Hello all you smart SLers, A little help ploise?

Hey guys,

I have read a lot of the threads here regarding the making of tattoos and the majority of you that make anything for SL like to use photoshop CS2 , I have it and haven't used any adobe products in years. I tried last night to follow a few tutorials and lost my "history" palette and for the life of me couldn't work out how to get it back.

Ok , so my real inquiry is this; Is there a way of making tattoos and clothing etc using PSP (apart from making shirts as I can do that using this program)?

I am pretty good with this program and feel more comfortable using it.

Anyone?

Thank you in advance.

you can use PSP for all clothing and such. tattoos just require an alpha channel thats more than a normal shirt.... specific to the tat

tutorials are in stickies on this forum i think.

thank you for your response.

So there is no way of using PSP?

Why can't LL incorporate the use of GIFS in SL would be so much easier. Obviously there is a reason that is too complicated for simpletons like myself.

seems we have a misunderstanding =(

You CAN use PSP. Many people do, actually. All clothing that isnt long sleeve or full length or anything and is made by just texture (Not appearance editing in SL) requires an alpha channel...

Basically use the template for the body part you want tattooed, then put the tatoo where you want it on the image.

Then, using the instructions for making alpha channels that is in the threads above, make an alpha channel that is for that image, and save as a targa (Or however you get it to targa in PSP, I dont use it so I dont know).

It IS possible, very much so.

Just for ease of everything, here is the PSP tutorial for Alphas taken directly from the 'difinitive guide' sticky up top.
I DID NOT WRITE THIS, AND HAVE NO DESIRE TO TAKE CREDIT FOR THIS INFORMATION


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I should preface this by saying that I’m a Photoshop user so my PSP tutorials are not as detailed as my Photoshop ones. This will still walk you through what you need to do, but not with quite as much hand-holding as the Photoshop info.



1. Unlike Photoshop, PSP does not allow you to edit channels directly. So, you need to use a tool called a mask as a proxy for what will in the end become the alpha channel. To create a new mask, go Layers -> New Mask Layer -> Show All. A new layer group will be created, at the top of which will be your new mask layer. Make sure all other layers are in the group and below the mask.


2. On the Layers Palette, select the mask layer and make sure the little Mask Overlay Toggle button at the top is turned off. The Mask Overlay Toggle is directly to the right of the Link Toggle. It looks like a tiny picture of a theater mask. When it's off it's gray; when it's on it's red. Just so you know, turning it on can be useful so you can exactly what is happening with the mask itself, but you'll have a more WYSIWYG feel with it turned off.


3. At this point, your mask will be all white (no transparency yet). On the mask layer, start painting the areas you want to be invisible black, and you'll see the checkerboard show through in those areas. Any areas you want semi-transparent, paint gray. The darker the gray, the more transparent; the lighter the gray, the more opaque. The areas you want completely opaque just leave white.


4. When you're finished, go to Layers -> Load/Save Mask -> Save Mask To Alpha Channel, and then delete the mask (DELETE it, do not merge it) by right clicking on it in the Layers Palette and selecting Delete. If you need to edit the alpha later, go Layers -> Load/Save Mask -> Load Mask From Alpha Channel.


5. Create a new layer, and drag the layer set above it, so that the new layer is beneath the set, but not inside it. Paint the new layer 50% gray or darker; black is fine. (The gray/black layer will prevent the white halo sometimes caused when Alphas are created the way we just did it. If you don't know what I mean by that, don't worry about. Just make sure to always put a gray/black layer underneath your work and you'll never have to see that white halo. Alternatively, more advanced users may wish to use one of the better halo-elimination methods discussed in the FAQ, although not all of them will be applicable to PSP.)


6. Save your file as a TGA and you should be all set. Unlike Photoshop, PSP offers no option to choose 32-bit at the time of save. If an alpha channel is present in the image, the file automatically will be saved as 32 bit. If there's no alpha channel, the file will save as 24 bit.

Just to be thorough (thanks Jolan Nolan for pointing this out), there is an options button on the save dialog, which does include a bit depth selector, but I recommend leaving it alone. The dialog it calls up is kind of confusing. It allows you to select bit depth of 8, 16, or 24, but not 32. For SL purposes, leave it at 24 at all times (SL can't use 8 or 16). For some reason, the makers of PSP seem to think the extra 8 bits in the alpha channel aren't worth counting out loud, which is really strange, but don't worry; the file will still save correctly with 24 selected. As long as you work in RGB mode at all times, your images will automatically save correctly unless you tell it otherwise. To avoid problems, I recommend never pressing that options button unless you're sure you know what you're doing.

Just found "Chosen Fews" tutorial for PSP, have no idea why it didnt come up in the search last night. Will give it a go later.

TY