1st attempt at custom Uni's (fictional)

[Ambermonk]

Originally Posted by donjamoni

I still dont know how to change the background ... but I guess that will be a lesson further down the line.

Try this forum thread...

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...ckgrounds.html

This should put you on the right track.

[Ambermonk]

Originally Posted by donjamoni

Ok, here is my 1st retry understanding somewhat the process. I redid the Omaha Steaks, using your templates and expicit instructions.

I think the Steaks like the improvement. The player in your first attempt was frowning but the player in your 2nd attempt is smiling!

[Oxydizer]

Hey man, your doin' some very fine work here, and your getting some very sound advice. Here's my input for what it's worth. The jersey scripts are still a bit to high, take a look at the examples at my website and that should tell you what I mean. I wish you success and if I can help you can email me directly from my website.

[donjamoni]

Originally Posted by Oxydizer

Hey man, your doin' some very fine work here, and your getting some very sound advice. Here's my input for what it's worth. The jersey scripts are still a bit to high, take a look at the examples at my website and that should tell you what I mean. I wish you success and if I can help you can email me directly from my website.

I see what your saying, based on what I've seen on your sight. Here is one I have done for the Cincinnati Old Timers. I moved the script down some, still not quite as low as yours though, does it look any better, or definately drop lower?

[donjamoni]

Originally Posted by Ambermonk

Try this forum thread...

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...ckgrounds.html

This should put you on the right track.

I went there and took all their background files and placed them in the data/facegen/background folder. Do they just randomly get picked? If so my game still uses the same ones. Or do I have to get out of my game and restart it since I had it open in another window while I was copying these backgrounds to the folder.?

[Ambermonk]

Originally Posted by donjamoni

I went there and took all their background files and placed them in the data/facegen/background folder. Do they just randomly get picked? If so my game still uses the same ones. Or do I have to get out of my game and restart it since I had it open in another window while I was copying these backgrounds to the folder.?

You have to reboot your computer, because those files are loaded by your system at startup.

Then go into your team's uniform screen and keep clicking on refresh and you should see the new backgrounds come up occasionally. By the way, you can make multiple copies of the ones you like best (i.e., ballbark-1, ballpark-2, etc.) This way those backgrounds will come up more often.

Of course, all your players will still have their previous pictures. You can adjust them individually (by going to the picture menu and clicking "Same" or you can do it the simple way from a team's uniform screen. Under the team's sample player there is a wide button called "Update this teams member pictures." Whenever you do a new design be sure to click that button and all the players will have a new uniform & background generated. Good luck.

[donjamoni]

Here is a remake on The El Paso Bay Sharks:

[Ambermonk]

Originally Posted by donjamoni

Here is a remake on The El Paso Bay Sharks:

My, what a vast improvement. The design is much better, the color scheme is more appropriate, and I see that your backgrounds are now in place.

Regarding designs; After you pick up more experience, you should be able to do most of the design work in about 30 minutes. It will just get easier & easier.

Regarding color scheme; as mentioned before - never use pure black or pure white for the uniform itself. With either, you lose too much definition. If you go through the same development process that I did, you may come to the realization that the best looking general color for uniforms is white (or off-white). After doing all different colors of uniforms, I gradually came full circle and realized that the main jersey color should most often be white or off-white.

Regarding Backgrounds; Notice how dark your background is. I have found that if I make the background slightly lighter then the player, the picture looks better. Your eye focuses on the player, and the background, well, fades into the background. This background would definitely gain by being made lighter. The sky is particularly too dark. In Paint.net, with the magic wand tool (and the correct %-bar setting), you can eliminate most of the sky with 1 click. You can then create a new layer in your background window called sky. Move it below your main background. Set your primary & secondary colors to sky blue & cloud white. With your sky layer as the active layer, open Effects/Render and create an appropriate sky background. When you get one that you like, save it by itself (to use with future backgrounds). Then just save the (flattened) background + sky image and you've got a new & improved background. I think you'll be pleased with the results.

By the way, did you copy & paste the 2 new layer templates that I posted a few weeks ago? I'm especially pleased with the shoulderless one.

[donjamoni]

Well, I just did another uni, and when I went to load it to the team, the game crashed. When I try to get back into game, if I go to that teams page and try to customize it, it crashes again. That is just great!

[Ambermonk]

Originally Posted by donjamoni

Well, I just did another uni, and when I went to load it to the team, the game crashed. When I try to get back into game, if I go to that teams page and try to customize it, it crashes again. That is just great!

I see that you have posted the issue in technical support, so in all probability your problem is just temporary.

I think I understand what happened to you. Try this next time: when you copy & paste a uniform template into Paint.net - the template will not fill the default canvas size. What you need to do is goto Image/Crop to Selection. Your problem could have been avoided with just one click. Image/Crop to Selection can be a very useful feature in Paint.net. At least you'll know for next time - and you now know a little bit more about another feature of Paint.net!

I look forward to seeing your next uniform design effort.

