How to create a tattoo - Revision history

Commanderstrawberry at 13:28, 26 June 2022

2022-06-26T13:28:05Z

Commanderstrawberry at 13:25, 26 June 2022

2022-06-26T13:25:53Z

Commanderstrawberry at 13:24, 26 June 2022

2022-06-26T13:24:20Z

Commanderstrawberry at 13:15, 26 June 2022

2022-06-26T13:15:33Z

Commanderstrawberry at 13:13, 26 June 2022

2022-06-26T13:13:20Z

Commanderstrawberry at 13:11, 26 June 2022

2022-06-26T13:11:43Z

Commanderstrawberry at 13:00, 26 June 2022

2022-06-26T13:00:15Z

Commanderstrawberry at 12:32, 26 June 2022

2022-06-26T12:32:15Z

Commanderstrawberry at 12:19, 26 June 2022

2022-06-26T12:19:45Z

Commanderstrawberry: how to make a tattoo

2022-06-26T12:19:19Z

how to make a tattoo

New page

How to make a tattoo

== Overview ==

This tutorial requires GIMP. You can also use Photoshop’s dds plugin, it doesn’t matter, but this tutorial is for GIMP.

If you wish to modify the base games textures or have them as a reference, extract them manually from the game’s ERFs. [http://www.datoolset.net/wiki/Reskinning_an_item_tutorial This page] will explain how to extract the textures from the game.

A texture is a tint map file. See [[How to create textures]] for extra details on textures.

== Tattoo Textures in base game guide==

uh_pct_dc1_0t - Dwarf player tattoos
uh_pct_dn1_0t - Dwarf player tattoos
uh_pct_h01_0t – uh_pct_h02_0t – Human player tattoos
uh_tat_av1_0t -uh_tat_av1_03 – Human and city elf tattoos, probably leftover from scrapped avvar origin
uh_pmt_001_0t - Companion tattoos- Morrigan eyeshadow, Zevran tattoo, Casteless brand, Unused Oghren brand
uh_tat_dw1_0t - uh_tat_dw2_0t - Dwarf tattoos
uh_tat_ed1_0t - uh_tat_ed4_0t - Elf vallaslin
uh_pct_exp_0t – Awakening tattoos- Velanna vallaslin and Sigrun tattoos.

== Make a tattoo ==

You need at least one image. However tattoos come in a pack of 4 images composed together. If this is a standalone tattoo, you can leave all the other slots blank if you want.

The 4 images are stored in the red, blue, green and alpha channels. You can use the files you extracted as reference.

To create the tattoo , it may be helpful to extract one of the games base heads and have it as an .OBJ to draw on, or at least have a UV map of the head. Every head in the game will have the same UV map, from child to dwarf, so a tattoo for one should work for every character in the toolset.

[[File:Hm_head.png|200px|thumb|left|Head UV map]]
The background of your image needs to be pure black, with the tattoo in white. How bright the tattoo’s base colour is, depends on how white or off white you have made the tattoo. A purer white will be a darker tattoo.

Import one of your new images into GIMP, anything the right size.
Go to the toolbar of GIMP and Colours>Components>Decompose
It will have made some extra layers that look identical to the ones you already have. Delete the extra layers, then paste in the four you have made.

Colours>Components>Compose
Compose colour model, RGBA
Make sure they are in the right slots.

When done, you can check the channels tab to see if what you did worked. The image should now look mostly transparent but with odd bands of colour on it.

Save it in preferred format and then you can test it in the toolset.
Try to name it something with the uh_tat_ whatever _0t file convention so it is easy to select in the toolset.

[[File:Decm1.png|200px|thumb|left|How to decompose an image]]
[[File:Decm4.png|200px|thumb|right|How to recompose an image]]

A tattoo does not need a normal map, but it will need 2 LODS. Simply resize the image to be much smaller and save it with l2, and then l3, after it.

== Saving options ==

'''File sizes'''

The game's default textures for most items are 1024x1024, but I would recommend working 2048x2048 at least. Most custom face textures are that size.

For face tattoos, make the lod2/3 very small and save as dxt5, because they will occupy a very small amount of the screen.

'''Example sizes:'''

128 ,
256 ,
512 ,
1024 ,
2048 ,
4096

'''Saving formats'''

[[File:Dxt5.png|200px|thumb|left|Dtx5 option]]

The game’s default file format for tattoo tint files is u4444. U8888 is better. You can also have them totally uncompressed for best quality, but they will be very large files.

For face tattoos, make the lod2/3 very small and you can save as dxt5 to save space, because they will occupy a very small amount of the screen.

To use U8888 format, you can select [none] under compression options and [RGBA8] under format.
To use u4444 format, select [none] under compression options and [RGBA4] under format.

[[File:Texture_u4444.png|200px|thumb|left|How to generate u4444]]

Make sure to generate mipmaps, no matter how you save it!

== The Compressonator ==

This is a Dragon Age Origins texture tool.
Under tools\ResourceBuild\Processors\Texture in the DAO install directory you will find a tool called TheCompressonator.
You can use this to check what compression a dds file has and if it has mipmaps or not.
Drag the dds into it, and use view -> properties.

