's 2 things you've done that I didn't know

              One was the intelligent cutout - that is gonna make my life so much easier!

              The other is how do you select the font and text size using the text box? I've never been able to figure that one out.


              One thing I can help with that may make life a little easier with backgrounds. When making a sig or wp, I open a new file of the size I want (File then New) then I use the Open As Layers button in File to open the background picture. You can adjust the size to what you want, but it gives more flexibility if you decide you want to move things around a little bit because you haven't cut away the rest of the pic.
              sigpic

              Comment


                #9
                Originally posted by Oma-1 View Post
                ((((((Huggles Eve)))))))

                This thread is a brilliant idea! And you've started it off with something I've always wanted to do, but not had a clue how to start

                *waves at Josiane and Jumble*
                Yes, brilliant idea! Looking forward to finding out all the stuff I still don't know

                *waves at Oma and Josiane*

                Edit: Here is a list showing which program each of us uses, so we know who to ask for help

                Adobe Photoshop

                Jasmina (CS3)
                Krissie (Elements 6)
                Jann (CS4)
                APA (Elements 5.0)
                SamJackShipLover (CS2)
                Egle01 (PS7)
                hbt123 (CS3)
                Jumble (CS3)
                RepliCartertje (CS3)(Mac version)
                Padme18 (PS7)
                Rachel-Kree (CS4)
                Estrela (CS3)
                Leiasky (CS2)
                Solo (CS4)
                Blacky Kitten (CS3 and CS4)
                Sarai (CS3)

                PaintShop

                Aveo (Pro X)
                LiliJ (Pro)
                Linda (Pro XI)

                Gimp

                Jumble (2.4.6)
                Josiane (2.4.5)
                Oma (2.4)
                john and teyla for life
                Melora
                ChocolateQueen
                Sarai
                Luvnjack
                SeNedra (2.4)
                Madaline
                Wendy
                RepliCartertje (Mac version)
                TrueRomantic (2.4.6)
                Lara
                RegularAmanda

                Edit 2: Penguin Brushes for PhotoShop http://theiglooproductions.deviantar...h-Kit-55697008

                Penguin Brushes for Gimp http://alcatraz6.deviantart.com/art/...-GIMP-55749653

                Edit 3: Tut for total Gimp newbies

                Spoiler:
                Ok, so this not going to be nearly as professional a tut as others do, because I tend to just play around with stuff till it looks ok, and then forget what I did (You can blame Oma for that, she told me to experiment ((((((((Oma)))))))) )

                Perfect Couple sig

                First I opened a new frame (file>new) 700 x 200 px.

                Then I opened a new layer (layer>add new layer) and set it as background colour. (the options are at the bottom of the box that opens for New Layer. Just click the one you want)

                Next I colourified it (colours>colourify) set the colour as f4ca59 and clicked ok.
                (you can choose any colour you want from here by clicking on the various colours and choosing which shade you like but in this instance I knew the colour I wanted and just typed in the code )

                Open a new layer (layers>new layer) and set it to transparent.

                To bring the pic you want into Gimp, click file>open and look for the pic you want. Double click on it and it will open in another window.

                All the tools are shown at the top of the Gimp main window. Putting your cursor each one will tell you what it is called.

                I cut out each pic with the ellipse select tool, feathered with a radius of 50. ( When you click on a tool, you should see the options for that tool in the bottom half of the main Gimp window. Play with the sliders or just change the numbers)

                I opened a new layer for each pic before cutting and pasting it into my ‘new’ frame (after you use the selection tool you will see a line of ‘marching ants’ showing what you have selected. With the Rectangle tool and the Ellipse tool you can adjust the line. When you are happy with it, go Edit>cut, then move to your New frame and go Edit>paste.) Use the Move tool (looks like a plus sign) to put the picture where you want it.

