Tips for Drawing Clothes

[VictoriaHepfner]

Hi everyone,

I see a lot of you have downloaded Fashion Designer Kit. It will be fun to see what everyone creates. So don't be shy - share what you have done. If you haven't seen it yet, check out the thread "I made some hats...". There are some really cute samples from two of the forum members. The thread was started by Tarman, who created some cute hats and posted them for all to see. Then jadeyes41 posted her cute creations. Thanks to both of you for being so brave to share your work.

If anyone has tips to share about thier experience working with the Designer Kit, please do so. We can all learn from each other.

So for my tip - I have been experimenting this weekend. I'm trying to draw a flower for the model to hold - in place of a purse. What I learned is that your first attempt does not have to be you final attempt. You can draw over what you have already drawn and then go back and "erase" the parts you don't want. That way you can get more of a steady line on your drawing. Also, if you zoom in to 400% or 800% you can work pixel by pixel to clean up your drawing.

I'm still working on my flower, so when I get it cleaned up, I will post a picture of it.

Just remember, it takes time and patience to create your fashionable designs.

So - do you have any tips to share?

[Tarman]

Any hints on how to prevent the items from being cutoff or over-running into the next color? I know it is in the spacing, but is there a set number of pixles between colors in the .png file or is it al in the .dat file ?

My hats, shirts, and some of the kitty's overlap. How can I fix this ?

[TroyHepfner]

Hi Tarman,

I looked more closely at your kitties, and I see a couple of things that could cause these problems.

First, looking at the leftmost edge of the leash and measuring it in the GIMP, I see that it is at x=5. You specified the width as 56 in the dat file, so I would expect the second kitty's leash to be at x=5+56=61. But the second leash is at x=58. If I continue down the row of kitties, I see the subsequent kitties are also off. Each kitty should be equally spaced horizontally, based on its width. If it isn't, it could result in the edge of items being cut off or overrunning into the next item, as you observed.

Second, I noticed that the kitties are not all sitting on the bottom edge of the image. The paws of the first kitty are at y=252. The next kitty is at y=255 (where it should be). The third kitty is at y=254. In the game, this can result in an item either being cut off at the top or not lining up properly on the doll.

The width and height should determine where the kitties are placed. As long as you are precise and consistent, everything should work fine. I hope that helps.

[jadeyes41]

Hello!

What I do when I'm copying from the original to the final.png file (to the one that will have all the items i.e. kitties, hats, etc.) is:

1.Place a guide line in the bottom of the document and align every item with that guide. That way every item will be at the same SRCY.

2. Place a guide line at the right of each item where you want the next item to be and when you paste it, align the item with the guide. The SRCX number of each item will be exactly where the guideline is.

Hope this helps!

[jadeyes41]

Some things I learned in the process...........


1. First of all, write every measure down and identify what the numbers are for, that way if something goes wrong you can go back and check. ( I have a sheet for each item created)

2. Whenever you have to SELECT the image (the first time to determine the width and height and later to copy it to the final .png file) I have found that it's better to do it BEFORE you scale it. That way the selection is more precise.

3. Make a list of every item in the .png file, that includes:
INDEX, colors used and SRCX.
Omit the first item, since it doesn't have color and the INDEX is always 0.
For example:
(INDEX)#1. yellow (17)/red(14)(COLORS) /44 (SRCX)
#2. blue (2)/beige (0)/91
#3. dark green (4)/green (7)/137
and so on....
It will come handy when you write the .dat file and you will have all the data in case you need it again.

Hope this helps a little!...............

Jade

[VictoriaHepfner]

Hi Jade

Thanks for all the great tips! I like the guide line idea. That should be quite helpful in getting all the objects lined up correctly.

Between you, Tarman and Rogue there are some great add-ons to the game.

I was preparing for company this weekend so I didn't have a chance to play the game with the new outfits and pets. I'm going to download them now and get them in my game so I can try them out!

Thanks again!

[Rogue238]

Hmm, tips. . . Well, my tip is this "layers are your friend." lol I've learned through the years just how wonderful layers are. I know it seems like more work when you have to redraw lines that you wouldn't have to if you drew directly on the base, but it saves so much work if you make a mistake, or just want to start completely over. Not to mention, all you have to do after you're done is hide the bottom layer and there you go.

And don't forget to save the file you're working on under a psd or a xcf if you do work in layers, because if you accidently hit save as png and exit without noticing, your layers are gone. I've done stuff like that before, so I have to be very careful.

[VictoriaHepfner]

Thanks Jade and Rogue for the great tips. I hope those tips are helpful and encourages others to try their hand at creating their own add-ons - whether or not they choose to share them with everyone.

You both have been making some great add-ons. Thanks again for sharing. I've enjoyed your creations!