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Post by tomwh on Apr 10, 2017 3:46:04 GMT -9
Okay, I am trying my first mod. My first attempt had a lot of blurriness. I think it was the result of starting with the art image too small. Here is the source images bought into GIMP and resize to larger 300 DPI
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Post by tomwh on Apr 10, 2017 3:53:23 GMT -9
Sigh, when I compare the two here on screen I think I see the same blurriness. Not sure if it is the art or my bi-focal glasses. Here is the GIMP Print info to see if I achieved 300 DPI quality. Did I get the art scale correctly?
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Post by mproteau (Paper Realms) on Apr 10, 2017 5:02:13 GMT -9
Let's back up and start from the beginning. If you open the PDF file in GIMP, the default is probably to open it at 100dpi. From the "Import from PDF" dialog that comes up, change Resolution to 300. It should change your image size to 2550x3300 pixels (8.5x11 inches at 300dpi).
Once that's done, you should be able to manipulate the image to your heart's content in GIMP. When you export from GIMP, the image you export to will be at the right resolution.
I'm skipping all sorts of steps, since I don't know your workflow, or how familiar you are with GIMP. I'm happy to expand on any details every step of the way!
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Post by tomwh on Apr 10, 2017 12:31:34 GMT -9
Thanks, I was definitely missing that step. This is my first miniature so I don't have a workflow. I have used Photoshop in the past and switched to Paint.net (a free program that is very much like Photoshop). I was able to find the Toolbox - Tool Options menu so having that with my layers menu (Layers-Brushes menu) was a big help.
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Post by tomwh on Apr 10, 2017 13:22:07 GMT -9
I figure out how to export to PDF which is nice but when I export to PNG I believe I still have a compression problem. What is the best medium (.PNG, .GIF, .JPEG) for displaying on the forum?
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Post by Vermin King on Apr 10, 2017 13:38:24 GMT -9
I usually make two files: one png for display on the forum and one pdf to submit.
I prefer to work in png's
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Post by mproteau (Paper Realms) on Apr 10, 2017 13:52:29 GMT -9
I figure out how to export to PDF which is nice but when I export to PNG I believe I still have a compression problem. What is the best medium (.PNG, .GIF, .JPEG) for displaying on the forum? If it's in progress work, jpg with lossy compression is great. If it's something you expect people might want to print, PNG is the way to go.
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Post by tomwh on Apr 12, 2017 18:22:20 GMT -9
I have finished the first one. What do you think?
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Post by tomwh on Apr 12, 2017 18:26:36 GMT -9
I made a test figure. I only used regular paper not the heavy stock or matte photo paper. I was testing for alignment. I didn't color in the white edges or overlap areas in black because I wanted your opinion first. If it would help to blacken it, let me know and I will do it. The white area around the tail is from the original model. I didn't adjust anything. The extra white around the bow and shield is mine. Should I adjust the art or extend the black in the model surrounding to handle it in advance?
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Post by tomwh on Apr 12, 2017 18:27:12 GMT -9
Again, I want to say thank you for all the help you are giving me.
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Post by Vermin King on Apr 13, 2017 3:32:48 GMT -9
Looks good. White border is not my preference, but many folks use it. Looks like you got the dpi issue fixed
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Post by migibb on Apr 13, 2017 3:38:31 GMT -9
Looks good to me too. Maybe fill in/black out a couple of the gaps - such as the "triangle" between his spear, quiver and bow - so that OCD types like myself don't try and cut out teeny-tiny bits, but other than that looks good to go to me!!
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Post by cowboycentaur on Apr 13, 2017 5:09:45 GMT -9
Looks good to me too. Maybe fill in/black out a couple of the gaps - such as the "triangle" between his spear, quiver and bow - so that OCD types like myself don't try and cut out teeny-tiny bits, but other than that looks good to go to me!! Haha I do the same thing. I try and trim as close as possible to my minis but I do like a black border with no white.
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Post by cowboycentaur on Apr 13, 2017 5:10:16 GMT -9
Love the look though! I can definitely get some use out of more centaurs!
