So Many Choices, So Few Proficiencies

[St_Vitruvius]

I like it.. Nice work..

[EiriktheScald]

Here's the finalized description:

 

 

[berelinde]

I like the way the grey goes out of the lines in places. The existing description icons all do that. I like how it looks sketchier.

 

Any way you could make it more brown and tan and less grey, though?

[berelinde]

Here's my attempt (using the Gimp).

 

Here's what I've done for the helm:

 

 

I like this version much better. Sorry.

[EiriktheScald]

Here is my final effort on this one.

 

Update! See my last post for new pic. Miloch pointed out that the detailing in the cheek plates was obscured. And I went less gray; has a more graphite look to it. I think I'll stick with this one.

[berelinde]

Very nice!

[EiriktheScald]

Anti-aliased inventory icons!

 

[Miloch]

Good they are. Effective technique you have learned. BAM Jedi you are becoming. Farm all my BAM work from now on to you I will.

 

Just one observation - the inventory helm icon looks a bit large compared with the armour and whatnot. Also, it's like "what happened to the cheek plates"? I would consider restoring those, which would also have the side bonus of making it appear smaller and perhaps more proportionate. I know you only have 32x32 to work with, but if you use the right reduction it should work.

[EiriktheScald]

Good they are. Effective technique you have learned. BAM Jedi you are becoming. Farm all my BAM work from now on to you I will.

But how am I to know the good BAM from the bad?

 

I know you only have 32x32 to work with, but if you use the right reduction it should work.

I wasn't quite satisfied with the full helm I did at 32x32. How do you retain any detail after scaling the pic down?

[Miloch]

But how am I to know the good BAM from the bad?

Well your goal seems to be to replicate the Bioware 'sketchy' look, in the description BAMs anyhow. Your last effort above seems to do that pretty well. Though there is a lot of variance in the Bioware BAMs - some are good, some are rather crappy. So I wouldn't be banging me helm over it. As long as it looks good to you, that's all that really matters (it is for your NPC after all - no PCs are going to be able to wear this thing and a lot of folks don't really look at description BAMs anyway, except to read the stats ).

I wasn't quite satisfied with the full helm I did at 32x32. How do you retain any detail after scaling the pic down?

Frankly, you don't. There are a few tricks, but you probably know most of them by now.

 

I usually start with a larger copy and feather anti-alias that onto a black or dark brown (like you see in game) background, so you don't see a cheesy glow around the item (there is none on yours, so you seem to have gotten that down). Then resize it downward with bicubic resampling (usually the best). The clincher is you usually need to 'sharpen' an image that small to get some detail, sometimes twice. More often than not, I'll pixel edit it with either the paintbrush or darken/lighten feature to make sure the edges are ok. Then reduce it to 256 colours using a 'median cut' or 'octree' palette, error diffusion and 'reduce color bleeding'. You'll have to mask out the background with turquoise (RGB 0,151,151) at some point, just make sure it's all one shade. These values are from Paint Shop Pro - Photoshop or Gimp have different though roughly equivalent options I think. All of that just means you'll end up with an image that hopefully doesn't lose much depth (at that resolution you don't need over 256 colours anyway). Play around with it a bit - looks like you already have it well in hand though.

[EiriktheScald]

How's this? Polished the helmet too... doesn't it shine?

 

[Kulyok]

To me it looks seamless, but I'm just a lamer... er, a player.

[EiriktheScald]

Thanks kulyok! Err... was that a compliment?

[EiriktheScald]

But how am I to know the good BAM from the bad?

Well your goal seems to be to replicate the Bioware 'sketchy' look, in the description BAMs anyhow. Your last effort above seems to do that pretty well. Though there is a lot of variance in the Bioware BAMs - some are good, some are rather crappy. So I wouldn't be banging me helm over it. As long as it looks good to you, that's all that really matters (it is for your NPC after all - no PCs are going to be able to wear this thing and a lot of folks don't really look at description BAMs anyway, except to read the stats ).

 

Uh, I was spoofing Luke Skywalker questioning Yoda. Too subtle?

[Kulyok]

Uh, I was spoofing Luke Skywalker questioning Yoda. Too subtle?

 

Subtle you were, young Jedi. To the Force you must listen, and butt-kicking for goodness must you... ahem. Yeah, it all looks like good stuff to me.