Thread Tools Display Modes
03-02-13, 02:18 PM   #61
Seerah
Fishing Trainer
 
Seerah's Avatar
WoWInterface Super Mod
Featured
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 10,860
I was going to post this yesterday, but you guys seemed to be doing fine on your own...

http://forums.wowace.com/showthread.php?t=15439

If that's TL;DR for you...
  1. Image dimensions must be a power of 2 (up to a size of 1024)
  2. The image must be a .blp or a .tga (there are several utilities to convert images to/from .blp here on this site - I use BLP2PNG myself)
  3. If you want alpha in your image (and you're using .tga rather than converting to a .blp from .png) then you need to save it as 32-bit (that's 8 each for r, g, b and alpha)

/edit: and animations are possible, but they need to be coded in either as an animation group or with changing graphics in an OnUpdate (think flip-book)
__________________
"You'd be surprised how many people violate this simple principle every day of their lives and try to fit square pegs into round holes, ignoring the clear reality that Things Are As They Are." -Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

 
03-02-13, 04:06 PM   #62
Kreelor
A Firelord
 
Kreelor's Avatar
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 495
Seerah, are you referring to forum display of graphics, or what Blizzard and the Carbonite addon requires? They are two different things.

Also, I don't understand your acronyms: "TL;DR"???
 
03-02-13, 04:17 PM   #63
Rythal
Featured Artist
Featured
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 1,458
She is refering to the ingame graphics Kreelor, and TLDR means here's a summary because the original post was to long to read. (To Long Didn't Read)
 
03-02-13, 04:23 PM   #64
jeffy162
A Pyroguard Emberseer
 
jeffy162's Avatar
AddOn Author - Click to view addons
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 2,364
Originally Posted by Kreelor View Post
Earlier, you stated that an Alpha channel was not required, but it appears that your graphic does use one. If there was no Alpha channel (used to set the 'background to transparent') then you'd have a rectangular "block" showing whatever the "Page" paper color was at the time you created the graphic with your graphics software program. Your 2 examples seem to show that.

A good example of what I'm saying is viewing your attachments on this forum page. This forum's topics page uses a "background" color which is not quite black (0,0,0) and one of your images display that fact.

Am I right, or am I still misunderstanding you? Sorry.

If users cannot output/convert images to ".BLP" hopefully, you or someone else can do that.
Well, the graphic as saved for the game does, indeed, have an Alpha Channel saved with it to make part of it transparent for two of the three graphics. Unfortunately, you can't post .tga's or .blp's or .psd's (Photoshops native file format) to the forums and have them show up. So, if you want to see them as saved for the game, here you go: Carbonite2Logo.zip
This zip file contains the .tga's, but also contains the original .psd Photoshop files, including the original with all of the various backgrounds I used.

You can get a utility here on WoWI to change the format of your graphics to .blp by doing an addon search for blp. Just put blp in the addon search box and you'll get a listing of the programs that you can use to convert .tga's and .png's to .blp's.

Just keep in mind that, currently, Carbonites graphic is in .tga format, so I'm guessing that in Carbonites code it calls for that particular file extension so the graphic must be in that format. I'm also guessing that there might be a way to have an addon call for the graphic without using a particular file extension and instead using just the location of it, but I'm not really sure about that.

As for my posted images not showing any transparency, I already mentioned the reason for that in the other post. Also, there is a partial black background on two of the images, but the original one I posted has the complete black background with no transparency. On my computer the images as posted show the transparency, but are smaller than original. When I click it to get a larger view, the transparent portions of it are shown in white. Why? I have absolutely no clue. All I can tell you is that they are PNG's which is supposed to preserve the images transparency. It does when I open the images in a graphics program and, on my computer at least, on the pics as originally posted on the web page. Why it doesn't when enlarged on the web, that's something someone else might be able to explain.
__________________
Ahhhh, the vagueries of the aging mind. Wait.... What was I saying?


Carbonite <----- GitHub main module (Maps ONLY) download link. The other modules are also available on GitHub.
Carbonite-CLASSIC<----- GitHub link to Carbonite Classic. Thanks to ircdirk for this!

Last edited by jeffy162 : 03-02-13 at 04:28 PM.
 
