Need help making a band shirt.

Alright, I want this on my shirt: http://www.thrashandburn.net/infest/infest_livekxlu12_cover.jpg

I need the shirt to be black, and then with the pic on the front. How can I do this? Evey time I try to just gets all over me.

Help me please.

Here's the simplest explanation:

1. Go to the downloads section of this site and get the clothing templates.
   
2. Open the upper body template in Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, or GIMP.
   
3. Paste your image over the font torso area of the template.
   
4. Give the whole thing a black baground.
   
5. Save as 24-bit TGA, and upload to SL.
   
6. In SL, apply your newly uploaded texture to a shirt, and then use the sliders to achieve yur desired sleeve length, collar height, etc.

The reason the image wound up "all over you" was because you didn't use a template. Every spot on the canvas corresponds to a spot on the avatar. The template shows you what spot goes where. If you want that image on the front of your shirt, you have to put it in the part of the whole picture that corresponds with the front of the torso. Read the fashion guide that comes with the templates for more info.

Thanks! Why am i calling it 24-bit TGA though? And will I have to do that every time i do this?

TGA (targa) is the prefered format of SL

24 bit = R G B at 8 bits each (8+8+8 =24bits)
if it were 32 bit it would be the same + 8 bits to repersent transparency which is unneeded on a basic t-shirt

Alright, I got more questions now. I want to make my jacket... less tight. Then I want to put some stuff on that. How do I do this?

You're not calling it "24-bit TGA" as a name; you're saving it in TGA format at a bit depth of 24. TGA is the 3-letter file extension for the Targa file format. 24-bit means it will be an RGB color image. For more information on what all that means, read the sections entitled "Color Space & Channels" and "Why TGA" in the transparency guide, stickied at the top of this forum. It's also covered briefly in taht fashion guide I mentioned earlier.


You can set the looseness or tightness of the jacket using the sliders in SL. Go into appearance mode, and click on the jacket tab. Play with the sliders to see what they do (the names are pretty self explanatory), and when you're done, click Save.

As for "putting stuff on it", can you be more specific? What are you trying to do? If you want to put imagery on the jacket, you'd do it the same way you did the shirt. If you want to attach objects to yourself, right click on the object, select Attach, and then choose an attachment point from the list. I'd recommend Spine or Chest.

I would give you a slightly different series of steps.



In this case, you're saving as a 32 bit, because my template has an Alpha Channel already in place. That will save you having to use the sliders (unless you want to,) and will give you crisper edges on the neck and sleeves. Not to mention the extra detail built into the template.

The rule is; if you have an alpha channel, which will make some parts of the image transparent, you need 32 bit. If you don't, you need 24 bit. (Not "probably should use," but "need."

Hope this helps!

1. Dude, what in the WORLD is this you just gave me? I opened it, see all these confusing files, and now my head hurts.

2. Layers? Sliders? Whaaaaaaaat?

3. Infest doesn't care. http://www.thrashandburn.net/infest/graphics.htm
All those were made by fans and infest couldn't care less. Its called DIY.

4. Sorry If i sounded a bit mean.

Step 1: Do you have Photoshop or another photo editing/graphics program that supports layers?

If not might I suggest The Gimp, as it is free.

I'm in the proccess of getting it.

Well, that's the first step alright. I'd suggest getting familiar with the basics of your chosen program before tackling a shirt outright. =)

ie: Learn what layers, sliders, and other such lingo mean. Robin, Chosen, and other community members have written many tutorials and tips that you can check out here:
/109/b5/83674/1.html

Thanks! I'm gonna go the simple way. Robin just went overboard.

And I got photoshop now.

I'm on photoshop right now and I got no clue how to do this. And yes, I uploaded the template.

Actually Robin gave you a pre-made t-shirt example to use in one post, it is very nice. I'd suggest checking it out once you've poked around with layers for a bit.

Please check out the tutorial threads and it is worth noting that Adobe is a pretty cool company (worth supporting), they provide their CS Classroom in a Book online:
http://www.adobe.com/education/instruction/classroominabook/ilcs.html

It covers the very basics.

