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 LOGO
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| The COLOR Spray
Paint Logo Bible: (page 4 of 5) |
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"The Color Logo Bible"
(page 4 of 5):
By "[TiC]EVIL."
Created
9 July, 2001
Last updated 14 July, 2004.
All rights reserved.
"NEWBIES'
GUIDE to MAKING COLOR LOGOs":
NOTE:
The finished logo
file used to be named pldecal.wad ,
but now because of changes that the "Steam" update made to
Half-life and it's Mods, the file must be re-named
tempdecal.wad
.
If you don't already
have them, download and install a
copy of Wally (free bmp to
wad converter) and a free graphic
editor program like Paint Shop Pro or Photo Shop (free 30 trial
versions available). WALLY can -NOT-
be installed into a folder with
SPACES in its name, so do -NOT-
install Wally in your
C:\Program Files folder, instead create a
C:\Wally folder to
install Wally in. You can get "demo" versions of
photo editing software programs at
www.download.com, just search on the words "photo
editor" there (load software from those sites at your
own risk).
NOTE:
These instructions are for
Paint Shop Pro 6 Shareware. |
Download my
example files
kit (22kb) that accompanies
this tutorial (contains: original
deadbill1.jpg, finished
deadbill5.bmp,
and the completed pldecal.wad of deadbill).
(The pldecal.wad file must
be re-named
tempdecal.wad
).
Go get your high quality
high resolution picture or photo or
artwork that you want to turn into a
custom color spray paint logo for a
Half-life mod. If you want a good looking color
spray paint logo, you have to start with a great looking
picture!
Start up Paint Shop Pro. On Paint
Shop Pro's menu, click "FILE"
then "OPEN". An "OPEN"
menu should pop up. Now, browse to
select your picture file, click to
select it (it can be a ".JPG",
".GIF", ".BMP",
etc, etc file at this point), then
click "OPEN" to open your
picture with Paint Shop Pro.
 (ex.1)
(Here is my ugly "dead
BILL" 208x96 pixel
original example ".jpg"
file, I start with.)
Reduce the picture to a
valid "width times height"
size for a spray logo.
Click "IMAGE", then "RESIZE".
A "RESIZE" menu should pop
up. Make sure that menu's "Maintain
aspect ratio" box is "CHECKED",
change the "WIDTH" or the
HEIGHT" setting, which ever is
the SMALLER, to 64 pixels. You are
trying to get your picture to the
target size of 128x64 or 64x128
pixels, in steps without distorting
it. After the reduction, if the
LONGER side is still LONGER then 128
pixels, you will have to click on
"Edit" and "Undo"
the initial reducing, then instead of
setting the shorter side to 64
pixels, you would have to set the
longer side to 128 pixels on the
"RESIZE" menu.
 (ex.2) (128x59 pixels)
(That's what I did on my example, I
had to set my width to 128, that made
my height come out to 59 pixels.)
NOTE:
If your original picture is
"square" instead of
rectangular, you may want to
consider setting its largest
side to 96 pixels when
reducing it, trying to shoot
for the target square size of
96x96 pixels to show the
parts of the picture that you
wanted. Some in-game spray
distortion might occur
though, if you use dimensions
other than 64x128 or 128x64.See
Valid
Size Chart at the
bottom of page 3. 64x128 or
128x64 pixels is the
recommend "best"
size of available valid sizes.
NOTE:
You might want to try
different sampling "Resize
type" settings, to see
which distorts the picture
the least, during the
reduction process. |
Increase the "canvas"
size of your picture to a valid size,
preferably making it 64x128 or 128x64
pixels in size, if its not already.
Click on "IMAGE", then
"Canvas Size". A "Change
Canvas Size" Menu should pop up.
You have to set your '"NEW width"
and your "NEW Height"
settings. Here is where you ADD
pixels to one side of the picture in
order to get it to the 64x128 or 128x64
size. You will have to ADD pixels in
one of these boxes "Top",
"Bottom", "Left",
"Right" as needed to adjust
which side of your picture gets the
new pixels added to it.
 (ex.3) (128x64 pixels)
(In my example, I set the "New
Width" to 128, then I set the
"NEW Height" to 64 and
added 5 pixels to the bottom of the
picture.)
NOTE:
If you are using OTHER valid
sizes besides the 64x128 or
128x64, you will have to
adjust the pictures
dimensions to Valid
Sizes in
this step. However we recommend using 128x64
or 64x128 pixel (width times height) for
your finished logo. |
Convert the picture to a
8 bit color file.
Click on "Colors", then
click "Decrease Color Depth",
then click "256 colors (8bit)...",
a "Decrease Color depth 256"
menu should pop up, click "OK".
If that selection is "grayed out"
that means you already have a 8 bit
file. When set the picture to "8bit
color", it might cause your
picture to lose some quality.
NOTE:
If you are using Photo Shop you will
have to set the "MODE" to
"indexed color" at the
start of this step too.
