Is there a layered Photoshop template for skins?

[AstaSyneri]

Hi!

Work on my Savage Worlds conversion of All for One: Régime Diabolique is advancing well, but in order to make it stand out I'll have to give it a custom skin that reflects the mood better.

Is there an official (or unofficial) layered Photoshop (.psd) file that allows you to properly design a new skin as a whole, rather than loading up each single graphic and changing it?

So far I have only been able to find this aged thread (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?7956-Ruleset-Image-template), that I didn't want to go all necromantic on, and a description on the process by Doswelk (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?14529-Necropolis-2350-now-available-in-the-store/page2) regarding the Necropolis setting.

Both seem to make it rather complicated.

Is there a new resource for this? Doswelk, did you apply a new method, for making the very nice Hell on Earth skin, for example?

[Blacky]

As far as I know there isn't. But I don't see how one would be possible, since there's so many different files.

[AstaSyneri]

As far as I know there isn't. But I don't see how one would be possible, since there's so many different files.

The same way you'd have one for building a website. It's not exactly rocket science (at least for graphics designers - which I am not ;-)).

Programs like Photoshop allow you to set up slices for export, so your graphics already come out in the correct dimensions, while you already have an idea how the whole looks while designing it.

Are there any proficient graphic designers here (one can hope) who know by heart how to do this?

[Blacky]

I know how to use slices, I just don't see how one huge PSD file for everything would help.

[AstaSyneri]

You can have singular PSD files for each element, but then you'd have to copy over all elements that you'd share (if any). In the end it's a matter of personal preference, I guess.

If anybody knows whether there is any current tutorial for making skins, please post as well.

[damned]

I know how to use slices, I just don't see how one huge PSD file for everything would help.

You design your table top look and feel in photoshop exactly as you want it to appear in the game. some elements sit on top of each other like chat window and image frames and combat tracker etc. these are all layers. you design your splice to capture all the required parts - eg tiled back ground, background center image, image frame corners top-right/bottom-right/bottom-left/top-left, image frame borders top/right/bottom/left etc etc. you save it all. you can export the various bits by hiding the layers and slicing.
next person can design their theme using your exact proportions and they know they will have all the required pieces and that the pieces are all the right size for the theme etc.

[Blacky]

Well, you do it :) We're watching :)

[damned]

ha! i have no need for a new theme - i really like the new C&C theme by Dr Venture. additionally what little free time i have has other priorities and my version of photoshop is so very old now. i use gimp because i cant justify photoshop for my needs. but Asta is correct there are templates out there for all sorts of things - common CMS templates etc.
i think we might have to twist his arm instead... :)

[AstaSyneri]

...but Asta is correct there are templates out there for all sorts of things - common CMS templates etc.
i think we might have to twist his arm instead... :)

Good luck with that - there are already three goblins and their mum twisting on that. Getting the ruleset done is about the extent of what I can faithfully take on right now. That's why I am asking for things to make my life easier doing that. :{

[damned]

there are already three goblins and their mum twisting on that.

i was sure you were going to say three goblins and a troll!

[dr_venture]

I have found in teh past that some graphics files are of different sizes for different rulesets, so a template file in Photoshop would only be useful for a specific ruleset. That might be less of an issue with the way rulesets are now built in FG 3.0. That said, I find it most easy to just make a copy of the graphics folder for the ruleset you're going to skin, then use the actual PNG files as templates. You can toggle your design on and off to make sure everything lines up... it's fairly straight forward.

And thanks for the props, damned :) Wasn't sure if that green background was going to grate on some folks. I might put together a couple alternatives for folks, if time allows.

[damned]

everyone in my game really likes the v3 skin :)

[AstaSyneri]

I have fiddled around with the graphics and would like to test my (incomplete) skin - how do I pack it back together again?

I presume I have to somehow build an extension and then activate it in FG?

[Trenloe]

I have fiddled around with the graphics and would like to test my (incomplete) skin - how do I pack it back together again?

I presume I have to somehow build an extension and then activate it in FG?
A quick way is to make a copy of your ruleset and make the changes in that - see point 1 in the numbered list in post #1 of this thread: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?19033-Modifying-the-3-5e-PFRPG-ruleset This is for the 3.5e ruleset but it applies equally to any ruleset - just use whichever ruleset you want to use rather than the 3.5E.pak file.

In the long run you will want to use an extension, but to do quick testing modifying a copy of a ruleset direct is faster.

[AstaSyneri]

Thanks, Trenloe!

Much stuff to sink my teeth into - but at first glance it looks like a lot of my questions will be answered there. :D

[AstaSyneri]

Got my first test theme to work last night (finally got 60 minutes to play with it - RL is threatening to take over ;-)).

Now I am a bit on the fence: Doing a full set is a huge amount of work (there are dozens of graphics that need to be done - even if you don't change the framework around them at all.

Questions:


What set can I base my own graphics on? The SW ruleset graphics? Or any? I imagine the Hell on Earth Graphics (as an example) are copyright by Doswelk and hence "taboo"?
Who did the SW set graphics? Are there maybe any original Photoshop files for that?
What is the right amount of graphics a ruleset needs? All for One is a niche product in a niche and it may be that producing a fully thought out interface for it may be a bit overkill. What do you think?