That won't help me, I need live help. I'm not good with documents. I'm trying out Robin's thing but i'm still confused.

Marmolade, I was in a bit of a rush yesterday, so I didn't stop to consider that you might not have any experience with Photoshop. Sorry about that. I usually try to take that into acount when I answer questions like this.

Here's what I'd recommend. Don't try to learn Photoshop and texturing at the same time. It's too much. If you've never used a program like Photoshop before, it's not very intuitive to understand in the beginning. Once you start to learn though, you come to a point where it "clicks", and then it all falls into place pretty quickly. I'd highly recommend taking a class or investing in a good book to get started. Learning Photoshop for the first time is no small task.

Don't get scared though. It's not exactly rocket science either. Photoshop, and similar programs, just work in ways in which you're probably not accustomed to thinking yet. Don't worry; you can pick it up pretty fast if you've got a good teaching tool. Between community colleges, universities, adult education centers, and professional traning centers, you can find a Photoshop class on practically every street corner these days, and books on the subject practically grow on trees. Pick one.

Once you've got the basics down, and you're comfortable doing things like painting, working with layers, making selections, moving things around the canvas, etc., then come back to the idea of learning to texture for SL. The basic Photoshop knowledge has to come first. Everything else is secondary.

Just as learning Photoshop itself requires you to think differently than you first expected, so does learning to texture for 3D. Most people on this planet do not find the correlation between painting on a 2D canvas and the wrapping of that canvas around a 3D model to be instinctive at first. If you're in the majority, it will take a little time to learn to think in 3D as you paint in 2D. Everyone gets it sooner or later, but for most people it's not easy at first.

So, once again, put your SL texturing dreams on hold for the moment, until you're comfortable with Photoshop. Once you've masterd the basics of the program, then take the next step by returning to the idea of learning to texture. It has to happen in that order. Trying to do both at the same time is a formula for disaster. I'm sorry there's no quick-fix solution here, but that's just the way it is.

The good news is you don't have to be in this all alone. If you've got questions along the way, by all means post them. There are a bunch of us here who volunteer our time to answer people's questions as best we can on a regular basis. The first step is up to you though.

.....

You want me to take a class just so I can make a shirt for a video game?

Alrigh look, i'm not going to a Photoshop class so help me god. Just tell me, how do I fill a back ground? (and give me steps on what to click, don't just say go to your ____ and do it from there.)

Now you're starting to get rude. I just spent the better part of the last half hour writing that advisory piece for you. How about a little gratitude for my trouble instead of snapping at me just because the truth of the matter isn't quite to your liking?

I gave you the simple instructions. They were too simple. Robin gave you some SLIGHTLY more detailed ones. They were too complicated. I suggested classes and books. That's not an idea you're willing to entertain. I'm sorry, but it seems we're out of options at this point. I don't know what more you could possibly want.

Anyway, just so I can say I tried my best here, the answer to your question is absolutely yes, you should take a class. You already stated you're not good with tutorials, right? You said you want "live help", right? Well, that's exactly what classes are. You' get a live teacher providing live instruction. I don't know how much more live than that you can get.

As I already said, and you've already seen first hand, Photoshop is a complex program with literally thousands of tools and options. All that requires explanation. Sure, if you're exceptionally adept in just the right way, you can just pick it up on your own right away, but it seems that that's not the case, or you wouldn't be here asking questions. All appearances are that you, just like most people, need to be taught in order to learn something like this. Well, the options for being taught this subject, just like any other, are to read books or take classes. Since you said you're "not good with documents", wouldn't you agree that the logical conclusion is is you should take a class?

It's not like it's a big deal. You don't have to spend 8 years getting a PhD in Photoshop. Adobe certified classes are one-day affairs. Take a look at the Adobe website, find a training center in your area (they're everywhere), call them up, enroll yourself, and spend a day learning what you need to know. It'll cost you a few hours and some bucks, but other than that it's painless, and you'll have learned a highly marketable skill. It's a total win-win situation.

If you're not willing to do what it takes to learn, then hire someone who to do the work for you. In SL, just as in RL, those are your options. Learn to DIY, or hire out. That's how the world works.

