Difference between revisions of "Paintshop Pro: Creating Inventory Icons"

'''Created by''': LHammonds<br>

# Open NIFSkope, load the NIF file and position the item according to plan.

# From the menu, click Render and make sure everything but '''Perspective''' is unchecked.

# It would also be a good idea to set the background color to something that isn't in the object or at least on the outer edges (such as bright green/red/blue). From the menu click Render, Settings and select a background color and close the dialog box.

# Use your wheel button on your mouse to set the correct zoom level. You're trying to get the object correctly sized to fit in 64 pixels without resizing too much to avoid distortion problems.

# Start Paint Shop Pro, press '''Shift + C''' to begin screen capture. Once the NIFSkope window is visible, right-click somewhere and the left-click and drag a box around the object to capture the area. An alternative is to simply press '''Print Screen''' to capture the entire desktop into memory and then just paste the image in the graphics editor.

# Save your image as a Paint Shop Pro Image (.pspimage)

# Open Paint Shop Pro and then open your screenshot.

# In the layer window, right click the layer called '''Background''' and select '''Promote Background Layer'''.

# Select the Magic Wand Tool and set tolerance to '''0''', click anywhere on the background color and press the '''Delete''' button to remove the color. Repeat process for any remaining background until only the object remains.

# Use the Crop Tool (R) and make it into a perfect square. If the image is smaller than 64x64 or larger than 100x100, you're not zoomed in properly, adjust in NIFSkope and try again.

# If your image is close enough to 64x64, click Image, Resize and set it to 64x64 and make sure the image did not distort too badly.

# Use the Magic Wand Tool and select the background, if you have to, hold the '''Shift''' key down to select all background pieces.

# From the menu, click Selections, Invert. This basically changes the selection to the image and not the background.

# From the menu, click Selections, Load/Save Selection, Save Selection to Alpha Channel.

# Change '''Selection #1''' to '''Alpha''' and click '''Save'''.

# From the menu, click File, Save As and save the image as a '''Paint Shop Pro (.pspimage)'''. This is your Original Source that you can go back to and make changes.

# From the menu, click File, Save Copy As and save the image as a '''Photoshop (.psd)'''.

# Start DDS Converter 2<br>

# Change Input Format to '''Photoshop (*.psd)'''<br>

# Change Output Format to '''DirectDraw Surface (*.dds)'''<br>

# Click the Options button, set the following and click '''OK''':<br>

#* DXTc format: '''DXT3'''<br>

#* '''Uncheck''': Build mipmaps<br>

#* '''Check''': Save alpha (if any)<br>

# Browse to your image folder and double-click the .psd file. It will take about 1 or 2 seconds to convert the file to .DDS format.<br>

# The .DDS file should have been created in the same directory where the .psd file resides.<br>

# Start the Construction Set and load your mod.<br>

# Find your object and double-click on it.<br>

# Click the Icon button and browse to the new .DDS icon and select it.<br>

# The icon should now display perfectly in the editor without any error messages (unlike other .DDS creation methods).>