                Then I lightened each one (colours>brightness-contrast, and move the slider*) to fade each one before I anchored it. (either layers>anchor layer, or move the cursor until you see a little anchor sign appear beside it, then click)

                I opened a new layer for each piece of text (font Van Dijk, size about 23, colour a4883e). (Click on the A tool to create text) To choose a font, go Dialogs>fonts and scroll through until you find one you like. If you can’t find the Van Dijk one it will be because its not a Windows standard font so has to be downloaded. And I can’t remember if it is standard or not Just choose any one you like for now. To choose the colour of the text, click on the Color box in the tool box. Choose colour and click OK. To choose the size, change the number in the size box. Now click on your pic and type your text. A small Text box will open so that you can see what you’ve typed. You can set it to show the text in the font that you have chosen, but I find its easier to see if you don’t do that

                You can use the Move tool to put the text where you want it. You can also change the colour, font and size any time you want as long as you have the A selected and the text layer is still selected. Check in the Dialogs>layers box. You will see all the layers that you have used, and can change pretty much anything by clicking on the relevant layer

                Then I put on the MOP penguin. You can download the MOP penguin brushes from Page 1 (its in my first post) save them somewhere on your pc so you know where to find them. To put the brushes into Gimp, open the Brushes file (C>Gimp2.0>share>gimp>2.0>brushes) and drag the file into it. You may have to unzip the file first (d’oh! My memory is soooo bad) and then drag the resulting brushes into the Brushes folder.

                Then go Dialogs>brushes to open the Brushes box. You will need to click on ‘refresh’ in order to load the new brushes in. Then you will see the MOP penguin amongst all the others. Just beware of downloading masses of brushes and putting too many into Gimp at the same time because then Gimp will take f-o-r-e-v-e-r to open! (Typical Newbie mistake that we all made )

                So to use the brush, open yet another new layer and select the brush tool (paintbrush). You can alter the size in the same way in the toolbox. To set the colour for the brush, click on ‘foreground colour’ (There’s two little squares overlapping each other just below where all the Tools are. Click on the top one and choose colour as before) Then click on your pic where you want the brush to go. I guarantee you will not get it right first time (if you do you’ll be the only one in history!) To remove it go Edit>undo brush, adjust the size if you need to, and try again. Fun fun fun! I always open a new layer for every different thing (pic, text, filters, effects) so that everything can be altered later if I want to. For the MOP part, use the A to put it in as text like before. I use the Haettenschweiler font for the MOP, but you can use any darn thing you please.

                For the lighting effects, (open a new layer) I used filters>light and shadow>supernova. This opens a window with a grid and various sliders. You use the grid to position the effect (a lot of hit and miss here, takes a bit of practise, but you can always edit>undo supernova ) and try again ) You can change the radius of the centre of the effect and increase or decrease the number of spokes. This again is a matter of trial and error (spend most of my time doing that, it seems). The random hue slider adds colours to the spokes, I used between 0 and 5 on the various effects here so as not to spoil the overall colour of the sig. I used loads of random hue on my ‘The sun rises in his eyes’ and ‘And sets in his smile’ sigs. It’s really a matter of how much colour you want. So I placed several different sized supernovas around the pics, trying to use them to light each pic.

                Lastly, I opened yet another new layer to make the border (filters>décor>add border) and set the colour, then set the X and Y to 3. Clicked ok, and that was it!

                *You can also get a slightly different effect by changing the Opacity of the pic. Go Dialogs>layers and the Layers Box will open. There is a slider called Opacity which you can move until you get something you like.
                This was the result

                So this is just to give you a bit of practise finding your way around and experimenting with stuff. Hope it helps

                You will also find that others do things slightly differently. Eg Oma uses File>open as layers to open a new layer. There is also a little white box (looks like a sheet of paper) at the bottom of the Layers box which also opens a new layer. Lots of variations on how to do things, it’s a case of choosing what you find easiest to remember (well it is for me )

                Try not to get frustrated, it does take a lot of practise. But its soooo worth it

                Always ask questions on the thread, that’s how I learned everything I know about Gimp and PS.