[Ambermonk]

Originally Posted by donjamoni

Well, I just did another uni, and when I went to load it to the team, the game crashed. When I try to get back into game, if I go to that teams page and try to customize it, it crashes again. That is just great!

Try going into your saved games folder, open your league, open the jerseys folder, and move the problem template elsewhere, and restart the game. This should probably do the trick.

[donjamoni]

Thanks for the help Ambermonk, I tried what you said but it still did not work. I have started a new league and just left the other one there for the time being. However here is the one I just redid --- the one that caused the problem. The 1st is the original, and the next is the re-do. The HarbourTown Yachtsmen.

[Ambermonk]

Originally Posted by donjamoni

Thanks for the help Ambermonk, I tried what you said but it still did not work. I have started a new league and just left the other one there for the time being. However here is the one I just redid --- the one that caused the problem. The 1st is the original, and the next is the re-do. The HarbourTown Yachtsmen.

You should send a post to Nutlaw in your technical support thread to let him know that you have started another league.

I like you HarbourTown jersey best, although it looks a little busy. What I did in situations like that was to use a lighter color for the pin stripes so that they weren't so pervasive (the old adage that "less is more").

Now that you're back on track, was the Paint.net file that I sent you of any use?

Now that you have done 5 or 6 uniforms, is the process getting any easier and/or faster?

How are you enjoying designing uniforms?

[No Pepper]

Top-notch advice here Ambermonk, I'll have to find some time and jot down some notes and keep up-to-date!

[donjamoni]

Originally Posted by Ambermonk

You should send a post to Nutlaw in your technical support thread to let him know that you have started another league.

I like you HarbourTown jersey best, although it looks a little busy. What I did in situations like that was to use a lighter color for the pin stripes so that they weren't so pervasive (the old adage that "less is more").

Now that you're back on track, was the Paint.net file that I sent you of any use?

Now that you have done 5 or 6 uniforms, is the process getting any easier and/or faster?

How are you enjoying designing uniforms?

It was of great use and continues to be. I am still playing with everything trying to absorb these concepts that cuase the jerseys to be the most visually appealing. I am having a blast now that I know how to use the templates correctly, and it is getting alot faster. I truly thank you for your time in this, because I would not have been able to make this kind of progress without you kind detailed instructions. Most people I find (not here on the OOTP forums, but in real life) who have your talent in something are not as open to sharing their secrets and enjoyment with others. Thank you very much!!!

[Ambermonk]

Originally Posted by No Pepper

Top-notch advice here Ambermonk, I'll have to find some time and jot down some notes and keep up-to-date!

I don't think there's much room for improvement for you. Your uniforms are as good as I've ever seen on the forum - and your presentation of the early era uniforms was absolutely the best that I have ever seen here. I almost wish that I had an interest in that era just so that I could use your uniforms!

Seeing your uniforms (with their white arms) brought to mind an interesting comment that Mike Krukow (former pitcher & current announcer for the Giants) made about arm color. He mentioned that there was a rule currently in baseball that a pitcher could not wear white arms because it hindered the batter's ability to pick up the ball. How times have changed from the early era.

[Ambermonk]

Originally Posted by donjamoni

It was of great use and continues to be. I am still playing with everything trying to absorb these concepts that cuase the jerseys to be the most visually appealing. I am having a blast now that I know how to use the templates correctly, and it is getting alot faster. I truly thank you for your time in this, because I would not have been able to make this kind of progress without you kind detailed instructions. Most people I find (not here on the OOTP forums, but in real life) who have your talent in something are not as open to sharing their secrets and enjoyment with others. Thank you very much!!!

Keep posting your uniform designs so that we can keep track of your progress. It's always enjoyable to see uniform designs. At this point you're probably already in the top half of uniform designers on the forum. If you're like me - a month from now you will look back on these uniforms and be so disgusted that you'll go back and redo them because you've improved so much.

There are still many more opportunities for improvement with backgrounds. Here's another technique that will come in handy...

Make a template background mask!
Make a white background rectangle that is see-through in the middle, and the see-through part must be the exact pixel dimensions of a Facegen background. Save it so that it can be reused.

This will allow you to take any picture (baseball or otherwise) and drag the mask around until you find just the composition. For example, you can open all your ballpark images and capture backgrounds from those. I have also gone to Webshots.com (581 million photos) and captured nice pastoral backgrounds. If you look at the backgrounds of the designs that I submitted...
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...eball-9-a.html

The first 2 (Pythons, Squid) & Acorns were taken from OOTP ballpark pictures. Others (like the Olives, Cannibals, Commanders (frigate), and Parakeets) were taken from standard scenery.

As mentioned before, many of the backgrounds will benefit from being lightened, and some will benefit from replacing the sky with a lighter/more pleasant color (i.e., the Bullfrogs background now has a lighter sky).

By the way, 3 of the 4 backgrounds that come with OOTP don't have any scenery. I have created a new sub-folder called "Unused" and relegated those 3 there.