New Uniform Designs (inspired by Silvam)

[Ambermonk]

Here are some of my new uniform designs. They were inspired by viewing the many fine uniform examples created by Silvam. Many thanks.

[johnnybourbon]

whats the 5th from the left in the first row? good colors on that one.

[Ambermonk]

Originally Posted by johnnybourbon

whats the 5th from the left in the first row? good colors on that one.

Those are the Redwood City Rodents!

[johnnybourbon]

very clever. nice set.

[Dr. P.R. Park III]

Where can I get these? This is most definitely some of the more original work I've seen in a long time...also is this catered after a NorCal league?

[Ambermonk]

Originally Posted by Dr. P.R. Park III

Where can I get these? This most definitely some of the more original work I've seen in a long time...also is this catered after a NorCal league?

Thank you for the comment. These designs were done with Paint.net, a freely downloadable paint program at their website of the same name (Paint.NET - Free Software for Digital Photo Editing). I originally downloaded it because it allowed for invisible backgrounds. Once I started using it I discovered how useful it was to build designs in layers.

The designs I did generally have about 8 layers, as follows...

1. The start template - Modified from the original to simulate short sleeves.
2. The Side Panels - I have templates for each of the different side panels.
3. Shoulder Bars - I have 2 templates (Broad or Narrow).
4. Collar - I have just 1 template.

To each of these 4 layers I add 20% to 22% Noise! (so the jerseys don't look too clean or shiny)

5. Shadow (Darken) - I use the template found in this forum (slightly modified) but I have changed it to sepia tone to give it a softer appearance. I set the transparancy of this layer to 0 (invisible) and then slide the transparancy bar over until the shadows look natural.

6. Text - this is a bit unusual. I create this in Excel using Insert Word Art and then Word Art Shape. I Bold the text & set it to 22-24 pts. Once I have the initial text, I copy it & paste another copy. I move the copy directly on top of the original and then offset the copy 1 right & 1 down. Then I group these into 1 object. Then I copy the object & paste it into the text layer of my paint program. The benefit of using Excel is that I can use this technique with any font on my computer! Once in the paint program I resize the text as needed, enlarge, & clean up the pixels, then apply the necessary colors.

7. Shadow (Normal) - I use the same template as before, but this time I have the layer set to Normal.

8. Logo - This layer is on top because the detail is usually so great that I don't want to clutter it up with either of the shadows or the noise.

Of course once the text & logo are into their layers they can be moved and resized to fit as needed.

The beauty of using the layer system is that I can have libraries of templates of each of the design elements. That way I can mix & match elements (i.e., different shoulder bars with different side panels).

At this point I save the candidate jersey into OOTP & view the results. If changes need to be made, I can go right back into the paint program & modify whichever layers need fixing. The Ability to have 8 separate layers of graphics which can be modified independantly of the others is a powerful & useful tool. Don't pass up this design concept.

I have no association with the NorCal League, but would be happy to share both the template libraries & the uniforms themselves but I do not have a website to upload them to. Perhaps Silvam (or someone else) could make them available.

One last note: You have probably noticed that your finished uniforms normally look distressingly fat! While a few of my designs were redone (as my technique improved) they were generally done left-to-right top-to-bottom. I noticed that the design in the lower left looked slimmer than the preceding ones. I came to the realization that I could add a tapered narrow side panel to the torso and color it the same as the uniform long sleeves. This would trick the eye into seeing the tapered side panel as part of the player's sleeve - thereby making the uniform look slimmer! The white uniform (with the frigate) just to the right was my first conscious attempt at this effect. All the remaining designs use this technique. There is a bit of a wedge on the left side where light backgrounds show through, but if you darken the bottom 20% of your backgrounds it effectively becomes invisible.

Addendum: The 2nd picture from the left (on top) and the 2nd picture from the right (on the bottom) both use backgrounds found in this forum. Using Paint.net, I was able to easily remove the drab sky color and replace it with a bluer one (and create clouds as well). Not bad for a free paint program. There are also dozens of user tuturials and a forum on their website as well.

[Dr. P.R. Park III]

Wow, insightful post, thank you. If those ever become available, I'd definitely love to get my hands on them. I only asked about a NorCal setting because there was Redwood City, Berkeley, and Stanford, and your from Pacifica, which I imagine is the one next to SF. Anyway, thanks again!

[Ambermonk]

Originally Posted by Dr. P.R. Park III

Wow, insightful post, thank you. If those ever become available, I'd definitely love to get my hands on them. I only asked about a NorCal setting because there was Redwood City, Berkeley, and Stanford, and your from Pacifica, which I imagine is the one next to SF. Anyway, thanks again!

Actually the team I manage is the Pacifica Pythons - the design on the lower right. I think it is my best design to date. I held off doing the design until I felt I had a good handle on the necessary design concepts. For example...

1. I used the broad shoulder bars that were developed for the Turtles.
2. I used the diagonal side-panels developed for the Canaries.
3. I used the "slim" side panel developed for the Castrovalva Commanders (Frigate)
4. I used the text technique described earlier.
5. And I used the double shadow technique developed along the way.

When you put all these together you can achieve a nice end result.

By the way, many of the clip art designs that I used were found at Clipart - Download Royalty-Free Clipart, Images, Fonts, Web Art and Graphics

Some I just found, some I had to build from multiple pieces. Hope this helps.

[Ambermonk]

Originally Posted by Dr. P.R. Park III

Wow, insightful post, thank you. If those ever become available, I'd definitely love to get my hands on them.