03-02-13, 04:27 PM   #65
Kreelor
A Firelord
 
Kreelor's Avatar
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 495
Originally Posted by Rythal View Post
It's primary places of use will be the ingame splash and website. It also might end up on a t-shirt if I manage to get a blizzcon ticket :P
Thanks Rythal. You explained quite well! However, graphic design for silkscreening onto T-shirts requires a different set a design principles. It's a completely different consideration, compared to what is suitable for websites. Silkscreening is a different ball of wax, unless the original artwork happens to be suitable for silkscreening. Cloth is pourous. "Bleeding" issues occur unless the artwork allows sufficient "bleed" width, screen dpi (dots per inch) is a factor, CMYK color separations, printer's registration marks, etc.

My examples won't win, for sure. I'm merely particpating and learning more about your new addon and the game itself. I ask questions because answers to many of those questions may help everyone to learn and to produce something you can use. God only knows how much I appreciate all you've done and the fact that you haven't given up!

Thanks, Rythal, for replying!
 
03-02-13, 05:11 PM   #66
jeffy162
A Pyroguard Emberseer
 
jeffy162's Avatar
AddOn Author - Click to view addons
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 2,364
Originally Posted by Kreelor View Post
Thanks Rythal. You explained quite well! However, graphic design for silkscreening onto T-shirts requires a different set a design principles. It's a completely different consideration, compared to what is suitable for websites. Silkscreening is a different ball of wax, unless the original artwork happens to be suitable for silkscreening. Cloth is pourous. "Bleeding" issues occur unless the artwork allows sufficient "bleed" width, screen dpi (dots per inch) is a factor, CMYK color separations, printer's registration marks, etc.
Yeah. I worked for someone that did commercial silk screening for a while, and this much I can tell you: If your design you want to have put on a t-shirt is anything more than basic black and white and you are planning to only have a couple of them printed, you better be sitting down when they tell you what the cost will be (and how long it'll take before you get them). Also, artwork that is screen printer ready is really a p.i.t.a to make. Unless, of course, you have the proper graphics program already (and by that I mean one that will do the graphic at the right format to work with their machines and save the right way) and have done that type of work before. And keep in mind that having the artwork won't necessarily save you a bunch of money. They still have to go over it to make sure everything is right, and that'll still cost you.

If you only want one shirt (or maybe a couple), you'd probably be better off looking up the local airbrush artist and having them whip one up for you. Still not cheap, but cheaper than the screen printer by far, I bet.
__________________
Ahhhh, the vagueries of the aging mind. Wait.... What was I saying?


Carbonite <----- GitHub main module (Maps ONLY) download link. The other modules are also available on GitHub.
Carbonite-CLASSIC<----- GitHub link to Carbonite Classic. Thanks to ircdirk for this!

Last edited by jeffy162 : 03-02-13 at 05:16 PM.
 
03-02-13, 05:32 PM   #67
Kreelor
A Firelord
 
Kreelor's Avatar
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 495
Originally Posted by jeffy162 View Post
As for my posted images not showing any transparency, I already mentioned the reason for that in the other post.
From what I see in the images you posted on this forum, your images DO have "transparent backgrounds."

You have to ask yourself... "what color background am I displaying my image upon?" I hope I'm understanding why you think your images do not have transparent backgrounds. This forum (where you are displaying them) has a blackish background. But, when you click on the icon version of your graphic in this forum to enlarge it, then it's displaying against a white background which is kinda' like outside the forum (which is the 'paper/page color-white' of that display area. Those display areas are NOT graphical images. There always has to be a background of some type or color. Your transparent images will "fade" smoothly (if it truly has a transparent background of its own!) into whatever background you place or view them on. I hope I'm getting this right? Your example images make me think so.

Have you tried placing one of your images over an existing ".jpg" image? Does it 'fade' into that image or does it have a filled-rectangle of some color behind your oval-shaped graphic?

For instance, if you paste one of your images over a colored background and your image displays with a filled rectangle behind your image (which you wouldn't want), then that indicates that you do not have a transparent backgound of your image. Many people struggle with this issue, and I'm one of them. I can't afford $600.00(US) to upgrade the software I use.
 