I'm sorry.

Can you please tell me how to fill colors?

And I was kinda looking at live help as in over message board or AIM.

First, make sure you're looking at the default view of the workspace by going Window -> Workspace -> Reset Pallete Locations. Then go File -> Open and open up the upper body template.

Now, see the horizontal bar at the left of your screen? That's called the toolbox. On it are all of the most commonly used tools, arranged in 2 columns of buttons. If you click and hold on any button, you'll see that other buttons are hidden underneath it. For example, if you click and hold at the one at the top left, you'll see a menu pop up containing the Rectangluar Marquee, Eliptical Marquee, and Single Row Marquee tools. Selecting any of those will cause it to become the button on top. Stacking buttons in this way allows the toolbox to take up as little room on the screen as possible while still providing very quick access to all the tools. Everything is just one or two clicks.

The tool you want to use to fill the canvas with color is called the Paint Bucket. Take a look at the sixth tool down from the top in the right hand column. Depending on which tool is currently on top in that slot, the button will look either like a bucket of paint or a square that fades from gray to black. Hover your mouse over it for a second, and it will say either "Paint Bucket" of "Gradient Tool". If it's the Gradient Tool, click and hold for a second, and then change it to the Paint Bucket.

Now you've got the tool you want to use, but don't use it just yet. Photoshop documents are arranged in layers, and you want to be sure you're working on the right one. Painting the wrong one could be disastrous.

So what are layers? Well, think of them kind of like sheets of transparent acetate, stacked on top of eachother. When viewed from directly above, the whole stack appears as one single image. You could have a cut-out picture of your mom on one layer, a cut-out of yourself on another, and picture of a beach in Hawaii on a third. Stack the three, and view them head-on, and now you and mom appear to be on the beach together. Move mom's layer a bit to the left or right and you can place her further down the beach without affecting your picture or the beach picture in any way. Now take a 4th sheet of acetate, paint it black, and place it over the beach layer, but under you and mom. Now you and mom are floating in space instead of standing on the beach.

Photoshop layers behave exactly the same way. It's all controlled by a tool called the Layers Palette, which by default is at the lower right of the screen. Take a look. You'll see a window with 3 tabs at the top, labelled Layers, Channels, and Paths. By default, the Layers Tab should be active, but click it once just to be sure. You'll now see the names of all the layers in the document, arranged in the order in which the layers are stacked. You'll see that one called "Background" is at the bottom, and above it are various other layers. Click on the word "Background" to make it the currently active layer ("active" means it's the one you're working on).

Now, all the way at the bottom of the Layers Palette, below the part where the layers are listed, take a look at the horizontal bar of buttons. Locate the second button from the right, the one that looks like a square sticker being peeled from its backing. It will say "Create a new layer" when you hover your mouse over it. Click it, and you'll see that you've now got a new layer directly above the background layer, most likely called "Layer 1". By default it should be active, but click it once just to make sure.

Now you're just about ready to use that paint bucket, but first, you need to pick a color for your paint. Take another look at the Toolbox. About 3/4 of the way towards the bottom you'll see 2 large overlapping squares. These are your foreground and background colors. Which one's which is fairly obvious; the one on top is the foreground color. For now, that's the only one you need to worry about. By default, it should be black, but if it's not, just click it once to open the color picker and select a black color.

Now you're all set. Assuming the Paint Bucket is still your active tool, click anywhere on the canvas and you'll paint all of Layer 1 black. Since we placed Layer 1 directly above the background layer, the blackness won't cover up anything except the background.

There's the answer to your specific question. After reading it, you've probably got a ton of new ones that you never though of before. You've now (hopefully) got some basic understanding of how the Toolbox works, what layers are, and tiny bit of what the Layers Palette does. There's still a ton more to learn, as you probably realize. I'd still recommend reading a book or taking a class. It's not every day that someone will be willing or able to write in this amount of detail to answer questions this basic.

Thank you! I got the shirt loaded up and on my guy now. It looks fine, now i'm gonna make my jacket.