Here's a few. For the final result all the layers are flattened out of course, but the templates may still be useful...

In order to have these uploads accepted, I had to convert them into .jpg files. To use them you will have to convert them back to .png files.

Note the curved line where the short sleeve ends & the long sleeve begins. Note also how the edge side panel matches the color of the long sleeves. Note also the gravel texture on the jerseys (to make them look a little worn).

As a bonus, I have included the design for the Walnut Creek Worms which would not fit on my original posting. Note also the worm coming out of the baseball!

[Dr. P.R. Park III]

Thanks for the jerseys! You should really make a Klamath Big Foot! These would play a perfect support role for my planned eventual "town ball/semi pro" setup involving more remote NorCal locales.

[Fletz]

These look very cool. Almost like hockey jerseys. Would you be willing to do 12 more by request or provide the templates? I have a European based minor league - got logos and colors - just need better unis and I want them to be unique - like these.

[falkonisback]

Originally Posted by Fletz

These look very cool. Almost like hockey jerseys. Would you be willing to do 12 more by request or provide the templates? I have a European based minor league - got logos and colors - just need better unis and I want them to be unique - like these.

Yeah, I would like to get my hands on just the defaut templates on these where all I have to do is change the colors and logos. These uni's are some of the best I've seen. Awesome job!!

[Ambermonk]

Originally Posted by Fletz

These look very cool. Almost like hockey jerseys. Would you be willing to do 12 more by request or provide the templates? I have a European based minor league - got logos and colors - just need better unis and I want them to be unique - like these.

Originally Posted by falkonisback

Yeah, I would like to get my hands on just the defaut templates on these where all I have to do is change the colors and logos. These uni's are some of the best I've seen. Awesome job!!

Thanks for the comments guys! As I mentioned above, I would be happy to upload the templates to someone (Silvam?) who has a website. Anyone willing?

Keep in mind that the templates are in pieces. They are designed to be put in layers. That way you can mix & match elements. I currently have my templates in the following folders...

Starter Templates (nearly blank)
Side Panels
Front
Shoulders
Shading
Stripes
Collars

At this time there are 1-4 templates in each folder - but I have plenty of ideas for more. I am currently in the process of creating uniforms for my own league so my time is somewhat limited at the moment.

I will say that these are the first uniforms that I have ever done, and my experience level is rising dramatically. This has resulted in my having to take even more time to redo some of the earlier designs because they seem so bad to me at my current level. I'll include another template of the Stanford Starfish jersey as an example.

As before, I have to convert the template into a .jpg to get the upload accepted by this website. To use it you will have to reconvert it to a .png.

Thanks again for the nice comments.

[Deft]

I don't know if you knew this but my templates in my signature will do most of things your trying to do. Though, I don't think I have the two tone options like you have done. Very nice!

[Ambermonk]

Originally Posted by Deft

I don't know if you knew this but my templates in my signature will do most of things your trying to do. Though, I don't think I have the two tone options like you have done. Very nice!

You have quite a few templates there. Nice job. I'll take a longer look at these to see if I can incorporate some of them into my templates.

For me, the most important change that I have made in the template design is to add the long sleeve separation from the short sleeve and incorporate the long sleeve color into the bottom sides of the torso. This is what makes the uniforms look slimmer! And I also enjoy having the ability to mix & match one design element with another - very flexable.

You are to be commended for your excellent (and quanititative) designs. Good job. I hope many users will download these..

I'll include an Albany uniform here. The long sleeves & "thin patch" are in the darker brown. As before, I have to convert this to a .jpg file to upload it. If you want to use it you must convert it back to a .png.

[Fletz]

can you upload the PSD file or email it directly to me?

[Kemp]

Originally Posted by Deft

I don't know if you knew this but my templates in my signature will do most of things your trying to do. Though, I don't think I have the two tone options like you have done. Very nice!

I'm probably being dense but where are your templates?

If I go to Padresfan mod site and then to the "Facegen Uniforms" section, I don't see anything from "Deft". Or am I being an idiot and you're "fhommess"?

(I never like to leave out the possibility that I'm being an idiot!)

[Ambermonk]

Originally Posted by Fletz

can you upload the PSD file or email it directly to me?

Sorry, I don't know what a PSD file is (PaintShop?). My designs were done with Paint.net which is available for free (see my link [from 3/28] above). Most paint programs should be able to convert a .jpg into a .png. Just load it into whatever paint program you are using and "save as" a .png file. Even Microsoft's default paint program can do this simple task.

[Ambermonk]

Originally Posted by Kemp

I'm probably being dense but where are your templates?

If I go to Padresfan mod site and then to the "Facegen Uniforms" section, I don't see anything from "Deft".

I understand your problem. They are actually there but they are not available for viewing (probably because there are so many). When you click on it, it automatically downloads the whole file (without you being able to see the templates themselves). The file is titled JerseyStyles251-475-Deft. Hope this helps. By the way - the link you want is towards the bottom of his signature list of links.

[Deft]

FaceGen 2

The Jersey Styles are so you can automatically select colors in-game and jersey styles.

The Consolidated Jersey Template is what Silva used as has No Pepper. It's a photoshop file that does the same thing as Ambermonk has started. Paint.net monkeys what Photoshop does. You should be able to get a .psd file opener here.

Psd file viewer software by DWG TOOL Software and others

or here:
Paint.NET • View topic - Photoshop file plugin