03-02-13, 05:51 PM   #68
Kreelor
A Firelord
 
Kreelor's Avatar
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 495
Originally Posted by jeffy162 View Post
....Also, artwork that is screen printer ready is really a p.i.t.a to make. Unless, of course, you have the proper graphics program already (and by that I mean one that will do the graphic at the right format to work with their machines and save the right way) and have done that type of work before.
I'm an avid fan of Corel software (CorelDRAW (vector graphics) and Corel Paint (bitmap graphics), and have been for years. It is superb at creating printer-ready files. It'll out-perform Illustrator and Photoshop in so many ways. I don't want to start a discourse on this subject, though.

Originally Posted by jeffy162 View Post
....If you only want one shirt (or maybe a couple), you'd probably be better off looking up the local airbrush artist and having them whip one up for you. Still not cheap, but cheaper than the screen printer by far, I bet.
Doing it right the 1st time, is always cheaper!

I'm now retired, but I was a master airbrush artist and a Senior Technical Illustrator and have worked for many fortune-500 companies. At many of those companies, I used AutoCad and trained other employees to use it. My specialty was 3D Solids Design and Isometric Illustrations. I started at The Boeing Company in Cape Canaveral, Florida in 1966. I was even once the "Art Chief" at the National Enquirer Newspaper in Lantana, FL. Had to airbrush photos to make them look 'snappy!' -- LOL. But now, I'm so old that I've forgotten just about everything I used to know!

Last edited by Kreelor : 03-03-13 at 05:56 PM. Reason: fixed typo; changed '5' to '500'
 
03-02-13, 06:28 PM   #69
jeffy162
A Pyroguard Emberseer
 
jeffy162's Avatar
AddOn Author - Click to view addons
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 2,364
Originally Posted by Kreelor View Post
From what I see in the images you posted on this forum, your images DO have "transparent backgrounds."

You have to ask yourself... "what color background am I displaying my image upon?" I hope I'm understanding why you think your images do not have transparent backgrounds. This forum (where you are displaying them) has a blackish background. But, when you click on the icon version of your graphic in this forum to enlarge it, then it's displaying against a white background which is kinda' like outside the forum (which is the 'paper/page color-white' of that display area. Those display areas are NOT graphical images. There always has to be a background of some type or color. Your transparent images will "fade" smoothly (if it truly has a transparent background of its own!) into whatever background you place or view them on. I hope I'm getting this right? Your example images make me think so.

Have you tried placing one of your images over an existing ".jpg" image? Does it 'fade' into that image or does it have a filled-rectangle of some color behind your oval-shaped graphic?

For instance, if you paste one of your images over a colored background and your image displays with a filled rectangle behind your image (which you wouldn't want), then that indicates that you do not have a transparent backgound of your image. Many people struggle with this issue, and I'm one of them. I can't afford $600.00(US) to upgrade the software I use.
Yeah, they are displaying properly here on the forum. I jacked up the zoom level in my browser to check them, and they are actually displaying properly with the proper transparency. I know my eyes are bad, but..... Oh well, everything changes with age.

Y'know, I never thought about the way you explained the way the background changes on the web page when I clicked on my images to get the larger version. That explains that! DOH!! And thank you. In my graphics program, they obviously display properly.

I used to have a copy of Corel 8, but have since uninstalled it. I got it several years ago as a gift, but just never could seem to spend enough time with it to understand how to do things (my attention span is marginally better then "10 second Ted"s, but not too much). At the time I was using Jasc's Paint Shop Pro and it was easy to understand (and relatively cheap and not too bad). I've since "graduated" to Photoshop, but, again, it was gifted to me (pure dumb luck on my part), but without the manual so I've had to rely on trial and error to learn it. Well, as much as I have learned it, anyway.

I don't have the money for this kind of stuff either, so I'm really glad I had a couple of acquaintances that gave me those programs. Of course, I can't afford to upgrade from what I've got, either, but, that's life I guess.
__________________
Ahhhh, the vagueries of the aging mind. Wait.... What was I saying?


Carbonite <----- GitHub main module (Maps ONLY) download link. The other modules are also available on GitHub.
Carbonite-CLASSIC<----- GitHub link to Carbonite Classic. Thanks to ircdirk for this!
 