                Edit 4: Jann's tut for prepping pics (works for PS and Gimp)
                Spoiler:
                First you open the picture(d'oh)...be sure it's one that shows the face of the person good...and that the picture is of HIGH quality...it won't work with low quality...also not with very unsharp pictures...they get even more ewwier(IMHO)

                okay, then you copy (duplicate layer) the picture 2 times...so you have 3 layers...
                You put the 2nd layer on Screen mode. (in the Layers menu)
                You put the 3th layer on Soft light mode. (also in the Layers menu)
                Both 100% opacity.

                Then you desaturate the Soft light layer (in PS; shift+ctrl+u)

                Now you have done this you flatten the image so it's one layer again! Image>flatten.

                Now you go with the blur tool on (strength 50%) and my brush size is 27...roundish brush on Sams(or the face you chose) you do everything of her skin...but not lips, eyes, hair!!!!

                Then you get the remote sharpen tool (same as blur, but change to sharpen) and use that for her eyes and lips...and if you want a little bit of her hair...but not really necessary.

                Okay now you copy(in my case)
                The picture 3 times.
                The second layer from below you put on screen. 68% opacity (but like I said this depends on the picture you use)
                The 3th layer you put on soft light. 72% opacity...and I desaturated it.
                Then the 4th layer also goes on soft light 50% opacity...

                And tada...you have changed the looks of your picture...

                I usually do this for prepping a picture for your signature...well not all pictures as much as this one...but the first 3 steps with, screen and soft light I always do....sometimes with a guassian blur...it makes the picture better and IMHO more beautiful.

                This part added to clarify (I think it was Oma )

                To choose Screen or Soft Light modes - in the layers menu, is a click down menu box labelled "Mode". Its default setting is Normal. If you click on the arrow, it gives you lots and lots of options, including overlay, screen, soft light...all the stuff Jann's been talking about.

                Once you get the basic idea, you can play around with the opacity levels for different pics, but try it as in the tut for practise


                Edit: Tut for drawing straight lines in Gimp
                Last edited by Jumble; 16 May 2009, 04:53 PM.

                Comment


                  #10
                  Originally posted by Oma-1 View Post
                  LOL, you may be new to this gimping stuff, but there's 2 things you've done that I didn't know

                  One was the intelligent cutout - that is gonna make my life so much easier!

                  The other is how do you select the font and text size using the text box? I've never been able to figure that one out.


                  One thing I can help with that may make life a little easier with backgrounds. When making a sig or wp, I open a new file of the size I want (File then New) then I use the Open As Layers button in File to open the background picture. You can adjust the size to what you want, but it gives more flexibility if you decide you want to move things around a little bit because you haven't cut away the rest of the pic.
                  Yay, thanks for the tip! And glad I had something to contribute The text size thing is in the gimp toolbar, not the little box it gives you to type in - that threw me at first. And it's nice cos when you change things there you can see how it looks straight away.

                  *feels pleased with herself*

                  *waves at Oma and Jumble* Well fancy meeting you guys here!
                  sigpic
                  Artwork for All | Sig & avi by JadedWraith

                  Comment


                    #11
                    Originally posted by Oma-1 View Post
                    LOL, you may be new to this gimping stuff, but there's 2 things you've done that I didn't know

                    One was the intelligent cutout - that is gonna make my life so much easier!

                    The other is how do you select the font and text size using the text box? I've never been able to figure that one out.


                    One thing I can help with that may make life a little easier with backgrounds. When making a sig or wp, I open a new file of the size I want (File then New) then I use the Open As Layers button in File to open the background picture. You can adjust the size to what you want, but it gives more flexibility if you decide you want to move things around a little bit because you haven't cut away the rest of the pic.
                    Yup, the Newbie is showing us up already I've been afraid to use the intelligent cutout, just in case its more intelligent than me

                    Dialogues>fonts gives you to font options
                    Dialogues>tool options brings up the font and size choices.

                    Edit: I can see me copying a lot of stuff from here, I've learnt two new things already, and the thread's only been up for a couple of hours, Lol!

                    Edit 2: Edit 5: Blending Oma
                    Mini feathering tut...