Edit the last color in
its palette to be "pure blue".
Click on "Colors", then
click "Edit Palette". A
"Edit palette" menu should
pop up. Go to the BOTTOM RIGHT-HAND
corner of that table and DOUBLE left
click on the last color of the last
row. A "Color" menu should
pop up. Set "Red" to "0"
(number zero), set "Green"
to "0", and set "Blue"
to "255". Click "OK",
then click "OK".
OK you have (2) choices
at this stage. Either make the extra
space "transparent" by
coloring it "pure blue", or
color it in with the picture's main
background background color. If you
color the added pixels with "pure
blue", then when you spray the
logo in the game the "pure blue"
will not be visible. OR, instead of
using "pure blue", you
could just fill in the "added
pixels" using the existing
background color of the picture.
To color in the "added pixels"
with "pure blue", on the
upper right-hand side of the screen,
left click on the color selection box
(the one that shows the selected
color, the left one not the the one
on the right touching it). The "Select
Color From palette" menu should
pop up. Left click on the last color
in the palette (pure blue) to select
it. Now use the "Flood Fill"
tool (the paint bucket tool) to fill
in the added pixels with "pure
blue".
(ex.4) (128x64) (with transparent blue
strip at bottom)
(This is a "copy " of the
picture of my example. It's set to an
indexed, 8bit,128x64 pixel ".bmp"
file with the last color in its
palette set to pure blue. It has
also had the "added pixels"
colored in with pure blue.) ( A ".BMP"
file won't display on a web page, so
I used a ".gif copy" to
display it, btw.)
You might want to add
text to your picture.
To add a caption to your picture, in
Paint Shop pro's upper right-hand
corner, select a color from the color
chart, by clicking on the color that
you want to use for the text. Now,
click on the "Text" tool (its
the "A" in the tool bar).
Now, left click on your picture at
the exact point you want the text to
start and be inserted on to your
picture. The "Text Entry"
box should pop up. On the right side
of the "Name" box there is
a "arrow", click it to get
a dropdown menu, scroll down and
select a font type. I like using the
font "Name" (type) "Arial",
because it fits well on small
pictures used to make logos. You can
set the font's "Size" here
too (font sizes 6-36 seem to work on
logos). In the "enter Text Here"
box, type in the message you want to
show up on your picture ( I typed in
"dead BILL"). To move the
text, click on the "mover"
tool (it looks like a cross symbol)
then use it to move the text around.
When you are happy were the text it
at, click the "select" tool
(looks like a rectangle with dashed)
and click once on the picture to set
the text.
 (ex.5) (128x64) (with bottom
strip transparent and lettering.)
(This is a "copy" of what
my finished example ".BMP"
looks like with text added. The
"copy" is a ".gif"
file to allow display on a web page.)
Now save your finished
picture as a ".BMP" file (indexed,
8bit,128x64 pixel ".bmp"
file with the last color in its
palette set to pure blue.)
Click on "File", click on
"Save copy As". The "Save
copy As" menu should pop up. In
the "File name" box, type
in a name for YOUR first properly
prepared CUSTOM ".bmp" file.
On the right side of the "Save
as type" box , click the "arrow",
then scroll down to select "Windows
or OS/2 bitmap (*.bmp)" . Then
click "SAVE".
(I called my finished example deadbill5.bmp
. Its
part of my example files
kit (22kb). You can -NOT-
have any spaces in your new ".BMP"
files name, or it will -NOT- work
with WALLY. )
Now its time to turn
your finished ". BMP" into
a ".WAD" file named "pldecal.wad"
with the WALLY "HL Decal Wizard"
.
Wally will -NOT- work if you have any
SPACES in the name of your .bmp file.
Wally will -NOT- work if you have the
".bmp" file stored in a folder that has
spaces in its name. Wally will -NOT-
work if you have "Wally.exe" installed
in a folder that has spaces in its
name.
So if you installed Wally into
C:\Wally folder, simply
go make another sub-folder in that
folder called "colorlogo"
(don't use any spaces in its name).
Then move your CUSTOM ".BMP"
file into that
C:\Wally\colorlogo folder.
Now start up Wally. Click on "Wizard",
then click on "HL Color Decal".
The "HL Color Decal Wizard"
should pop up. Click to select "File
on hard drive", then click the
"..."
button. Then the "select the
file you wish to import as a decal"
menu should pop up. Use that menu to
select YOUR finished CUSTOM ".bmp"
file. After you find your ".bmp"
file, click on it so its name shows
up in the "Select File" box.
Then click "OK". Then
click "File", and then
click "Save as". The "Save
as" menu should pop up. Set the "Save as" file name to
tempdecal.wad,
then click "Save" (note
where it saved your BRAND NEW CUSTOM
spray logo to.