== Texture Tools ==

[https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/4929 Beerfish Excel Utilities (references)]

[https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/12801 Optimizer Textures (Ordenador)- process textures fast]

== Useful Links ==
[[Texture_Formats]]

[[Reskinning_an_item_tutorial]]

[https://sapphimods.me/tutorials/dragon-age-texture-guide/ Dragon age texture guide – Exhaustive]

[https://whuffie.wordpress.com/2011/02/27/creating-simple-1-color-or-3-color-tattoos-from-scratch-dragon-age-da-toolset-tutorial/ How to make Tattoos]

[[Category:Tutorials]]
[[Category:Art resources]]
[[Category:Textures]]

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 uh_pct_h01_0t – uh_pct_h02_0t – Human player tattoos
-uh_pmt_001_0t - Companion tattoos- Morrigan eyeshadow, Zevran tattoo,  Casteless brand, Unused Oghren tattoo
+uh_tat_ed1_0t - uh_tat_ed4_0t - Elf vallaslin
-uh_tat_ed1_0t - uh_tat_ed4_0t - Elf vallaslin
+'''Toolset only'''
-uh_pct_exp_0t – Awakening tattoos- Velanna vallaslin and Sigrun tattoos.
+uh_tat_av1_0t - uh_tat_av1_03 – Human tattoos. Probably leftover from scrapped avvar origin.
-'''Unused'''
+uh_pmt_001_0t - Companion tattoos- Morrigan eyeshadow, Zevran tattoo,  Casteless brand, Unused Oghren tattoo
-uh_tat_av1_0t - uh_tat_av1_03 – Human tattoos, only selectable in toolset. Probably leftover from scrapped avvar origin.
 == Make a tattoo ==

@@ Line 82: / Line 82: @@
 [[File:Dxt5.png|200px|thumb|left|Dtx5 option]]
-The game’s default file format for tattoo tint files is u4444. This is smaller than U8888, but it may compress gradients.
+The game’s default file format for tattoo tint files is u4444. This is smaller than U8888, but it may compress gradients. You can also not compress it at all, but this will make the file very large, so make sure your computer can handle it.
 [[File:Texture_u4444.png|200px|thumb|left|How to generate u4444]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:00, 26 June 2022
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	~~How to make a tattoo~~

	== Overview ==		== Overview ==

@@ Line 115: / Line 115: @@
 [[Morph]]
-[[Texture_Formats]]
+[[Texture Formats]]
 [https://sapphimods.me/tutorials/dragon-age-texture-guide/ Dragon age texture guide – Exhaustive]
@@ Line 121: / Line 123: @@
 [https://whuffie.wordpress.com/2011/02/27/creating-simple-1-color-or-3-color-tattoos-from-scratch-dragon-age-da-toolset-tutorial/ How to make Tattoos]
 [[Category:Tutorials]]
 [[Category:Art resources]]
 [[Category:Textures]]

@@ Line 79: / Line 79: @@
 [[File:Dxt5.png|200px|thumb|left|Dtx5 option]]
-The game’s default file format for tattoo tint files is u4444. U8888 is better. You can also have them totally uncompressed for best quality, but they will be very large files.
+The game’s default file format for tattoo tint files is u4444. This is smaller than U8888, but it may compress gradients.
 [[File:Texture_u4444.png|200px|thumb|left|How to generate u4444]]
 [[File:Texture_u8888.png|200px|thumb|right|How to generate u8888]]
 To use U8888 format, you can select [none] under compression options and [RGBA8] under format.
 To use u4444 format, select [none] under compression options and [RGBA4] under format.
+For face tattoos, you can make the lod2/3 very small and save as dxt5 to save space, because they will occupy a very small amount of the screen.
 Make sure to generate mipmaps, no matter how you save it!

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 == Overview ==
@@ Line 11: / Line 12: @@
 == Tattoo Textures in base game guide==
-uh_pct_dc1_0t - Dwarf player tattoos
+uh_pct_dc1_0t - Dwarf common player tattoos
-uh_pct_dn1_0t - Dwarf player tattoos
+uh_pct_dn1_0t - Dwarf noble player tattoos
 uh_pct_h01_0t – uh_pct_h02_0t – Human player tattoos
-uh_tat_av1_0t -uh_tat_av1_03 – Human and city elf tattoos, probably leftover from scrapped avvar origin
+uh_tat_av1_0t -uh_tat_av1_03 – Human tattoos, probably leftover from scrapped avvar origin
-uh_pmt_001_0t - Companion tattoos- Morrigan eyeshadow, Zevran tattoo,  Casteless brand, Unused Oghren brand
+uh_pmt_001_0t - Companion tattoos- Morrigan eyeshadow, Zevran tattoo,  Casteless brand, Unused Oghren tattoo
 uh_tat_dw1_0t - uh_tat_dw2_0t - Dwarf tattoos
@@ Line 99: / Line 100: @@
 Drag the dds into it, and use view -> properties.
 == Texture Tools ==

@@ Line 80: / Line 80: @@
 The game’s default file format for tattoo tint files is u4444. U8888 is better. You can also have them totally uncompressed for best quality, but they will be very large files.
 For face tattoos, make the lod2/3 very small and you can save as dxt5 to save space, because they will occupy a very small amount of the screen.
@@ Line 87: / Line 89: @@
 To use u4444 format, select [none] under compression options and [RGBA4] under format.
-[[File:Texture_u4444.png|200px|thumb|left|How to generate u4444]]
 Make sure to generate mipmaps, no matter how you save it!
@@ Line 102: / Line 104: @@
 [https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/4929 Beerfish Excel Utilities (references)]
 == Useful Links ==
-[[Reskinning_an_item_tutorial]]
+[[Morph]]
 [https://sapphimods.me/tutorials/dragon-age-texture-guide/ Dragon age texture guide – Exhaustive]