[damned]

Dr Venture did a Wild West theme last year and the amount of graphics surprised him too.
I think you have to check your source material very carefully for copyright. Some companies have some community use licenses which help but others wont let you use their material without explicit permission.

[AstaSyneri]

Dr Venture did a Wild West theme last year and the amount of graphics surprised him too.
I think you have to check your source material very carefully for copyright. Some companies have some community use licenses which help but others wont let you use their material without explicit permission.

The real source material (All for One: Régime Diabolique) is the the problem at this point. It's more a question of what graphics can I (legally, too) take and modify to include in this ruleset (which is going to be on sale in the FG shop eventually).

[Doswelk]

The real source material (All for One: Régime Diabolique) is the the problem at this point. It's more a question of what graphics can I (legally, too) take and modify to include in this ruleset (which is going to be on sale in the FG shop eventually).You are creating what you hope will be a licensed released for FGII of a Triple Ace product, you can use the graphics in the product you are converting to use in the FGII version.

Note the above is not a stated fact to my knowledge anywhere but in the past Pinnacle and TAG have given me some of the original fonts/graphics used to create the books to use in the LICENSED FGII version.

The other graphics (the FGII ones - radials/etc). I usually just re-use these graphics are owned by Smiteworks and I am using in what will be a Smiteworks product and I have been granted permission to do so.

None of the above would apply I suspect to a product I was not handing over to Smiteworks to sell as a licensed product, if I was making a freebie, I would have to create my own graphics.

[Nickademus]

Doing a full set is a huge amount of work (there are dozens of graphics that need to be done - even if you don't change the framework around them at all).

I have a request, and I'll totally understand if no one wants to do this. My hope is that someone already has while looking into this endeavor. My request is for someone to send me an asset list of every graphic file (preferably with size dimensions) that a theme utilizes. Basically a list of the components that have to be changed to have a 100% new theme.

[Trenloe]

The real source material (All for One: Régime Diabolique) is the the problem at this point. It's more a question of what graphics can I (legally, too) take and modify to include in this ruleset (which is going to be on sale in the FG shop eventually).
If you're using stuff from other rulesets I'd suggest you check with Doug at Smiteworks - info here (which you've probably seen before): https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?11156-Want-to-produce-official-FG-products-adventures-rulesets

Otherwise, if you use artwork from other areas you will need to be very careful about the distribution rights - even "stuff" that appears OK to distribute (perhaps covered by a creative commons license or something similar) may not be OK to distribute in a commercial (i.e. paid for) package.

[Trenloe]

I have a request, and I'll totally understand if no one wants to do this. My hope is that someone already has while looking into this endeavor. My request is for someone to send me an asset list of every graphic file (preferably with size dimensions) that a theme utilizes. Basically a list of the components that have to be changed to have a 100% new theme.
This could be different from ruleset to ruleset.

Unzip the ruleset you are interested in and look in the \graphics directory - the individual directories within contain all of the graphics files used by the ruleset. If you open each directory in Windows Explorer and add the "Dimensions" header to the "View" -> "Details" list view then you can see something like this (for the \graphics\buttons directory in the 3.5e ruleset):

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/39085830/Screenshots/Button%20Graphics.jpg

[Moon Wizard]

Usually, the quickest way to see this is to look in the graphics subfolder within a ruleset directory or PAK file. This contains every icon, radial menu, window frame and font used in the ruleset. For the v3.0 layered rulesets (3.5E,4E,PFRPG,C&C, CoC, Numenera), you will need to look in the CoreRPG ruleset and the ruleset you are building the theme for.

One thing to remember is that you don't necessarily need to replace every graphic. It can be as simple as replacing the desktop background, or a complete replacement of every graphic element.

For sizes, your best best is to make graphics with the same sizes. In most cases, the graphics that are the most size-sensitive are the frames. With the frames, if you keep the same graphic size, and similar border detail and gutters, you shouldn't need to change any of the frame definitions. If you need to change gutters/borders, then you will need to understand how to define frames using the framedef tag as outlined in the Ruleset Reference manual in the Library.

Hope that helps,
JPG

[AstaSyneri]

Hope that helps,
JPG

Not really, but thanks anyway. Unfortunately this means - if I am crazy enough to redo all the buttons, that I need to recreate all the iconography.

Somebody has done all those symbols that are used in Doswelk's HoE theme (he told me it's from FG 1, iirc). And he didn't do them at that resolution, but a lot higher and then downscaled. Those production files (or similar ones) must be somewhere (with Smiteworks?). I have something in mind that might look really spectacular, but it's time/cost prohibitive to recreat tokens like icon_deletetoken.png and other very graphic symbols (I am not a graphics designer).

:(

[Moon Wizard]

Preaching to the choir. I have to make new buttons and graphics all the time, and I never have the original PSD files. Also, not a graphic artist. I usually just clip parts from other graphics to build the piece I need.

Since all the graphics are usually created by individuals working with us, we typically don't have the original graphics files, just the final results. If it was more recently created, we might be able to track down original creator; but all the FG1 and Digital Adventures stuff was not well tracked. (Before our time on the product)

Is there an author name in the extension that could help identify who created it?

JPG

[Nickademus]

*helpful stuff*


*more helpful stuff*

Ah good. It's all in one place. I hope for such organization, but never assume it.