NOTE:
Wally's "HL Decal Wizard" will try to name the
logo file
pldecal.wad . Half-life
color spray paint logo files used to be named
pldecal.wad , but now
because of changes that the "Steam" update made to
Half-life and it's Mods, the file must be re-named
tempdecal.wad
. So
re-name your
pldecal.wad to
tempdecal.wad
.
Go get your BRAND NEW
CUSTOM color spray paint logo
tempdecal.wad file and move a copy of it in each
directory of each Half-Life Mod's folder that you
want you want to spray it in.
Here are the
default paths to the various popular Half-life Mod's
folders where the
tempdecal.wad
file should be copied to:
(You only have to add the
tempdecal.wad
file to Mods you want to
use the spray in).
(NOTE: Replace the "yourEmail@yourISP.com"
with your email address you used when you registered
at Steam.)
Counter-Strike:
C:\Program
Files\Steam\SteamApps\yourEmail@yourISP.com\counter-strike\cstrike\tempdecal.wad
Day of Defeat (DoD):
C:\Program
Files\Steam\SteamApps\yourEmail@yourISP.com\day
of defeat\dod\tempdecal.wad
TFC (Team Fortress
Classic):
C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\yourEmail@yourISP.com\team
fortress classic\tfc\tempdecal.wad
Death Match Classic:
C:\Program
Files\Steam\SteamApps\yourEmail@yourISP.com\deathmatch
classic\dmc\tempdecal.wad
Half-life Classic:
C:\Program
Files\Steam\SteamApps\yourEmail@yourISP.com\half-life\valve\tempdecal.wad
Opposing Forces:
C:\Program
Files\Steam\SteamApps\yourEmail@yourISP.com\opposing
force\gearbox\tempdecal.wad |
SAVE A BACKUP COPY of YOUR "tempdecal.wad" file in a safe place
!!!
Now, simply get in a
game for that Mod and SPRAY SPRAY
SPRAY your new color spray paint logo !! ;-)
 (ex.6)
(This is what my example logo looks
like when sprayed in the game.)
NOTES:
If you go into a Half-life
Mod's "Options-Multi-player" menu, it
will ERASE your custom
tempdecal.wad
file in that Mod !!!
Wait a few minutes after you first connect a server to
allow your spray to "upload" (behind the scenes) to the
server and then "download" to your friends so others can
see it when you spray. Now try spraying it several
times. If
your logo doesn't work after 5
minutes, try getting on another server
and spraying it. Sometimes servers
have logo spraying turned off. You
might also have a problem with your
logo.
If you are having a lot of trouble making a logo you made work, try
downloading a color logo already made
Download Logos
(from our site) to make sure you can get that to spray
ok first.
If you have "downloads" or "uploads" turned off in that Mod you or others
may not be able to "see" your logo on a server. If the
server has "downloads" or "uploads" turned off you or
others may not be able to "see" your logo on a server.
If you are having troubles getting your logo to work see
our
Troubleshoot Logos page.
EXTRA
CREDIT and Tips:
Your
brand new custom logo MIGHT need tweaking.
Wally sometimes "bleaches" out
logos when it converts it to a ".wad"
file. If your logo sprays "bleached out"
in the game, use trial and error to tweak
contrast-brightness,
then spray it, then re-tweak if needed.
IF NEEDED, start up Wally again, click "File"
and "open". The "Open"
menu should pop up. Select your custom
tempdecal.wad file and then click "Open"
. Then, double click on your
tempdecal.wad file
to select. Click on "Image" and
then click on "Brightness and Contrast.."
. The "Adjust Brightness/Contrast
Settings" menu should pop up. Use the up/down
buttons to adjust the Brightness and Contrast.
Use the "Preview" button to see
what your changes would look like. Your
logo's WAD file might need the brightness
turned DOWN by -10 to -25 or more. The
contrast might need to be turned up from +4
to +15 or more. Then when you are finished
adjusting, click "OK". Don't forget
to backup a copy of your edited pldecal.wad
file and to add it into each Mod's folder
again. Repeat this process as needed.
NEED
HELP?:
If you
need HELP, after you have
read all 5 pages of this tutorial at least
once and followed our
Troubleshoot Logos page,
then post a message on the AtomicWARRIOR "LOGO
Forum" with a description of what step
you are hung on and what your email address
is, tell us what step you are hung on, tell us what you can
get to work and what you can't get to work.
Also see our
Troubleshoot Logos page.
WANT
SOME ADVANCED TIPS,, See the NEXT Page:
Well
you just finished the BASICS, now move on up
and take a look at "Better Looking Logos"
page #5
of this tutorial for more advanced tips on
making better looking logos. You don't want
your logo to look as bad as DEAD BILL, do you
?. "Solid Color" cartoons are easy to turn into great
looking logos, but to make great looking logos out of
pictures you will need to do some "advanced tricks"! ;-) See
page 5 of this
tutorial for the "advanced tips"!!
You want your logos to look as good as this [TiC]
Logo, don't you? READ on to page #5 then !!
;-)
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