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Post by mproteau (Paper Realms) on Apr 13, 2017 7:38:26 GMT -9
I have finished the first one. What do you think? From a resolution perspective, it looks great! No blurryness. From a layout perspective, the front and back don't line up. Specifically, the bow doesn't line up horizontally, the spear doesn't line up vertically, and the shield shape doesn't line up at all. These things can probably be dealt with by beefing up the black border around the figure, though it makes making cutfiles a little more laborious -- normally I just trace the top, copy and flip it vertically, and it *just lines up*. In a case like this (and this isn't something unique to this figure - this happens far more than never!) I'd need to make the top cutlines, flip it, then adjust the lines outward to encompass any bits that might not have lined up right. The resulting shape may not be optimal, and hopefully all that odd shape would be filled in black. So, if you can make 'em line up, that's great. If not (or, if just not this time because you have other minis you want to work on) I can try to help work with what you've already done. By the way - I'm testing how well things line up by opening the image in GIMP, duplicating the image layer, flipping the top layer vertically and then aligning the red score line vertically. The result should be a shape that's pretty darn identical.
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Post by Vermin King on Apr 13, 2017 7:59:38 GMT -9
Have you discovered 'Grids' yet? They really help with alignment issues
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Post by cowboycentaur on Apr 13, 2017 9:05:31 GMT -9
Have you discovered 'Grids' yet? They really help with alignment issues Oh man I just figured out how to do those recently and OMG what a difference they make.
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Post by tomwh on Apr 13, 2017 15:23:35 GMT -9
No, I haven't figured out how Grids work.
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Post by Vermin King on Apr 13, 2017 15:54:07 GMT -9
Okay, first open a pdf, changing the Resolution to 300 pixels/inch
Next, click on View, giving you a dropdown list. #11 on the list (at least in the version on my computer) is Show Grid. Click that.
Now click on Image in the taskbar. Next to the bottom of the dropdown list is Configure Grid. Click on that. Under Spacing, I usually change it to 75, though sometimes I use 25 or 50.
Hope this helps
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Post by tomwh on Apr 13, 2017 16:25:23 GMT -9
I have finished the first one. What do you think? normally I just trace the top, copy and flip it vertically, and it *just lines up*. I used your trick of flipping it. I think I improved it enough to make setting up the cutfiles not as difficult as it would have been
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Post by tomwh on Apr 13, 2017 16:26:37 GMT -9
Okay, first open a pdf, changing the Resolution to 300 pixels/inch Next, click on View, giving you a dropdown list. #11 on the list (at least in the version on my computer) is Show Grid. Click that. Now click on Image in the taskbar. Next to the bottom of the dropdown list is Configure Grid. Click on that. Under Spacing, I usually change it to 75, though sometimes I use 25 or 50. Hope this helps Thanks, I will try it.
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Post by tomwh on Apr 14, 2017 3:25:59 GMT -9
Okay, first open a pdf, changing the Resolution to 300 pixels/inch Next, click on View, giving you a dropdown list. #11 on the list (at least in the version on my computer) is Show Grid. Click that. Now click on Image in the taskbar. Next to the bottom of the dropdown list is Configure Grid. Click on that. Under Spacing, I usually change it to 75, though sometimes I use 25 or 50. Hope this helps Thanks, I will try it. It worked wonderfully, thanks for the tip!
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Post by Vermin King on Apr 14, 2017 4:14:23 GMT -9
You are very welcome.
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Post by tomwh on Apr 15, 2017 17:45:01 GMT -9
Here is my second Centaur. I think I did a better job lining it up the first time. Any feedback you have is welcome.
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Post by tomwh on Apr 16, 2017 6:53:54 GMT -9
Here is the last Centaur for the Hoard. Please look him over and let me know if there is anything I need to fix. Once good I will package up the Herd for the Hoard. Thanks for all your help.
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Post by mproteau (Paper Realms) on Apr 16, 2017 7:03:53 GMT -9
Once good I will package up the Herd for the Hoard. Thanks for all your help. Im on vacation until Wednesday, so I won't be looking in detail, but they seem great from my phone. No need to package them up any more than you have already unless you are modifying the minis further.
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Post by tomwh on Apr 16, 2017 7:31:37 GMT -9
Once good I will package up the Herd for the Hoard. Thanks for all your help. Im on vacation until Wednesday, so I won't be looking in detail, but they seem great from my phone. No need to package them up any more than you have already unless you are modifying the minis further. So posting them as .png files on the Hoard thread is good enough? I was going to put them in 1 graphic like I did with my first post. Either way I will wait until you get back from vacation before I post them in the Hoard thread.
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