03-02-13, 06:31 PM   #70
Rythal
Featured Artist
Featured
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 1,458
Originally Posted by jeffy162 View Post
Yeah. I worked for someone that did commercial silk screening for a while, and this much I can tell you: If your design you want to have put on a t-shirt is anything more than basic black and white and you are planning to only have a couple of them printed, you better be sitting down when they tell you what the cost will be (and how long it'll take before you get them). Also, artwork that is screen printer ready is really a p.i.t.a to make. Unless, of course, you have the proper graphics program already (and by that I mean one that will do the graphic at the right format to work with their machines and save the right way) and have done that type of work before. And keep in mind that having the artwork won't necessarily save you a bunch of money. They still have to go over it to make sure everything is right, and that'll still cost you.

If you only want one shirt (or maybe a couple), you'd probably be better off looking up the local airbrush artist and having them whip one up for you. Still not cheap, but cheaper than the screen printer by far, I bet.
it's actually not that expensive anymore... I'm looking at a place here in toronto that's $30 for 1, $100 for 4 ... they will take any image you want and put it on the t-shirt, (they recommend the image be saved / blown up to the size of the shirt before you send it) ... they'll make the shirts in 5 minutes time. I'm not expecting the world for something i'll only wear once... not even sure if I would get them made / wear them :P it's just something i've been tossing around in my head.
 
03-02-13, 10:17 PM   #71
jeffy162
A Pyroguard Emberseer
 
jeffy162's Avatar
AddOn Author - Click to view addons
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 2,364
Nice! Wish there was a shop around where I live like that, but we're all money-hungry Americans down here.

Anyway, here's my pathetic attempt to add a bit of color to my version of the logo.
Click image for larger version

Name:	Carbonite2Logo-v2 Merged.jpg
Views:	195
Size:	57.5 KB
ID:	7617
__________________
Ahhhh, the vagueries of the aging mind. Wait.... What was I saying?


Carbonite <----- GitHub main module (Maps ONLY) download link. The other modules are also available on GitHub.
Carbonite-CLASSIC<----- GitHub link to Carbonite Classic. Thanks to ircdirk for this!
 
03-03-13, 01:35 AM   #72
10leej
A Molten Giant
 
10leej's Avatar
AddOn Author - Click to view addons
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 583
Originally Posted by jeffy162 View Post
Nice! Wish there was a shop around where I live like that, but we're all money-hungry Americans down here.

Anyway, here's my pathetic attempt to add a bit of color to my version of the logo.
I can get a tshirt custom made like that for... $15 in here in ohio.

Also, love the logo's (though I admit I have never used nor will I probably use Carbonite)
__________________
Tweets YouTube Website
 
03-03-13, 05:46 PM   #73
Coasty
A Flamescale Wyrmkin
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 116
Originally Posted by jeffy162 View Post
Wow! I never even thought about all of that stuff. I just figured it was for the in-game splash screen.

Speaking of which, here's another dull one for you guys :
(Picture may be smaller than intended. Original size is 512 x 256. Click the picture for a larger version (if needed).)
Attachment 7609
I'm sticking with the "less is more" concept.
Out of all those submitted so far, I like this one the best. Easy to read and stands out quite nicely, and I'm a firm believer in "less is more" when it comes to logos.

Course, I gotta also admit it doesn't hurt that red is my favorite color.
__________________
Paul Stout
nUI User and Contributor
[email protected]
 
06-05-13, 11:12 AM   #74
Rythal
Featured Artist
Featured
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 1,458
Just doing a little bump on this as a reminder... we had some really great logo's come forward, and i'm glad the final decision won't be mine alone since there's no way I'd ever be able to narrow it down lol.
 
06-05-13, 04:32 PM   #75
Kreelor
A Firelord
 
Kreelor's Avatar
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 495
Originally Posted by Rythal View Post
Just doing a little bump on this as a reminder... we had some really great logo's come forward, and i'm glad the final decision won't be mine alone since there's no way I'd ever be able to narrow it down lol.
Just a simple last minute thought... Maybe it'll get somebody else inspired. heh heh.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	carbonite2-B-Bitmap.jpg
Views:	401
Size:	78.5 KB
ID:	7758  
 
 

WoWInterface » Featured Projects » Carbonite » Carbonite Archive » any graphic artists?

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off