                    Spoiler:
                    Before you select the area you want to keep, you need to set the tool options first. Make sure you tick the feather edges box. Then you'll see a slider where you can set how much you want the pic to blend into the background. Low number means slight blend with fairly hard edges, high number means really soft edges and lots of blending.

                    After you've selected the area you want to keep, click Select>Invert then Edit>Cut (or Ctrl+I then Ctrl+X) to cut away the excess.

                    All of the select tools have the same options, so you can cut whatever shape you want.


                    Here's some examples of what the blend edge looks like using the rectangle tool.





                    I hope that helps Mada! Give me a shout if you still can't get it to work. *hugs*


                    [QUOTE]Originally Posted by madaline_7 Is there any way to blend it and keep your background (texture)? Because when I cut it, I lose everything.... Obviously....
                    Yep, when you put your pic in, you make sure it's a separate layer than your background.

                    You can either insert your pic with "File> Open As Layer" or if you're copying and pasting it in, after you paste click on the New Layer tab at the bottom left of the layers box and it will place the pic in a new layer. That way, you select the layer with the pic and you can work as much as you like on it without it affecting the background or textures.



                    Open As Layers
                    Paste As New Layer
                    Working on Separate Layers


                    I always put every element of a pic on to a separate layer, and save it as .xcf format so that I can change whatever I like if I decide I don't like it. Then when I'm happy, I make a jpg of the pic, still keeping the original .xcf format.

                    Edit: Mada, I realise you probably know what I put in the pics, but just in case anyone else who's a complete novice comes hunting for instructions, I don't have to do it again (cos Jumble will more than likely save it
                    Last edited by Jumble; 01 September 2008, 09:56 AM.

                    Comment


                      #12
                      Originally posted by RepliCartertje View Post


                      I actually have the same issues, I never find textures I like at all I use deviantart to look for textures, but there are so many.

                      what kind of textures do you look for I might know some



                      I am actually looking for great brushes with text on, I lack them!
                      hmm I don;t look at deviantart anymore...I have some site for textures:
                      http://blacklagoon.ohstatic.net/textures.php
                      http://moments.misplaced.co.uk/media/backgrounds1.php
                      http://www.escaping-madness.net/shat...a_textures.php
                      http://community.livejournal.com/texturize/?skip=20

                      And I don't look for exact textures...just for pretty ones...

                      And some of those sites have good brushes as well
                      but with text...I have some...but no idea where I get those from...
                      I have so many brushes atm...that I don't look for more anymore!!!
                      sigpic

                      Comment


                        #13
                        Great idea, Eve!

                        I come bearing a gift. I use this site for fonts. http://www.dafont.com Tons of great fonts that you can download for free. Most of them work with Gimp, too.
                        Last edited by Luvnjoe; 20 April 2008, 02:14 PM.
                        sigpic

                        Comment


                          #14
                          Originally posted by jumble65 View Post
                          Yup, the Newbie is showing us up already I've been afraid to use the intelligent cutout, just in case its more intelligent than me

                          Dialogues>fonts gives you to font options
                          Dialogues>tool options brings up the font and size choices.

                          Edit: I can see me copying a lot of stuff from here, I've learnt two new things already, and the thread's only been up for a couple of hours, Lol!
                          Lol, it does sound a bit intimidating... Like the Carter of the gimp toolbox
                          But this thread is like a pledge of all shippers - the technology shall not defeat us. Together we will master it! Also just like Sam
                          sigpic
                          Artwork for All | Sig & avi by JadedWraith

                          Comment


                            #15
                            yes, we've got this thead up an running!

                            Ok - brushes for GIMP:

                            First of all, http://www.deviantart.com is a great site for brushes, if you ask me! i know someone already posted this site, but I thought I'd share some of my fave brushes that i've used alot and love.
                            NOTE! I did not create any of these, the credit goes out to the artists, all of whom are credited on thier respectful brush pages.

                            -These are great ones, the floral types: http://hawksmont.deviantart.com/art/...ral-I-56478361 http://hawksmont.deviantart.com/art/...al-II-57244566

                            -And this one too. i love sparkles http://project-gimpbc.deviantart.com...ushes-63531487
                            --Kate

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